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That writers workshop in Portland changed my whole approach
Guy running it said my first page was all setup and no tension. He had me delete the first two paragraphs and start right at the argument scene. Has anyone else had a workshop critique that made you rewrite everything from scratch?
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nancygrant13d ago
Yeah I don't know, I feel like this whole "delete everything and start over" advice gets thrown around way too much. Like sure, sometimes you need to cut the fluff and get to the good stuff faster, but not every story needs to start with a bang. I've had workshop people tell me to scrap whole chapters before and looking back I think they were just being dramatic because they didn't like my style. Workshopping is useful and all but sometimes people act like they've discovered the one true way to write, when really it's just their personal taste.
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grace_allen8d ago
Three out of four people in my last workshop told me to drop the first 50 pages of my manuscript. I kept them anyway and that section ended up being what got me published. So my question to you is this - did any of those people who told you to scrap chapters actually have any published work of their own to point to? Because I find it's real easy for someone to tell you to burn your house down when they're standing on the sidewalk watching.
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