Guidelines for Zoom Workshops

Writers work in any genre they wish: poetry, songwriting, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, blogging, etc. Prompts are provided, but they are always optional. You may work on whatever interests you. This is YOUR time.

We share a limited number of words, from 400-700 depending on the size of the group. We suggest that writers pick their words based on what they would most like to hear aloud. We learn much just from reading our own work out loud to a group. You will immediately get a sense of its resonance.

The philosophy of Writing it Up in the Garden is: When plants are new, we treat them tenderly, giving them space, air, water, sun and encouragement. We save the pruning for a later date. No material will be given negative or prescriptive critique.

Above all, be kind in your comments. We are all suffering from a severe case of “not good enough.” This is endemic to being a writer! (And, usually, to being a human.)

Do not make the jump from the page to the author and what you might surmise as being the writer’s psychological link to the piece. Be aware that the “I/She/He/They” in a story is a character. Each writer should be granted privacy. Work should be discussed as its own creative entity. Direct the feedback toward the writing, not the writer.

For this reason, and to ensure that the workshop is a safe place to share our work, we will talk about the work and its author in the third person. For example, we’ll say “the narrator” or the “main character” instead of “you.” We’ll also refrain from asking the author personal questions during workshop.

Our goal is to establish a comfortable, trusting and productive writing environment, group members are asked to adhere to discreet and sympathetic treatment of all discussion and relationships generated by our shared literary practice. What happens in Vegas….

Our intention is to create a safe space for writers to share difficult, often traumatic stories. At the same time, some survivors of such situations might be triggered by this kind of material. Please do not censor yourself but do let readers know ahead of time that some material might be upsetting.

By the same token, if you do not want to hear difficult material, and another writer issues a trigger warning, simply silence the call during that writer’s share. You can let the leader know, and the leader will privately alert you when the share is over.

For the Zoom connection: You may keep video on or off, but audio will be muted by the leader. You may certainly turn the conference off altogether and return when the agreed time for sharing begins. In order to make your virtual experience as similar as possible to an in-person workshop, find a space in your home where you can be alone. Hang a sign up saying, “Please Do Not Disturb.” If there is an emergency, your loved ones will know how to find you.

When it’s time to share, please close your documents, put away distractions (like smart phones), give your full attention to the reader. If you want to take notes on another writer’s work, you may do so in a notebook or pad of paper. The quality of the experience depends on the illusion that we are all in the same room together.

Please pay in full before the beginning of the workshop. Payment methods: Venmo @Nerissa-Nields-Duffy or PayPal Nerissand@gmail.com

Please do not apologize before reading your work. It is discouraging to others, not to mention predictable. We all think our first drafts are terrible. Pointing out your terribleness is what we call “apron wringing.” Trust the group to reflect back to you what is worthy in your writing.

Writing It Up In the Garden Credo

Create time in your life to write consistently so your Muse knows when to show up.
Read voraciously, within and outside of your genre.
Write as if there were no one looking over your shoulder.
Let go of the results.
Read your work out loud.
Live as if you were a journalist, documenting every aspect of your life and the lives of the people around you. Everything is grist for the mill.
Listen to the work of others with generosity and an ear for noticing what works.
Take notes! Keep a journal or record your ideas digitally.
Give and accept support from your fellow writers. We are part of a community.
Believe in your own authority. Nothing can take the place of your own taste.