A Kernel on My First Novel Workshop
and my key takeaways
Almost two weeks ago, my workshop group (which includes my fellow Kernelists) critiqued my novel. I was so excited and relieved to be done with the drafting stage, to have a tangible product to show for my two years’ worth of work, that I couldn’t quite envision what reception my novel might have. Or rather: I so quickly removed my writing cap and replaced it with my editing cap that I was ready for my workshop members to pile on the editorial notes. Prior to external feedback, I was proud of what I had accomplished with my novel and impressed by my ability to maintain all of these plot lines. I felt good about my story, but I was too close to it and figured it still needed a lot of work to get it polished and ready for querying.
In the weeks leading up to my workshop, my fellow Kernelists shared generalized positive feedback that implied I would be ready to query literary agents a lot sooner than I had anticipated. This both thrilled me and made me anxious. The workshop affirmed their thoughts. After having what I consider to be a successful workshop (in the sense that my story’s vision came through for the reader and I was left with smart, thoughtful notes to review), here are my key takeaways:
Leave your ego at the door
As much as we’d all love to write a bestseller in one go, that’s nearly impossible—especially for an emerging writer. While I was proud of my draft, I did not let that pride delude me into thinking I had solid gold on my hands. After I realized I had gone as far as I could go without additional help, I declared myself editor. What was working with my novel? What wasn’t? My critical eye nitpicked, questioning structure and subplots and line-level choices. By showing up to the workshop still wearing this editorial hat, I was able to leave my ego at the door and take feedback for what it was. For instance, I could agree with Neidy when she pointed out that one particular scene felt like scaffolding to set up a flashback. I was able to process critiques and understand how they will make my story even better.
Prepare your readers with questions
As I was playing editor, I gathered my questions together and inserted them onto my novel document. I led with general, overarching questions and ended my novel with more specific questions (ones that included spoilers and therefore needed to be held until the end). I am lucky in that my workshop, regardless of leading questions, will get into granular feedback and really look at a story from all angles. But letting your reader know what type of feedback you’re looking for will help them formulate their notes as they read and may even change how they provide their feedback. For instance, I expressed to my group multiple times that I wanted them to nitpick away, to give all the line-level feedback that came to their minds, even if it meant my document would be marked up with a thousand comments (which it was!). Because I had said this, Sarah stated in her notes to me that she did go heavy-handed on the line-level feedback per my request. And I’m glad she did because her comments were very helpful.
Establish your ideal reader and use them as a guiding post
Not all feedback is created equally. Depending on your genre, what type of writer you are, which demographic your story is aimed at, etc., a workshop member may have good intentions but not be able to provide feedback that serves your story. As part of my bookselling job, I host a monthly book club. It is rare that members will unanimously like a book—and that’s great. Everyone is different and will have different tastes. Your job as a writer is to identify which tastes align with yours and your story’s. At this stage of your writing process, you should have several “comp” titles, published books that have similar plot or themes or emotionality to your story, that you can reference. Novels are far from being insular, and it’s important that you know which books your novel is in conversation with. It’s also important for your readers to know because that will help them better determine if your novel is hitting the mark you intended, and it may even help them with feedback. Once you understand who your story is for, you can use your ideal reader’s—or workshop member’s—feedback as a guiding post and take others' critiques with a grain of salt.
Express gratitude
Workshopping a novel is very different from reading a book for pleasure. It’s a story that’s not in its final form. Readers are trusted in providing thoughtful feedback, including line-level notes, developmental edits, and any other type of information the writer may request. This process takes time and is often done for free (or as an exchange). I was so grateful to my workshop group for taking the time out of their busy lives to read my novel draft. These are writers whom I respect, whose work leaves me in awe, and I was lucky enough to have their smart eyes on my draft? Incredible! During the workshop, I made sure to thank them multiple times, and afterwards, I messaged our group chat once again expressing my gratitude. It’s a small thing, but the gesture won’t go unnoticed.
Trust your process
After getting through the workshop with the understanding that I had less than a month’s worth of edits to make before I could start querying my novel, I realized that who I am as a writer is what got me here. I’ve spoken before about how I am an inherently slow writer. You will never find me making 1,000-word daily goals. Hell, 500 would even be pushing it. Sometimes I get frustrated with my speed, wanting so badly to be farther along than I am. But as the truism goes: slow and steady wins the race. Because I write about 300 words a day and I take my time on them, knocking out unintentional repetition, making sure my sentences have a nice cadence, really thinking about what the characters are doing in each moment (to the point where I will often get stuck in a scene, sitting at my desk, living in it and knowing it but not understanding how to get it on the page quite yet), I was able to cobble together a draft that felt more polished than what my workshop members expected. My process led me to a more advanced stage. It’s so easy to compare yourself to others, but if you don’t figure out what works for you, you’ll have a harder time getting to where you want to go.
My kernel of advice: Enter workshops prepared and with an open mind and trust that you are exactly where you need to be.
Inspiration, Information, & Insight
Shelby’s been plugging away at novel edits, getting closer with each step toward completion. She also attended Big Paper Planning Day, a virtual retreat for 12-week goal-setting. With one overarching value and three abstract goals, Shelby is ready to dive into this next mini chapter of her life.
Sarah didn’t manage to do any writing this week, but she enjoyed reading the manuscript of a friend’s novel—her third manuscript read of the summer! She also submitted a personal essay to a nonfiction contest and finished reading the journalist Janet Malcolm’s posthumous memoir set to family photographs Still Pictures.
Natalia moved. Lincoln Tunnel with a 22-foot truck and being turned away at the hotel in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania at midnight was enough stimulation for a lifetime, if not inspiration.
Neidy is still mostly on a writing break. She’s been listening to the backlog of episodes from The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast.