For the most part, Crafted Creative invites people from all backgrounds (and obviously of all genders, ages, nationalities, faiths, sexual orientations, etc.) to participate in our workshops. However we do maintain a few basic requirements and provide the following recommendations for all of those considering taking part in our workshops in order to provide for the maximum benefit to all participants.

Please read the following and consider whether you and our organization will be a good match for furthering each others’ goals.

REQUIREMENTS:

An Email Address You Check Regularly: Communication from our organization and your classmates will often be distributed by email. In addition to having and checking email, thoroughly reading (not just skimming) messages regarding our workshops will serve you well and help you avoid missing out on important information.

Internet Access: We submit and critique works online through the writing critique platform Scribophile.com. This means you must have access to the internet somewhere (even if it’s the local library computer lab) to participate in our workshops. Having a reliable internet connection at home, school or somewhere else you go frequently and a device you can reasonably use to check your email and log into Scribophile will make your participation in our workshops that much easier.

Attendance/Commitment: Our multi-week workshops run for six or eight weeks. When you become part of a workshop group, your voice becomes very important to your classmates’ experience. It’s possible, though not recommended, to miss one week of class without significant detriment to you or your classmates. However, if you expect you might miss more than one workshop meeting, consider waiting to sign up until such time you can commit to attending the majority of the weeks. IMPORTANT: If you know you’re going to be absent on a given week, you should NOT submit work to be critiqued the previous week as you should NOT take up your classmates critiquing time that week. You can upload your work no later than two days after the missed class to be critiqued for the following week when you WILL be present.

When you sign up for a multi-week workshop, you’re committing not only to attending the class meetings, but also to completing any “homework” assigned week to week. Examples of homework include writing an author bio, finding a published piece of writing that exemplifies a literary device discussed in class or revising a piece you’ve shared with the group. The great majority of homework in Crafted Creative workshops however, are the critiques of your fellow participants’ writing you will complete via the Scribophile.com platform.

At Crafted Creative, we understand that giving/receiving literary constructive criticism strikes many writers as daunting or “scary.” Click here to read more about this, but let us put your worries to rest. In any workshop in which even one participant has not taken our intro Crafting & Critique or participated with us before, the workshop leader will thoroughly cover the topics of giving/receiving constructive criticism as well as using the Scribophile online critique platform. You don’t need to know anything about Scribophile.com or giving literary critique before signing up for our workshops. All we ask is that you be open to learning (even if that means making “mistakes”) and committed to offering your very best efforts to your fellow participants.

Respect: If participants are half as diverse as we’re hoping, we’re going to have classes with a wide range of ages, interests, beliefs, skill levels and life experiences. As such, our writing will be as diverse as we are, and as we learn and expand our critiquing skills, all participants must be prepared to put aside personal predilections and consider each classmate’s work respectfully and appropriately.

Expressions of prejudice and hate toward a classmate or any group of people (that can reasonably be construed as a belief held by a participant and not just a fictional or documentary depiction of such) are grounds for expulsion from any workshop or seminar sponsored by Crafted Creative.

Finally, please read “A Note about Food in Class” to learn about Crafted Creative’s policies surrounding the consumption of food and drink during workshop time.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Access to a Personal Laptop or Tablet: Owning or being able to semi-permanently borrow a laptop or tablet computer will make all the difference when it comes to submitting, critiquing and participating in class. Trying to use your phone to participate will almost certainly become cumbersome. You’ll need to bring your laptop/tablet to every class. Limited screen sharing among participants may work, but a personal computer will provide for the optimum experience.