THE
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A Writer’s Workshop
Curriculum Guide

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FACILITATOR GUIDE
1icLc 0F CouTe s

7 Sectiont: Getting Started

8 Section 2: Structure
8 Round Table Writers Workshop
10 EachOne, Teach One
12 Sample Pacing Guides

50 Section 3: Methods
30 Rituals
32 Freewriting
34 Getting Around Writer's Block
35 Feedback Foundations
37 Assessing Characterization and Plot through Rubrics
38 Sideshadowing
38 SelfReflection
39 Voice, or How To Write Like Yourself
39 Read Aloud
39 Reading Backwards
40 Revising
& Responding to Feedback
42 Seeing Your Work with New Eyes
44 Peer Editing
45 Performative Readings
46 Creating Products

48 Section 4: Glossary

This curriculum was born out of The Freewrite Project, a program generously funded by the Mellon
Foundation that leverages PEN America's book, The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer's Life in
Prison (Haymarket Books, 2022) to support the self.determination of writers in prison to form incarcerated.
led community writing groups.

The Sentences That Create Us, referenced across this guide, is a nearly 350-page road map for incarcerated
people and their alies to have a thriving writing e behind bars—and shared beyond the walls—that

draws on the unique insights of more than fifty contributors, most themselves justice-involved, to offer
advice, inspiration and resources. If you don't have a copy. you'll want one~it is ful of useful and inspiring
information. You can order one for free from PEN America (i you're incarcerated, that i), by writing to Prison
and Justice Writing c/o PEN America 120 Broadway 26th Floor North New York, NY 10271

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 3
| introduction

Dear Facilitator,

If you don't have a copy, you'll want ane—it is full of useful and
inspiring information. You can order copies for yourself and
your students/workshop participants for free by writing to
Prison and Justice Witing c/o PEN America 120 Broadway 26th
Floor North New York, NY 10271 or thraugh our online form:
hitps:/forms gle/LLLaK JLvXcid6LUd7

This s a resource made for writers by writers, designed

to offer support and guidance for building a supportive:

writing community for incarcerated writers. This guide offers
suggestions on how to foster spaces inside carceral institutions
that can cultivate community, creativity and self-expression.

Learning environments like these are different from those
many of us were raised in, where rule-following and rote
memorization s valued. Tossing the red pen out the window,
instead we emphasize the development of a horizontal writing
community that can foster individual and communal learning
through creative risk taking, personal growth and collaboration.
Creativity is much messier than you may have been led to
believe in your previous experiences in formal schooling. We
believe in the power of unleashing creative spirit to tell stories
that truly matter.

OF course, we are aware that while the imagination runs free as
it pleases, the setting you are in s full of rules and regulations.
We encourage you to be creative in the application of the
materials within these pages. This guide s designed to support
you and should be used as it best its your needs and the
limitations or opportunities of the faciity youre in. Nothing

in this guide is an irrefutable truth. Instead, we invite you to

4| PEN America

The Sentences That Create Us, referenced across this guide, is
a nearly 350-page road map for incarcerated people and their
allies to have a thriving writing life behind bars—and shared
beyond the walls—that draws on the unique insights of more
than fifty contributors, most themselves justice-involved, to

offer advice, inspiration and resources.

7

experience the guide as a collection of best practices from
writers who have come from the same conditions where you
sit, and have made fulfiling livelihoods of their passion for the
wiitten word.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CONTENTS
This guide is divided into:

Section One: Structure
The first offers suggestions for how to structure a workshop.
There are two main options which can be modified based on
your group's needs and desires. Experiment with one, then try
the other! These structures offer a foundation and container
for your group's meetings. These are followed by sample
pacing guides with timelines and content suggestions week
by week for running a workshop for 810 weeks, using either
of the two structures. We recognize timelines differ and many
prison classes are longer than an hour or two. However, many
of the components can be combined with things that already
work wel for you. It designed to be generative rather than
prescriptive.

Section Two: Methods
The second section offers and explains methods that you

can use within these structures, Allow us to repeat, there is
o one "right” or *better” approach. Consider your journey
through the guide as a choose your own adventure, full of

ala carte options. Some wil gravitate towards methods that
other people won'tfind as productive. For example, some find
starting workshops with freewriting time based on prompts
generative and useful, while others people prefer privacy for
seratching out first drafts. Whatever methods you choose,
we suggest switching them up periodically so that everyone
will get a chance to try different techniques that they can
add to their personal toolbox for use on their own outside
of workshop time. Much of this section is written speaking
directly to workshop participants and can be reproduced as
references for writers. Alternatively, they can be adapted by
you to meet the specific needs of your workshop group.

Each of these sections contains companion pages
in The Sentences that Create Us: Crafting o
Wiiter's Life in Prison that can serve to clarify and
expound on the structures, methods and readings
included here. We highly recommend reading

the book together with this resource. These
connections are marked with the butterfly.

This guide was written by people who know their stufi—but that
doesn't mean we know everything. We look forward to hearing
from you with suggestions, resources and feedback. And of
course, welll welcome success stories. Writing changed our lives.
We never get tired of meeting others who feel just the same.

Write on
Jen, Anie, Zeke, Sterling,
Suotonye, Moira, Caits and Michele

Introduction |

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 5
ulum Committee is:

Jennifer Bowen (curriculum writer) spent her formative years in rural West Texas, and her adult years n the Midwest. A writer,
arts instructor, editor, and single mother of sons, Jennifer is the Founding Director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop
(MPWW), which is the largest literary-arts-in corrections organization in the country. She teaches in prisons throughout the state.
A Pusheart Prize-winning writer, Jennifer’s work appears n The Sun, Orion, Kenyon Review, The Rumpus, The lowa Review among
others. She's the former Nonfiction Editor for Hunger Mountain and she also edits creative prose. Jennifer is working on an essay
collection about isolation and connection. She now lives in St. Paul.

The Freewrite Curri

Annie Buckley (curriculum writer) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and curator vith an emphasis on art and social justice and

the founder and director of the Prison Arts Collective, a statewide program dedicated to expanding access to the transformative
power of the arts to incarcerated people. Professor Buckley joined San Diego State University as Director of the School of Art

+ Design in summer 2019 and is thrlled to collaborate with faculty, students, and staff in the School. She began the Prison Arts
Collective (PAC) in 2013 and has been awarded over 2 million in prestigious grants and contracts from the California Arts Council,
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the National Endowment the Arts o the project. She i the author
of over 250 reviews and essays on contemporary art published in Artforum, Artin America, The Huffington Post, and others and
she s a contributing editor to Los Angeles Review of Books, where she writes the column "Art Inside” about faciitating art in
prisons. She has presented her art and community activism work at national and international conferences including in Ireland and
Belgium and her creative practice embraces image, text, and participatory practice.

ri (curriculum writer)is a writer and activist from South Minneapolis. His book, This Is Where | Am: A Memoir was a
finalist for the Minnesota Baok Award. His prose has been anthologized in ‘Prison Noir” edited by Joyee Carol Oates and "From
Education to Incarceration: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline.” He has very strong opinions about criminal and prison
justice and the carceral state. Ask him about them

Skerling Cunio (curriculum writer) is a spoken word poet who transforms adversity into the substance of stanza. Sterling is a 2019
2020 PEN America Writing For Justice Fellow, a 2019 Oregon Literary Arts Fellow and a twotime PEN America Prison Writing
Award winner for hs essay Going Forward with Gus (2018) and co-authored play The Bucket (2018). Published in The Marshall
Project, Sterling’s currently a University of Oregon undergrad majoring in crime, law and society. At age 16, Sterling was sentenced
to ife without parole and has spent twenty-ix years in prison where he's devoted himself to hospice volunteering, mentoring
younger prisoners, ransforming the culture of street crime and building peace. Sterling is a frequent contributor to community-
based efforts to raise awareness around issues of mass incarceration, food scarcity, and Restorative Justice.

Suotonye DeWeaver (curriculum witer) is a Black community organizer, iterary writer, and journalist who co-founded
prisonrenaissance.org while serving a 67 years to lfe sentence in prison. He participated in the passage of Senate Bills 260, 261,
and Proposition 57. His personal essays have been published in Rumpus and Seventh Wave, and his op-eds have been published
in the Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle. His sentence was commuted by Gov. Jerry Brown in December 2017 for his
community service, his productivity, and his story of transformation. Suotonye is currently working full-time as a product specialist
for Pilot.com while working part-time as a guest lecturer and freelance writer.

Moira Marquis (project lead) i the Senior Manager of The Freewrite Project in PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing department.
Marcuis has many years of experience teaching writing in both secondary and higher education, as well as leading Asheville Prison
Books, and founding Saxapahaw Prison Books. She has a PhD in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil

Caits Meissner's (editor) poems, comics, essays and curation have appeared in The Creative Independent, The Rumpus, [PANK],
Harper's Bazaar, Adroit, Literary Hub, Split This Rock, Bust Magatzine, The Normal School, Hobart, and The Guardian, among others
She spends her days as Director of Prison and Justice Writing at PEN America where she edited The Sentences That Create Us
Crafting A Writer' Life in Prison (Haymarket Books, January 2022), of which the Mellon Foundation funded 75,000 copies to reach
readers in United States prisons free of charge.

Michele Scott (curriculum writer) is formerly incarcerated having served 30 years on a double Life Without the Possibility of Parole
sentence. In December 2018, Michele's sentence was commuted by the California Governor in recognition of her commitment to
self-improvement, giving back to the community, and serving as a positive role model. She has published in Elle Magazine, The Fire
Insicle, Blue Sky Fundlers Forum, and The Marshall Project. While in prison, she was involved in peer education, restorative justice.
work around victim impact, and spiritual groups. In 2014, she co-founded the firstlfe without parole support group in the women's
prison. She i also a passionate gardener and was a key advocate for the establishment of the Insight Garden Project at the
California women's prison at Chowehilla Michele invested in her prison community and learned to seek purpose in helping others.

6] PEN Am
Gettin
Starte

Your group may want to bring already
started pieces to your workshop. This is
not a requirement, as using freewriting in
each session can also serve as a way for
group members to generate new writing
within the workshops timeframe.

However,f your group decides to bring
pre-written work to the group, remember to
keep it short! Your workshop can and should
set some limits on the number of pages you
can all responsibly respond to each meeting,
It can be tempting to allow writers to bring
in anything they want help with, especially
ifthisis your irt time working together. Do
note, there s a law of diminishing returns.
The feedback you can offer for 20 pages
may be far more considered and helpful
than if you read 100. And often, we writers
tend to make some of the same mistakes
over and over again, and can learn from one
workshop how to help other pieces.

It up to you as a group, of course. Ifits
helpful to know, a common length for a
workshop piece often caps at around 25
pages of prose, comprising no more than 2.3
pieces. A common workshop range might
be 10-30 pages. Similarly. its reasonable to
workshop 3-5 poems by a poet at one time.
This usually allows for 233 participants to be
“workshopped” each session, in depth. As
always, do what works best for your group.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
There are always people in collectives who are more prolific
than others. It s natural in these places to want to be noticed
and recognized for your work. Sometimes, though, we would get
people who had been working on manuscripts that couldn’ help.
but try to overload everyone else in the collective with their
productivity. We had a writer who would go to segregation for a
few months at a time. While he was back there he would write
entire novels on the backs of state kites, and when he would get
out he would start passing around his manuscript, seeking after
feedback and validation for what he had given himself to for the
time he was in the hole. It would be impossible to wrkshop this
much work, 50 he had to count on personal readers who were
willing to spend the adequate time with it. As a community, we
wanted to support those of us that were driven and productive,
but we couldn't support such substantial projects as a group.
There just wasn't e capacity as group to workshop such long.
pieces. It meant other peple in the group couldrt get some

of the necessary attention for their work and decisions have to
be made for how the collective is able to support each other.
Our cohort member would get out of prison, and finally publish
those manuscripts he had originally written n the hole. It was a
communal success for all of us, even though we weren' able to
personally support those projects as significantly as the writer
would have iked.

— Zeke Caligiuri

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 7
Workshop
Structure

Witer's workshops benefit from
predictable structures, practices and
methods that set expectations and serve
s a container for the task at hand. The
container helps people to come prepared,
understand when to talk and when to
listen, and learn how to give feedback

so that others can hear it. The goalis

to create a space that is safe enough

to share writing, which, as you probably
know, can be a very vulnerable act. In

this section, we provide two models that
have been effective for many writers,
whether established or just beginning.

We invite you to try a method with your
group, reflect on how it worked and didrit
work, and from there innovate or change
your approach as needed before trying
another option.

8 | PEN America

Round Table Writers’ Workshop

OVERVIEW
Whether you sit n a circle or scattered around the classroom,
workshop is created simply when we come together as a group
to discuss each other’s witing. Round Table Workshop is a
helpful way of leting the writer know how their work affects
others. Its where we learn to give and receive feedback.
Workshop offers the group a shared vocabulary, practical tools,
and often inspiration. ts where we learn to talk about writing
and to know ourselves as writers, critics, and a member of a
writing community. No one person is ‘in charge’ of a workshop.
Likewise, whatever guidelines your group sets apply equally to
al participants,

SHAPE
New writers who join a writing community often tell us they
were most nervous about sharing their work with others. These.
same writers, at the end of the session, often report that
sharing turned out to be ane of the most rewarding parts of the
experience. The aim of workshop i to let the author know how
their work is received by readers. In doing tha, the hope is that
we help the author clarify their own thoughts and intentions.
about the work. In giving and receiving feedback in workshop,
its wise to remember the words of writer Neil Gaiman, “when
people tell you something's wrong or doesnit work for them,
they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly how to
fix i, they re almost always wrong”

KEY COMPONENTS
Though each group willrun workshops differently, here are a
few basic guidelines that are helpful to follow. You can use them
as they are listed here or you can use these as a starting point
to discuss what norms will be helpful for your group:

+ When were in the room together, we're al writers and we
support each other.

+ The best way we can support each other is to be generous
in our praise, generous enough to offer constructive criticism
and generous in receiving others'response to aur work.

+ We try to talk about the way we experienced the work, not
the way wed *fix” it (Ex: | fel confused by the alligator on the
porch in the second paragraph, page 3).

+ Refer to the work not the writer. (Narrator instead of John,
the mother character instead of John's mom.) People can
feel defensive if comments are directed to them as a person.
rather than their writing,

+ Ask questions of the piece, not the writer. (Im wondering
why the story jumps forward 10 years, instead of, Why did
Tom skip a decade?)

+ Begin a workshop with positive feedback, then transition
to constructive feedback after the writer has heard what's
working well. Hearing positive feedback first helps people
receive critical feedback receptively. By hearing the aspects
of a piece that work and people relate to or appreciate, a
wiiter can better orient themselves towards addressing those
elements of their writing that arent being understood or are
distracting for readers.

- Initiate thoughts from classmates who seem engaged but shy
about speaking up.

+ Remember the most helpful thing we can do is offer one
reader’s response to the work. In the end, the piece belongs to
the writer

BEST PRACTICES
Round table writer's workshop builds community through
shared experience. Further, writing workshops require
vulnerabilit from respondents and writers, who work together
with care and respect. The longer workshop participants work
together, the safer it becomes to challenge each other. An
‘added benefit of a longer term commitment: the more people
come to know and understand each other across differences of
perspective and experience. Finally, the workshop offers the
common shared goal of art-making.

The essay “On Building
Communities” by Zeke Cal
that Create Us, beginning on pg. 234, supports
further thinking about how to structure groups and
cultivate writing communities and can be read as a
companion to this overview.

TROUBLESHOOTING
Conflicts can easily arise when in the act of giving and receiving
feedback. Sometimes people can get defensive if other

people don't understand their writing, Other people can be
Unintentionally aggressive when talking about another persors
work. In order to avoid conflicts, you can use open-ended
questions that help reader and writer understand the strengths
and limits of a written piece of communication. The list of
questions below are models that you can use wholesale or as a
basis to create your own questions that aren't confrontational
but inquisitive.

+ Whatis the piece about?
+ Whatis the situation and what is the story?
+ What stood out to you?

+ What sensory details did you experience?

+ What did you vividly see, smell. hear, ete.?
+ How did the piece make you feel?

+ How does the language reflect the mood or message of the
piece?

+ How might the language interfere with the mood or message
of the piece?

+ What confused you?
- Where n the piece did you feel engaged?

Structure |

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
When the Stillwater Witer's Collectective began, most of

the original participants had all known each other for many
years, and thus, we carried such a finely woven fabric of shared
experience and prison pathology with us as a group. When we
first began workshopping each other's work, most of the people
in the group were reluctant to comment, or offer suggestions
for revision because we were a community that had been
configured out of polities and social compromise. Nobody
wanted to upset the terms of that configuration. We were a
group that wasn't sure if we would stick together s artsts

but knew we would have to stilllive with each other even if

our collective didrt succeed. Those politics didn't help any of
us become better writers. It took time, and lots of roundable
workshops for the individuals in the collective to trust others'
feedback,and to trust themselves to make suggestions about
someone else's work that did't sabotage or hinder any of the
ways people had built identities and purpose for themselves.
The result was the culmination of a community of writers who
came into an already established community vith enough trust
in the processes and outcomes of the program to share real
organic feedback. The writing got better and the collective

got stronger. Sometimes we come to groups like this forgetting
that they are meant to breathe lfe into our art and expression
things that are traditionally stifled by the mechanisms of the
institutions.

— Zeke Caligiuri

+ Were there places where your mind wandered?
+ What's something the writer in't saying that needs to be said?
+ What's hidden in the piece?

+ s there a turn or a “volta?" This is adramatic shift in the
meaning or emotion of the piece? Said differently, s the
place where you often feel your stomach shift. Where we
hear the audience murmur surprise or appreciation. Is that
here? Where?

+ Were there characters that came alive for you? In what
scenes? Why?

+ What do the characters want? Is the character's “want”
driving the story?

+ What does the narrator want? What's in the way? Are the

obstacles formidable enough? How might they be made more
formidable in the next draft?

+ Do you relate to the narrator/main character/protagonist?
+ Do the characters stay in character?
+ Are there any risks: inguistically, emotionally. plotwise?

+ s there a surprise? In plot, in language, in emotional or
stylistc risk?

- How does the opening create an “exchange of expectations’
between author and reader?

AWiter's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 9
Structure

+ Does the piece, as it evolves, meet these expectations?
+ Does the beginning need to change?

+ How is the memair an exploration of change for the narrator?
- How might this change be made more clear, more developed?

-+ Are the scanes rendered in this draft the most important

+ What needs to be dramatized still?
+ Whatis the author trying to do?
+ What basic orienting facts might be clarified or developed?

+ What questions/urges do you have that the piece does not
yet answer?

‘The chapter “Workshop Solitaire: Using Questions
to Strengthen a Story” by J.D. Mathes in The
Sentences that Create U, beginning on pg. 283,
can help you come up with other questions that
are relevant to your writing.

10 | PEN America

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
There are many benefits to shared facilitation workshops, such
as collective learning opportunities, faciltation practice and
project management skills. Building shared leadership into the
workshop offers the chance for each person to participate
fully. An added benefitis that it can also help provide workshop
stability i the constant flux of prison environments.

In The Restorative Justice writing group, a writing community
inside Oregon State Penitentiary, we were subject to the
volatilty of prison life. Early in our formation we had been
authorized to have a workshop with outside community
members joining us as audience members i the chapel

The institution had also recently decided to send out a the
minimum custody prisoners, and the day of our event, the
workshop's sole facilitator was transferred out. Without a copy
of his notes, event outlines or prepared handout materials, we
freestyled our way through the day with our guests, and then,
while reflecting on the experience, we each decided a new way
to move forward: we would share responsibilty in a way that
would teach each person how to faciitate every aspect of the
workshop.

The decision to break up each element of the workshop into
rotating responsibilties would prove to benefit us many times
over the years, as we were all prepared to step into any role
that was needed in the event of llness, ransfers or another
unforeseen event that required adaptation.

— Sterling Cunio

Each One, Teach One

OVERVIEW
Another method to structure writing groups s “each one, teach
one.” While also a shared leadership model, "each one, teach
one offers more clearly defined group roles that rotate in

each session of the workshop. For example, one person from
the group will guide the group through a main exercise on one
method, genre or other activity for a period of time during at
least one workshop session, passing the ttle to another group
member in the next session. This and other leadlrship roles
such as preparing the opening or closing, leading freewriting

or feedback sessions trades hands throughout the workshop
series, ensuring that every participant has a chance to faciltate
the role at least once, and perhaps more depending on how
often the group meets, and how many people are in the group.

SHAPE
‘What this looks like in action and process can vary, aceording
to the group's needs. A common opening to the workshop
experience might begin with an intentional effort to honor
the space and help people relax. Some open with a question
everyone answers n brief, a meditation or a short reading
one member of the group brings to share as inspiration. After
the opening, the person teaching for the day could offer a
focus on anything: poetry, reewriting, revision techniques

or publishing advice, to name a few options. After the mini-
lesson, the group might choose to read aloud their work

to share, or engage in freewriting with the assistance of a
prompt. Remember, the ingredients are yours to build your
workshop recipe with, starting with the base commitment to
rotation of faciltation.

KEY COMPONENTS
Below is a sample of activities that could potentially take place
in a one and a half hour workshop using “each one, teach one:”

1. Opening (10-minutes) - Participant A

2. Prompt and Freewrite (15-minutes) - Paticipant
creates/finds prompt and keeps time. Encourages people
to finish at the time

3. Freewriting Share Out (10 minutes) - Participant B leads
sharing of reewriting

sson (50 minutes) - Participant C delivers the weekly
content drawn from The Sentences That Create Us, methods
cutlined in this curriculum o other sources. Offers members
skills and takeavay methods to employ in their writing

5. Train the Trainers (15 minutes) - Participant D - Since roles
rotate in this model, ths role is to assign and select who will
lead each component in the next meeting, and to faciltate
the transfer of knowledge-what each role does-within the
group. For example, the person who led the freewriting
week 1 willtel the person leading the freewriting in

Structure |

week 2 how to prepare for the role and explain their
responsibiltes for the next workshop.

6. Review and Close (10 minutes) - Participant E leads a
review of the material. Lessons discussed are summarized
and assignments for next group are issued

BEST PRACTICES
This method demands fully collaborative and open planning
before sitting down to workshop. Groups should dedicate time
specifically to meet and decide what each group member wants
to lead a minilesson on. At the minimum, each group should
decide on an agenda to try for the first meeting, with one
person responsible for leading each portion of the workshop.
After the first workshop, the group can assess what the group
would ke to change and modify for future workshops. While
specific topics will change each week, having a regular pattern
can help participants feel comfortable, so it is recommended
that workshops adopt a predictable forma.

TROUBLESHOOTING
While it can be tempting to simply let people choose a week

to present, without committing to a specific topi this can

make this method less useful. Without a clear goal for mini
lessons, the group runs the risk of going all over the place and
not actually offering participants a deliverable. Before people
choose a week tolead a mini-lesson, it s advised that the group
peruse the Methods section of this guide and pick one method
that resonates with them, This is only i there is not a topic a
person s clearly wellversed in and comes to the group alreacly
prepared to teach to others.

The group will also need to estabish a clear method for
determining who faciltates what and when This process should

be developed early and kept throughout the project so as to

not waste time in the sessions on trying to figure out who's doing
what. Keep in mind that the rules are aiways flexble. It is helpful

to alternate and give everyone a chance to faciitate, bt itis also
helpfulto honor each person's pracess to determine when they
feel ready. An option for someane who s cite nervous to faciltate
might be to support someone else in faciltating first ke an
assistant or a shadow role, o get a sense for how it feels n action.

Lastly,its mighty helpful to have an offcial timekeeper. This
person helps the group stay on track and prevents lessons from
taking over the entire workshop. Mint-lessons should always
comprise just a portion of the workshop time, but without a
mindful eye on the watch, exercises can easily risk time-creep.
The timekeeper should, like allthe roles, rtate for equity.

‘While your workshop is yours and can be structured any way
the workshop participants choose, the sample topics and
content, divided by weeks below may be helpful for some. We
offer these suggestions for topics and content in order to assist
groups who may feel uncertain about how to proceed or, to
provoke thought or consideration of alternatives. Feel free to
innovate, mix and match and experiment!

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 1
| structure

12 | PEN America

Sample Pacing Guide
For A Weekly 8-Week Long

WORKSHOP.
Group Determines Structure (8 sessions)

OVERVIEW

Connect with folks who want to write. That s the first thing It s helpful,too, if
they want to talk about writing. But most of all the simple shared goal of writing
an guide the formation of the group. Start with those you know and ask them

to spread the word. Allow some space around the formation of the group. Those:
who are meant to be there willfind their way. As your workshop opens the
door and thinking to writing and community, the group will become the hub and
connector. The titles and different parts of this particular eight-week session
are inspired by water and are meant as a gentle reminder that this i a creative
space. As difficult s writing can be, and as much as it requires commitment and
discipline, it is lso a practice where a sense of flow and ease can support you.

Session One:
Flow - Why Are We Here?

1. Introductions. Allow space for each person to introduce
themselves. On this first day, it should be more than a check-in
or a quick hello. Allow time to share and listen, to get to know
one another and who you vill be collaborating with in this
space. Questions to frame an introduction:

+ Whatis your name and why do you ke to write?
+ What type of writing do you enjoy? What do you read?

+ What brought you to this space? What do you hope to
accomplish?

For this first day, ths will take about half o the session (30
mins). Moving forward, ths can be a brief ntroduction and
members can take turns posing a question each day (5 mins).

2. Community Agreements. Take time to consider how you want
o hold space together. This can begin as a dialogue and culminate
in shared agreements.If possible, ake notes on the discussion.

Some questions to consider for the group dialogue are

+ What does it look like when peaple are listening to and
respecting one another? What does it feel like to be in a
space where that is happening?

+ How can we create that space together? What are some
of the specific things people do to demonstrate authentic
listening? How does it feel?

+ We will be sharing thoughts and writing vith one another. If
there is a day that someone doesn't want to share, can we
offer a pass option?

From here, use the information from the dialogue to frame
agreements for your group. If there are lots of ideas, try to
organize them so that similar ones can come together to

make one agreement. It helps to limit these to 4-6 important
agreements that cover the general approach rather than many
specifics ones.

Once you have the agreements, read them again together. Give:
everyone time to review. Aim for consensus. If someone feels
strongly that something is missing, lsten and see how that might
fitinto the lst. If there are lots and lots of agreements, talk
about how you can shift these.

If possible, write your agreements on a large paper to share
when you meet. Alternatively. you can write them in your own
book or journal. I nothing else, you can keep them in mind and
review each session. Give yourselves freedom to adjust and
revise as needed throughout the process.

3. Next Steps. Talk about what you do next session. If following
this guide, ask everyone to review the two structures presented:
Roundtable and Each One, Teach One. Also, everyone should
aim to bring a short piece of writing of less than a page.

Structure |

Session Two:
By The Shore

1. Introduction. Use any of the icebreakers in this curriculum, or
one of your own design, for each member to check in and say
hello.

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines for a group refresher on
the co-created shared agreements and revise these as needed
based on discussion and feedback.

3. Ask one person to be the timekeeper. That way, everyone
can ensure that the group stays focused, and each reader gets
the same amount of time.

4. Focus of the Day: Choosing a Format. Review the two
structures, Roundtable or Each One, Teach One, presented in
this curriculum. Hopefully everyone has had a chance to review.
One person can sum up each one for all to hear. Discuss the
benefits and challenges of each. Determine which the group.
would ke to follow. If a decision can't be reached, try one today
and one the next time. This can lead to a decision or you can
continue to alternate. In this sample pacing guide, we suggest
you try the roundtable first, and then each ane, teach one the
following week, after which the group can determine how to
proceed. Having one approach as the focus will help structure
the day and allow you o use your time for writing and reflection
rather than discussing how to proceed.

5. Main Session: Roundtable Workshop. Check in to see who
would ike to share the short piece of writing they brought
Since it was meant to be short (less than a page), 23 people can
read. As each person shares, everyone listens. As they finish,
the reader can ask for input. Try sharing in this order

+ Whatis working, or what did you enjoy?

+ Questions — what are things that made you unsure when
reading?

+ Offer ideas or suggestions (see feedback section of this
curriculum).

6. Closing. Do a quick wrap up, inviting each group member
to share one word to express how they are feeling or their
reflection of the day.

7. Next Steps. Bring a short piece of witing. If people arerit
working on short writing, or don't want to share current work,
they can use the many prompts in this guide for ideas for new
pieces of short writing. In order to try out the Each One, Teach
One method, two members can each volunteer to teach ane of
the methods in this curriculum. They can review them, practice
sharing them, and bring ideas for the group to try.

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 13
| structure

Session Three:
Feeling the Water

1 Introduction. Ask each member to share one word about how
they are feeling today, or their hope for the workshop today.
(Or choose another brief opener)

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines a5 needed and select a
timekeeper. These processes should become more swift as the
expectation i set in habit.

3. Focus of the Day: Each One, Teach One.

+ One of the two members that prepped a method to teach
can go first

+ As the person shares the method, aim for everyone to be
involved. So rather than just reading it or explaining what it i,
ask questions. Invite members to share examples. Make it a
space where questions are welcome.

Practice the method together:

+ From here, repeat that process with the second person
leading a new method.

4. Closing. Invite members to share how they want to proceed
with the following sessions. Which model, or combination of the
two, works for the group?

5. Next Steps. Bring short piece of writing. If people aren't
working on short writing,or dorit want to share current work,
they can use the many prompts in this guide for deas for new
pieces of short writing. Choose 1:2 people to teach a method if
taking that route.

14 | PEN America

Session Four:
Diving In

1 Introduction. In one sentence, how are you feeling about
your writing? (O it can be another question or opener, as
relevant to your group)

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines as needed and select a
timekeeper.

3. Focus of the Day. Choose a focus collaboratively. Do you
want to show active listening? Ensure there is enough time for
feedback? Learn something new? Have fun?

4. Main Session. Depending on the group’s choice, the main
part of the session wil either be: 1. Roundtable, which will
include 2-4 readers each sharing a piece and getting feedback
using this guide for input on givingreceiving feedback or 2.
Each One, Teach One, which will include one person sharing
a method from this curriculum (or another source), along with
some time for everyone to practice and write, followed by 12
people reading and getting feedback

5. Closing: Invite members to share feedback on the day and
what they hope to practice next time.

6. Next Steps. Bring a short piece of writing to workshop.
Choose 1-2 people to teach a method if taking that route.
Session Five:
Swimming

1 Introduction. This activity is called Think/Pair/Share. Instead
of each person sharing to the whole group, everyone turns

to the person next to them and shares with their neighbor:
One speaks and the other listens. And then you trade. Share
something that happened recently that you think might make a
good story.

s as needed and select a

2. Revisit the Community Gui
timekeper.

3. Focus of the Day: Choose a focus collaboratively

4. Main Session. Depending on the group’s choice, the main
part of the session wil either be: 1. Roundtable, which will
include 2-4 readers each sharing a piece and getting feedback
using this guide for input on givingreceiving feedback or 2.
Each One, Teach One, which will include one person sharing
a method from this curriculum (or another source), along with
some time for everyone to practice and write, followed by 12
people reading and getting feedback

5. Closing. Open space for input...how s the group going?
What do you enjoy? I there anything you would ke to change?
What and how?

6. Next Steps: Bring a short piece of writing OR bring a longer
piece and choose a section to share. Choose 1-2 peaple to
teach a method if taking that route.

Structure |

Session Si
Rafting

1 Introduction. Share who or what supports you to continue

writing,

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines a5 needed and select a
timekeeper.

3. Focus on the Day. Choose a focus collaboratively.

4. Main Session. Depending on the group’s choice, the main
part of the session wil either be: 1. Roundtable, which will
include 2-4 readers each sharing a piece and getting feedback
using this guide for input on givingreceiving feedback or 2.
Each One, Teach One, which will include one person sharing
a method from this curriculum (or another source), along with
some time for everyone to practice and write, followed by 12
people reading and getting feedback

5. Closing. Do a round robin inviting everyone to share one
piece of inspiration for their fellow writers.

6. Next steps. Bring a short piece of writing OR bring a longer
piece and choose a section to share.

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 15
| structure

Session Seven:
Floating

1 Introduction. In a sentence, share: Who inspires you and
why? (Or choose another opener).

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines a5 needed and select a
timekeeper.

3. Focus of the Day: Collaboration

4 Main Session. Change it up today. What i instead of
choosing one of those approaches, the group has a discussion
about writing.. what is working in each person’ writing and
where they are struggling? How is it to try to find time to write?
What ideas might everyone share to support and learn from
one another that offers a break from the routine, and inserts
some new energy into the space?

5. Closing, Create a collaborative poem. One person starts
it, out loud or on a paper, and the next one continues it until
everyone has contributed. If using paper, have one person read
the result aloud!

6. Next Steps. Bring a very short piece of writing to share with
the group.

16 | PEN America

Session Eight:
Water Dance

1. Introduction. In one sentence, or aist, what have you gained
from being a part of this writing community?

2. Revisit the Community Guidelines as needed and select a
timekeeper.

3. Focus of the Day: Celebration of the work completed and
the community formed to recognize the commitment, effort,
and growth put forward.

4. Main S

ion: “Giving Props” by engaging the following

+ Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper and puts
themin a ja o box.

+ Choose one paper at time. Whomever's name s picked,
that person reads. For this last day, each member has the
chance to read their short piece of writing Instead of
feedback, everyone claps or snaps, as f you are reading in a
cafe or on a stage. As others read, jot down thoughts about
what you enjoy in their writing.

- After everyone has read, select the names again, or go in
the same order, and give a minute for each person to hear
positive input on what they wrote. Writers can refer to their
notes to recall specifics to share with each writer

5. Closing. How would you like to see this group evolve?
Consider "keep / stop / start as a framework. What do you
want to keep the same about the workshop? What do you want
to stop doing? What do you want to start doing, or try out?

6. Next steps. For those who want to continue, talk about how
‘and what that might look like. Take a moment to appreciate.
everyone and the work done together.
Sample Pacing Gui

For An 8-week, Bi-Weekly

WORKSHOP.
Each One, Teach One Workshop Structure (4 sessions)

PRELIMINARY PREP WORK
Assign roles for group members before the first meeting, These roles
will rotate each week:

Community Facilitator: Faciltates conversations about community
agreements iry for 10 or fewer and add as the group grows in
experiencing what they need to feel respected in the room). Records
‘agreements. Manages requests to change or add to structure.

Lesson Faciltator: Selects and reads a reading from The Sentences
That Create Us or this curriculum. After reading, write three bulet
point sentences. Each sentence shauld deseribe something the
reading s trying to teach. For each sentence, write five to ten
minutes about why you think the lesson is important. For each
lesson, prepare to provide class examples of each lesson in action.
There are at least three solid ways to do this 1. Find a published
example of the lesson in action and use it as a discussion piece. 2.
Get permission from someane in the group who has shared a piece
that exemplifies the lesson and use it s the discussion piece. 3.

- Eacilitate an open-ended canversation where you ask your peers to
e think Up examples of the lesson you're teaching. Manages requests
é
LOSTE for futur topies
SO
=
Creative Facllitator: Manages in-class creative exercises and

assignments.

Accountability Facilitator: Co-faciltates the group session. Helps
keeps group conversations on track and within agreements by
naming when they depart or when one individual’ talking time has
become excessive Manages selecting and noifying faciltators of
next meeting.

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 17
| structure

Session One

1. Group Introductions (10 mins)

2. Establish Community Agreements (25 mins)
3. First Lesson (30 mins)

Introduce your topic: ‘| read x reading, and it taught these three
lessons. | chose these lessons because [tell them some of what
you wrote down about why they are important]

Pause for questions. Encourage questions. Ask who already
knew what youe trying to teach? Ask them to share how they
learned it and what the lesson has done for their writing,

Present your examples of the lessons.

Leave at least 10 minutes for group participation, questions, and
feedback

4. Creative Exercise (7 minutes)

Creative Faciltator can choose from among the following free
writing topics:

1. Freewrite on a topic of witer's choice, perhaps the group.
makes a shared bank of possibilties and options.

2. Prompt provided to group that al follow.

3.Each writer uses their free write time to brainstorm an article,
op-ed, or short story idea.

5. Share Out (5 mins)
6. Next Session Roles Prep (5 mins)

Accountability Faciltator helps select next week's faciltators.
Faciltator can ask for volunteers or nominate someone willng
to accept the responsibility (5 minutes)

7. Assign Readings and Homework (10 mins)

The Creative Facilitator should assign Method: Coaching for
positive comment sharing and affirmations from curriculum, and
the following assignment. Begin a story, op-ed, or article. It can
be a continuance of the creative exercise or writers can choose
something else entirely. They should not only write wha they
can of the piece in two weeks, but they should also write a 5
sentence summary of what the piece is about and what drove
the author to write the piece. Writers should expect that 3 of
them a week will share their summary, and then the group will
anonymously vote on the piece to workshop for the week.

18 | PEN America

Session Two
1. Three-Word CheckeIns (5 mins)

This form of checkin s designed to acknowledge how everyone
is coming to the room while respecting the limited time
available for the first full length class.

2. Homework and Workshop (45 min)

Creative Faciltator leads the selection of three writers to share
their summary. Facilitator collaboratively selects one writer

to read their full pece for group feedback. One way to do

this i to have people write the name of the piece they want

to hear from on a piece of paper, and deposit it in a beanie.

The faciltator can then count up the votes and announce the
nomination.

Nominee reads his piece and the group gives feedback on the
piece. Encourage nominees to take notes on group feedback for
their own benefit, but also to show respect for the time people
are taking to give feedback

3. Second Lesson (50 mins)

Introduce your topic: ‘| read x reading, and it taught these three
lessons. | chose these lessons because [tell them some of what
you wrote down about why they are important]

Pause for questions. Encourage questions. Ask who already
knew what youe trying to teach? Ask them to share how they
learned it and what the lesson has done for their writing,

Present your examples of the lessons.

Leave at least 10 minutes for group participation, questions, and
feedback

4 Nominate Next Waeks F:

ators (5 mins)
5. Readings and Homework (5 mins)

Creative Faciltator should assign Written Feedback from this
curriculum,

Ask each writer to select a buddy. Everyone who hasnt
received group feedback will exchange their homework
assignment with buddy. Each buddy will provide written
feedback.
Session Three
1. Check-In and General Feedback (15 mins)

Class Three has fewer time pressures. This makes it a perfect
time for a fuller check-in and also an ideal time to ask the group.
to share their general feedback on how the group is going. Are
they getting what they came for? Do they have ideas to improve
their experience?

2. You're Powerful Game (25 mins)

Everyone in the group by now should have read or heard
someone else's work. The Community Faciltator should go
around the circle and ask each person to acknowledge what
was great or powerful about work they ve read or heard.
Encourage them to aim their praise directly to the writer, rather
than talking strictly about words on the page.

3. Third Lesson (50 mins)

Introduce your topic: ‘| read x reading, and it taught these three
lessons. | chose these lessons because [tell them some of what
you wrote down about why they are important]

Pause for questions. Encourage questions. Ask who already
knew what youe trying to teach? Ask them to share how they
learned it and what the lesson has done for their writing,

Present your examples of the lessons.

Leave at least 10 minutes for group participation, questions, and
feedback

4. Nominate Next Weeks Facilitators (5 mins)

5. Readings and Homework

Creative Faciltator can assign a reading from The Sentences
That Create Us.

Writer's should rewrite their pieces incorporating their buddy's
or the group's feedback. In addition, they should write five
sentences about how their piece has changed from their
original draft and idea and what feedback they incorporated.
They should not comment on the feedback they decided not to
incorporate.

Structure |

Session Four
1. Three-Word CheckeIn (5 mins)
2. You're Appreciated Game (25 mins)

The Community Faciltator should open the floor and ask the
group to say one thing they appreciate about another writer in
the group.

3. Private Reading (60 mins)

All willing witers read their revised pieces and give the group
summaries of what they addressed changed. No feedback on
readings except applause and congratulations for becoming a
stronger writer!

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 19
Sample Pacing Guide

For A Weekly 10-Week Long

WORKSHOP.
Each One, Teach One Workshop Structure (10 sessions)

Session One:
Welcoming

This Each One, Teach One structure emphasizes use of the
following small roles:

- The Opener will conduct opening circle.

+ The Guide creates prompts, leads the freewriting, and
freewrite share out.

+ The Faciltator will guide feedback techniques, instruct on
lesson/methods/workshop.

+ The Presenter willreview writing techniques and give
assignments.

+ The Closer wil recap materials/lessons, confirm small roles,/
workshop order/rotation for next session, and conduct the
closing circle.

Guidelines for small role participation:

+ Each participant vill sign up for a role each week unti allslots
are filed.

- Adifferent group member will participate in each smallrole
atleast once.

+ No position vl be iled by the same participant in sequential
weeks.

-+ For simplicity the Opener/Guide and Presenter/Closer roles
may be combined into one.

Suggested Agenda:

1. Introductions. Group members introduce themselves.
Members can share any of the following; their name, why they
want to write, why writing is important to them

2. Review. Setting group guidelines about how the group wants
to structure ideas such as will there be sharing of each other’s
work, commit to submitting pages for feedback etc.

3. Set the tone and focus of the group. (Poetry,journalism,
essay, playwriting, etc)

4. Jump In! Freewriting exercise, followed by a reading of work
‘and then feedback from member.s

5. Review. Making a living worksheet: As you begin your writing
journey utilize a living worksheet that notes when you read
something that you like or that resonated with you. This can be
a sentence, a chapter, an article, or a book that you like. Refer
to the Exemplary Writing List section for an example of a living
worksheet format.

6. Closing. Establishing who willlead the small roles for next
session(). Closing circle topic of setling an intention of what
they hope to get out of the group or refer to Methods section
Ideas for Closing the Workshop

Structure |

Session Two:

Intro to Feedback and Sharing
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. The Opener (10 mins)

Opening circle. Refer to Methods section Ideas for Openers.
2. The Guide (25 mins)

15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide sharing
Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts and

Introduction to feedback. Refer to the Coaching for positive
comment sharing and affirmations and Initial Constructive
Feedback Sharing section.

4. Presenter (15 mins)
Provide weekly techniques, material, give assignments.
5. Closer (10 mins)

Recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods section Ideas for
Closing the Workshop.

: Think about quick openings and closings for
the session to save time.

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 5,6 of Sentences in Luis Rodriguer’s
chapter On Poetry.”

Suggestions for technique/material- how to get
started on your first draft can be found for fiction
on page 21,in Ryan Gattis essay “On Fiction"

‘and on pages 59-61for theater, in Sarah Shourd's
chapter “On Dramatic Theater”

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 21
| structure

Session Three: How Others
Experience Our Writing
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. The Opener (10 mins)

Opening circle. Refer to Methods section Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes Refer to the Responding to Feedback
section

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Think of asking
the group what they are considering to do with their writing.
Refer to Methods section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 281, 282 of Sentences.

Suggestions for technique/material- grammar and
punctuation can be found on pages 130146, and
The Most Important Thing (and a Few Other Rules)
can be found on pages 17174 of Sentences

22| PEN America

Session Four:
Group and Written Feedback
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener- 10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes Methods of feedback. Refer to the
Wiitten Feedback and Marginal Comments in Rubric section.

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods
section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 269-271 of Sentences.

Suggestion for faciitator- Some facilties may not
provide a way for typing or printing of members’
work for the purpose of written feedback.
Consider making time for the writer to read their
work to the group. This is called a "cold read.”
Though making it harder to give written feedback
itlets the group hear the work as the writer
intended it

Suggestions for technique/material- After
Grammar Learning How to Transition can be found
on pages 147151 of Sentences
Session Five:
Self-Feedback and Transitions

Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener-10 minutes opening circle. Think of doing a check in
how the group is feeling about their writing progression, how
the group is running and modify or redirect focus. Refer to
Methods section Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide-
sharing

15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes No group feedback this week, focus
on how to do our own feedback. Refer to the Sideshadowing
section

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle suggestion “The
strength | see i your writing..”

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 273274 of Sentences.

Suggestions for technique/material- On Fiction
pages 1648, 20:31 of Sentences,

Structure |

Session Si
Your Voice

Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener-10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes How to write like yourself. Refer to
the Self-reflection prompts for Whole Groups and Read Aloud
section

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods
section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Troubleshooting: Think about check ins instead of openers
by asking the group how they feel about their work, progress
struggles and how the group is doing

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
‘on pages 258-260, 266-267 of Sentences.

Suggestions for facilitator- developing your
writer's voice can be found on pages 19,199-200 of
Sentences.

Suggestions for technique/material- On Poetry can

be found on pages 215 of Sentences.

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 23
| structure

Session Seven:
Revisions and Editing
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener- 10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes Revising and editing sirategies. Refer
to the Visions & Re Visions: Seeing Your Work With New Eyes 6
techniques and Reading Backwards section.

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods
section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 276, 278:279 of Sentences.

Suggestions for faciltator- editing strategies
can be found on pages 22.23, 147151, 152162 of
Sentences.

Suggestions for technique/material- How to Read

Like a Writer and Writing and Editing Guidelines
pages 3340 of Sentences.

24 | PEN America

Session Eight:
Readings, Journalism
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener- 10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes It time to read. Refer to Readings
collected readings of incarcerated authors section.

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods
section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Suggested prompts for this session can be found
on pages 256 of Sentences.

Suggestions for technique/material- On Journalism
pages 96-99; Why Journalism from Behind Bars?,
Lessons from Justice-Involved Journalists and
Approaches to Writing the Journalistic Story on
pages 100103 of Sentences.
Session Nine: Products, Publishing
and Copyright Protection
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener-10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes What is the end result? Refer to the
Creating Products and Performative Readings section.

4. Presentor-15 minutes provide weekly techniques, material,
give assignments, helping members with their writing

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle. Refer to Methods
section Ideas for Closing the Workshop.

Troubleshooting: Think about a checkn and asking if the
group would like to do something different and use this time
towards performative readings by group members

Suggestions for technique/material- On Publishing
from Prison pages 175179; Copyright Protection in
Brief pages 180184 of Sentences

Structure |

Session Ten:
Ins and Outs of Publication
Suggested Agenda, by role:

1. Opener- 10 minutes opening circle. Refer to Methods section
Ideas for Openers.

2. Guide- 15 minutes for prompt/free write, 10 minutes to guide
sharing, Refer to the Freewriting section for overview, prompts
and uses.

3. Facilitator- 30 minutes Publication of your work and
submission guidelines. You can write to PEN Americas Prison
and Justice Writing Program for literary and journalism specific
publishing guides and outlets.

4. Presentor-15 minutes review resources, cover letter,
submitting your work to the right audience/media

5. Closer- 10 minutes recap and closing circle

Troubleshooting: Think about how you want to end your last
closing circle. Members can share what they have learned or
what goals they have set for their writing.

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 25
ANA O\

N\

iy
X
3
’ N

WORKSHOP.

2

For A Bi-Weekly 10-

Sample Pacin

| structure

26 | PEN America
Session One

Introductions: Even if members know each other i’ a good idea
to have time to introduce yourselves to each other. You can

use a prompt like, “Why do you write?” or, you can keep it open
and let people share what they want. The important part i that
each person has space to speak and share, building trust and
community

Next, establish guidelines: How many pages will each person
bring to workshop (i any)? Will there be reading of each other’s
work before the next workshop? How do those people get
selected? How will the rotation occur?

Then, try freewriting with or without a prompt. Prompts can
be found in the Freewriting section of this curriculum and
throughout The Sentences that Create Us including: pes 56,
256, 258260, 266267, 269-271, 275274, 276, 278279, and 281:282.

After freewriting, have people share their favrite part of
what they wrote. Using the “Coaching for Positive Comments’
section of this curriculum, offer feedback to others in the group
that uses those methods.

Assignments: Read “As for the Rest of Us’
beginning on pg, 221 or “Prison Witer” beginning on
pe. 227 of Sentences. Write a response to either of
these for the next workshop or, using your freewrite
as the basis, start a new piece. If it is a genre (poe
play, memoir) addressed by a chapter in Sentences,
read that chapter as you write

Structure |

Session Two

Try openings and closings: For this meeting try to use the
deliberate openings and closings found at the beginnings of the
Methods section.

Using the method your group selected, conduct a workshop.
Suggested order is: Opening, freewriting, reading of work,
feedback from group, closing, Readings and feedback can take
place as many times and there s time for. For example, if there:
are three people in your group, all three can read their work
aloud and get feedback as long as you don't go over the allotted
time. Make sure to save five minutes at the end for closing.

Feedback should be informed by the “Itial Constructive
Feedback Sharing” and “Group Constructive Feedback’
sections of this curriculum.

Assignments: Select two chapters from Part Il in
Sentences. Then, wite your own essay, poem or
story about how you are cultivating a writer' ife
i prison. What challenges are you facing? What
success have you had? What are your goals for
Your writer's journey?

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 27
| structure

Session Three

Midway checkin: If your group appreciated the openings, you
can start with one. I it wasn't something people enjoyed then
you can jump into a checkin. Checkins are important because
they create space for people to consider how they feel about
their own progress and the group’s functioning. Everyone
should have an opportunity to contribute. Sometimes it helps
to have an item that is passed around to help demarcate whose
tun itis to speak. Ifissues arise, they don't need to be solved
on the spot. Sometimes, solutions present themselves and/or
people come up with ideas given time and space. Please read
the “Troubleshooting” sections throughout the Methods section
s well as the Postscript of this curriculum and the chapter “On
Building Prison Writing Communities” in Sentences for ideas on
how to address common issues.

Freewrite time: try using a prompt you haven't used before.

For this session, ry giving written feedback. Drafts should
be pre-circulated so people have time to read and make
comments. Select a style from the "Written Feedback” section
of this curriculum that appeals to you. Remember: Do not

wiite on someone else's draft unless they ask you to. During
worksho, you can share your written feedback with the author
‘and answer any questions they have. Two to three writers can
get feedback this way in one session.

If your group is using closings, do a closing.

Assignments: Using the main piece you're working
on, choose either Sideshadowing o ane of the
Self-Reflection exercises. After you complete one,
assess what you need to do in order to revise your
piece to fit more with your voice, your purpose

o your stylistc goals. The read pages 21:23,147-
151,152162 n The Sentences that Create Us in
anticipation for next week.

28 | PEN America

Session Four
This week, the group can focus on revision vs editing.

Select ane technique from the *Visions and Revisions” section
There are six options. Each member can select to use the
strategy from mild to extra spicy. Making sure to preserve your
original dralt, revise.

Share your original and your revisions aloud to the group. These
can also be performative readings-see the sections on Reading
Aloud and Performative Readings for more ideas about how to
enact these.

Dont share feedback for this week. Simply let everyone share
their work and their revisions. You can feel how it lands with
your listeners and yourself.

If your group is doing closings, do one.

Assignments: Take a break from the draft you've
been working on by starting something new.
Select a chapter from Part IV; Writing Exercises in
Sentences. Using that chapter as inspiration, begin
a new piece. Don't edit read or engage with the
piece you've been working on until the day before
the fifth, and final, workshop.
Session Five and Final Session

For this final week, we suggest going over publication options
Even if you don't feel readly to send something off to be
considered yet,it's good to know what options exist and how or
why to pursue them.

If your group is doing openings, then do one
Otherwise, freewrite using a prompt from the
curriculum or Sentences, pgs 5-6, 256, 258-260,
266-267,269.271, 275274, 276, 278-279, and 281282

As a group, read aloud and go through the
“Publication’ section of this curriculum. Be sure to
stop to enable people to ask questions or respond
to the information. Time permitting, this can also
be done with the chapter ‘As for the rest of us" p.
22)in Sentences

If the group has further questions write them down and mal
them to PEN America Prison and Justice Witing 120 Broadway
26th Floor North New York NY 10271

As a group share closing thoughts for the workshop. These can be:

+ Next steps you plan to take vith your writing or a draft
+ What you've learned through the workshop

+ What goals you have for your writing in the future

+ What you have appreciated about the workshop

- O any other prompts regarding closure.

Structure |

A Witer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 20
Methods

This section details some ways your
workshop can get the creative juices
flowing, edit writing, give feedback
effectively, and more nuts and bolts

best practices of writers workshops.
Grammar, punctuation, spelling and other
mechanical concerns are not usually the
focus for writing workshops, which aim to
focus on generating and refining creative
content, and not the nitty gritty work of
mechanics. If youre interested in these.
‘mechanics—they certainly are worth
learning to help your work communicate
most effectively to ts readership- please
see pages 130-146 in The Sentences that
Create Us for a shortlesson on grammar
by Chris Daley.

30 | PEN America

Rituals

Rituals are deliberate openings and closings to a workshop
experience that serve to foster trust and safe space. Opens
and closing can include: check-ins (where participants
share how theyre feeling about their work or other

things), meditation (where the group collectively focuses
on mindfulness, conscious breathing, and/6r sensory
awareness) or creative promps where people share stories
or thoughts (see below).

The following section offers suggestions for how to conduct
openings and closings

INTRODUCTION
Creating a habit or itual to open and close the workshop

can help everyone make the shift from the space outside

the workshop to the creative community of the workshop.
Openings give space for each member to share briefly and/or to
take some uiet moments to reflect on the goals of being in the
writing space together. Closings can give people time to reflect
on what was learned, shared and/or accomplished that day.

Openings and closings can be different for each workshop,
but keep in mind, both are meant to be brief: no more than
48 minutes. If all engage, it best serves the group to imit
that sharing to a word or movement, one minute or another
expressed limitation so as to ensure enough time for other
aspects of the workshop.

Whatever method your group uses, openings and closings
should invite and recognize every member equaly in the
workshop. To this end, writers are encouraged to participate
but also have the ability to “pass” if they wish. Some people
take longer to feel ready to share. Other people may not feel
ready to share if they have had a rough day. Enabling a pass
gives people the option of returning each week without fear of
forced participation.

KEY COMPONENTS
Pick and choose which works best for your group, and feel free
to vary it depending on moods and circumstances. Different
people can select or create an opening and closing activity each
day for variety, and to give everyone a chance (see the ‘each
one, teach one” model in Section One).

IDEAS FOR OPENERS.
+ Share your name and a word that expresses how you are
feeling today.

+ Share your name and everyone responds, ie, Juan' and
everyone says, Hi Juan.

- Share something that inspired you this week.

+ Share your favorite author, or one that you are currently
interested in.
+ Share the name of a text (book, poem, article, etc.) that has
had an impact on you.

+ Everyone joins in taking five conscious breaths together.
Anice way to do this is to use your hand or hands. Start
by closing one hand into a fist. Take a deep breath in, hold
itfor a pause, then let it out and open one finger. Repeat
this for each finger until your palm is open. Notice how you
feel. Participants can close their eyes or gaze at one spot to
support this practice.

fitis available, listen to a part of a song, Invite everyone to
move to the music if they want to. This is a way to shift out of
the experience of outside the space and into the moment

- Share a movement or gesture. Everyone repeats the
movement or gesture.

+ Share three thyming words. Everyone repeats each person's
thyme.

+ Doafew stretches together, as if waking up in the morning.
These can be individualized or one person can share some.
stretches for others to follow. This also helps shift the focus
from outside the space to focusing on the work at hand.

More warm-up exercises are detailed on pages 85-
86,the first two pages of Andy Warner's essay “On
‘Graphic Narrative’ in The Sentences that Create Us.

IDEAS FOR CLOSING THE WORKSHOP.
Each person can say thank you or congratulations or another
word of support and recognition

A quick way to wrap up class when there is limited time is to
simply gather in a circle and each person shares a word to
express how they are feeling This can also be done at the
start and repeated at the finish so that folks can see how the
workshop may have shifted feelings.

Ask someone in the group to reiterate what everyone is hoping.
wil be accomplished before the next workshop. For example,
if you have all decided to read a particular essay, reiterate that.
Or if you have selected a few people to present next time,
reiterate who will be sharing, This closes out the day and also
reminds everyone of what is coming next

Offer a sentence that each writer completes, such as “One.
thing I'm taking with me from today is.

TROUBLESHOOTING
The biggest issue to be aware of when thinking about

how to open and close the workshop is time. Even though
engaging in opening and closing activities can really support a
powerful experience in the workshop, there is arely enough
time to accomplish all of the group’s goals. Also, people are
understandably protective of their workshop time, so they may

Methods |

be resistant to doing anything else. Here are some ways to
address the issue of time:

+ Keep it shortl These can take 2 minutes and should always be
under 10 minutes, more like 5.

+ Mix it up! Try something different each time. Let all members
take a turn selecting them. Have fun with it

+ Be inclusive! One of the main goals of this s to give everyone
2 moment to simply be present, whether to say their name, to
share a quick thyme, or to take a shared breath~to goal s to
be recognized, welcomed and engaged.

Its helpful for everyone to come with an open attitude and
to be sure to share the purpose of these opening and closing
times: shifting from “out” to *in.” and building community.

+ Try reflecting on how these are working once in a while
Maybe use the opening and closing times one day to ask
folks how they are working, and what they might want to try
differently.

- If openings or closings begin to feel tao rate, i’ okay to take
a break from them to see what happens organically

COMMUNITY
Opening and closing activities build community by giving
everyone a moment in the sun, so to speak, not just to talk
about their work, but outside of their writing, as a person, and
a5 2 valued member of the group. Secondly, the opening and
closing activities help the group gain a sense of how the work
is landing with everyone. Sharing a feeling at the start and at
the end, for example, offers a sense of the impact of the work
on each person. These moments of connecting beyond the
page offer an opportunity for the group to build community
and camaraderie, to prepare mind and body for the workshop,
and, at times, to share a laugh or movement or quiet space.

A Writer's Workshop Currieulum Guide | 31
| Methods

Freewriting

Freewriting is an exercise in which you writefreely, as the
name implies, the goalis to keep the hand moving—about
what you're thinking about that day, or any topic used

as a prompt, for a set amount of time. During freewrite,
youmay jot down any thoughts that come to your mind.
Donit worry about grammar, speling, or punctuation.
Freewriting s about getting ideas out, not producing
polished piece of writing. Wiite s much as you can without
stopping during the freewrite period. If you get stuck,

you can copy the same word or phrase over and over o
start practicing descriptive writing by explaining what

is going on around you in detail. Allow yourself to write
freely and unselfconsciously. Once you start writing with
few limitations, you may find you have more to say than
you first realized. A single gem of a thought might arrive
in the text that you can pull out and expand on in @ more
intentional piece of writing. Your flow of thoughts can lead
you to discover many new, and sometimes even surprising,
ideas you want to write about. Freewriting may even lead
you to discover another topic entirely that excites you.

KEY COMPONENTS

+ Helps end writer’s block: Freewriting can dissolve writer's block.
Feeling creatively stuck can often be a reflection of tress that
our wiiting st good enough or we dorit have something worthy
to say. Being unable to write, even though you want to, can also.
be due to fear that our writing vill not be as perfect as we want.
Expectations for ourselves and our wrting can cause s siress,
which limits our abilty to think creatively and ‘juststart” All of
these constraints can be alleviated by freewriting because the
stakes are intentionall lowered. Here, the goals not producing
perfection or even something good. The goal s just to get words
on the page.

+ Build writer's muscles: Writing demands complex mental
processes, which we can think of as mental muscles. Just ke
other muscles, writing muscles need exercise to be strong
and confident. Just ike other kinds of exercise, the more.
you write, the easier it will become, and the better you will
become at it. The more you face writer's block and write
anyway, the better you will become at writing through blocks.

+ Critical and creative thinking: Freewriting teaches a vital
skill the abilty to turn your judgment on and of. I is true
that critical thinking, or making informed judgements about
information, can make great writing, In turn, it can feel
counterintuitive to switch off our critical minds. Creative
writing, however, demands a balance between judgment
and simple observation, and acceptance of what can be
contradictory and irreconcilable realities. Freewriting allows
writers to draft with no judgment. This can help drav out
realites we don't consciously admit to ourselves. It can also
inspire our imagination beyond the limitations our conscious

32 | PEN America

minds perceive to be true. This way of writing can generate
content that can then be critically assessed during the
revision process

+ Idea generation: Freewriting creates a library of your own
voice and stories that you can access later. A notebook of
freewriting exercises from writing prompts can offer writers
material during fallow times like lockdown, staff shortages,
or time in solitary when there is lttle stimulation to generate
content. The smallest glimmer of an idea in your freewriting
collection can turn into a novel. Each small paragraph you
write during freewriting is a gift to your future self.

For more on this point, see Curtis Dawkins'essay
“The Most Important Thing (and a Few Other
Rules)" starting on pg. 171 in Sentences.

IDEAS FOR FREEWRITING EXERCISES
Set a time limit: Set a timeframe between 5 and 20 minutes.

Choose a writing prompt:

WHAT IS A WRITING PROMPT?
A writing prompt is a pre-generated topic about which to write.
Writing i response to prompts is a great daily practice to build
your writer's muscles. Below are 20 examples you can use.

O Write about the last disagreement you had with someone. Who
was it with? What was it about and how did it end? What did
you want and what did you lear?

O What do you want your friends to know about you?

O Ifyou could have any superpower, what would it be? Why this
power?

© What was your favorite game or toy when you were a kid?
‘Wiite about an experience that involves this game or toy.

O Finish this sentence, then keep writing: Fire crawied across.
the grass toward the house, and .Finish this sentence, then
keep writing: “People in hell don't want ice water; they
want..”

O Finish this sentence, then keep writng: It was a long fall,but
was out of options. | jumped. The wind whipped at my clothes,
and.”

O Choose a poem you know by heart or you take from a book.
‘Wiite down the lastline and continue either witing your own
poem or begin a story opening inspired by the line.

O Make a wish and write it down. Now start a story where.
you regret making this wish.

O Ifyou were a tree, what would you say?

O Write about a place you want to visit Why do you want to go
there?
O Write about a piano player who just had the worst performance
of his or her Ife. How does the musician feel? What happened?
Who does the piano player call?

O What's something that makes you smile?

O What's your favorite TV show? Why?

O What's your favorite book? Why?

O Think about the last time you felt disappointed. What
happened? Who disappointed you? Now, wite about
the experience from the perspective of the person who
disappointed you. Include why they did what they di how they
feel about it

O Describe an injustice youve witnessed or experienced.

O Write about a society that believes prisons are evil. How does
this society respond to a person who hurts someone else?

O Wiite an apology letter that anly you willsee to someone that
you'e wronged

O Pretend that magic s real. Now explain why nobody believes in
it

O Consider a visual prompt: Find a picture that interests you. A
picture is a moment i time. Start your freewrite by describing
the moment the picture shows you, and then continue writing
about what you imagine happens next.

Prompts can also be found throughout The
Sentences that Create Us: pgs 5+6, 256, 258-260,
266:267, 26927, 275274, 276, 278275, and 281282,

Methods

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
My students call my writing prompts: “Frankenprompts.”
because | have so much fun with them. Some writers love them,
and write their best work with them. Others groan when | write
one on the board. As much as | love to create and share them,

I dread writing from prompts. One year after a long, emotional,
productive class at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee.
my students sent me home with a fifteen-step prompt and made
me promise to share the results. | followed their prompt. We
circled around the classroom at our final gathering, and | read
aloud what may be the worst thing I've ever written. Which is
allto say: ry everything, then do what works best for you

— Jen Bowen

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 33
| Methods

Getting Around Writer’s Block

While writer’s block can often be addressed in general
through freewriting, sometimes writer’s block offcts a
particular piece of writing only. It may be a piece that

is emotionally challenging to write, or one that details
events distant in time and space, or any one of a million
other reasons. If you're experiencing writer’s block with

a particular piece it can be helpful to engage in some of
the following activities. While there is no quaranteed way
o clear our mental hurdles, these exercises can assist in
tackling the challenge of writing.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
When | have something big, or challenging, to work on, I like

to give myself a break. | know that sounds counterintuitive.

but most of us—including mel—are really hard on ourselves.

And being hard on myself about getting started or diving in
when I am already worried or stuck only makes it worsel So |
try to give myself a pep talk or do something kind of sideways
to the writing itself. Maybe I'll read a book that inspires me.

Or take a walk. Or talk about the project with someone | care
about...sometimes, | talk about it with myselfl That might sound!
crazy,but when | can just have a conversation in my head with
myself about what | am working on and what | want t to say,

it can be super helpful.Its okay to take a day or two to think
and develop. Try to take the pressure off. But we dont want

to do that day after day because it can drag on quickly. o
usually say, okay, today is a break. Tomorrow | write, even just a
sentence.

— Annie Buckley

More advice on drafting-that i, getting initial words
down on the page-can be found on pages 59-61in
Sarah Shourd's essay “On Dramatic Theater,” of The
Sentences That Create Us and on cultivating your
unique voice as a writer on pages 199200, in Alejo
Rodriguez’*And Sill| Wite” essay.

34 | PEN America

Although there are a number of ways to write
your way through a block, the following exercise
can be particularly useful.

STEP ONE: Grab clean shest of paper and
place it next to the story yau're warking on.

1

STEP TWO: Close yaur eyes, put your hand on
your stomach, and breathe into your belly softly
50 that you feel your hand rise and fall on your
stomach. Do this five times to help resat your nervous
system. Other ways ko reset your nervous system
include yawning,or breathing in the kind of stuttering,
fastinhale of breath we do after having a good cry.

2

STEP THREE: Read the last page you wrote. t
might be helpful to smile a little a: you read it
(your body associates smiles with joy and oy is
very good for creativity). As you read, hold your pen/
pencil over your blank paper ready to vrite. When you
finish reading your last page, give yourself your writing
prompt by saying out loud, "What's Nex!?” or “Why is
this important?”

3

STEP FOUR: Write on your blank sheet of paper
It may be helpful to place the page you read out
of your sight 50 you can focus on wht you'e
writing and not what you already wrote. I what's next
doesnit come to mind, ask the question again, “What's
Next?” or “Why i this important?” Keep asking the
question until you write It important to write whatever
comes to mind. Even if what comes next has nothing
todo with your story, even f youre just wrting, | want
Something amazing to come next!” ar “This is important
because... The important thingis to KEEP YOUR
HANDS MOVING, keep writing and write down as many
different things that can come next as you can think of.

4

STEP FIVE: After 5 to 10 minutes, stop. Read
what youve written. Chaase one idea about
what comes next that youike. If you haven't
written one you ke, choose one that moves the story
forward. Return to your story and write through the
idea. If you chose “Why s this important?,” circle three
reasons that speak the loudest to your heart.

5

STEP SIX: If you haven't written an idea that
moves the story forward, take a break (for at
loast an hour). Exercise, meditate, watch TV, or
talkto a friend. After your break, choose a writing or
visual prompt unrelated to your story and write for as
long as you want. When you'e finished, take a break
from writing for taday. Forgive yourself if you feel like
youve failed. It can be helpful to say it out loud, |
forgive myself bacause | know I'm doing my best,

6

Feedback Foundations

INTRODUCTION
The word critique gets a bad rap in our society. It is often
misunderstood as harsh and negative. There is an old-school
idea, commonly associated with ‘manliness. that somehow the
tough critcism is the best. That is: i you don't tell someone all
the things you don'tlike or that don't work about their writing,
you're not actualy helping them. But even tough words of
riticism are just one person's opinion. If negativity breaks the
writer’s desire to write or warps their writing process, it can't be
justified. Critique should not shut down the creative process
but offer specific and constructive ideas that are admitted

as subjective and personal. To avoid the misunderstanding of
criicue as always negative and objective, we suggest using.

the terms feedback or comments instead. Having guidelines
that offer examples of what supportive feedback looks ke is
also helpful. Once people become comfortable with offering
feedback constructively you will see more confidence in both
offering and comfort in receiving feedback. You might even
begin to crave it

This guide proposes that feedback can and should be delivered
in a way that builds confidence and invites curiosity. While
pointing out areas that confuse listeners or readers, or asking
questions regarding purpose or message is important, it is
equally important to tell readers what positive attributes their
writing contains. Receiving positive feedbackis a blessing,

and sometimes peaple, especially women or people who
have not had their voice valued by society, also need to build
the courage to express what could work better. I helpful to
remind the group that all feedback offered with generosity is
a gift. Feedback s how writers come to know how their voices
and stories are understood by others. The following section
explores ways to offer feedback.

Methods |

KEY COMPONENTS
OF course, there isn'tjust one way to offer supportive
feedback. But for those who haven't ever had supportive.
feedback themselves, the following list offers suggestions
for how you can share insight while supporting, and being.
supported by, your fellow writers.

+ Whatever your thoughts are, they can be beter received by
framing them as questions. For example, i you are confused
about the character Frank in a person's story you can say
something like: “What was the character, ‘Frank thinking about
at this point?” Instead of,“Frank s confusing” More examples
of questions that can be used in feedback sessions can be
found i the Section One: Structure section of this guide.

- Start each offering of feedback with a positive comment
about the writing. For example, "I really iked your voice in
this piece. It is warm and welcoming. It makes me want to
hear more.” You can also frame points that need clarifying in
a positive way. For example, if there isn't enough description
about the setting, you could say something like: I would
love to hear more about where we are in this moment. What
does this place look like or smelllike? What else is happening
there?

+ If people are having trouble coming up with feedback,
itis understandable. Many of us went to schools where
this kind of response was not given space or time. Asking
yourselfWhat stood out to you?" can help generate ideas.
This question can also be a good discussion starter for the
whole group. It open-ended, soit doesnit force an expected

Instead of sharing feedback verbaly, workshop groups
can also write feedback using the method above on paper,
which i given to writers. This allows the feedback to be
taken back to the room/cell, where the writer can privately
review it and soakin the praise and constructive criticism
on their own time. This can be especially helpful for people
if the positive statements are clear and central. Prison lacks
positive reinforcement and to see something positive in
writing is immensely impactful. Having written documentation
of positive comments can be the motivation to stretch and
grow in their writing, and reinvigorates the writer in purpose
and practice. These are the same kinds of sentences you
would say verbally, instead you write them down. Meaning,
this feedback moves beyond making marginal notes on
someone’s draft. They are overall statements and questions
that meaningfully engage with the text at hand

Giving feedback i not just a gift to others,t's a gift to yourself
Reading and thinking carefully about others’ work helps us
become more sophisticated readers, writers and critical
thinkers. Some writers feel that providing careful feedback.
more than anything else, helped them grow. Giving careful,
attentive feedback to someane else’s writing teaches us what
good witing is. Learning s a gift that no one can take away, no
matter where you wite from

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 35
| Methods

The chapter "Workshop Solitaire” by JD Mathes.
in The Sentences That Create Us also has
suggestions for how to strengthen your narrative.
It begins on page 283

TROUBLESHOOTING
Feedback is admittedly a bit of an emotional minefield

‘and your approach, sensitivity and commitment to truth is
worth investigating with time, curiosity and an open mind
‘and heart. The tendency is for peaple to say, "I'm tough,
can take itl” We've already discussed how this kind of “tough
love’ feedback isn't effective. It is worth keeping in mind

that especially insice, this kind of feedback can easly lead
to unwanted power dynamics that are detrimental, and
prevent equity and inclusion. This dynamic is sneaky and can
inacvertently take hold when the majority of people have
been conditioned to receive traditional ‘red pen” negative
crticism. Many will have to unlearn the unconscious habit of
deflecting positive feedback, which can cause a writer to feel
worried that it isn't genuine, or because it makes them self-
conscious. If this is the dynamic in your workshop, it is even
more important to build in ways to learn to receive praise
and support, so as to understand what IS working in their
writing and encourage constructive revisions. Here are some
suggestions to support yourself and your group:

+ Itis worth taking time, even a full session, at the start
of a series of workshops to talk about each person's
experiences and preferences, to assess personal and group
understandings, and gain awareness of how particular types
of feedback will land with individuals. What are people
seekingin their writing journey? How do they respond to
the term “feedback?” What have their experiences with
feedback been in the past?

+ An option s to integrate the preferred approach into alist
of co-created shared agreements for your group. It doesnt
have to be involved. It could be as simple as: *balance a
suggestion with a compliment.

Instead of structuring a workshop with one person reading,
then silently listening as an observer while everyone else
discusses the piece (a commonly accepted workshop
method, but not the only one), the writer can instead first
identify what they want feedback on for that particular
piece. This empowers the writer and allows each group
member to tailor feedback to address what they are
struggling with in the work. For example, a person could ask
for input on dialog or how well the setting is described.

If your group s having trouble with feedback— either giving
it or receiving it— consider taking some time to process. The
following are suggestions that can help your workshop group
recalibrate your relationship to feedback.

+ Take a day for just affirmations and support. Spotlight

36 | PEN America

individuals and invite three people to share something they
like about that person's writing. Everyone should have a
chance to be recognized, and various people should offer
input and affirmations, making it a full-group effort.

+ Take a day to talk about what feedback means to you, each
person's background with it, understanding of its purpose,
and preferred way to receive it. This can help everyone
understand one another, and where they are coming from
specifically. rather than a generalized understanding of what
it means to give and receive feedback or criticism.

+ Use the suggestions in this guide and write the sample
questions and statement starters on cards that are placed
on each member's chair. Some examples might be: Go.
around the circle and have people respond to those.
starters. These should be sentences that don't relate to any
writing shared in the workshop. They are simply to practice
constructing sentences in ways that center questioning,
affirmations and positiity.

*Note: For those who want to delve deeper into these
complex issues, a good resource i The Anti-Racist Writing
Workshop: How to Decolonize the the Creative Classroom by
Felicia Rose Chavez

COMMUNITY
Even the most attention-averse person generally feels good
hearing that something in their witing is working. Sharing this
kind of support and encouragement is as much for revision as
itis for building community, camaraderie, and support for the
writer through their creative journey.
Assessing Characterization and Plot
through Rubrics

OVERVIEW
Looking at an entire piece can be overwhelming for readers
especially readers new to offering feedback. What aspect do
you focus on? How can you give writers feedback that actually
helps them? In this section, we offer a method to assess two
foundational elements of al fctional-and some non-fctional (ke
memoir)-texts. You wil choose a focus on either characterization
or plot. Once you've chosen a focus follow the steps below:

'STEP ONE: Read the rubric below for either
characterization or plot. This rubric provides the
standard upon which you will provide feedback. It is
important to note that this standard isn't the only valid standard
for building compelling characters, and we encourage all
participants to honor that al assessments are subjective, and
represent people just doing their best to convey what a piece of
wiiting makes them feel when they read it To that end, please
feel free to revise these rubrics, or create your own.

STEP TWO: Read the piece (the manuscript) for which
you're providing feedback: After you've read the piece,
return to the rubric and read *Subjective Criteria.”
There are three levels of criteria. Read one, and if everything
in the box s true, check the box that best corresponds to the
lines you read.

2

‘STEP THREE: If you cannot check any of the boxes,
make a note at the top of the rubric. We suggest
something along the lines of: “Thank you for doing the
very brave thing of sharing your work with me. | encourage you
to read this rubric and think about how you can cultivate these
elements in your work. | look forward to reading your next
draft” After you make this note, skip to Step 6.

3

STEP FOUR: Check each criteria you can until the.
rubric s complete,

4

5] STEP FIVE: Return to manuscrip with the boses you've

checked offin mind. dentify for the writer atleast three
examples where they met each subjective crteria,
underline them in pencil, and wite a comment acknowledging
what the writer did well For example, if you checked “Good,”
you might underiine a deseription of the characters tapered
Afro and trimmed beard and write, ‘Nice description. This
helped me have a clear picture of your character. If this i the
persons only dralt, you can also rewrite the sentences in the
boxes on the rubric iself instead of their draft

5] STEP SIX:Return to manuscript with a mind for

potential growth areas. Read the criteria for a line you
didn't check off. Think about at least two (and no more:
than five) moments in the manuscript where the writer might
add or change something in order to meet one of the eriteria
associated with an unchecked box. Share your idea by writing
it on the rubric or another sheet of paper.

Methods |

CHARACTERIZATION RUBRIC

Subjective Subjective
Assessment _Criteria

s clear who the character is. For example, you
know bwo to four features of this person's physical

DGood appearance, and you can name two to four things.
about a character's personality tht you wouldnt
say about other people in the scene or chapter.
Vou care about what happens to this character. It

OGreat 1clear to youwhat the character wants the most,

why the character wants i, and what stands in

between the character having their desire.

I dialogue, the character's voice is distinct. That

is,if you read just the dialogue without the tag

lines, you can tell the difference between the

Dl Excellent way the character speaks and the way other
characters in the scene or chapter speak. (Tag

lines attribute dialogue to a speaker, for example,

“John said")

BASIC PLOT RUBRIC

Subjective Subjective
Assessment _Criteria

Vou can describe what s happening from the
viewpoint of a central character in the scene o
the chapter in one to three simple sentences.

The story moves forward smoathly In general, the
reader doesn't feel bogged down in explanations
about what's happening, A loose rule of thumb

is most pages in a smoothly flawing narrative will
have at least 75% narrative content, and 25%

or lass exposition. Exposition is an explanation

of what has happened or what will happen.
Exposition s also character thoughts and
descriptions of the setting, Narrative is generally
what people do and say.

0 Good

The central characters actions are the reason
the stary unfolds the way it does. If the central
character seems to mostly react to events
happening rather than causing the events, the
cantral character’s actions aren't the reason the

O Great

story is unfolding,
The chapter or scane has tension. This can be a
subjective feeling in your body, but it alzo means
you can identfy what the central character

is trying to accomplish in a scene or chapter,

the points at which the characters efforts are
frustrated, and the ways in which the character
must either try harder or change plans to
accomplish their goals.In general, the longer the
reader must wait for the character to accomplish
goal,the more tension builds, but f the reader
has to wait too long or if the reader dossn't care
about the goal (generaly a sign that the reader
doesn't care about the character), then tension
bleeds out of the story.

O Excellent

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 37
| Methods

Sideshadowing

Sideshadowing i a form of self-reflection through commenting
on your own work as you read. You can also write back to
yourselfin the margins of your writing or, on another sheet of
paper if you donit want to clutter your only draft. As you read
your writing, the goal is to think about what you were thinking
while you were writing, and no the writing itself.In other
words, you're not looking at word choice or grammar in this
process. Youre thinking about your own larger goals for the
piece, hidden moltivations in creating it and identifying places
of hesitancy and fear that have snuck into your writing, Some.
questions you can ask yourself as you read:

+ What questions or hesitations did you have as you wrote?
+ What were you thinking or feeling as you wrote?

+ Did youleave out ideas or informatior? Why did you leave:
them out?

+ Are there lines or phrases that dor't seem relevant? Why?

After you have written back to yourself in the margins of each
paragraph, read over all you have written. What does this new
material tell you about your writing? How can you revise, taking
your feedback to yourself into consideration? Synthesize your
sideshadowing comments by noticing significant patterns and
themes, and reflect on how this new information will enable you
to proceed as you revise your work and develop your writerly
voice 50 you can say what you really want to say.

38 | PEN America

Self-Reflection Writing

Self.reflection s key to building self-awareness and cultivating
interest and curiosity in ourselves and others, challenging our
habits of judgment. Selfreflection helps people:

+ To gain confidence
+ To develop your writerly voice

+ To focus your thoughts and exercise introspection

+ To assess your own writing

+ To look at ways to approaching your writing

+ To experiment with ideas and learn how to develop ideas

+ To learn more about personality and consider your purpose

+ To explore complex issues related to your lfe/crime/
imprisonment

For this exercise, you will write an essay about yourself. Writing
about yourself can be tough. To focus yourself,try to imagine
you are introducing yourself to a stranger. Consider: What does
the person need to know in order to really know me? What is
important to me that | share? What do | want someone walking
‘away knowing or thinking about me after this introduction?
Other questions to get you started writing are:

+ Describe a challenge or event that made you into who you
are today.

+ Whatis your most interesting or unique quality?

+ What are your short and longterm goals and how do you plan
to achieve them?

- Wiite aboutt a e you failed at something, overcame an obstacle
and how it affected you, and what you learned about yourself.

Writing about ourselves can feel overwhelming Where does
one start with all of this raw material? But if you focus on a
single theme, one specific topic, purpose or event that makes
some greater point, it can help give peaple a sense of who you
are without getting bogged down in every detail. Instead, aim
to offer unique details that show your personality. For example,
a too- general detail might read. I like sports.” A better way to
explain this might be through a scene that brings the statement
toife through action, something like:“When | was growing up,

I wauld watch baseball games on television with my dad and
brothers every Saturday before we would go outside and.

‘Write your self-reflection in the first person (|, me, my) and let
yourself say things that are honest.

After you've written this essay, put it aside for a week. Then,
g0 back and read it. What are your thoughts about the story
you've told about yourself? What did you learn about yourself
from this telling? How can you use this skill o self reflection

to improve your writing, or guide the further development of
your artistc voice? How can you use the skill of self reflection in
other areas of ife?
Voice, or
How To Write Like Yourself

You may think that ‘good” writing has to sound like a 19th
century novel or a history textbook. Many of us were coached in
school to bury our voice in favor of a supposedly universal one
that was "good.” In truth, nothing could be more wrong, When
we write in our own voice we convey meaning most clearly to
our readers. Your voice encapsulates where you're from, what
you've lived through and gives others a sense of yourself. Even
if you're a journalist or writing non-fiction essays, your voice
matters. Readers want to hear from you-not a computer, not a
writer they ve alreadly read, not a false version of the author.

However, it can be challenging to unlearn all of the coaching
weve received that tells us it’s better if we don't sound like.
ourselves. We can additionally become stymied by grammar
concerns and other conventions that ask us to be too
concerned with the rules, and less concerned about creative
freedom. This section is designed to help you cultivate your
personal voice as a writer so you can tell your most truthful
story-whether it's about yourself, someone else or an exterior
event or place.

It can be challenging to change our writing style, and if you're
used to writing in a voice that's not your own (most of us imitate
until we embrace and settle into our own style). it can be
confusing to try to hear yourself. Here are some tips to start
cultivating your voice:

1. Pay attention to yourself when you're talking. What are some
common things you say? You can also ask friends for common,
everyday words that you normally use in a conversation.

2.Use a friendly and casual tone when freewriting or
responding to prompts.

Imagine you're writing to a friend.

s
4.Try saying aloud what you want to write and then write it down.
5. Write about an event you feel defines you
s

Journal or keep a daily diary. By writing to yourself in a
private space you can begin to hear yourself more clearly. It
also allows you to see how the same themes and ideas come
up for you again and again. Perspective is also a key element
of cultivating your writerly voice.

7. Write about a personal achievement that is sgnificant to you.

8 Read your writing aloud to yourself. Don't rush. Stop and add
or take away words as needed so that what you've written is
what you want to say.

9. When applicable, you can start with a personal anecdote,
something short, interesting or even amusing. This short story
of something that really happened to you or a person you
know can help you begin writing in a way that enables you to
embrace your voice.

Methods

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
IFin doubt, write something short | learned more about writng,
‘and got much better at it, by writing very short pieces. For
about seven years, | wrote art reviews for an international
magazine and had a very strict 250 word limit. This forced

me to figure out exactly what | wanted to say, what was most
important for readers to take away, and use the minimal amount
of words to say it This made me think carefully about the
words, to ensure each one pulled its weight. It was hard at irst,
and T had to cut out way more than | had initall intended, but it
really improved my writing. Give it a ry! Write about something
you care about, or want to share, and convey the full scope in
just 250 words!

— Annie Buckley

Read Aloud

Reading your writing aloud, whether it's to yourself in your own
space or to your writing group, can help you hear whether what
you've written i in your own voice and help you pick out places
where you need to add more or take away. Reading aloud just
involves listening and thinking and what you've written. So, donit
read automatically. Instead, listen to yourself as you wouldlisten
to others. Reading aloud is especially good for people who are
auditory learners so, if you've always remembered information
when someone told it to you, but not when you read it this
editing technique could be the one for you!

Reading Backwards

Reading your writing n reverse—as in last-sentence first
while still reading a sentence as it written—is a great editing
technique when you're trying to catch minor errors such as
misspelings, grammar, punctuation or missing words. Reading
your writing backwards prevents you from becoming absorbed
in the story or line of argument, where it is easy for the eye to
skip over o il in for mistakes. It helps to focus your attention
on the words used. This s a good final step in editing before.
you send your piece off to a publication or perform i

Pages 3340, from Ryan Gattis's essay “On Fiction”
in The Sentences that Create Us offer concrete
ways to read your own writing and edit.

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 39
| Methods

Revising

A SHORT NOTE: EDITING V. FEEDBACK
We thought it would be helpful to offer a quick distinction on
the two related, but notably different, terms. Sometimes new
wiiters expect a workshop to feel something like an editing
service, where members will mark up the paper with x's and
rewrites. s really not. A workshop is not meant to correct
mistakes, but to build your own understanding of the work
you're creating. Its a sounding board, not a quick fix, and
certainly not a copyedit. That's ot to say you can't ask a trusted
member to read through a piece that you feel s done to find
any last minute issues before you seek publication. It great to
ask that, but generally it not the best use of a workshop.

We keep saying t, because we mean i: a lot of people think
revision is looking for grammar errors or making sure your
punctuation is correct. But,real revision is not polishing.Its
taking a close look at what you've said and thinking about
whether other people understand i, f its true to yourself and
your writerly intentions, if it written in your voice and are other
people as drawn into your telling as you want them to be?

In this segment, you'l find techniques for revision that will help
you change your writing without throwing everything away. We
know revision is particularly challenging when you only have
one draft, which may be your situation. In order to use some of
the strategies i this section we offer the following suggestions
for revision that won't ruin your only draft:

+ Numbering of pages and numbering paragraphs so you can
note, on another sheet of paper, which area of the text you
want to add to, revise, move or take away.

+ Get extra paper and write single-sided so you can add pages
and notes in between your current draft. Make sure to note
that they were added with symbols of your own devising or a
revised page number system.

f available, you can use postit-notes to write marginal
comments to yourself which can then be removed.

Al o the editing strategies explained here can
be paired with pages 2123, 147151,152162 in The
Sentences that Create Us which talk about editing,
what itis and how to do it The top advice for
revision and for taking feedback from others s
sleep on itl Nothing is better than getting space.
from your draft to see it with new eyes. If you've
been working nonstop on something, start another
project and come back to itin a week.

40 | PEN America

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Years ago, when | first started writing | loved the pracess, but
felt like what | wrote never came close to the beautiful writing |
loved to read. At the time, | adired the work of David Sedaris,
50 when | heard him being interviewed on the radio, | stayed in
my car despite having arrived home. He mentioned casualy that
one of my favorite of his essays had been revised over 28 times.
I started crying when he said that. | hadn't realized that “real
writers” didn't write it perfectly the first time. | didn't know “real
writers” had to try so hard. That moment was a turning point.
Iapproached revision as part of the writing process and the
mark of a professional writer instead of waiting for each new
piece toland on the page finished. The first essay | truly revised
(between 20-40 times) got me into graduate school, and was
later published in a great magazine. | wish Id learned sooner
that revising it separate from writing, it i writing.

— Jen Bowen

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
I've never met a writer who enjoys erticue. Books have been
written about how writers need to develop thick skins.
developed mine easier than most because | was desperate.

I was trying to learn to wite in the county jail, but | had no.
resources. | did discover, though, that in the publishing industry.
editors who see promise in a writer will sometimes write a
personal rejection letter instead of sending a form rejection. On
one hand, it was easier for me to accept critique when it meant
that an editor thought | was special. On the other hand, it was
the only form of instruction that | could access. So | devoured
it, believing that THIS was the college education | couldnt
afford. It took a while but it worked. After 12 years of submitting
to editors and integrating their feedback, | published my first
professional piece. The feedback had improved my eraft so
much that after the world saw my first piece, | published a
professional piece every month for over a year.

Here's the thing | would say about feedback. | became a great
writer not because | followed the right advice from editors
and ignored the bad advice. | became a great writer because
of what | learned from incorporating their feedback It made
my mind flexible, and | came to understand why things work or
don't work because | had taken the time to implement them.

— Suotonye Deweaver
Responding to Feedback

You pour your heart and soul and history and ideas into a piece
of writing. You put in time and effort. You are writing when you
could be chatting with friends or reading, or whatever other
thing you might enjoy doing. Most likely,this process matters
deeply to you.

And yet, you dor't want your writing to be just for you. You
want others to engage with it and enjoy it. As a writer, you know
what you mean. But what happens when someane else picks it
up and reads that piece of writing, without the context of your
brain and experience and feelings? Afterall, they re not you

Feedback helps wiiters know how the writing that we are doing
islanding with another person — another mind, another heart,
another collection of experiences. That is aninvaluable piece of
the writing process if we wan our writing to move beyond our
experience and into a community of readers. Feedbackis essential
in order to bridge the gap between a writer's mind and a reader’s
mind. It should be a collaborative process but itis challenging.

It can be exhiarating to hear that someone ‘gets" you and the
story or idea you are expressing It can help us to feel seen and
validated. But it can be really hard to hear people’s feecback when
they don't understand what you mean. Maybe they ask a question
that seems so obvious to us and we wantt o say,"What do you
mean? Isright there on the pagel” s important to remember that
feedback is an opportunity to clarify for others what we want to
convey as writers. If peaple are not getting an aspect of what we.
want o say, more than likely there is something that we might want
to add or shift or change so that s clearer.

But, not all feedback should be taken as a directive. How can
we distinguish between feedback that helps and should be
addressed to improve the writing, and feedback that is just
someones opinion? This s decidedly tricky. It depends on what
the feedback is and who is sharing it. If someone simply shares
that they like or don't like something, or whether it speaks to
them, it might not be something you need to address. All writing
is not for all people. But in general,if someone asks a question
or makes a suggestion that shows that our writing is not as clear
s we thought, it is a good idea to consider a revision towards
clarity. Lok for thoughtful readers that ask questions—not tell
you what or how to wie.

Here are some tips on how to seek and respond to feedback on
your writing

+ Be your own fist reader. When you complete a piece, or a
chunk of a longer piece, step away for at least a day and then
reread t. This will offer enough of a distance for things to pop
out at you that need to be resolved or revised. If something
sounds "off” o you don't feel good about how it is written,
chances are it will benefit from another pass at that part
before you share it with others.

- Read your work aloud to yourself or to someone else

Methods |

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
I remember the excitement as | read the letter from the editor
tellng me that my essay had been accepted and would be
published. He offered some feedback, three pages worth. At

first | thought three pages? What did he actually ike about my
piece? As | reread his notes | realized this was an opportunity to
raise the level of understanding and connection that a reader
would experience as | shared what my incarceration was fke.|
saved those three pages of feedback and referred to them often
s I was writing Soon | found | was tapping into those bts of
feedbackin real time as | wrote. Though at first my ego was hurt, |
went on to realize that this feedback madle me a better writer.

— Michele Scott

+ Be sure you take these steps before asking for feedback. This
isn'tto say you can' get feedback early in the process, but it
takes time for people to read and reply to writing so you will
get the most benefit if you spend time vith your own writing
to ensure it i the best you can make it before sharing it

+ Consider asking people to look for specific things in your
writing, For example, maybe you want to know f the story
flows, or f a character is fleshed out, o if the logic makes
sense in your argument...you can ask these of your readers.

+ Consider who is reading and offering feedback. Do they
read widely and know a ot about writing, or the genre or
topic you are addressing? Are they thoughtful and will they
provide honest and helpful feedback? Do they know you very
well? Have you told them this story or shared this dea with
them before? All these can color a person's responses to our
wiitng.

+ When you do get feedback from the reader, try reading all
the feedback once before you really respond to . Try to be
a bit outside yourself,and not react emotionally, so that you
can hear their input. From there, whether it is positive or
negative or both, a suggestion or idea or something else, set
the feedback and your draft aside for at least a day. This will
give you time to process.

+ Return to the feedback the next day and consider.s all or
part of this feedback relevant to what | am hoping to do
with the writing? I so, how might | revise the text to address
these issues or questions? If they are minor or grammatical
revisions, what can you learn from them to apply in future
writing? For bigger or more structural suggestions, take your
time to consider what is being said and whether it warrants a
major change. Maybe seek another opinion

+ From there, if you opt to revise, consider the best way to
‘address the suggestions. If possible. have a conversation with
the reader to get more insight into their ideas.

Overall,for better or for worse, you are in the driver's seat as
a writer. You can seek input and learn from it and apply what is
helpful to make your writing what it i that you want it to be.

A Wiiter's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 41
| Methods

Seeing Your Work With New Eyes:
Visions and Revisions

This segment written by Heidi Czerweic, poet, essayist,
and Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop instructor, offers

a variety of strategies and techniques for reimagining your
writing. The hope is that these exercises will provide a tool
kit of strategies you can use to experiment with and enrich
your writing. While these exercises were originally designed
for poetry, including lineated poems, prose poems, and
short/flash hybrids, i your piece is prose, these strategies
will il prove useful. Each technique s divided into four
“strengths.” If you feel unsure about revision, begin with the
“mild" version. If you are feeling brave, try the “extra spicy.”
Angthing you experiment with will produce more ideas and
options for you as a writer so, there’s no wrong way fo go
about doing these.

CUTTING

Mild:

O Cut phrases ke I think," I feel.” I believe.” ‘I remember.
Readers donit need these introductions. Instead, when you
wite, go irectly to the thought/feeling/belif/memory.

O Cut phrases ke “there i, "there are." it is” These are static
and use weak "to be’ verbs, which is the most ambiguous verb.
‘What 'being! is, has been a perennial philosophical conundrum!

Medium:

O Cut any overly obviaus telling or explanation. For example, i
you wrote, " was hungry, so | ate something” consider either
shoving yourself preparing the food or telling the reader how
you physically fel the hunger, and what you physically felt
through consuming the food.

O Check for repetitions. When you repeat yourself, youive
created a pattern. s this on purpose? Is it doing work? Has
the repelition come to mean something new? If not, consider
cutting repetitions. Repetitions can also be a sign of insecurity
or amental block where we dorit see the next step. Think
about how you feel about any repeated phrases or words. Why
are they coming up for you?

O Cutthe first line or lines of poems. Even the whole first stanza
can usually go—does the reader need that information? Which
line fist excites you—could that be the start? For prose works
that are short, try cutting the first paragraph. For longer prose
works, especially nonfiction—five pages or more-try cutting the
whle firs page. Readers don't need your background thinking.
Throw readers into the story-hat's what engages a readler:

42 | PEN America

O Do the same with the lastline/lines/stanza for poetry—is the
poem trying too hard to wrap things up neatly? To tell us what
it means? Trust the reader to get it o else let the poem endl
in good mystery. For prose works,consider eliminating your
conclusion paragraph. Conclusions are sometimes too neat.Ifs
okay to leave a reader without a clean resolution, but with ideas
that expand their thinking.

Extra Spicy:

O Read quickly thraugh your poem and cut at leasta third of it.
For prose pieces, delete each sentence you read that slows you
down o makes you lose attention. What happens when you do
this? What do you think of each version? What' lost? What'
gained?

GRAMMAR
Note: If you can do this exercise with different color pens/
pencilsfetc. even better!

Mild.

O Draw boxes around verbs (actions, states of being) and circle
nouns (subjects, what’s doing the action, or what's being acted
upon).

O Look at these verbs and nouns. Are they clear? Are you
identifying who is doing what? Are the actions strong actions—
ot weak actions like “being"? Nouns and verbs are the
bedrock of English meaning They perform the heavy lfting of
language and so, it is important to make sure they are clear and
important characters and things, actions and movements

O Other weak verbs, including “to be.", are “to have" “to do," and
“seems” If youre using verbs that harcly move at all ke these,
try replacing them with dynarie, active, specifc ones that bring
lfe to your writing.

Med

O Underline your descriptions, especiall your moifiers
(adjectives and adverbs, words that deseribe nouns or verbs),
like big man or he ran quickly. Sometimes,simple deseriptions
are the best. But watch out for weak modifiers that are covering
for weak nouns and verbs. Consider what's most effective and
take out a thesaurus—all writers use them! You can replace big
man'for example with ‘giant” or *behemoth,” or “ran quickly”
with “sprinted” or “raced.”

Spicy:

O Englsh favors a sentence construction of Subject Verb:
Object. This is how "active voice” is achieved in writing, and it
considered the clearest form of communication in Engiish. But
if most of your sentences are the same structure (Subject Verb-
Object), it can become repetitive and firesome for readers.
Witing can also feel repetitive if sentences are similar lengths.
1f you ntice similar sentence structure and length, try to
change some of the structures. Make compound sentences by
joining two sentences using *and.” “but.” "or” or “so.” Depending
on the style, you can include a few sentence fragments, which
are short and slow our focus down. You can also ask a question
or two.

Extra Spicy:

O Try rewriting a short piece as all one sentence, and see how
that affects the pace/sound/experience of your writing. You
can even try this with longer pieces. There are several ighly
acclaimed novels that have whole chapters made up of sinle
run-on sentence, ncluing Samuel Beckett’s The Unnamable.

STRUCTURE
M

O Swap the first and last stanzas of your poem or the first and last
lines of a paragraph. How does this change the terms, argument
or narrative? If you like what it does, especialy for prose, you
could be “burying the lede” in your writing That means you're
saving the best or most significant point for st

Medium:

O For poetry: ry wrting it backwards, line by line. Then go back
and add any connective language to help it make sense. How
does that change the shape of the poem? OF how it unfolds? lts
arc?

O For prose: write an entire paragraph backwards. Then, add the
necessary logical connections needed for comprehension. How
does this shift your tellng?

Spicy:

O Try changing the form of the poem. I isin poetic paragraph,
putitin lines. If it in long ines, make them all short,or vice:
versa. If s in free verse, ry a form such as: quatrain haiku,
sonnet. it ina form,try putting it into free verse. Or find a
poem youike of similar length, and model your structure on
theirs

O For prose: if your narrative s descriptive, rewrite it as dialog.

Extra Spicy:

O Ifyou're working on a poem, double-space it (or wite it cut,
leaving a space between each ine). Now, go back and add a
new line in between each of the old lines, connecting them.
Your poem s now two times as long. How has this changed the
poem? Has it added anything new that's helpful or exciting? Or
is it just padded? Now cut the double-sized poem by atleast a
third by eliminating the ines that you dort ke as much.

O For prose: re-write your narrative so that it starts at the end.
Then, work your way back to the beginning by the end of
the story. This i called a circular sructure and many famous
novels are written ke this, including Harper Lee’s To Killa
Mockingbird.

Methods

PACING
This whole strategy is spiey!

O For poetry: Put your poeminto couplets of similar-length lines.
Theideais just to force yourself to play vith meter and length
You probably wort keep it in couplets (in fact you the next step
suggests you won't), but the exercise will help you see it ith
new eyes.

O Once youive arranged your poem this way, go through it and
see how many of these lines you're devoting to various aspects
of your poemto a description, an image, an explanation.a
gesture, amoment. Are you dedicating 56 ines to an image
where you only need 2:37 Are you over explaining something?
Are you putting a hat on a hat? This exercise will help reveal
what economies of language and space you're using, Pare down
what's being overvitten. Add more f you think you've given
too ltle space to a certain idea or image that needs more:
development. Return the poe toits previous form, and adjust
as needed.

O For prose: Take a section of dialog and add descriptions for
what each person who speaks lookslike, how they move and
how they respond to others. Descriptions should be no less
than a sentence for each line of dialog—even f the character
just says “hello This will eveal whether youre rushingf
the added descriptions benefit the scene, adding depth to
characters or giving readers insight into what’s a stake, slow
your pace down and add more description throughout your
work

O Read a short piece aloud several times—even better if you can
also have someone read it loud to youl-and note where it
sounds especially good, or clunky, or awkward. Revise the parts
that could sound better.

M

O For poems: Read aloud for line breaks (f your piece i in lines),
allowing a very brief pause at the end of each line. Does it
sound good? Awkward? You might want to shift where the line
break fals.

O For prose: pause for each paragraph. Does the meaning benefit
from these breaks? Are there places where there should be a
pause but there isn't?

Spicy:

O For poetry: Add rhymel This does not have to be at the ends
of lines, where we're used to seeing/hearing it. If there are two
{or more) things you want to parallel or draw a comparison
between, using a rhyme willalso craw the ear and attention to
it Evenin an otherwise unrhymed poem, thyming the lat two.
lines can create a sense of closure.

O For prose: try adding aliteration to descriptions. Aliteration

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 43
| Methods

is when the same letter o sound oceurs at the beginning of,
or adjacent to closely connected words. For example, “sweet
birds sang

Extra Spicy:

O Add other sound effects. What's happening auditorily and can
you describe it? Common ways to describe sound are through
metaphors like,“the gates shut with a clanging like rolling
thunder” or other analogies. In poetry, sounds can also be
evoked by the words. For instance, i there are bees, you could
add consonance (repeated consonant sounds) by using a ot of
25V, m's, and ' o create buzzing/humming sounds. I your
poem is alament, you could add assonance (repeated vowel
sounds) ke long O sounds to mimic moaning, The pace of a
piece can also mimic sound. Ifyou want your piece to evoke
slow sounds, you might use lots of one-syllable nouns and
verbs. I you want to evoke a faster pace, you could use lots of
3+ syllable words.

TURNS
This ones all spicy!

Still stuck? Write into weirdness, strangeness, mystery. Use one.
or more unexpected turns in action, plot or character response
to shift your piece in a new and unexpected direction. Think

of your scene, and write something that comes after that may
not be what really happened, or what you think should happen,
or what would realistically happen—but it opens possibilties, a
new road for the story to travel, and perhaps, it just fits. Maybe
its where the piece wants you to gol If you're revising this way
for poetry, you can also add lines or unattached notes from
your notes, physically moving them around in the poem to see
what they might add

44| PEN America

Peer Editing

Editing benefits a witer by giving not just overall impressions
or a focus on one specific aspect of the writing (the revision
approach we've stressed throughout the curriculum thus far),
but more sentence-level reading for smallissues that may
impede understanding o not conform to canventions readers
expect. While the prior strategy is usually most beneficial for
pieces that are earler in the writing process,this feedback is
appropriate for pieces that have already had verbal feedback
and the writer has revised for comprehension and clarity. In
order for editing on this level to be useful, the author should be
looking at what minor changes can clean up a piece now that
they feel good about overallstructure, meaning and style.

If your group agrees, it might be nice to agree on a few standard
proofreading symbols as a way of communicating. An example
is below, but feel free to take o leave them, or add your own.

WC Best word choice?
2 I'mconfused by what you're trying to say.
9 Newparagraph/Add paragraph here.

Add space, often used between sections.
U This surprised me.

Sp. Spelling error

v Thisis good!

VYV Thisis really good!)
Performative Reading

Not all authors write with the intent of a performative reading.
Although for those who do, (spoken word poets, musicians,
playwrights, speech crafters, ete) it s important to be mindful
that the listening audience is engaged differently than a reading
audience. A person sitting in their favorite spot with tea or
coffee holding a book, tablet or magazine becomes involved

in the reading enough to allow a lttle more time for the plot

to develop and the characters or concepts to emerge as the
are takes shape. Doing performative readings within writers
workshops can help performative creators revise. Performative
pieces need audience engagement, and performers need to
feel their pieces out on real,live people.

Here are some performance tips

+ The listening audience is waiting. When one steps on a stage
or performs a reading to a group, it is important to draw
them in quickly. Whereas pacing is important to any genre,
in pieces written to be proformative, it is wise to imagine
yourself having a ltle less time to capture your audience and
thus plots, characters, concepts and ideas must take form a
lttle sooner. This doesn't mean reading or speaking faster, but
rather being mindful of this n the writing and revising of the
piece to be performed. One way to do thisis to: Go Big Soon.
Whetherit's a spoken word poem, monologue or lecture,
putting a big claim, statement, character,image, thought or
idea out to your audience quickly can accelerate engagement.
It doesnit have to be the main idea or reveal but something
significant should be offered as an early entry point. Keeping
this in mind vl help one write to perform

+ Performative pieces may include more sounds like “cling,
cling, cling-clack and echo, echo, echa” written with the intent
of including voeally projected sounds to accompany the
read text. I you find yourself using these kinds of words and
descriptions when you're performing your piece, consider
adding those into the written worktself

+ Whille it snit necessary to memorize your work for a
performative read, you do need to be familiar enough with
your content that you can alter the flow, improvise parts,
project sounds and be demonstrative at any time within the
presented piece. If youre stumbling over your own sentence
construction, be aware that your listener will, too. You should
be able to look up and out at the audience while finishing the
sentence or paragraph, and not struggling to find the next
sentence where you left off

+ Performative readings can leverage numerous ways for
communicating emotion that writing on the page doesn't
always capture: shouting, pounding, singing, clapping or
speaking in tongues can all add a dimension of expression
in how the text s read. While reading, project out to your
listener with numerous devices as opposed to singular
delivery methods only emphasized by inflection. Integrating
a variety of vocal sounds and volumes, along with body

Methods |

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
When we were a young writing collective, we were granted

the opportunity for a reading with an audience of peers and
staff, which included the warden at the time, and other decision
makers. The reading allowed all o us real space to share work
without any critical analysis or pressure. These performances
provide an energy and collective feeling that helps feed

grow and strengthen the community. The impression that first
reading left with the warden created enough room for our
collective to materialze into a community that was prepared
for other writing opportunities that would come later. It also
encouraged peaple outside of the group to join. Inevitably,

that first reading became a model for an ongoing reading

series at MCF-Stillwater, and pilot readings throughout the
facilities in Minnesota, bringing in dozens of accomplished

free world writers into the faciliies to lend some credibilty to
the community we were creating, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Kao
Kalia Yang, Charles Baxter, and Jimmy Santiago Baca were all
writers that came and spent time with us. These readings did

a lot to build up our own community. and intertwined us vith
the greater writing community beyond the walls. Every year,
the MPWW holds a public reading for the work of its students.
It does more than connect the free world writing community
with our prison writing community. These readings create public
gathering spaces that allow family and formerly incarcerated
people to stay plugged into our creative universe, thus giving it
amplified voice and abilty to be seen.

— Zeke Caligiuri

movements, facial expressions and non-verbal clues all
add performative essence. If you have not included these
elements in your written text but engage them in your
performance, try to write those elements n on the page, too?
Are they actions a particular character takes? Are they tones
of voice someone uses? Are there pauses for meaning that
you should add?

For more on performative writing please see pgs
210-215 from Sterling Cunic's essay “On Writing,
The Sentences That

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 45
| Methods

Creating Products

Each writing group will benefit from the creation of a final
product to celebrate the work that has been done and
document the writing community’s journey. Below are some
suggestions:

Anthologies: Your group can collect one example piece from
each writer at the end of the workshop peried or sporadically—
say. twice a year—and collect those pieces into ane pamphlet
of writing. You can decorate these with drawings and have
someone photocopy them for you,if possible. O, people

can copy them out by hand and each version will be a unique
testament to the work you each have done.

Podeasts: Groups can create podcasts that feature
conversations about writing and craft, readings from group
participants and sharing of favorite passages from published
works.If you have the capacity to create a podeast, it can be
done in tandem with your workshop and document the stages,
struggles and victories of the group's writerly journey—which is a
herds journey of it's own.

Newsletters: Another great way to share information on an
ongoing basis is to create weekly or birmonthyl newsletters
that share interviews with writers, excerpts from pieces being
worked on, and advice from the group for others nterested in
building a writing practice. These can be decorated as well, and
photocopied or passed around

Performances: Staged readings or performative readings are
also great ways to share work when group participants are
ready. The group can plan a time when participants can share
their work with the larger community, and read or perform their
writings for an outside audience, if such means are available.

46 | PEN America

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
In 2008, 2 young version of our cohort published an anthology
of our work, "Letters to a Young Man and Other Witings.

For most of us, it was the first time we had seen our name in
print next to our art. As part of the Minnesota Prison Writing
Workshop, we started editing an annual anthology of the work
within Minnesota prisons. It offered a shared platform for
writers throughout the state, and editing experience for those
of us fortunate enough to be on the editorial board. There have
since been numerous anthologies and zines published, along.
with other shared community opportunities for the work of
those in the collective to professionalize their work.

— Zeke Caligiuri

NOTES FROM THE FIELD
When our Life Without Parole (LWOP) Support Group was
looking for ways to advocate for ourselves we generated a
book, “Resilience,” which represented 22 individuals serving
LWOP). We included a bio page with our achievements, hopes
and goals and what each person valued. The book included

a section of six questions, highlighting brief quotes of each
person’s answer to: How they felt about their crime; What
would they say to their vietim's family if given the chance: Did
they believe they deserved an opportunity to parole; And
what they did with their lfe in amends for their crime. When
creating a product, be creative and think of how the content
you create ties into your passion or cause. A copy of our book
was presented to the Governor. Out of the 22 women featured
and serving LWOP at the time, over 50% are now free. What
we create holds an energy that can change our experiences.
Think outside of the box and dream big with what you choose
to create.

— Michele Scott

Methods |

NOTES

AWiter's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 47
Glossary
of Literary
Terms

Glossary created by Kathryn Savage,
author of Groundglass, and
Jennifer Bowen, founder of MPWW

48 | PEN America

Character: Characters are the people in a work of prose. One,
or many, characters are the guiding force behind the narrative:
because through their emotions, actions, and behaviors,
plotlines emerge.

Couplets: A couplet is two lines of verse in the same meter and
usually joined by rhyme. For example: “Good night! Good
night! Parting is such sweet sorrow/ That | shall say good night
tilit be morrow” from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare.

Or from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 81 "You stil shalllve, such
virtue hath my pen/Where breath most breathes, even in the
mouths of men.” Or from Alexander Pope, who wrote: “Why
rove my thoughts beyond this last retreat?/ Why feels my
heart its long-forgotten heat?”

Descriptive Language: Descriptive language s language that
evokes the five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste. It
is the sensory way the world of the story is described. If a
character is walking down a sidewalk on a rainy spring night,
what are the smells in the air, how do the parked cars look?
What color is the sidewalk? What sounds do the character's
shoes make on the ground? Descriptive language evokes
place and works over the reader’s senses to root the reader

Dialogue: Dialogue is wha characters say and how they say it
When your character’s hurting, do they run to the nearest ear
and confess alltheir sorrows? Does your character go to any
and every length to avoid honestly answering the question,
“So, how's lfe at home?” Does your character have a word
they always say first when they first greet someone? Does
your character say thank you every time a store clerk gives
her the receipt? Does your character never thank anyone?
Think of dialogue as both what characters say and also how
what they say reveals how they feel and behave. Dialogue can
be used to show the reader that the character speaking is
honest or dishonest, comfortable or uncomfortable, happy or
sad. The language of your character's successes and failures
will be unique to the whole of who they are. Characters can
also speak differently to different people. How does the same
character address their wife, child, boss, neighbor? Context
and dialogue are in relationship as people usually speak
differently depending on who they're talking to.

First Person: This style of narration uses the *I" voice. | saw. |
felt, | heard, | went. Narratives told in this form have a quality
of seeming "close.” The reader feels close to the " voice
because there is not really any psychic distance. What the I
voice perceives, feels, and notices in a given scene is what the
reader sees too.

Memory: Memory is connected with character and point of
view. In a work of prose, what characters remember reveals
who they are and what they think about. For example,

a father and son live in two different states. The father
character thinks about his son. What are the father's specific
memories of their child? When did they last see each other?
How do these particular memories reveal both who the child
is, but, more importantly, who the father is? Memories reveal
the father character’s thoughts, feelings, shames, obsessions,
desires, failures, and moments of joy. They are useful n prose
because they can exist i “backstory” or “flashback” a mode
outside the story's present timeline.

Plot and Narrative: Plot i the actions and the sequence of the
actions in a narrative. Plot has the characteristic of sequence.
The reasons attributed to the actions are a significant
component of plot. It the order of information.

Point of View: Point of view is how the story is seen and told.
Point of view can be seen as the selection of detail and the
ordering of events (credit: Ethan Canin). Point of view is what
the characters see and feel and respond to and how this
information is ordered in the narrative. Point of view is both
connected to character and plot.

Paycl ance: John Gardner wrote, in The Art of Fiction,
that psychic distance is the emotional distance the reader
feels between himself and the story. Understood this way.
psychic distance is a way to control, as you write, the distance
or proximity of the narrator to the point of view character(s)
Psychic distance can be close, very close, or far. For example,
“Mr. Gardner loved coffee.” has a different degree of psychic
distance than If | wake every morning and don't immediately
have coffee | feel ike Il pass out from exhaustion.” The
first example is more distant than the second. The narrator
is describing Mr. Gardner in the third person, and in the
second example, the voice of the narrator is the ' voice, the
first-person voice, the voice of the character. More detailed
information on styles of narration the writer can choose to
use are deseribed below.

Second Person This style of narration uses “you" and the
reader might feel very close to the narrator because we are
being told “you went,” “you saw” “you felt” and it can be
a useful style when writing about certain charged material
where the intent s for the reader to feel very close to the
material/narrator.

Setting: Setting is where the story takes place. It s the physical
world of the story: Setting is where characters live. What
they do for work. What the couch in the main character's
home looks like. Setting also speaks to class and specialized
knowledge: can your character afford the things in his
home, or is money tight? Does walking into his living room
and seeing his couch cause the character to feel calm, or
stressed out? If one setling in your story is a hospital, say.is
the character the doctor or the patient? The doctor would
possess specialized knowledge useful in this particular
setting; the patient might feel afraid at the hospital. Setting
can be useful in understanding where characters feel like they
do and don't belong. The physical world of the story raises
other questions useful to consider as you wite: questions
about inclusion, safety,class, comfort, and identity.

Glossary |

Style: Style is connected with rhythm and sentence structure
‘and movement: it the way the story is told. It is the
movement of the writer's syntax. Sentences. Is the use of
grammar.Is the story told in short declarative sentences? Are
paragraphs languid and ful of rich evocative language? Style
‘and rhythm are the music of the words on the page.

Person Close: This style of narration use the pronouns
he" “she’ and "they’ to create distance so the reader and the
narrator are observing one character move through time. This
style of narration doesn't allow the narrator to ‘get inside the
mind" of multiple characters, but keeps the gaze trained on a
single character's iner lfe.

fent: This style of narration uses "he.
she.”“they." and the pronouns create distance so the reader
and the narrator are observing the same character move
through time. Omniscience gives the narrator the capacity to
get inside other character's heads too. One narrator can be in
the mind of many characters and depict a range of inner lives,
thoughts, and feelings. This is a style of narration with a fairly
large reach and scope and can be useful when, say, witing a
noveltold from multple points of view.

Time: To quote Joan Silber,“time draws the shapes of stories”
Silber defines plot as a pattern of events and through those
events, meaning. Seen in this way, the length of time a story
chooses to narrate is directly related to what the story is
about. Time also impacts scene. Silber again: “The longer
something takes, the more emtionally important it is” Time
can be applied to the whole piece of writing and to scenes
within the narrative. Time in narrative can be urgent, slowed
down, or otherworldly depending on how the writer wants
the reader to be affected by the work of the scene.

Tone: Tone is what sets the mood and atmosphere in a story.
Tone is a way to prepare the reader for what's coming.Is the.
tone of the piece humorous? Menacing? Sad? This is the
element in a work of writing that unites other elements ke
character and plot with language choices and the movement
of sentences and paragraphs.

Voice is the style of the speaker. Voice can be attributed
to the characters or the work at large. In a work of prose. a
short story, one character might speak in a distinct voice. In
an essay, or a work of first-person memoir,the essay itself
might have a consistent voice. The narrator can have a strong
voice. Certain characters might have very different voices in
a single narrative, and these different voices converging wil
give the voice of the whole text dynamism. The voice of the
work of writing can contain many voices.

A Writer's Workshop Curriculum Guide | 49