well, i survived the workshop. i inadvertently totally offended me ‘mate heather. when she asked me if i had that ‘i’m gonna throw up feeling’ and i my response was ‘it’s ok to write shitty stories.’

her face suddenly crumpled and her face reddened.

“i -i -i didn’t mean that your story was shitty,” she said, her eyes wide.
“no!” i said. “i didn’t mean to imply that you were insinuating that. it’s just my mantra. something rob told us once.”

actually, i think the workshop went really well. surprisingly well. my friend hilary told me ‘the story isn’t as shitty as you think. it’s a really strong draft.’

my main frustration with having my stuff workshopped is that i can’t participate. i just have to sit back and take it. and when they are arguing about things, i want to pick a side and join in on the discussion, almost like a disinterested third party and not as the author. but sadly, i can’t. i just have to be quiet. . . which is never my strong suit.

the discussion was great. i just love to hear people talking about my characters as if they were real. the way my classmates talk about my characters motivations and reactions totally gets me off. it’s awesome. especially, when they argue back and forth about whether or not one of my characters would do something. because it’s like they really care about these people i made up.