On Workshops and Seminars

A lifelong learner

I have attended many workshops, seminars and conferences over the years. It’s almost overwhelming to think about. That’s part of the reason I started writing on Substack, I want to share what I’ve learned. 

Workshops and seminars have helped me learn and develop. I know I’m a better writer because of them. After going to a couple of events, I joined the Writers’ Community of York Region. Through the WCYR, I have attended workshops and seminars on dialogue, query letters, poetry, plot holes, and more. Eventually, I extended out, joining webinars and conferences put on by various libraries, The FOLD (Festival for Literary Diversity), New England Science Fiction Association, and other organizations. There are so many excellent writing organizations out there. There are local ones, and there are ones that reach out internationally. I don’t even remember all the events that I’ve been to. During COVID, I was able to attend events far out of my area since everything was online. 

I wasn’t only listening to speakers and taking notes. I was also participating in interactive workshops. I was writing to prompts, based on topics, images, ideas, that the speaker would give attendees. I was listening and then practicing. I learned and I wrote, more and more.

Am I done learning? No. I think anyone who says yes is fooling themselves. There’s always more to learn. More to practice. You can’t get better at writing if you don’t write. Even if you don’t go and listen to someone speak on a particular subject, you can still benefit from groups where you are writing. Writing to prompts is still one of my favourite things — You never know what is going to come up.

A writer friend of mine, hosted a workshop on workshops last spring. One point she made that has stuck with me is: Would I be better off writing? When I see a new seminar or workshop announced by one of the organizations I'm a member of or follow, I ask myself that question now - Would I be better off writing? Those workshops, seminars, and events are a lot of what is fueling my Substack/Newsletter. Sometimes though, the voices are too loud and a story just wants too get out.

I enjoy courses, seminars, workshops, etc., too much to ever stop attending. I’ll always be learning.