Writers' Workshops & the Work of Making Things: Patterns, Poetry...

"Richard Gabriel explains clearly and thoughtfully why and how the workshop approach can methodically enhance individual vision through communal creativity. Poets, come down from your lonely garrets! Programmers, emerge from your cubicles! Read this book. Your friends can help you and your art may be the better for it." Guy L. Steele Jr., Distinguished Engineer, Sun Microsystems, Inc."This comprehensive guide to the practice is packed with anecdotes and examples, entertaining reading threaded with lots of useful, practical information. I think it's destined to be an indispensable sourcebook for creators of all kinds, regardless of their fields." Janet Holmes, MFA Program for Writers, Boise State University, author of Humanophone "After reading this book I'm eager to fully experience workshopping and see what the process really can bring to me and to others. Gabriel's extension of the workshop format to refining other types of work sets the wheels spinning for me. How many other 'things that need refinement' can benefit from the same treatment? " Kent Beck, Director, Three Rivers Institute "Richard Gabriel writes with insight, experience, and a wry sense of humor that casts light on this little explored creative activity and kept me reading from the first page to the last." Richard Schmitt, author of The AerialistThe writers' workshop provides creative writers with a time-tested teaching and revision tool, and business and technical professionals with a new and effective alternative to impersonal peer reviews and scientific workshops. In this intense, interactive, gift-based forum, writers help each other hone their craft and improve individual pieces of work. Writers' Workshops & the Work of Making Things describes in detail how to conduct and participate in a successful creative or technical workshop. You will learn from the author's own struggles, as well as from the collective experience of the software patterns and creative writing communities. Topics include:Origins of the writers' workshopHow the workshop worksThe nature of creative workWorkshop players and settingsWorkshop preparationThe author's initial presentationRestating and summarizing the workProviding positive feedbackSuggestions for improvementsThe author's response and revisionWhether you write poems, short stories, documentation, or software, the collective energy of a writers' workshop can significantly enhance innovation, clarity, and effectiveness in your writing. Writers' Workshops & the Work of Making Things will help you get the most from a workshop experience. 020172183XB05312002

Table of Contents:
Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction.  1. Writers' Workshop Overview.  2. Crowd. I. THE WORK OF MAKING THINGS.  3. Triggers and Practice.  4. Work in Progress.  5. The Gift. II. WRITERS' WORKSHOP.  6. The Players.  7. The Setting.  8. In Situ.  9. Preparing for the Workshop. 10. Shepherds. 11. The Author Reads. 12. Fly on the Wall. 13. Summarize the Work. 14. Positive Feedback. 15. Suggestions for Improvement. 16.Clarifications. 17. Wrapping Up. 18. Revising the Work. Coda: The Work of Making Things. Notes. Appendix A: Examples. Appendix B: Writing Workshops Guidelines for Feedback. References. Index. About the Author. 020172183XT05312002

About the Author :
Poet and computer scientist Richard P. Gabriel, Ph.D., M.F.A., introduced the writers' workshop to the software patterns community. He is the author of Patterns of Software (Oxford University Press, 1996) and Performance and Evaluation of Lisp Systems (MIT Press, 1985). His poetry has appeared in numerous literary magazines. 020172183XAB05312002