Writing without a Critique Group: Looking Back
When I published The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide in 2010, I wrote a lot about the process of finding a critique group and a little bit about waiting until you found the right one. Maybe I should have written more about the waiting. For various reasons, I was recently without my own critique group […]
Guest Post (and Giveaway): Lani Longshore of Tri-Valley CWC
When I spoke at the Tri-Valley chapter of the California Writer’s Club, I heard about this great base critique group the club had, one that helped the club’s writers get started with critiquing, and then went even further–to help them form their own, smaller break-out groups. I loved this idea then, and I still do. […]
Guest Post: Annette Dashofy on her Online Critique Group
It’s that time again: time for the monthly guest-post on critiquing. Remember, leave a comment on this post, and I’ll enter you to win a copy of my book, The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide. I met Annette Dashofy when I went to Pittsburgh for the Pennwriters Conference (one of the best conferences I’ve ever […]
Monday Musing: What IS the Magic of a Critique Group
I’m sure I’ve talked about this before, but my mind is pretty much swimming in critique group stuff these days, as I get ready to head out to Pittsburgh to talk about it all at the Pennwriters conference this week. I’ll be talking about how to grow a strong group, how to develop a truly […]
Friday Five: Goals for your Critique Group…as a Group
I talk a lot about figuring out your personal critiquing goals. If you’re just starting out on your hunt for the right group, I recommend spending a little time thinking about who you are, what kind of a writer you are, and what you want a group to do for you. If you’re in a […]
Friday Five Critiquing: Ways to Deliver the “Bad” News
We’ve all been there. We’ve read a submission from a critique partner, and we’ve got a lot to say. A lot that isn’t maybe so great and that is not, we’re pretty sure, going to make the writer feel good. Maybe it’s a new member of the group, and you don’t know how they’ll take […]
The Possibilities of Critiquing
When I talk about the basics of developing a critique, I recommend that–in their critique feedback–readers offer writers an explanation, an example, and a suggestion. An explanation of what’s not working, an example (or two) of that not-working element from the manuscript, and a suggestion for what the author might do differently. Here’s what a […]
Friday Five: Flexible Critique Groups
True story: I’m in a yoga class years ago. I’m trying the poses, feeling the stretch, even though–at no point when they’re supposed to–do my fingers get anywhere near the floor; at many points when I’m supposed to be standing with balance, I’m tipping over & bumping into the wall. There is a woman a […]
Thankful Thursday: When to Say “Thanks” to a Critique Partner
It’s a good time to thank your critique partner when: They point out that your first chapter would be a lot more interesting if you started…there (usually a LOT further in). They show you the place they lost track of which character is saying what. They tell you that they laughed out loud three times […]
beckylevine.com 