In this news article: Results of ~TheHungerArtist's Workshop on Lipograms | `Beccalicious's Workshop: What is in a name? | On Accepting Critique | First time you've heard of *Writers-Workshop? This section is for you.

Results of ~TheHungerArtist's Workshop on Lipograms

*Writers-Workshop: We're tempted to really boast. This has been our best workshop so far in terms of numbers -- 26 poems written in a matter of days is no joke. What impresses us (admins and ~TheHungerArtist who sent us a note saying so) most is the fact that you guys have eased into critiquing each other remarkably well.
26 entries also means that we've had new participants. Welcome aboard!

Special Mention: *CrystalSeeker for commenting on (almost?) all entries.

~TheHungerArtist's Top Picks

[In no particular order]

Favourite:

Sibling Fight by *Negated

Despite the predictable I-walked-away/I-walked-back narrative structure the language is surprisingly lively (even without an E). "Craving nobody but / an owl naming my motion, no / call of blood or marrow." It's a poem where something as ephemeral as a spirit can be snagged on "shadow and branch." Even though he gives up on us at the end, it's hard to ignore what has come before.

Honourable mentions:

A Favour by ~007-bewareofthesnowm

In many ways this is a coded poem, a series of images that seem like they go together rhythmically but aren't really comprehensible as an image narrative. However, the voice in the poem is so strong and convincing that I'm (almost) willing to overlook it. Excellent avoidance of E, and a fairly successful poem to boot.

Worship by `GeneratingHype

Is a very subtle narrative poem in the key of "It's cold outside." Good use of tercets (without the rhyme, of course). This poem works on a couple levels. The speaker is trying to manipulate and seduce the "you" into staying and the poet is trying to seduce the reader--to keep him/her hanging onto the lines

Of note:

mocking moonlight by ~rasiqra

rasiqra's poem is a bit of a conundrum because, honestly, the title, mocking moonlight, isn't particularly interesting, but the poem is definitely readable and "slightly saucy." Should be read along with the Suzi9mm's "legendary" photo [link]

For a brief foray into psychoanalysis check out ~itzjusdrama's Paint our World and read my comment.

Award for the most densely "coded" poem goes to *Memnalar for Work according to Job. Come for the poetry. Stay because you're still trying to figure out what it "means."

~ihateryanhume should be noted for submitting not one but two entries for the workshop. Both of which stand out from other entries as having a distinctive narrative style. Excellent job.

~xCamix should be recognized as a crazy Italian who submitted a poem in English without the letter E. For those of you who felt like you had a tough time with it, just try to imagine ~xCamix's linguistic toil. And for any other non-native English speakers I did not recognize as such: excellent work!

`Beccalicious's Workshop: What is in a name?

`Beccalicious is one of the lit community's most active members. She works with =DailyDeviants, *WordCount and, of course, *Writers-Workshop. She has a passion for script writing and has studied creative writing at university. The deviantART lit community also knows for her fabulous contests (The Addiction Contest and The Games and Darkness Contest come to mind).

She has a free-for-all challenge on characters for us.

Characters: What is in a name?

Development of character in writing is one of those qualities that make a piece of literature interesting. As a reader, we like to connect or associate with these characters, whether we like them or not. We want the characters to be ‘human’, and enjoy seeing their strengths, weaknesses and their journey.

There are many components that come together when a writer ‘creates’ a character. Each one of these elements when crafted well together can create that memorable and well loved character. Although this workshop task may look like we’re looking at one aspect, its intention is to cover them all as much as possible.

So what makes a good character? Is it their appearance? How about what kind of background they have? Does the character have to be perfect or are flaws important? These questions are for you to consider and discuss. There has been a poll created in my journal to share your thoughts with others. You can discuss them with each other and maybe try to establish to yourself the answers to the questions. The poll asks What makes a good character in writing? and has already seen some interesting responses and opinions.

This task's main focus is how to draw your character from a name. A name can give that character extra depth that avoids the stereotypes that may come with it. Calling someone 'The Dark Wizard' or 'The Lady' and even 'her' will bring up lots of connotations that may not be associated with the character you want. You can lose things without that named character. It means instead of a person your readers can connect with, you end up with a cardboard cut-out or a silhouette. Even calling someone ‘Bob’ has a much greater effect on the reader than just ‘the man’, simply because ‘Bob’ humanises the character and suddenly we are brought into ‘Bob’s’ world.

Think about your favourite pieces of literature. Do they all have characters that you ended up adoring? What if Harry Potter was simply called ‘The teenage boy’? Or there was no ‘Darcy’ for every classic lit chick to fall in love with, but just some ‘man’? Even in terms of poetry, name establishment can really build a character. One of my favourite poems is a children’s classic called ‘Jim’ by Hillarie Belloc which without the name would probably lose its hilarity if he was just called ‘Boy’.

Have a good think about how you feel both as a reader and a writer when you come across a developed character. Is there a connection between you and the words that makes the character in text come to life? Do you feel their personality? Their reactions to situations? What is it in the writing that makes you fall for the character?

Workshop Task:

Using the list of names given below, pick one and write a piece about this character. Who are they? What do they do? What is their story? I want you to try and establish as much as you can about the person. There is no right or wrong as to who the person is- the names were plucked out of my head whilst sat on the train. There are 30 names to chose from, so hopefully there won’t be too many the same- but don’t worry if you have picked the same name as someone else, they are still your character and like in real life, you do get people who have the same names.

Female names: Maltilda Rouge, Tania Lark, Gwen Angel, Hazel Daziel, Valerie Snow, Parminder Williams, Rosie Bastion, Amber Faith, Melody Apple-Simpson, Lucinda Lennox

Male Names: Amos Bush, Edgar Stapleton-Cross, Christopher Bean, Nick Burberry, Amid Shaur, Clarke Clarkson, Andrew Middle, Arnold Feathers, Peter Lake, Brendan Eagles

No sex yet established: Diva D Donnelly, Governor Maroon, Hotshot Hamm, Tiny Tinkle, Buxton Hart, Bobbie La Flute, Dr Ballard, Natti Van Whitt, Pippop, Captain Diamond

After the deadline I will be coming around and asking you a few questions about your character, that as their creator you should know. These may be things you may not have thought about when writing the piece and these may seem odd, but may come instantly to you through your own understanding of them. An example of the questions may be: ‘If your character was an animal, what kind of animal would they be?’ or ‘Your character is at a party when suddenly gunshots are heard, what does your character do?’ I will be doing this to attempt to get an insight to your character, and to see how your answers reflect to the character you have written about.

I will then critique the pieces and the feedback will be focussed on whether you created a believable character and what you could do to make them more believable.

As this is a free for all, the piece can be written in any form of literature: poetry, prose, maybe even scripts or journalism- it’s your choice!

Please try to keep the word limit below 3000 words. Although this is not a strict limit, the reason we have one is because there are lots of pieces to read in a short space of time. There is nothing stopping you extending them after the workshop.

How to Submit

After submitting your entry as a new deviation or scrap, send us a note with a link to your poem. Include the subject line "CHARACTER: <name chosen>" in your note. The deadline is midnight January 30, 2008. All times are set for GMT. `Beccalicious will respond to the entries on February 3, 2008.

A note from *Writers-Workshop: Please note that this is a free-for-all workshop, meaning that you can submit work in both prose and poetry. Happy writing.

On Accepting Critique

Always thank the critic. This gratitude must be as sincere as possible, even if you did not like the critique given, because the critic has taken time to offer his/her opinion of the piece.
If you do not like the critique, it is not necessary to mention so. Simply thank the critic and move on. You can always ignore their suggestions, while not making a scene of it.
If you are unsure of what the critique means, feel free to ask the critic what s/he meant. Building rapport with your critic is one of the best ways to survive in a workshop and to learn. If you want examples, ask. Similarly, if you like the suggestions given, mention it. Critic's have feelings too.
In the unlikely case that a critic offers rude/sexist/racist/etc comments, feel free to contact *Writers-Workshop in a note and we will try to help you. A decision regarding the rudeness of the critique will be taken, and if we're not sure ourselves, we will consult with one of the GDs or anyone else high up on deviantART.

First time you've heard of *Writers-Workshop? This section is for you.

*Writers-Workshop is a literature community that focuses on the development of a writer. We intend to provide a non-competitive workshop environment on dA, as well as to push good, polished writing over winning prizes or "networking".

Workshops will be conducted every fortnight; prose, poetry and free-for-all sessions will be rotated. For more information, read our FAQ section or note us with queries.

We have been working on a list of resources for our writers: Resources for Writers which we think is worth going through. We are open to suggestions as well.

Our Diary has a list of upcoming workshops. We are booked till early March!

You can host a workshop, too.

Look out for *apocathary's workshop on magic realism coming up soon!

Staff