The Canalave Library Workshop
Oct 7, 2018 14:53:49 GMT
Post by admin on Oct 7, 2018 14:53:49 GMT
The Canalave Library Workshop is a bi-weekly open discussion geared towards trading feedback and connecting with other fan creators. Bring a sample of your latest work to share and discuss!
How It Works
Every workshop period is divided into two nearly-week-long phases: the submission phase and the reading phase.
The submission phase lasts from Monday to Saturday of week #1. During this time, a Google Form will be opened up and announced on the blog, the forum, and our Discord chat. You can use this form to enter a fanwork of any kind (fic, art, game code, etc.) that you would like us to look at.
This Google Form will automatically upload your work to a Google Drive folder, which will then be used for the reading phase. During this phase, the folder will be made available to all members of the Discord chat for both viewing and commenting. While members are free to leave comments on works, the main goal is to browse through the folder and prepare to discuss.
At the end of the reading phase, which always occurs on a weekend, we’ll hold a workshop, or a realtime event within a special channel on our Discord server, in which anyone can chime in with their two cents.
Which brings us to...
Workshop: Nitty Gritty
How do the workshops work specifically, you ask? Excellent question!
Workshop days will be announced at the beginning of the reading phase. These will always be Saturday or Sunday, and they will always be divided up into hours. Every piece submitted will get one of these hours—meaning everyone has at most an hour to talk about the work they’ve viewed. These discussions will be led by volunteer discussion leaders (a sign-up for this will go up at the beginning of the week as well), whose job is to keep the discussion going for as long as possible … and, well, to make sure the discussion stays on topic and within the rules of the server.
While workshopping, the floor is 100% free. Anyone and everyone is welcome to share their thoughts on what they thought was done well, what they thought could be improved, or what other thoughts came to mind as they reviewed the work. During this time, the creator will watch, taking in your comments, until the very end of their time slot. At that point, creators will have the chance to ask the discussion group questions and vice versa.
Please note that you don’t have to beta! Comments, short or long, are more than welcome. Workshopping is a chance for you to voice any opinion you have on any work you read. Although you can offer specific points that need to be tweaked, just saying, “I thought this one specific point was really good” is not only enough but also wholeheartedly welcomed and encouraged.
Also, note that these comments are not conversations with the creator but rather with the discussion leader and fellow readers. As noted above, the creator will sit back and watch the discussion happen until the final few minutes. Before then, feel free to voice your opinion as if the creator isn’t in the room or to talk with other members of the group about the work and their thoughts.
Either way, we do ask that you read or check out at least one work as thoroughly as possible before coming to the the workshop. If discussion is slow, you’re free to pop into the folder and browse the work being discussed, but it’s always good to get a head start on browsing.
Workshopping for Creators
As noted earlier, literally any form of creative work is accepted! Writing, art, game scripts—you name it, it’s good! It’s just important to keep in mind the schedule; don’t submit anything you need immediate help for or anything you’re hoping to submit within two weeks. (If you need immediate help or betas, please consider using our various creative channels!) If, however, you’d like to bring a short story or writing sample unrelated to your current work, a sample of a chapter far into the future, an art WIP you don’t plan on finishing soon, or so forth, that’s okay.
Also, to help keep things down to a reasonable length (so others can read your work), there is a maximum page length of five pages for all writing and code. That means each piece you submit can only be up to five pages long. There is no size limit on art (Forms will simply bar you from submitting anything too large), and you’re free to submit as many works as you’d like, so long as they’re each for different projects.
When the group is workshopping your WIP, keep an open mind and remember that all comments are not meant to be personal. Wait until the discussion leader gives you the OK to speak (usually at the end of your hour), and then you can answer any questions you have for the group or ask them any questions. This is to help maximize the amount of feedback you get from the group and to keep the discussion flowing and in check. It’s also meant to help you think about the comments you receive and the impressions folks give as they discuss your work.
Workshopping: Being a Leader
Leaders are perhaps one of the most important jobs of the workshopping experience. As noted above, your main job is to keep the discussion going, but you’ll also need to manage people, not only by ensuring that the discussion is on topic but also keeping track of the time and making sure the creator gets their voice at the appropriate moment. It sounds complicated, but it’s just a matter of opening up the discussion, encouraging people to give their thoughts, and discouraging derailing.
One way to do this is by opening the discussion with your own thoughts and leading through with a topic. Ask questions about certain parts if the discussion lulls. Politely remind people when certain times (a half an hour, forty-five minutes) have passed. Gently ask people to return to the topic if they bring up something completely unrelated. Then, at what feels like the right time, ask both sides (the group and the creator) if they have any questions. When all is said and done, close the discussion and give the floor to the next leader by @ tagging them.
If this sounds like something you’re willing to do for an hour, then keep an eye on our Discord channel and Tumblr at the beginning of the reading phase for a full schedule of works, complete with a listing of who’s leading each discussion. A Google form will be attached to this schedule, and if a work interests you enough that you’d like to lead a discussion on it and if its slot is open for a leader, simply use the form to volunteer. You’ll be tapped by DM the day before the workshop is open to let you know if you should prepare. (So yes, you should be a member of the Discord server to participate.)
Submission Forms
Interested in submitting your work to a workshop? Click the link below to move to the submission form!
goo.gl/forms/C9cUbFFU5Jx3ejhF3
How It Works
Every workshop period is divided into two nearly-week-long phases: the submission phase and the reading phase.
The submission phase lasts from Monday to Saturday of week #1. During this time, a Google Form will be opened up and announced on the blog, the forum, and our Discord chat. You can use this form to enter a fanwork of any kind (fic, art, game code, etc.) that you would like us to look at.
This Google Form will automatically upload your work to a Google Drive folder, which will then be used for the reading phase. During this phase, the folder will be made available to all members of the Discord chat for both viewing and commenting. While members are free to leave comments on works, the main goal is to browse through the folder and prepare to discuss.
At the end of the reading phase, which always occurs on a weekend, we’ll hold a workshop, or a realtime event within a special channel on our Discord server, in which anyone can chime in with their two cents.
Which brings us to...
Workshop: Nitty Gritty
How do the workshops work specifically, you ask? Excellent question!
Workshop days will be announced at the beginning of the reading phase. These will always be Saturday or Sunday, and they will always be divided up into hours. Every piece submitted will get one of these hours—meaning everyone has at most an hour to talk about the work they’ve viewed. These discussions will be led by volunteer discussion leaders (a sign-up for this will go up at the beginning of the week as well), whose job is to keep the discussion going for as long as possible … and, well, to make sure the discussion stays on topic and within the rules of the server.
While workshopping, the floor is 100% free. Anyone and everyone is welcome to share their thoughts on what they thought was done well, what they thought could be improved, or what other thoughts came to mind as they reviewed the work. During this time, the creator will watch, taking in your comments, until the very end of their time slot. At that point, creators will have the chance to ask the discussion group questions and vice versa.
Please note that you don’t have to beta! Comments, short or long, are more than welcome. Workshopping is a chance for you to voice any opinion you have on any work you read. Although you can offer specific points that need to be tweaked, just saying, “I thought this one specific point was really good” is not only enough but also wholeheartedly welcomed and encouraged.
Also, note that these comments are not conversations with the creator but rather with the discussion leader and fellow readers. As noted above, the creator will sit back and watch the discussion happen until the final few minutes. Before then, feel free to voice your opinion as if the creator isn’t in the room or to talk with other members of the group about the work and their thoughts.
Either way, we do ask that you read or check out at least one work as thoroughly as possible before coming to the the workshop. If discussion is slow, you’re free to pop into the folder and browse the work being discussed, but it’s always good to get a head start on browsing.
Workshopping for Creators
As noted earlier, literally any form of creative work is accepted! Writing, art, game scripts—you name it, it’s good! It’s just important to keep in mind the schedule; don’t submit anything you need immediate help for or anything you’re hoping to submit within two weeks. (If you need immediate help or betas, please consider using our various creative channels!) If, however, you’d like to bring a short story or writing sample unrelated to your current work, a sample of a chapter far into the future, an art WIP you don’t plan on finishing soon, or so forth, that’s okay.
Also, to help keep things down to a reasonable length (so others can read your work), there is a maximum page length of five pages for all writing and code. That means each piece you submit can only be up to five pages long. There is no size limit on art (Forms will simply bar you from submitting anything too large), and you’re free to submit as many works as you’d like, so long as they’re each for different projects.
When the group is workshopping your WIP, keep an open mind and remember that all comments are not meant to be personal. Wait until the discussion leader gives you the OK to speak (usually at the end of your hour), and then you can answer any questions you have for the group or ask them any questions. This is to help maximize the amount of feedback you get from the group and to keep the discussion flowing and in check. It’s also meant to help you think about the comments you receive and the impressions folks give as they discuss your work.
Workshopping: Being a Leader
Leaders are perhaps one of the most important jobs of the workshopping experience. As noted above, your main job is to keep the discussion going, but you’ll also need to manage people, not only by ensuring that the discussion is on topic but also keeping track of the time and making sure the creator gets their voice at the appropriate moment. It sounds complicated, but it’s just a matter of opening up the discussion, encouraging people to give their thoughts, and discouraging derailing.
One way to do this is by opening the discussion with your own thoughts and leading through with a topic. Ask questions about certain parts if the discussion lulls. Politely remind people when certain times (a half an hour, forty-five minutes) have passed. Gently ask people to return to the topic if they bring up something completely unrelated. Then, at what feels like the right time, ask both sides (the group and the creator) if they have any questions. When all is said and done, close the discussion and give the floor to the next leader by @ tagging them.
If this sounds like something you’re willing to do for an hour, then keep an eye on our Discord channel and Tumblr at the beginning of the reading phase for a full schedule of works, complete with a listing of who’s leading each discussion. A Google form will be attached to this schedule, and if a work interests you enough that you’d like to lead a discussion on it and if its slot is open for a leader, simply use the form to volunteer. You’ll be tapped by DM the day before the workshop is open to let you know if you should prepare. (So yes, you should be a member of the Discord server to participate.)
Submission Forms
Interested in submitting your work to a workshop? Click the link below to move to the submission form!
goo.gl/forms/C9cUbFFU5Jx3ejhF3