My first short story was workshopped on 10/24. I’ve gone through the workshop process before, but I was still pretty nervous going into class. I was really proud of the story I wrote, but I knew that the workshop would force me to reevaluate scenes that I loved and techniques that I felt worked for me. I was especially worried about how the flashback sequences would be perceived. I was pleasantly surprised by all the feedback I got, considering that sometimes it takes a little prodding to get people to contribute. A lot of the feedback I got was positive, which was also really surprising to me. One thing that stuck out to me was just how many people complimented the flow and the prose within the story and how they liked how fleshed out Lou and Nick were. Comments like these really help my confidence as a writer and, if we’re being honest, good comments make me feel amazing, but who doesn’t feel that way? When it came to questions/suggestions, the biggest point of contention was with the flashback sequences. There was one flashback (the one where Lou was mugged) that most of the class agreed was a little jarring. Looking back at that flashback, I agreed with them, and actually cringed a little when it was brought up during class. While some people liked and appreciated the disjointedness of the past and the present aspects in my story, others felt like they needed to be grounded more. Jesse ended up saying something about this that really stuck with me. It was something along the lines of weighing the pros and cons of keeping the disjointedness/confusion for the sake of immersing the reader into the character’s mind, even if that meant alienating a group of readers that need to be grounded. I still haven’t made a decision, but I’ve really kept thinking about this idea. Is it okay to stick to an artistic choice that you feel enhances the narrative, even at the expense of alienating a group of readers? Most writers want everyone to like their work, me included, so I think posing this question was almost a wake-up call for me. Not everyone is going to like/agree with the content/techniques in my stories, but I think that’s okay.