If you want to study creative writing–whether in high school, college, or outside of a typical school setting–you’ll undoubtedly find yourself in a workshop.

Writing workshops can vary wildly, but the basic premise is this: one writer shares their work and silently listens as a room full of other writers judge it.

Depending on the instructions the people in that room are given, their experiences with work-shopping, and their own writing know-how, workshops can either be be scary, unhelpful, humiliating, and downright depressing, or amazing experiences that fundamentally improve your ability to write.