Coming together for the sake of improving writing
Hosted at the University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library, the annual Writers Workshop is an event that provides writing advice on a variety of topics. Growing every year in attendance, the Writers Workshop has seen large amounts of participation, drawing all levels of writers.
Taking place during reading week on the University of Guelph campus, the Writers Workshop holds a series of workshops, delivered by multiple presenters, aiming to provide a unique and refreshing introduction to topics surrounding the discipline of writing.
While the Writers Workshop seemingly targets students, that is far from the truth. In fact, the Workshop aims to include people from all levels of writing. Whether you are a first-year student, or a local business owner, the Writers Workshop provides skills that can be transferred to a multitude of disciplines and benefit the participant in a variety of unique ways. In recent years, the Writers Workshop has striven to establish a productive learning environment which does not restrict the participants towards one specific route.
The diverse amount of presentations provided those who attended with a refreshing take on many facets of writing. With everything from learning to write for radio broadcasts to creating animated videos, the Writers Workshop is far from the ordinary workshop experience. Covering academics, creative writing, writing for the internet, and many other styles, the inclusive range of subjects provided by multiple presenters creates an organized and all-encompassing learning environment which people can engage in.
Jodie Salter, the coordinator of the Writers Workshop, spoke to The Ontarion about the overall experience of running the workshop. Since taking leadership over the Writers Workshop three-years-ago, Salter critically aims to provide a service, to the public, by cultivating strong writing habits and effective communication skills.
“I’m setting out to bring together the community and the university for a space to network and collaborate,” Salter said, when asked about what the Writers Workshop works to accomplish. “Most of the community comes from creative writing, but I like to have a social media stream, academic writing, and publishing. This year we had a bit more diversity in our academics.”
By featuring presentations with titles such as “Dream of Being a Travel Writer?” or “Joining the Conversation: Fundamentals of Social Media,” it is evident that the Writers Workshop has evolved to become not only a hub for creative writers, but rather an engagement of multi-disciplinary lessons. The skills learned from these presentations can be applied to many facets of academic or non-academic lives.
For example, a business owner who attended the “Pitch Camp: Techniques and Strategies to Move Others” presentation may have learned how to sell an idea to a potential client on the fly, while a graduate student who attended the same workshop may have begun to think about pitching a thesis to a professor. Implicit value can be found in unique ways by each type of individual who attends the workshops.
There are more to these workshops than one assumes. Many people have the impression that the presentations are similar to a class lecture, where the speakers are talking the entire time. However, the Writers Workshop aims to stray form this format.
“A lot of the workshops are discussion-based and involve group work, so there is a lot of networking that happens that way,” said Salter. “And there is also a lot of time afterwards to talk with the presenters, so it is definitely a space for meeting and sharing and networking.
Where else can somebody learn about crafting a bestseller, writing a screenplay for animated television, and grammar all in the same day? The wealth and depth of knowledge provided by the Writers Workshop is undeniable. The workshop is a unique service provided by the University of Guelph to help engage all members of the Guelph community in a meaningful way. Yet, over the course of its five years, the Writers Workshop has seen fundamental changes that have been crucial contributions to the overall success of the event.
Since taking over the Writers Workshop, Salter implemented several changes that have changed the overall perception and reception of the event.
“The first key change for me was [making the workshop] free to the public, free to everybody,” said Salter. “That was the first thing I did. The second thing was putting it all on the third floor [of the library].”
By making these changes to the overall structure of the Writers Workshop, the results of its success has been visible and made apparent by the overall atmosphere of the event itself. With the Writers Workshop being held entirely on the third floor of the Mclaughlin Library, a shared environment is created by everybody who has attended. Not only can people see the wide spectrum of workshops being presented, but also the open space allows for an engaging environment which allows people to communicate and network.
“People can sit over here and write, they can talk, and they can see all the different sessions and registration,” said Salter.
The open concept of the workshop allows for participants to have the ability to communicate with others in a more meaningful way. This recent addition to the program is crucial to the overall mission of the workshop itself – by creating an environment which encourages communication and networking between participants.
What remains consistent throughout the five years of the Writing Workshop is the common goal of helping people become better writers. Whether you are new to writing, or a veteran looking to improve your craft, this event provides a variety of tools to help you achieve your writing goals.
“People can get tips on how to find inspiration, or how to structure, or to try a different voice,” concluded Salter. “There is a lot of hands-on and practical exercises in the workshops, so the skills and strategies that people come away with are new things to try out, things they may have not thought of, or even just practice and getting started again.”