Amherst Writers & Artists
is an international writing organization founded on the belief
that everyone is a writer.

AWA supports practiced and emerging voices through a proven
workshop method.

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privacy

• What we write stays in the workshop.
• Outside discussion is discouraged.
• The work itself is addressed not the writer.

equality

• All writers are equal here regardless of experience or educational background.
• Writing is an art form.
• We discuss our work as art.

trust

• Boundaries are respected.
• The writer is the expert on their own work.
• We provide a personal & considered response to fellow writers.
• We are not critics.

listening

• Hearing the writer read their work aloud requires mindful awareness.
• We work with a given set of tools to help us provide the most supportive and useful feedback.

Listen and respond Tools

These are some of the things we listen for in order to give responses that will provide writers with helpful and supportive feedback:
vivid or surprising imagery
repetition of sounds, words, ideas
rhythm
strong narrative voice
alliteration
personification
pace or timing
transitions
themes
particular words
dialogue
sense of place, scenery, location
sense of space and time
vivid details
new risk for a writer
point of view
sound of language
mood or tone
​metaphors and similes