Letters to the Editor
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I can think of an immediate example
I went to class recently and someone showed up with a completed novel of 70,000 words that had never been workshopped.
It took about five minutes of hearing about the plot of this novel for everyone in the class to point out a giant gaping hole in the central premise of the central conflict in the novel.
That plot hole never would have made it through a workshop. Someone would have done her the favor of pointing it out long before her investment in the story went to 70,000 words.
I think it's much better to find these things out when you're only 5,000 words into your story.
These lessons can be painful but I think it's better to go through that gauntlet earlier than later.