Creative Writing Workshop III

Sabah beckons me with the highly-motivating writing workshops organized by SPARKS.I did not miss the opportunity to attend the third workshop. In the four-hour session, the writings of all participants were shown on a whiteboard through an LCD projector. Robert Raymer, guest speaker for the workshop, went through all of them and gave us his valuable, insightful feedback.

I felt honoured to have my stories critiqued and edited by Robert Raymer. He advised me to ease up the use of adjectives and adverbs because they punctuate the flow of reading. He also pointed out some inappropriate vocabulary of mine, which gave negative connotations. In addition, the writer told me to avoid making redundancies and unnecessary reports like 'I could see' and 'I could hear'. He brought home to me the fact that a good story is one which concentrates on specific details and a systematic plot development. A story replete with over-the-top vocabulary and voids of information turns off the reader.

My grammar is still weak. The problem per se is enough to spoil one whole story. It was quite embarrassing to have some of my errors exposed to others during the workshop. However, I took it constructively. I would not have been aware of the weakness had Robert not pointed it out. I will double my effort to improve my grammar through disciplined reading.

(Face to face session with writer)

Of all the stories presented, my favourite was Maria Drysz's writing of a woman getting stranded in Tripoli. Her prose was succinct, well-paced and beautiful.I will email her one of these days and request her to mail me a soft copy of the story. The other writing that captured my attention was Tina Kisil's A Rude Awakening. It was a story with an unexpected twist. For your information, Tina Kisil is a writer known for her award-winning book 'Footprints in The Paddy Field'. I brought my copy to the workshop and had her autograph it.

Thank you, Robert Raymer for taking great pains to edit my stories. You have inspired me to work harder in pursuing my dream. I hope to publish a book about my family one day:)