Creativity is Not Martyrdom: Part II

Writing Workshops

“We artists know, creating is as solitary as you make it. I may need hours alone getting the words onto the page, but once they’re there, they can only be edited to a certain point. I’ve found it’s impossible to take myself far enough out of a piece to see what doesn’t make sense, catch any dropped details, and stumble over clumsy sentences. The way someone else reads my work is entirely different than the way it sounds in my head. As writers, we’re so close to what we’re trying to say—it always makes sense to us. We need readers to give us their interpretations, and help us see from the other side of the page…”

Essay for Paris Lit Up about writer’s workshops, communal editing, and the benefits of collaboration.

Read full text here.