I took this class in the Spring of 2017.
Unlike my other classes, Introduction to Writing Fiction was offered only as a workshop class. A workshop class functions by having students sit in a circle and critique each others’ work. For this particular workshop, we each had one class to bring in a short story we had written and our peers would critique upon its flaws.
My professor was extremely blunt about the difficulty of this class; it is not easy to be critiqued by your peers in an intimate setting. He suggested, since many of us in the class had signed up only to meet our general education requirements, that if we felt uncomfortable with the workshop style, that we should drop the class. Initially, I was very hesitant to stay in the class. Naturally, I have a shy temperament and am easily embarrassed.
Very quickly, my class created a positive rapport so our workshops were always very productive and positive, even if the critiques picked out the faults in our short stories. After the first rotation, where everyone turned in a short story to be critiqued, I felt very confident in my ability to constructively take criticism. I also learned how difficult it is to be a writer. One has to balance not only the plot, but the syntax, the characters, the narration, and all the other pieces that make great stories.
Below is a reflection I wrote for my final portfolio. In the reflection, I talk about the changes I made to my short story, as well as the characteristics from a short story we read in class that I wish to mimic in my own writing.