Workshop Exercises
Want to Dig a Little Deeper?
Check out the books below for more information, exercises, and wisdom about the process of writing. They’re good books for good people, ergo, read these books, become a good person.
Somewhat autobiographical, but very accessible. The vibe is very ‘You must free your mind before you can liberate your writing’.
George Saunders is a chill dude, and he wants you to see the bazaar, beguiling beauty in short story writing by taking you by the hand (gently) and guiding you through seven different Russian classics. The form, the function, the fun, and the frustration of parsing these short story masterworks are all in one book.
This tome is nearly a textbook, but while other textbooks are full of stock photos and soul stabbing homework assignments, this one is full of very specific insights into the writing process and a panoply of writing prompts and exercises that both challenge and inspire.
If You're Feeling Sinister...
You should give these books a shot. I think you would like them, and I think they’d like you back. Some of them are by authors that were showcased during the workshop, and some of them are here for spice and vibrations. But which have all the spice and which have all the good vibes? Do some have spicy vibrations?
You decide.
“Our brains have evolved to care about story. If you want to penetrate the brain of a listener, wrap the information in things they care about.”
“The truth is that the short story form has reliably inspired brilliant performances by our best writers, in a line unbroken since the time of Poe.”
“Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.”