8.1.2 Benefits of group work

Figure 2

Often, you can learn as much, if not more, from making commentaries about the work of your peers, as you can from the feedback on your own work.

In courses on creative writing, such as those offered at The Open University [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , writers get to read and contemplate the feedback that other writers provide, not only on their own work but on the work of other students.

This course has given you a glimpse of the sort of work undertaken in the writing process, along with the sort of collaborative workshops and critiquing that typify further creative writing study.

Obviously, you will be particularly interested in the feedback on your story, but always try to be patient and study the work of your fellow writers. This will help you to better gauge the feedback on your own story.

Learning from others’ successes and failures is one of the great benefits of studying creative writing in a group – it accelerates your development as a writer. There are tremendous benefits to be gained from commenting on each other’s work and working with fellow writers who have a mutual interest in giving feedback.