Writer's Block
Stepping outside the usual Pan Historia boundaries of role-play stories and reference discussions, Writer's Block, an online writing workshop, appeared on the novel boards at Pan early in August.
The text on the novel dust jacket states, "The Writer's Block is a place were members can explore the many adventures of the written word. It is a place to learn the basics of constructing good sentences, the finer points of spinning tales, the difficult tasks of editing and polishing work, and ultimately a place to share the gems that have been so carefully crafted. It is a place for writers to share their knowledge, learn from their brethren, and seek guidance and support through the difficult times."
The novel's structure offers members an opportunity to tackle forms of writing that don't fit anywhere else at Pan, such as short stories, plays for stage and screen, children's fiction, journalism, and creative non-fiction.
This ambitious and innovative project was instigated by Full Service (aka, Saoirse Uí Niall, a member of the creative team behind the creation of Survivor! Pan Historia), although she refuses to take sole credit for the concept.
"The idea of it started something more than a year ago," Service said. "I have a lot of professional writing and editorial experience, and am also a certified college-level writing tutor. A lot of the folks I write with at Pan know this, and sometimes ask if I will critique things for them, to which, of course, I say no."
Service said she doesn't think role-play posts are at all appropriate for critique.
"Role play is just different," she said. "A post in an RP novel depends on too many exterior things. We write them too quickly and don't get to give them the endless rewrites and polishing that is required for good writing. RP is fun writing and shouldn't be picked at. The RP stuff I write here gets one quick edit then it's slapped on the board. If I looked at it with my editor's eye, I would be horrified at some of it, but who cares? It's fun and it's keeping the story moving."
But the idea was in place and began to germinate. After many discussions with other members, Service conceived of a workshop environment that would attack the subject of writing at a basic skills level and build craft from the ground up.
"Writer's Block is structured very much like an upper-division creative writing course you might take at any university," Service explained. "There are areas for exercises, lessons, and discussions on the story boards. Critique is carried out in the privacy of the planning boards, and the novel boards are reserved for the sharing of finished works."
The project is building slowing, and Service said she is not at all displeased with that, preferring quality to quantity. She is also careful to note that there isn't the same kind of pressure here as with a traditional writing class.
"People at Pan are busy and they're primarily here to have fun," she said. "So there is no forced participation and no deadlines for assignments. There are exercises on the boards and members are free to share the results of those exercises or not. It's an absolutely no-pressure place to learn more about writing."
While the concept came quickly, the project was more than a year in planning.
"In theory, of course, it all sounds great," Service said. "The reality of it is a lot of work. Plus, while there was a great deal of interest in participating in the project, I needed to find a couple of people who were crazy enough to actually help me run the workshop!"
The needed assistance came in the form of Juan Elizando Dominguez and Erich Michael Braeden, both experienced Pan players and MoBsters.
Dominguez said he was drawn to the project for it's unique qualities.
"There’s nothing else like it in Pan, and it’s needed," he said. "People I mentioned the formation of this novel to demonstrated an intense interest in it. I see it becoming a strong teaching and learning tool for those who are seriously interested in improving their personal writing abilities."
Braeden agrees and adds that Writer's Block fills a gap in the Pan community.
"I've written with the other members of the board and it was brought to my attention that it was being considered," Braeden said. "I saw the need for such a novel as Writer's Block and did not hesitate to get involved.
"I know how much Pan has helped me with my creative writing," he continued. "I have a solid background of writing and research in college, but I always wanted to write creatively. Frankly, I stunk at it. I found a couple of my first posts here at Pan while cleaning out my files during our down time here. I refuse to let any of them see daylight again."
Braeden emphasizes the aspect that members are both students and teachers, and that he has his own goals he hopes to pursue at Writer's Block.
"A lot of people have aspirations to write that 'Great American Novel' or the equivalent," he said. "They aspire to be journalists, to write for magazines, to be famed poets. There are a lot of folks here that need a forum like WB."
Both Dominguez and Braden say that they hope to write for publication some day.
The novel quickly attracted a membership (more than 30 at the time of this writing). Xai Gevjehizian was one of the first to join.
"The ever-so-suave Señor Dominguez can be very, very persuasive," Gevjehizian said. "Once he pointed out to me the book's existence I thought it sounded like something I would probably enjoy and stand to learn a lot from. I thought it sounded like an excellent way to improve my writing skills, work off some of the excess caffeine I tend to consume, and challenge myself in a constructive environment a bit all at the same time."
Gevjehizian said he is interested in the different levels of creative interaction the novel provides.
"We've had exercises, games, some good instructional and reference material," he said. "That seems to me like a sound backbone for the project to continue developing round! It's been fun so far, and I wouldn't have known of the existence of the Society for the Prevention of Apostrophe Misuse without it."
Gevjehizian's comment here refers to a somewhat nerdy, but lively exchange on the finer points of correctly employing this much-misunderstood item of punctuation.
Pendragon was another early member of Writer's Block.
"I suffer from writer's block frequently," she said. "It's not a lack of ideas and it's not the ability to get those ideas on the page. What chokes me sometimes is the ability to do so with style and eloquence. I think those who are serious about improving their writing show up here and it seems those are the writers who are already proficient in the craft, including the WB's MoBs. Perhaps some of their collective skill will rub off on me. It's all about the company one keeps, really."
Pendragon said she's enjoying the WB experience so far.
"WB is interesting, stimulating," she said. "I expect it to become more so as time progresses. Some of the acronym exercises have sparked ideas for me already."
Justin Tyme joined the project recently, saying his motivation was to improve his own writing skills and that, "the MoBs really seemed to know what they were talking about."
Tyme says he looks forward to Writer's Block becoming, "a community of constructive critiquing, helpful hints, and good discussion on the hows and whys of various writing mechanics.
"Of course," he added, "I haven't read the critiques of my first submission yet, so I may be crushed, and end up withdrawing from Pan specifically, and society in general."
