One of my favorite things to do after a workshop is look over the evaluation forms. I generally sit with a cup of tea and giggle quietly to myself as I read them. This morning, looking over the evaluations for “Nonsense is Better Than No Sense At All,” it occurred to me that evaluations are worth sharing. So here are some of my favorites from the past semester.
What did you enjoy about the workshop?
- “Yes.”
- “The writing and the nonsense.”
- “The inven tive ness.”
- “Everything!”
- “Josh teacher, kind, never frowning or getting mad.”
- “The different ways to start a story, like the before and after story, and the postcard project.”
- “Generous teacher encouraging us to become more and do more things in life.”
- “The teachers were very funny.”
- “I usually hate my beginnings and endings, but now I think I won’t.”
- “Sharing ideas and listening to others’ writings.”
- “Comparing our written endings to the actual endings of the stories we wrote them for was both entertaining and interesting.”
- “Now I feel like I can write a personal essay and I’m not scared anymore.”
What would make the workshop even better?
- “I am actually not sure. I LOVED IT!”
- “We tied. Can we keep going?”
- “It could not have been improved.”
- “Being able to play the game longer.”
- “Maybe adding another class.”
- “Food!”
- “I thought it was cool enough for me.”
- “You could extend the time.”
- “Nothing!”
This one is always my favorite. In addition to about a billion requests for a fantasy writing workshop—Anyone know anyone who’d want to teach one? Email me!—we get a lot of clever responses. What are other workshop topics you’d like to see offered at 826?
- “Hard candy.”
- “Building robots.”
- “How to stay on topic with your stories.”
- “Comics.”
- “Violin making.”
- “Pets.”
- “Scripts, acting.”
- “Disco dancing stories.”
- “Horror writing.”
Additional Comments:
- “THIS PLACE ROCKS.”
- “I liked it a lot. I learned a ton.”
- “I love 826.”
- “Teacher rocks. Workshop is the bomb.”
- “It is very very fun and cool.”
- “YAY 826!”
- “Heat the building.”
- “This place rocks, man!”
Which segues nicely into: Our winter schedule is currently being constructed. Here’s your teaser: We will have a mystery writing workshop, a playwriting workshop, a science writing workshop, a workshop on comics, and two, yes two, workshops by the brilliant Scott Beal. That’s all I’m going to give away for now, but fear not! The schedule will be posted shortly. I’ll let you know the minute I have a date.