Writing is about containment. When you write a poem or a story, you make a sort of vessel to hold your feelings and examine them. In the same way, a writing group becomes a container in which members learn to value each other’s writing and to respect each other’s boundaries. These are the tenets of methods developed by Amherst Writers & Artists.

Affirmations

1. Everyone has a strong, unique writer’s voice.

2. Everyone is born with creative genius.

3. Writing as an art form belongs to all people.

4. Craft can be taught without damage to a writer’s original voice or artistic self-esteem.

5. A writer is someone who writes.

 

Practices

· A nonhierarchical spirit (how we treat writing) in the workshop is maintained, while at the same time, how we interact as a group keeps writers safe.

· Confidentiality about what’s written and shared in the meeting is maintained and the privacy of the writer protected. All writing is responded to as fiction. Writers read their work aloud at their own discretion.

· Absolutely no criticism, suggestion or question is directed toward first-draft, just-written work. Thorough critique is offered only when the writer asks for it by making advance arrangements with Susan to distribute work in manuscript form ahead of time. Critique other groups members give, both in writing and in group discussion, should be  balanced with as much affirmation as suggestion for change.

· Teaching of craft is taken seriously and conducted through exercises that invite experimentation and growth, as well as through response to manuscripts and in private conference.

· Susan writes along with participants and reads her work aloud at least once each session. Only in this way is there equal risk-taking and mutual trust.

Amherst method guides how we treat each other

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