At their best, workshops improve our writing, offering us a variety of readers and opinions.
But even the best workshop participants have their go-to comments—those suggestions we throw out when we can’t think of anything to say, or can’t find the right way to express what we think, or have just plain given up because it’s been four hours and the vending machine is out of skittles.
Here’s what those workshop comments really mean:
1. Is this ending earned?
Means: Anything from ‘I only read the ending’ to ‘I just don’t get the ending,’ but most often ‘I didn’t think about your poem or story long enough to understand how its parts come together.’
2. You should read (insert name of writer who undoubtedly influenced commenter’s life but is entirely irrelevant here).
Means: I am a tireless name-dropper.
3. What about the title?
Means: Your workshop time is almost up.
4. I’m not sure what this character wants.
Means: Either I didn’t read into the story or your character is boring.
5. I think you just need to let the story breathe some more. Put it away for a while and come back to it.
Means: What a hot mess.
6. I think you should have ended on page 12 instead of page 19; it’ll just feel more urgent.
Means: I got bored on page 12. Or I was speed-reading before workshop and only made it to page 12.
7. What’s at stake here?
Means: I think you’re the speaker of this story or poem, and I’m a little worried.
8. If it were my story/poem, I would…
Means: I’ve been thinking about my stories or poems the whole time.
9. Should the reader have to do this much work?
Means: Either I spent more time consulting the OED than reading your poem, or I am a lazy reader.
10. You’ve established a really great sense of place.
Means: You described a tree.
