Comments on: Getting a 1st Draft Critiqued…Yes or No?

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:05:00 +0000

That’s exactly it, Jenn. What people need.

By: Jenn Hubbard

Jenn Hubbard — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:17:36 +0000

I don’t think anyone but me could even make sense of my first drafts. They’re incomplete, out of order. I have all this stuff in my head that I’m already planning to change for draft 2. I also don’t like to have people tell me about the obvious flaws that I can already see for myself. I’m going to need critiquers later, to tell me about the flaws I don’t see.

But we don’t all work the same way, so I do serve as a critiquer of a few other people’s first drafts. If it’s what they need, that’s fine!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:48:49 +0000

Thanks, Vivian. Although I doubt reading any of your work would be a waste of time! But I know what you mean–if there’s work we can do on our own, we can make that next step of progress without the crits.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:55:38 +0000

No way would I share a first draft–too many inconsistencies. I’d rather share my work when it’s more polished so I don’t waste my critique group’s time. Good post, Becky!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Yes, you know me, I’m not so big on actual always-and-forever ruled. I much prefer guidelines and picking & choosing what you need at any given moment.

By: Susan Taylor Brown

Susan Taylor Brown — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:22:57 +0000

I like your answer “it depends” because that’s how it feels for me. Some stories I really do need those scraps of praise that tell me “good job” and “keep going” but other times I want to just power through on my own. What I can’t do without is having a couple of people I can bounce some ideas off of to see if they are even remotely interesting or doable or worth spending time on.

I like the idea too of different readers for different stages of a project. Each reader brings a different strength to the project.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:13:48 +0000

I find myself in the middle ground these days. I know that this first draft is too loose, too full of problems I’m already aware of, to bother asking for suggestions (I’ve got plenty of my own!) Pretty sure, though, that as I structure and write the next one, I’ll be passing it along. Part of my thing is that it’s easier for me to share what I’ve done in writing, than try to verbalize what I’m thinking about. I like that you get brainstorming and cheers from your husband and friends!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:08:44 +0000

Tiare–thanks for stopping by. Mostly, I think you’re right–this is certainly where I am right now. I still think, though, that for some writers–maybe earlier in their learning curve–that there is a point in sharing–support, guidance, reality checks. It’s really whatever feels right for each of us.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:06:06 +0000

I know what you mean. What I want is the brief kind of praise that keeps me going, keeps me writing. And I’m doing okay with that, so…On the other hand, we’ve been doing a first-draft crit for another writer in our group, and it’s really helping her think about organization and voice as she keeps writing–she’s happy! So it goes both ways.

By: Amy G.

Amy G. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:01:58 +0000

Good to have your perspective on this, Becky.

I’m one of those writers who can’t share the first draft. Sometimes not even the second. For me, the critique is most useful when I’ve truly taken the work as far as I can.

But that doesn’t mean I go it completely alone during the first draft. I would be lost if I couldn’t brainstorm about plotting problems with my husband, or if I didn’t have writing friends to cheer me along as I go.