Review: Depth in Writing Class by WMG Publishing

When I was reading Discoverability by Kris Rusch, she mentioned several times that authors don’t really know what genre they write in, and she suggested the genre writing class conducted by them at WMG Publishing. Good marketing. After the third time she mentioned it, I decided I needed to check out the class.

When I got to the site, I discovered the Depth in Writing class and decided to take it instead. I was about to start revising a manuscript, and I suspected it needed more depth, so the timing was right. Before I signed up, I checked on KBoards to see if anyone had comments about the WMG classes, and most people had positive things to say about them. One person did say that Dean Wesley Smith, who teaches the workshops, was sparing with feedback so don’t hesitate to ask questions.

It’s true that Smith is sparing with feedback. If you nail the assignment, that’s pretty much what he tells you. If you get it wrong, he’ll provide general thoughts on what you did but not too many suggestions on what to improve. If you’re someone who needs/wants lots of specifics on what you did right and wrong, this may not be the workshop for you. However, if a few well-chosen comments are what you need to turn on the light bulb, he’ll probably give you what you need. I go into more detail on my personal blog about one piece of feedback and how it impacted me.

The structure of the workshop is simple. Each week for the six weeks of the workshop, there are five or six videos discussing the topic of the week. There’s also a roundup video discussing the last week’s assignment and a video introducing the current week’s assignment. While the assignment is also summarized in text below the video, I suggest watching the video. You’ll get more information.

For me, the best videos were the ones where Smith puts up some text, reads it and explains how the text does (or does not) illustrate the topic of the week. Note that Smith will not win any Audie Awards for his reading, but he gets the message across.

Of course, the real test of a course is “did it make a difference?” I’ll have to answer with a resounding Yes to that one. I’ve seen a difference in two areas.

The first is in my reading for pleasure. I’m recognizing thin writing, which is both good and bad. It’s good to recognize it and why it’s not effective. It’s bad because my tolerance for it is lower than it used to be. Over the weekend,  I started and quit three books I’d received through the Kindle First program because of thin writing. I’m also able to understand why some writing is deep and effective. I’m currently listening to It by Stephen King (awesome reader, by the way–highly recommended). Because I’ve read the book many times and know the plot well, I can listen for the story with one ear while the other listens for and analyzes the writing. I’ve always known I loved that book. Now I understand why I love it so much. I’ve also noted that King breaks some of Smith’s rules, but it still works. King’s a good enough writer to get away with it.

What about my own writing? Yes, I’m seeing  a change there as well. I’m able to recognize where and how I need to add depth, and I think I’m starting to write with more depth, not just add it in the revision stage. He discusses a way of writing a first draft which I want to try on my next novel. If it works for me, I think it will speed up the process.

It was well worth the $300 I paid. I’m planning to take their Cover Design workshop next. Smith convinced me in his book, [easyazon-link asin=”1463698224″ locale=”us”]Think Like A Publisher[/easyazon-link], that I needed to be able to do it myself. I have to stop reading books by Rusch and Smith, or I’ll get sucked into taking more workshops. 😉