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Welcome to the Fictionista Workshop Community

July 18, 2011 Our Programs, Overview, Workshop, Workshop Information No Comments

Fictionista Workshop is a supportive community of writers, editors, and readers, hoping to assist the online writing community through various projects and programs.

The Workshop is our most intense program and offers an in-depth, twelve-week critique of a finished manuscript. Fictionista tries to run at least two Workshops a year. If you are a writer or a reader who might benefit from an intense, collaborative effort focused on a single manuscript, please read further.

People who enjoy the online writing and reading communities are eager for creative opportunities in which they can interact with others. Writing can be a lonely process, whether done in private or with others; having a ready pool of other writers, editors, and readers available for immediate discussion and feedback when needed can be extraordinarily helpful. For that reason, we developed two different programs, the Writer Collective and the Workshop. The Writer Collective is a small writing group that meets once a week with a moderator and reader to hone the writer’s skills in a non-threatening, intimate environment. The Workshop is an intensive critique of a single manuscript by a group of readers and editors.

Each program is based on volunteers who offer their time simply because they love to read and write. That is why we call ourselves the Fictionista Workshop Community. As a volunteer-run organization, Fictionista Workshop would love to welcome you to our programs.

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Fictionista Workshop

We currently have no Workshops under way at this time so that we can run a Writer Collective in the spring of 2012. We may run another round of Workshops in the late fall or winter of 2012. If you are interested in a workshop, please fill out the appropriate application below. Please note there is now an application just for writers and a separate application for all other participants, including editors and moderators. Click here to view the current applications: apply as a writer or apply as a participant.

Here is more specific information about the available workshop roles:

Participants

Participants are readers, observers, and constructive critics, offering detailed feedback in formats appropriate for the workshop setting, as well as support and encouragement. They are a crucial, integrated part of the workshop and forum activity.

Editors

Editors review, rewrite, and edit the work of writers, offering comments as needed to improve the work. An editor’s primary responsibility is to readers, writers, and workshop participants (in that order); this means that they will base their decisions on the needs and interests of these constituents.

Moderators

The moderator manages and directs operations of one or more individual forums (writing projects) on Fictionista Workshop. This role is critical to the success of a given project, essentially functioning as a workshop leader and project manager in addition to performing more traditional duties of a forum moderator, such as resolving disagreements and maintaining discussion threads.

Writers

Writers are an integral part of the workshop as a whole, and are key to the success of the workshop. Writers, editors and reader participants work together to polish a writer’s story, giving credibility to a proven process. Without writer participation, the workshop would be non-existent. Feedback from the writer and other participants assists with the completion of the writer’s story and provides assistance and ideas to others in the workshop.

Workshop Writers

July 20, 2011 Workshop, Writer Comments Off

Writer Positions

The Fictionista Workshop writer is an integral part of the workshop as a whole. Writers are key to the success of the workshop process. Working with other writers, both established and new, encourages writer to aim for personal success, giving credibility to a proven process. Without writer participation, the workshop would be non-existent. Writer feedback and participation is critical for completion of their own product and offering assistance and ideas in other parts of the workshop.

Writers must submit an outline of their story along with the completed novella, then work with the assigned editors to polish their story into a product ready for critique by the other workshop participants. Writers participate in the writing workshop under a set timeframe, participate on forums, and interact with readers and moderators.

In order to be considered for the Fictionista Workshop environment, all writers must submit both an application and a manuscript by the required date.

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

The current workshop is for completed works of original fiction.
In order to be considered for the workshop, all writers must guarantee no plagiarism in their work and provide history of any published work, if applicable.
The “manuscript” consists of a full story outline and the first 5,000 to 7,000 words of the completed story. Submissions should be uploaded into the Writer application where indicated.
Submissions must be in the form of a Microsoft Word document.

Application Guidelines

We are currently not accepting applications for the Writing Workshop. The Writing Collective will run a Spring session this year, and if you are interested, please click on the Collective link on the menu bar.
All applicants should have been contacted and notified of the status of their application shortly after being received.

Questions? Email us at contact@fictionistaworkshop.com

Workshop Participants

July 18, 2011 Participant, Workshop Comments Off

Participant Positions

Fictionista Workshop participants are readers, observers, and constructive critics, offering detailed feedback in formats appropriate for the workshop setting, as well as support and encouragement. Depending on how many applicants are interested, participants may be assigned to focus on the role of Research Participant, Analyst Participant, Characterization Participant, Dialogue Participant or a combination of these. Participants are a crucial, integrated part of the workshop and forum activity. Participants must remain active in the workshop in order to continue participating in the forum.

If you are interested, please consider applying. We accept applications all year long, though we only run a few workshops a year.

Application Guidelines.

All participants should have been contacted and notified of the status of their application shortly after being received.

Questions? Email us at contact@fictionistaworkshop.com

Workshop Editors

July 18, 2011 Editor, Workshop Comments Off

Editor Positions

Fictionista Workshop editors work closely with writers and readers in the workshop environment, reviewing, analyzing, redacting, and sometimes even rewriting the work of writers.

Editors in the workshop include story editors and copy editors. Story editors look for plausibility in the work as a whole, evaluating plot, storyline, and character development, developing the material and clarifying ambiguities. They evaluate the manuscript and challenge the writer when they find faulty logic, inconsistencies, and vagueness. They also may rewrite, cut, clarify, and format the work as needed. Copy editors proofread a writer’s work, but also address stylistic issues, pointing out problems but not reworking them. Other participants in each workshop share some of the duties of the story editor, since they will be commenting on plot, storyline, character development and character during the course of the workshop.

Key Qualities/Ethics/Code of Conduct

For our purposes, a good editor:

Understands and is sympathetic to the challenges writers face.
Recognizes and appreciates literary talent, and acts to foster and support it.
Open to many different styles of writing; treats them all respectfully.
Confident and secure in their judgment without imposing their own style on a writer.
Accepts that writers have final say on their own work, even when it goes against their editorial opinion.
Trustworthy; acts to protect the copyright and distribution of a writer’s work.
Has the moral and mental strength needed to resist pressure to create work aimed at earning a writer popularity and fitting in with community trends; protects the quality and integrity of the work.
Advocates for the needs of readers, even over the needs of publishers, agents, and sometimes writers themselves.
Energetic, enthusiastic, and resourceful in helping authors to discover the truth, purpose, and meaning in their writing.
Has great reserves of patience and tact; understands the difference between constructive criticism and negativity, opinion and fact, attending to the ways that their comments can affect a writer, their confidence, and quality of work.
Has the kind of character and generosity required to lend their time, energy, and all of their own creativity to projects for which they might never be recognized.
Supports writers through all the advantages and pitfalls of writing, including writer’s block, bad reviews, negativity from community members, popularity issues, and marketing ideas.
Likes writers and enjoys working with them.

Application Guidelines

Applications for the position of editor are accepted year round.
All applicants should have been contacted and notified of the status of their application shortly after being received.

Editing Test

Within 48 hours after we receive your application, FW will send you an editing test via email for completion and return within 72 hours.

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Questions, comments, concerns? Email us at contact@fictionistaworkshop.com

Moderators

July 18, 2011 Moderator, Workshop Comments Off

Moderator Positions - Applications for Fall 2011 Workshops Will be Accepted July 25th to August 15th

The forum moderator manages and directs operations of one or more individual forums (writing projects) on Fictionista Workshop. This role is critical to the success of a given project, essentially functioning as a workshop leader and project manager in addition to performing more traditional duties of a forum moderator, such as resolving disagreements and maintaining discussion threads.

Application Guidelines

Applications for the Fall 2011 Workshops will be accepted from July 25th through August 15th.
All participants should have been contacted and notified of the status of their application shortly after being received.

Expectations of an Ideal Candidate

As a forum moderator, you will facilitate the process in a public forum.
Moderators will be working with administrators, authors, editors, and registered participants and must maintain strong, friendly, and professional relationships.
Acquire skills in website management to assist Administrator in keeping forum topics organized.
Moderators are discussion leaders and will occasionally need to encourage workshop members to focus on specific elements of craft and story concepts of character/plot, directing them toward the desired goal for the workshop.
Modeling the critical process for the other workshop members is as important as the critique itself.
Moderators should be perceptive individuals and have a good understanding of how various issues can affect others when directing the outcome of a situation.
Anything requiring personal attention (ex. negativity expressed to another participant and/or moderator/author, abuse of thread, disregard of workshop rules, etc.) will be handled tactfully by initial contact via PM.

Questions? Email us at contact@fictionistaworkshop.com