Art in the Writing Studio: Responding to Annsely Anderson & Steve Sherwood

Meeting our consultant where they are is the primary focus in the writing studio. Rather than establishing unrealistic ideals, or spending a session on unhelpful comments, our goal is to help the writer feel equipped to express themselves. One way we do this is by asking questions to help the writer overcome their obstacles. However, sometimes problems cannot simply be solved by a conversation. They require action. One way to help our writers is by offering exercises that once utilized will unlock fresh new ways of thoughts. Annesley Anderson offers valuable exercise options in her essay “Helping Students See Themselves as Writers: Creative Writing Exercises in the Writing Center.” Her exercises aim to help those struggling from writer’s block to organization to dialogue.

The first situation Anderson poses regards a student struggling to start a paper. She suggests the exercise: “Write a brief, one paragraph journal entry about the topic or a short letter to a friend.” Anderson seeks to take the writer out of the horrifying blank screen. By giving them an opportunity to voice their thoughts to an acquaintance, someone more comfortable, the writer will be more at ease. Although this paragraph they write to their friend may not ultimately be used in the paper, it will create space to free up their thoughts and discover what the crucial aspects of their essay will be. In my consultations, I have utilized a different method trying to accomplish the same result. When I notice a writer stuck in the quicksand of their thoughts, I ask them to look at me. “What is the goal of your thesis?” Like a toddler learning how to walk, they normally turn back to their paper expecting the answer to be on the screen. I coax them to look back at me, “just tell me whats on your mind.” In this way I will either discover a problem I was missing, or they will find their words. Andersons tactic of utilizing creative writing is a unique way to approach writers block. While my method of simply having the writer look at me helps in some situations, Andersons method may be more effective for a person who is more stuck and needs to visualize their thoughts. I can utilize her exercises to my benefit by seeing if the personality of the writer in front of me could benefit from it. 

The second exercise that Anderson equips is aimed towards an organizationally challenged person. When a writer complains “I am struggling to cohere my ideas” Anderson offers “Write your thesis as a tweet, 140 characters.” As a deeply technologically naive person, this exercise would mean very little to me as a writer, because I have no experience in twitter or social media. However, the point of Anderson’s exercise Anderson is getting at is still valuable. The authors only method of improvement is by overcoming obstacles. Therefore by placing roadblocks on the table, rather than illusively wandering in one’s mind, the author knows exactly what they are trying to tackle. Then by finding creative approaches to overcome the obstacle clearly identified, authors will be equipped to complete their paper. Through these creative questions and approaches, authors will become further capable in overcoming their obstacles. 

As a consultant it is up to me to determine the most helpful and effective questions to help my author. The more I engage creative curiosity, the more effective consultant I will be. Steve Sherwood connects this with the theatrical discipline of Improv. In his article “Portrait of the Tutor as Artist: Lessons No One Can Teach” Sherwood approaches the issue of preparing new tutors for the writing studio. He suggests that “to become artists, in other words, we must learn to cope with and embrace surprise, to spontaneously meet unexpected circumstances, to improvise appropriate and effective help for writers, and to remain open to what researchers call “flow” experiences.” Although a consultant can receive helpful advice, ultimately in the midst of a session they must learn as they go. These lessons that “no one can teach” according to Sherwood, are the ability to improvise amidst surprise and circumstance to find the flow. Abstract words like improvise, surprise, circumstance, and flow seem completely ungrounded and unstable, but Sherwood argues it is this instability that is what makes an adaptable artist so effective as a consultant. Sherwood suggests that consultants engage in improvisation exercises to help equip them for sessions. He backs up this claim with examples from other professionals 

“For instance, in “From Stage to Page: Using Improvisational Acting to Cultivate Confidence in Writers,” Adar Cohen recounts how she has used improv exercises to stimulate creativity and bolster confidence in struggling writers. At Boise State University, Michael Mattison uses a number of improvisational exercises he picked up in theatre classes to prepare tutors to react constructively to the unexpected. These exercises include a free-wheeling, risk-taking, community-building, expectation-dropping, laugh-inducing series of skits that prepare us as a group to role play in mock consultations and then move on to real consultations. It is a first step in the process of educating consultants to trust in themselves and their instincts and to take some risks in their consultation work. (11)”

It is only through the flexibility of an artist, that a consultant can take risks in their sessions. I am an actress, a Theatre major, and an art appreciator. Even in my first year of consulting I have seen how a background in theatre best equips me for consultations. Intentional active listening is crucial in scene work with partners, and it is crucial to understand the author at the table. Emotional vulnerability is vital for honest performances, and sessions with a particularly uncomfortable author. Flexibility and a creative mindset are needed when bringing life to a character, and when deciding which questions will be most helpful to ask a author. Finally, through playing different characters I become more and more familiar with the different ways people use language to express themselves. No one character is more correct than another, but each voice tells the audience something about that person. In a consultation I can listen to people’s voices and appreciate their perspective and approach. Like Sherwood says, this flexible artistic approach to sessions is crucial in being an effective consultant. 

Both Anderson and Sherwood value the perspective of artists in their consultations. As a consultant I strive to equip all of my artistic knowledge with my English rhetoric in order to best help others. By engaging in improvisational activities, I will better be able to ask questions that give students the language to write with utmost clarity and persuasion. 

Bibliography:

 Anderson, Annesley. “Tutors Column: Helping Students See Themselves as Writers: Creative Writing Exercises in the Writing Center.” WLN, A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. June 2020.

 Steve Sherwood. “Portrait of the Tutor as Artist: Lessons No One Can Teach.” The Writing Center Journal, Volume 27, Number 1. 2007. https://www.iwcamembers.org/wcj2/27.1.pdf