The AWA Method (Amherst Writers)

“I really enjoyed our workshop. I was blown away by how listening and commenting instead of criticizing, and focusing on all the writing as fiction, worked so well for me.” — Jay C.

The Amherst Writers method creates a setting that is safe, non-competitive, and open to risk-taking. Fresh, vivid writing easily springs up in such an environment. Art comes first, a crucial element too often lacking in other approaches. In the words of AWA founder Pat Schneider: “Craft is knowing when to revise a manuscript and when to leave it alone, but art is the fire in the mind that puts the story on the page in the first place.”

Typical workshop format:

• We write during the workshop, in response to the leader’s exercises or our own ideas.
• We read our first-draft writing aloud to each other if we wish.
• We treat all writing as fiction—the key differentiator of the AWA method.
• We respond with what we remember, what we like, how the writer surprised us, and how he or she made us care.
• If the workshop cycle includes manuscript review, we can develop longer pieces and critique them with our fellow writers.
• We learn to recognize, cultivate, and trust our individual voices.

You can read more about this approach at amherstwriters.org/philosophy, www.patschneider.com, and in Pat’s seminal book Writing Alone and with Others (Oxford University Press).

Pat Schneider mentored me, and I feel a special personal connection with her. My AWA certification and post-certification groups (2004-2005) were the last to be conducted entirely by her. I consider myself very fortunate to have been part of this cohort. Most memorable of all, I have written with Pat in many of her weekend workshops. Pat’s voice and wisdom resonate in my mind as I lead and write in my own groups.

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