The Writing Workshop Note Book: Notes on Creating and Workshopping - Softcover

Ziegler, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933368705 ISBN 13: 9781933368702

Publisher: Soft Skull, 2007

Synopsis

The Writing Workshop Notebook is devoted to making, remaking, and remarking on writing. Ziegler's text is animated by a concern about how we relate to our own and others’ writing and by a desire to have a suitable effect on the reader’s experience with writing and critiquing. The book is supported by the author's experience from decades of leading writing workshops.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Ziegler is professor of writing and director of pedagogy at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he was chair of the Writing Program from 2001 to 2006 and won the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. His books include The Swan Song of Vaudeville, The Green Grass of Flatbush, So Much to Do, The Writing Workshop, volumes 1 and 2, and The Writing Workshop Note Book. Ziegler lives in New York City with his wife, Erin Langston.

Reviews

Starred Review. Poet Ziegler, the award-winning professor of writing at Columbia University, whose previous Writing Workshop books are well regarded by teachers and students, has put together what he calls a note book for workshopping. The first part focuses on personal writing strategies—how to get the creativity going, how to flex different writing skills. The second part discusses how to use the workshop experience productively. To Ziegler, the workshop is that rare place where writing is actually an obligation, writing is what you're supposed to do. He gives detailed advice on critiquing other people's work; essentially, comments shouldn't be negative or positive, but helpful. Ziegler's own experience running workshops leads him to offer much advice on encouraging other people's creativity, but it's his love of the literary anecdote that makes his advice so palatable. To illustrate that feedback needs to be useful, for example, he quotes Anne Sexton's husband's (useless) response to one of her works, I don't think that's too hotsy-totsy. As Ziegler talks about his own mentors or difficult situations he's handled with his students, he models, for readers, the constructive, compassionate writing teacher. While intended for the apprentice writer, Ziegler's manual, with its useful ideas for creative writing assignments and its marvelously brief copyediting appendix, should be read by students and teachers of creative writing. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1933368705
• ISBN 13: 9781933368702
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176