What does a writing workshop really do?

I was thinking that I want to take my writing more seriously. I was told that things like writing workshops can help with that.

I'm really unfamiliar with these; what do they really entail? What benefit do they really give?

I started looking around online and the first few online writing workshops I found were charging hundred of dollars to join. That doesn't look like what I'm looking for, and I'm suspicious of them. When I looked for writing workshops near me, I found almost nothing that seems geared toward writing fiction, (they were classes for writing CV's and other business-related classes,) and what I did find seems to be designed for children and youth.
Are there not writing workshops for adults?

Honestly what I want most is just to connect with some writers to try to get some feedback and support with my story; make some connections with people more knowledgeable than randos on the internet. Are there better ways to go about this?

 

Rando on the internet, here:

I think 'workshop' can imply a sort of set-duration class that you pay for (with an emphasis on practise). Not always necessarily, given the name of our sub forum for that purpose.

If looking local, I'd try a critique group, where your contribution is critique of other people's work rather than hard cash. After all, you learn a ton from critiquing other people, and you probably have to do that in a paid workshop anyway. From what I've heard you have to shop around and try a few before you get one that fits, though.

 

I've never been in a physical writer's group, so you might not want to take my advice, but IMO, I feel like there will be "randos" no matter where you go if you're a newbie. I mean, if you go to a local writer's group, it's not like everyone there will be splendid. They'll be skill seekers like you. No doubt there will be actual published authors there, but guess what? There are also published authors here.

One difference I guess would be the benefit of a physical connection. That would undoubtedly solve the barrier which the Internet naturally puts up between us.

My experience here has been very positive so far, and I've gotten so much feedback on my writing that has been extraordinarily helpful. I'm personally not worried about the "randos on the Internet" aspect you mention at all. I'm active enough to know who's who's here, and I basically know some members that I can trust when they give me feedback. If someone comes along in my workshop thread that is new to the forum and that I haven't seen before, I'll be more alert about the feedback, but so far I haven't encountered "bad advice".

And, I've got ways to prove what I'm saying. They run short story contests here and I've been participating since October. For most of them, I always performed very poorly in comparison to the others, but I didn't get discouraged and I always posted my entries to the workshop. This gave me mountains of feedback to work with, and certain very knowledgeable members helped me out too. I'm doing much better these days and my writing has improvement a lot. I've even managed to get very detailed critiques from the member who runs the contests, and that member has something like forty published short stories. Far from a rando, I'd say.

So, what I'm saying is, don't discount this place if you're looking for help with your writing. One advice I have for you is... give back to the community. Do critiques and help others out too. If you can show that you genuinely care, others will care too, and they will help you out.

 

Have you checked for community education courses at community colleges? I taught a writing workshop for fiction at the local community college for several years. The one currently in place is geared toward memoire (which I don't write for public comsumption). I attend because I like to move out of my comfort zone periodically. One never knows what mght be relevent in writing. I also belong to a monthly writer's group, something that still amazes me because as an introverted writer, I avoided writer's groups for decades. It has been an important source of support and response.

And then, there is here. I like here, though I don't share much of my writing online. People here are no more or less random than my local writing groups.

 

Are you searching for a "workshop" in order to learn/improve? or a "group" to build community and find support?

If its a workshop, I agree with what others have said in seeking this at out community colleges and other venues such as residencies. these, however, are often paid workshops.

Groups are a bit easier to find and are often free. I run one at my local library. We provide a space to form a community of writers who write everything (my group has poets, bloggers, fantasy writers, those looking for inspiration, those looking for advice on how to plot, etc.). We dont get much writing done, to be honest. Each meeting is spent talking, which isnt a bad thing. We have so many people working on different projects at various stages, and the conversation basically centers around that. I would say that my group emphasizes "community."
Other groups get more writing done. I'm in another writing group that virtual. we met via zoom a few times a month to talk about what we are working on and then we have "silent time" where we write for a while, then meet back again. One of the members, I knew from college, but everyone else are "randos."
I'm also in a group on Discord made up of members that I met on here and we write together every now and then and discuss our progress on the voice chat feature. they all started out as "randos" to me, but over the years of me being on WF, i've gotten to know and trust them.

As for other options, go in NaNoWriMo's website. They have a list of local writing groups. You can search by your location and it will show you which NaNo hosted group is in your area and when/where they meet.

 

...Both?

Honestly I like the idea of taking a workshop to improve my writing, but my original questions till stands: what do they really entail? And moreover, what would that really do for me?
For the most part I imagine a workshop as getting practice writing, but I don't really need to pay anyone to do that. Of course, there is benefit to having someone guide your writing and teaching some writing concepts. Which is why I imagine I see so many of these geared toward youth, where it would be most helpful. But I am not a youth, and I've taken creative writing classes as part of college. So I am left to wonder: would a workshop actually be helpful to me?

What goes on in a writing workshop?
I'd be quite willing to attend one, but I'm not certain that it would be worthwhile.

A writing group is what I suppose I need, because I want some trusted sources to go to for critique. But I don't want to discredit the use of a workshop just yet. I want to get better at writing, so I need to find how to do that.
I hope I didn't irk anyone with my comment about randos on the internet; for the record I was referring to many other sites beyond just this one. And yes, meeting with a group in person is still "just as random" as the internet, but seeing someone in person does change things up a bit; hearing inflection in their voice and their body language do a lot to improve communication (plus you don't have to worry that they are using some AI tool to improve their writing to make them sound more credible.)

Not to mention it is SO MUCH easier to have a back-and-forth discussion in person, rather than asked someone to clarify a point they made and then wait to see if MAYBE they answer. I really want to dive deep into a critique of my work, to really find what the source of the problem is. It's harder to get that on a forum.

 

You can check out MeetUp.org. They have all sorts of different in-person meet-ups from bicycling groups, cooking, wine tasting, all sorts of technology, businesses, cultural groups, and on and on. I haven't found a writer's critique group near me, however; they are mostly for networking. There is, what appears to be, a fairly decent screenwriters' group in my area; I'm not a screenwriter, so haven't checked it out.

It may be worth a shot. They are not a prolific as they were before the lockdowns and the internet took over our lives.

I know that Orson Scott Card, at least years ago, used to regularly attend writer's workshops. Imagine being the first to hear chapters of "Enders Game," and the Alvin Maker series!

 

I have taken many workshops both online and in person. I think the Gotham Workshops are among the best out there. They are not cheap, but I believe they are worth every penny. I justified the cost as an investment in myself, and that it was. By the time the 8 weeks was up there was a noticeable difference in my writing. And some of the work I wrote in that workshop did end up being published (quite some time later, though). After taking this course I went on to get my MFA. I don't believe I would have been accepted into any program if it were not for the Gotham course I took.

I do recommend doing some research on the instructors and reading some of their work before signing up. I ended up taking a beginner course because of who was teaching it. I did not necessarily consider myself a beginner at the time, but I really learned so much and grew as a person and a writer. I can't recommend these courses enough. Sure, it will cost you, but I've earned more back in the stories I've sold since then. I can't imagine another way to improve that much and that quickly in such a short amount of time. I know from experience that not all workshops are created equal, but IMO these ones are totally worth it.