Have you ever taken a creative writing workshop?

In my line of duty, I've taken many, mostly great, a few awful. Most people who take (and teach) workshops are well-meaning folks who play by the rules--they try to give helpful criticism, and they expect the same when they're being critiqued. Everyone has a different style, strengths, and backgrounds, and everyone certainly finds workshop most educational when their piece has the floor; all that is human nature, pure and simple, and I'd wager it accounts for 90% of the conflicts and bad feelings a badly-moderated workshop can produce.

However, accounting for that last 10% of problems is a real bastard. What you've seen, heard, or imagined is true: no setting attracts stereotypes of Art and Academy like a workshop. In that spirit, I present to you:

Manhattan's Guide to North American Writing Workshop Stereotypes
( Part 1 in a Series )