Just read two excellent pieces from Glimmer Train’s latest bulletin.  One is by Jeremiah Chamberlin, about workshops, titled “Workshop Is Not for You”:

Whenever my students complain about workshop, their gripes invariably have to do with issues of reciprocity. Or, rather, the lack thereof—they have spent a great deal of time carefully reading and writing thoughtful comments on the work of their peers, only to receive the vaguest feedback in return.

I can certainly relate, having been through many workshops.  It’s a nice, positive spin on a sore subject.  Then there’s Aaron Gwyn’s piece, simply titled “Trouble”:

Trouble, trouble, trouble.

“In life, we want peace,” I tell them. We want love, and peace, and job security. In literature, not so much.

I’m printing this one out, because even though I know it, I so often forget it.