The Workshop Experience
It was mid-point of the workshop and I was
struggling. It is not a good sign when
you’ve scratched on the handout – shut up already.
There was someone that I thought was taking too much
air space in the afternoon which proves I can be really judgmental and
impatient. This made it an interesting
workshop, if only for me to realize how much irritation I can handle. And others may not have had the same
experience. While I was seriously
irritated by one person, others could seriously have been irritated with
me. I know how this goes.
The workshop was unique, far more discussion time
than many I have been to. I’m old enough
that it takes effort for me to wrap my head around something new. Some of the discussion was useful, some was
not. We spent significant time on a page
of quotations. But the use of them to
examine voice is something that I will consider in the future.
Eventually we got to several thought provoking
exercises.
#1. Finish this sentence. I don’t know why I remember…
#2. Part A. List the things I was taught. Part B. List the things I was not taught.
#3. Create a personal ‘Harper’s Index’. “Harper’s Index” is a registered trademark.
In case you are unfamiliar with the index, it is a
collection of facts such as average age, or percentage of, or number of times
something occurred. All of it is random and eclectic enough to get
the brain cells working.
Our workshop leader assured us that ‘there was a
story’ behind each of our answers. Indeed
he stated, there were fascinating stories.
But the best summation of the workshop might have been a fellow attendee
statement ‘you can make all kinds of shit up.’
On a person note, the moment I decided that I had
got my money’s worth out of the day was during the meal after. I overheard the instructor explain something
of his own process that made total sense to me.
I might not have known before but that was the thing that I came for. So worth it.
