From the Amherst Writers and Artists website:
The AWA affirmations
These affirmations rest on a definition of personhood based in equality, and a definition of writing as an art form available to all persons.
- Everyone has a strong, unique voice.
- Everyone is born with creative genius.
- Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless of economic class or educational level.
- The teaching of craft can be done without damage to a writer’s original voice or artistic self-esteem.
- A writer is someone who writes.
Essential Practices
The following practices establish a safe environment where everyone is free to explore within their own writing and listen to each other with respect.
- Everyone’s writing, including the leader’s, is treated with equal respect and value.
- Writing is kept confidential and treated as fiction.
- Writers can refrain from reading their work aloud.
- Responses to just-written work reflect what is strong and successful.
- Responses and exercises support the development of literary craft.
- When listening in an AWA workshop we enter the universe that the writer has created and leave our assumptions behind. We are asked to leave behind our own expectations and experiences. In an AWA workshop we listen for and notice what works. We listen for and notice the choices a writer has made that help to create success in the writing. We listen without preconceived ideas about what the story should be about, how the poem should sound, or what we might do differently.
Positive feedback teaches participants about the craft of writing without hurting them. The pairing of harsh criticism with intelligence is a false pairing. Similarly, the idea that one must hear what’s wrong with one’s writing in order to improve is just plain not true.
Here are some elements of writing that can be commented on:
Point of View: it’s strong, it’s consistent, it’s original
Dialogue: it’s believable, it offers nice changes in rhythm from the prose
Descriptions of place: vivid, sensual, offering a sense of scene
Descriptions of character: complex, makes the listener curious, credible
Structure: clear, original, telescoping (in or out), linear or non-linear, circular
Literary techniques: metaphor, simile, allusion, alliteration, irony, hyperbole
Word choice: what words pop? what words linger? any word choices that really seem original?
Symbols, motifs, or themes: any immediately apparent?
A nice compendium of literary techniques can be found here.
Thank you, Dee. I love having this guide in “black and white”; a list of good habits to acquire and live by. Stuff that gives me a reference for permission(!) to let go. It’s not only about breaking down my internal guardrails that have confined me to judgement of self and others – as an adult – but guidance on how one succeeds in a positive energy environment. It will be very helpful.
My AWA experience shows me how it’s done, and I see the magic that spills forth. I’m stoked to get good at this!
I think you are one who gives other writers the space to feel comfortable expanding into their own. Does that make sense? maybe “on” their own? Maybe “into” their own realms? The supportive community is also essential, at least for me.