Hello All,
So, who doesn’t love an ‘origin story’, right? Here’s one for you. The idea for the Water Cooler arose one day during what should have been an AWA Marketing and Communications committee meeting. But since three other members couldn’t make it, it just left Ashley Schein and myself, so we got to chatting. Compared to dinosaur me (certified as a workshop leader in 2005), Ashley’s a fairly recent (2022) arrival, and after forty-five minutes or so of talking Ashley said, “This has been so great to just talk casually with a fellow AWA workshop leader!”
I granted her that sure, this was probably a ‘new’ experience for her as a ‘new’ graduate. But then, to my complete surprise I realized that in all my years, this was MY first time to have such a conversation as well! Why on earth had it taken this long to happen? And now that it had, this certainly needed to happen again – ideally with a group. Which it has! On Sunday June 1st we just had the fourth Water Cooler gathering. The first three drew between ten and fifteen people to each one, which has been perfect. Big enough for some great group dynamics, but not so big as to become unwieldy. They’re fun. They’re informal. And of course we support each other while yapping about this thing that all of us are so passionate about: leading writing workshops using the AWA method.
This last Sunday nine had registered; six showed up. I received an email afterwards saying: “I’m actually glad we didn’t have a bigger group attending. Everyone had a voice. Everyone was heard. Much harder to ensure that in a bigger group. :)” Maybe there’s been a bit of magic helping me along the way. From my perspective it feels like each Water Cooler has had exactly the number of people it needed, on that particular day.
Okay, so here we are and I thought it might be useful both for those who attended, as well as those who could not, to post a short summary of some topics that came up during Water Cooler #4. Please see these notes as an invitation – if you have additional views that could help anyone, please share them in the comments! (Also, I freely admit that I make a lousy secretary. I get too ‘caught up in the drama’, and then neglect to take notes. So, if you see gaps, please fill them in!)
How to manage groups of different sizes; from very large to very small.
Sometimes – especially when leading groups for another organisation as opposed to ‘under your own banner’ – you might get saddled with a group size larger than your ideal number. For instance, the organisation Leanne is working with ‘gave’ her a group of 12 participants, which she hadn’t really been expecting! Some of her tactics + some group suggestions:
• keep to shorter prompts – ten minutes max. Advise that there’ll only be time for feedback from three or four people, not everyone.
• mix in some ‘reading without response’ prompts.
• guy leads a monthly group at Folsom Prison with forty participants. No, not a typo, that’s forty as in 40. He shared a wonderful thing he experienced at an in-person Nathalie Goldberg workshop, which is that occasionally, when it came time for people to give feedback, Nathalie instructed the group, “Now please all give your feedback at exactly the same time, starting now!” What guy reported was that (as the recipient of feedback) he experience this wonderful sortof ‘energetic’ wave of positivity and support from the group in that moment. And that, even within the cacophony, he was also able to hear specific things about a particular line, or some particular words. Performers, musicians, sportspeople, all receive ‘applause’. When does a writer ever get that, other than at a staged reading? So… guy has used this technique (successfully) with his group of 40. No one knew of it having been tried on Zoom. Someone want to try, and then report back how it went?!
• We also spoke of the pros and cons of tiny groups – meaning below four participants. There seemed general agreement that it’s less than ideal to start, say, a six week workshop with only two or three people. The ‘group dynamic’ benefit is then simply not there. This is especially true when the participants are new to the method. However, it’s not to say that wonderful workshops cannot happen with only two or three participants. Plenty of us have had those odd moments when, out of a group of seven, five haven’t been able to make it. But those who did, still had a great and productive time. It’s all about flexibility and adaptation. Specific tips or tricks for this? Feel free to comment.
How do you balance your own writing productivity with the work you are putting in to leading workshops?
• Okay, so this is a bit of a, “Sorry, but you had to be there!” moment. Because during discussion of this question, at a slight tangent, Barbara offered, “In case anyone’s interested, I’ve formulated a structure around ‘what to do with all the pieces of writing you create.’ It comes with worksheets.” I think we were all a bit flabbergasted when, sure enough, a bit later, through the Chat, we were all given access to a bunch of hugely helpful pdfs from Barbara, that guide you through a process of looking back over all those ‘short bits’ you’ve created during different workshops, analysing them, categorising them, and then finding ways to stitch them together into cohesive, larger narratives. Amazing.
(If you’re perhaps interested in her asynchronous (meaning: ‘do it at your own pace’) online package, “Storyquilting: Stitching Your Patches of Story into a Cohesive Fabric,” please reach out to AWA affiliate Barbara Krasner.)
• guy also shared a technique of using, say, the 5th and 6th week sessions of a 6 week workshop, to reexamine works created in the preceding weeks, do some extra work on them, and then present ‘more polished’ versions of those stories during the final session.
Okay, so at this point, by writing this post, I’ve scored a big fat F on my original intention that Water Coolers, for the host, “Should not require any preparatory or follow-up work – the work is simply hosting the live session itself.”
We discussed much more than what I’ve mentioned here – anyone who would care to add anything – from Water Coolers 1 through 3 also welcome! – please simply Comment away. And yes there will be a Water Cooler #5 – as soon as I figure out a date with Katie.
Thanks everyone. Now off for a much needed shampoo of my hair. It’s been weeks!
Thanks, Matthew. A great summary of our robust discussion. It was a soul-filling 90 minutes. I’m astonished how a casual chat can still feel so “AWA-ish” in its generosity of spirit and creative synergy.
A couple of additional takeaways were how to get people into workshops. I like the idea of flyers in bookstores/coffee shops (perhaps “old school” attracts AWA-minded writers?) as well as getting our events on the AWA calendar so the ~250 writers can see them. Also, someone mentioned “trading” with other affiliates (e.g. you come to mine, and I come to yours) to fill an extra seat.
We also briefly discussed series vs. one-offs, as well as thoughts on the “ideal” length of a series.
So much great conversation!
Thanks Leanne – I’m so glad you added this important point about “how to get those all-important bums on seats,” especially because it dove-tails a bit with the ‘small groups’ discussion.
So in addition to a ‘workshop session trade’, it can also be good to have list of reserve participants – other affiliates, people who’ve written with you in the past, whomever, so if push comes to shove and suddenly your group number has dwindled, you can offer a first-come-first-served workshop session to someone on your reserve list.
Also, the idea has been proposed here and there, that leaders can make some kind of “offer” on their website, like “AWA Affiliates get 10% discount (or $10, or $20, or whatever works for you) off the registration price,” just as a way of making yourself more “available” to potential signups.
Lastly, just to clarify your ~250… we’re presently at around 250 paid-up AWA Affiliate Members PLUS 240 AWA Writer Members – so you have the potential of reaching, at the very least, around 500 writers, by promoting your workshops on the AWA Event Calendar. Don’t miss that opportunity!
One point I did not include, which I thought was great, and again came from Barbara Krasner, was that occasionally in her workshops Barbara will give a prompt she has gleaned from a literary journal that is presently holding a “themed submission.” After participants have written and read out loud, she then informs the group that such and such journal is presently open for submissions on this theme.
I find this a really great way of giving people a possible outlet for the pieces they’ve created during workshops that – very importantly – is optional. No one’s saying you have to submit, but for a writer this appeals to, it’s a great way of softly promoting the idea of “getting your writing out there.”
In my short Water Cooler report at our recent AWA board meeting, after I shared about this aspect, Andrea Vassallo offered that she sometimes uses the “Readers Write” portal at The Sun, in a similar way. For anyone interested, here’s their latest. For a July 1st deadline, they’re seeking true stories about nicknames.
“Honest Abe. Queen Bey. The Dude. Even if you don’t have a famous one, a nickname can make you feel cool—or it can drive you crazy. Tell us about the dig your siblings used to torment you or the moniker you earned after an epic night out. Did you rebrand yourself by changing a childhood “Missy” to an adult “Melissa”? Are you the person who comes up with the perfect handles for your friends? Have you always wanted a nickname but never had one? Send us your true story (no fabrications except the nicknames, please!) by July 1.”
https://www.thesunmagazine.org/submit/readers-write