The More the Merrier

Thanks everyone for chiming in on yesterday's post! I'm so glad I was able to get everyone's wheels turning.

Today, I wanted to address the pros and cons of a critique group. I am now a part of a critique group since my friend I referred to yesterday is still dealing with other priorities in life. I'm so glad I found them and have found a lot of wonderful feedback so far. I also like how we have our rotation set up. It's not too rushed and no one has a heart attack if we are a day late. Or if we need to take a week off.

Different opinions: Some people find this a little scary. Trust me, it's not. So far, I haven't found so many different opinions in my manuscript between five people that it's overwhelming or riddled with marks. It's been my experience that when you find two or more people point out the same thing, it's valuable. Take your time to really look at it. You also have to keep in mind that everyone has an opinion. I won't remind you of the saying. :0) Some of them are right for your story, some of them might not be. Don't feel guilty if you don't agree with Susie's comment about your MC sounding too young/old/right/wrong in a certain sentence. It's not the end of the world.

Different backgrounds: Each person's history, the place they grew up, their parents and their lives shape how they read a story. I love that. They will ask questions you might not have thought of. They can help enrich your story.

Time: The way our group works is through email. This makes it a little slower than I personally like, but then I find it sometimes saves my butt. LOL I have a week to critique each manuscript, which also gives me plenty of time to work on what has already been critiqued or what is next for me to send. Like I mentioned earlier, I also have a group of understanding ladies. This helps when I'm super busy, especially during the holidays, etc..

There are many ways to take advantage of a group too. You can use online chat engines such as gmail, yahoo, aol, Google Wave...you get the picture. This allows you to not only critique each other's work, but discuss it as well. It gives you a chance to present what your trying to do if someone questions you, or to find out if more people agree with a problem area. It can be invaluable.

Groups are a more organized effort, and you have more than one other person to think about. You generally need to wait your turn and can't send off bits and pieces on the fly (unless you find a group that is okay with that). So, if you desire more constant attention that would be something to think about before joining a group. Or a good question to ask, at least. :0)

Anything you would like to add/offer/ask?

The Plus One Factor

All of us know that writing can be a lonely business without our crit partners or groups. When I first began writing seriously, with the intent to publish something, I had a writing partner. Just me and her, we owned the world and we were going to hit the bestseller lists with our awesomeness. Hey, we were optimistic So, with this post I want to address the pros and cons of having a singular writing partner. Tomorrow we'll talk about the excitement of a group.

The great thing about having a singular critique partner is the undivided attention. We worked on our own throughout the week, but each morning we met each other in gmail chat. We discussed what we planned to do with our day, brainstorm together when we were stuck, we even challenged each other with writing prompts or shared stories (I write a paragraph, she writes one..it was fun!). There was never a time that I felt like I couldn't email or hop over to chat and send her a message to get myself going again. Soon, we developed a friendship and would call each other rather than chat online.

The only negative I found about this incredible partnership was the lack of any other opinions. Considering we were both in a "beginner" level, without knowledge of agents (we worked on children stories for magazines together, we took the same course through ICL) or the fine tuning of writing, there were plenty of times that both of us were stumped on something and had to seek outside help or research online until we figured it out.

We swapped manuscripts all the time and helped each other a lot, with our different styles, that was a positive. My incredible writing partner is no longer writing right now due to some issues in her life. We remain friends and I can't wait for her to start working again. 


If you are looking for a single writing partner, I encourage you to do so. The freedom of sending anything at any time to your partner is freeing and very helpful. Not only that, you end up sharing information you find and learn together. It's really awesome. There's no set way to do it, but if you are really busy and can't take the type of time needed to chat online try something more organized, like this:

Choose one day a week to get together-through chat programs or email, or Google Wave-At that time present each other with a list of goals for the week/month(your choice). Decide together what days are good for manuscript swapping that week/month and how quickly you expect to swap back. It's important to establish this before each week/month because it can change, and you don't want to end up rushing your partner or feeling rushed yourself. Throughout the rest of the week/month simply email any issues, new things you've learned and found interesting or words of encouragement. DO NOT however, bombard your new critique partner with every funny/inspirational/heartbreaking FWD that you receive from friends and family. :) Always show formality until invited to do otherwise, is my fail safe method.

It's up to you to also decide if you want a partner that writes the same genre/age group as you, or if that matters to you. You may also want to ask prospective writing partners how many other groups they might be involved in. You don't want someone to be exclusive to you, but someone that is a part of two book clubs, three critique groups that meet monthly and has three kids might not have the time you are looking for. Evaluate what you really need out of the partnership.

Which leads me to the shameless plug of telling you to head over to Critter Corner and check it out! Especially if you are looking for a person or group to share your writing journey with.

*PS-thank you everyone for the kindest wishes to my princess on her tenth birthday. She pretty much had an entire weekend of fun, which is always a great thing. Until school starts on Monday. LOL