Tips for Fic Part 4 - Work(shop) that Thang!

Not like that!

In my experience there are four kinds of fiction writers. There are those who are:

1. Content because they think they’re great, and really are
2. Content because they think they’re great, but really aren’t
3. Content because they don’t give a shit
4. Striving to be better no matter what their skill level is

If you are a fiction writer who falls into that fourth category, then you belong in the PALnet Fiction Workshop. While we would enjoy a visit from those in the first, I can’t stress enough that this is a workshop. There are plenty of times we kick up our heels, joke, blab, whatever; but we also put in hard work peer-reviewing, polishing our own prose, and basically doing everything possible to save work put out by writers in categories one and four, from being drowned out by those in two and three.

Ever since the Legendary @Rhondak announced the launch of the Steemhouse Fiction Trail @SFT and its associated online library earlier this week, we’ve been seeing new faces at the workshop and that is so awesome! But there are always questions about what to do, how to participate, etc. I know when I first joined I was very cautious; I didn’t know what the real vibe was going to be or what etiquette was expected. So today, let me share how you can get the most out of the Fiction Workshop as well as give back.

No Post Promotion

Any links posted should be solely for the purpose of feedback. If you show up every day or so, drop a link to something already published to Steemit, along with a “Check out my new post, I’d love some feedback,” then you never take any of the suggestions given or return the favor by peer-reviewing others’ work, we’re going to get wise to you right quick. You aren’t going to get upvotes or followers out of the workshop that way.

Nor should you, regardless of what some deluded-professional-victim-troll believes. MSP is a great community and its bots will upvote any-and-everything you throw at them (limited to once per 12 hours) but that is not the purpose or function of the workshop. We are there to promote writing of a quality that would be marketable to mainstream publishers, and to help one another produce such writing. While members often upvote and follow one another based on seeing quality emerge from effort put in, no one is entitled to another’s time or support.

I know. We’re practically goose-stepping up in this joint.

Be Prepared

Creative writing is often very personal to the author. I get it. And sometimes it’s really hard to hear that the words you spent hours choosing from the thesaurus are extraneous. Or used improperly. Or don’t really mesh with the story. Or break up the flow. Or delay the action too much. Sometimes the truth hurts, but if you want to get better, be prepared to hear those things and actually listen to the recommendations made.

Take comfort in knowing that everyone at the workshop has been told these things or some version of them. I promise you that while our work sometimes receives what can feel like brutally honest critique, it’s nothing the people critiquing haven’t heard about their own precious babies. Come expecting to hear many things you could do better. It’s not the place for pure accolades. You’ll hear good things too, of course, but there’s no reason to join a workshop just to hear praise. Praise doesn’t improve writing, critique does. And better writing means a better possibility of actually becoming an author who sells.

Know what’s better than praise? Money.

Learn Google Docs

Submitting a Google Doc link to the forum for review and feedback is my preferred method and if I had my druthers everyone would do it that way, for a few reasons.

1. If you submit a Google Doc instead of a published Steemit post – especially if you are new – you immediately allay any suspicion that you’re just there to promote your post.
2. Everyone can easily review, markup, and comment without laboriously copying your text into new documents or typing it out on their phone.
3. You can set it so your original document is unscathed no matter what kind of red pen abattoir the Google Doc becomes.
4. You can interact on a comment-level basis, asking for clarification about specific edits right in your document.
5. You can save the version with edits and comments in place for further review or as a badge of honor for having survived the process.
6. IT’S FREE

Many people come not knowing how to use Google Docs for this purpose. This post is already too long so I’ll do another and explain the process in Technicolor with pics and all. And look! here it is already: Tips for Fic Part 4.1 - Work(shop) that Thang! [With Google Docs]

Patience, Grasshopper

Don’t be a Douche

This one should be self-explanatory but you might be surprised how many people either don’t know they are being douches or believe their personal preferences should trump the express purpose of the Fiction Workshop and all of the people who gather there. So here are some things that will get you booted:

1. Being nasty. Don’t call people names or deride their work.
2. Trolling. And just know that after your troll ass is booted, we will have tons of fun laughing about you ;)
3. Spamming. This is absolutely not tolerated and it’s dealt with poste haste. Believe me, it is not worth it to spam the Fiction Workshop. I can step away for 5 minutes, come back and some troll or spammer has been and is already booted. Do you really want to risk membership in MSP for maybe 3 minutes of exposure to a handful of people who will forget you ten minutes later?

You do? Here's another example of poor decision-making​ skills

Bring your Best

When you do submit something, don’t give us the roughest draft you’ve ever done. Better by far to give us what you consider your best possible effort. This way, a reviewer isn’t so caught up in punctuation edits that they aren’t even able to focus on say, your narrative voice. What you really want from the peer-review process is to discover those things you haven’t yet found on your own to improve your writing.

And don’t just bring your best writing. Bring your best you. The Fiction Workshop is a genuine community. We love being there and we love supporting our fellow writers. If you are showing up in order to hone your craft, with a real desire to get better and help others, prepare to be embraced, entertained, and maybe even a little enchanted.

Hope to see you there!

If you found this helpful, you might also enjoy:
Part 1 – The Writer’s Guide to Getting some Action
Part 2 - Show me yours, I'll Show you Mine
Part 3 - Cover your - um - Content

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