2005-08-08
Into the Wordos
For six consecutive years, Wordos writing workshop in Eugene has sent one of their own to the Writers of the Future (WotF) workshop. To put this in context, WotF receives well over 10,000 entries per year -- the contest doesn't release the exact numbers -- and Wordos consistently gets at least one of the fifteen or so winning entries. I was in the Portland area last week for OSCON 2005 and made the trek down to see what kind of magic Wordos was using.
I was told it was "slow" in the summer, but when I arrived at Tsunami Books, there were two dozen people sitting around tables arranged in a "T." Nina Kiriki Hoffman served as secretary and took notes while Wordos members proudly noted their recent rejections. At Wordos, rejections are nothing to be ashamed about -- it's part of being an active writer and shows you are producing and submitting work. A rejection earns you a candy and a round of applause.
From a distance, I thought Wordos might be an elite workshop with stringent requirements: sacrifice of first born,unnatural writing talent, three marathons. I had met some of the workshop members (Ken Brady, Jay Lake, Nina Kiriki Hoffman) and they were all Writers of the Future winners with significant publication records. A writer friend from Virginia, Mischa DeNola, had moved to Portland and attended Wordos for a year. He recently won the only scholarship for the Clarion West writing workshop and was a finalist in a recent WotF quarter. So it was surprising to me that the group had a healthy spectrum of experience, from beginner to Nebula-award winning writers.
Critiques were handled efficiently. Each person could pass or comment on a piece for a minute or two before a buzzer went off. After everyone had their say, the author would speak and then gather the written critiques. Mischa had told me that comments should be directed to the work and not the author. Referencing other works from the author was a no-no, although that's a major approach of the Codex online workshop I attend.
After the workshopping, I talked with Stephen Stanley, a 2005 first place WotF winner and graphic designer who has been attending Wordos for ten years. He attributed his success to Wordos.
Some of us walked to a nearby restaurant where my friend Ken Brady joined us. Ken has been one of the more prolific writers from my WotF class; his novella "Baby on Board" was in the December 2004 Analog. While we were talking, he pointed out that at the other end of the table was Nebula award winner Leslie What and the guy talking with Nina was Dean Wesley Smith. It was an impressive collection of speculative fiction writers in a relatively small town.
What's the secret of Wordos? I still don't know, but I imagine it's some combination of critical mass, word-of-mouth to fuel the new writer pipeline, accessibility of pro writers, and a workshop culture that promotes productivity and the right to fail.
I was told it was "slow" in the summer, but when I arrived at Tsunami Books, there were two dozen people sitting around tables arranged in a "T." Nina Kiriki Hoffman served as secretary and took notes while Wordos members proudly noted their recent rejections. At Wordos, rejections are nothing to be ashamed about -- it's part of being an active writer and shows you are producing and submitting work. A rejection earns you a candy and a round of applause.
From a distance, I thought Wordos might be an elite workshop with stringent requirements: sacrifice of first born,unnatural writing talent, three marathons. I had met some of the workshop members (Ken Brady, Jay Lake, Nina Kiriki Hoffman) and they were all Writers of the Future winners with significant publication records. A writer friend from Virginia, Mischa DeNola, had moved to Portland and attended Wordos for a year. He recently won the only scholarship for the Clarion West writing workshop and was a finalist in a recent WotF quarter. So it was surprising to me that the group had a healthy spectrum of experience, from beginner to Nebula-award winning writers.
Critiques were handled efficiently. Each person could pass or comment on a piece for a minute or two before a buzzer went off. After everyone had their say, the author would speak and then gather the written critiques. Mischa had told me that comments should be directed to the work and not the author. Referencing other works from the author was a no-no, although that's a major approach of the Codex online workshop I attend.
After the workshopping, I talked with Stephen Stanley, a 2005 first place WotF winner and graphic designer who has been attending Wordos for ten years. He attributed his success to Wordos.
Some of us walked to a nearby restaurant where my friend Ken Brady joined us. Ken has been one of the more prolific writers from my WotF class; his novella "Baby on Board" was in the December 2004 Analog. While we were talking, he pointed out that at the other end of the table was Nebula award winner Leslie What and the guy talking with Nina was Dean Wesley Smith. It was an impressive collection of speculative fiction writers in a relatively small town.
What's the secret of Wordos? I still don't know, but I imagine it's some combination of critical mass, word-of-mouth to fuel the new writer pipeline, accessibility of pro writers, and a workshop culture that promotes productivity and the right to fail.
