Gettin’ critted
You have to Get Crit.
That is, unless you’re so supremely confident in your writing skills, your choice of markets, and that your prose quality mirrors published material, you’ll probably find it instructive to have someone (preferably, more than one someone), read and critique your work. (This assumes you aspire to professional publication).
Critting is the basis structure of most MFA programs, the Clarion workshops, many adult ed courses, various online forums, and face-to-face groups that meet in private homes, bookstores and libraries all over the world. Finding one is pretty easy. Finding one that works for you can be harder.
The most important criteria for choosing a crit group is: can they help me? Do they know the basics of writing? Can the group members clearly articulate what is and isn’t working in your text? Does the vibe of the group feel comfortable? When you leave meetings, do you feel inspired to go back and work on the material that was critted? Do you want to write more and are you eager to attend meetings?
If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, then this is not the group for you.
The group members, for the most part, should know their shit. That means understanding mechanics, POV, narrative exposition versus scenes, flashbacks, physical beats. All that nitty-gritty stuff that has to be in order for professional publication. If most of the group members are new writers, with little or no experience, then there are limitations as to what improvements they can suggest. (Writers who don’t understand POV themselves are not going to be able point out POV issues in your work). They can still be valuable as cold readers, and most folks can pick out some grammar and spelling errors for you. Having a simple Reader’s Response to a story is still valuable.
Your crit group should be able to tell you—precisely and coherently—why a problem in your story is a problem and be able to suggest a fix. Floaty, ethereal “oh, Jane is such a quirky character but this just feels so bleak” crits are not helpful. Perhaps bleak is what you’re going for. Perhaps you need to be using more cold descriptors to evoke bleak and you need to change the setting for the couples’ Talk about Their Future to a cemetery instead of a cheerful café. Concrete suggestions are what you need. You may not use the exact suggestion but it can still get your brain whirring to come up with a better solution.
I’ll post Part Two of this tomorrow! And I’d like to get other writers’ suggestions on what makes critique work for you. Whether you’re using an online resource, a Real Life group, or some combination, how do you get the most out of your critters?
You have to be prepared and willing to have someone tear it apart… Let them know that’s what you want and expect. A good critique partner will point out both where things don’t work and where they do. But don’t ask for a critique if you’re not ready to listen to things you might not want to hear.
I’ve tried to help people in the past and I’ll jump in with a little bit (and sometimes it’s very harsh but I always put in good things too), then say, work on this and we’ll do round two. I either never hear from them again or get back something with almost none of the changes made. Okay, yes, it’s just my opinion but if I’m pointing out where POV drifts or things are getting jumbled, others are going to see that. It hurts them, because then I know I can’t be honest with them. You need someone who is not afraid to be honest.
Some of the best “crits” I’ve gotten are where the beta-reader comes back with “what the hell are you talking about here?” or “I’m lost.” You know why it’s good… ’cause now I know where I need to expand, or explain or just re-write the scene completely. Once in a while I’ll ignore a comment (because I intentionally wanted to be ambiguous or not give everything away at that point) but I have yet to recieve a crit that didn’t have some value to it.
After all, your crit partners are the same types of people who will be reading your work.
The closest I’ve ever come to being in a crit group was my creative writing class in college, but that really says nothing. Heh. I’m currently searching for a good forum where I can post bits of my work for honest responses, so at the moment I’m at a bit of a loss where feedback’s concerned. I’m curious to learn more about your and other writers’ thoughts about this.
I’ve got newbie emblazoned on my forehead, can’t you tell?
But where do you find thes great crit groups? I don’t have a real life writers group anywhere near me so can you recommend any good places to find crit on line?
Found you via chicklit’s ‘pimp your blog’ thread, have friended you.
I’m Perdita on the boards.
Emily,
(And I’m not mad at you!)
Online crit groups can be hit or miss. If you’re writing erotica, I can definitely recommend The Fishtank at desdmona.com. You have to join and get an ID to logon and then there’s a 5 to 1 review ratio for story postings. For the most part the Tank is hardcore, pro-level writers giving hardcore, pro-level critique. (I’ve seen newbies flounder and feel defensive sometimes, so if you’re not ready for that level, it’s understandable).
If you write scifi/fanstasy/horror, Critters.org has gotten to be THE place for that type of story. Again, pro level work.
If you’re still new to writing, you might be more comfortable with a kinder, more gentle crit. For male/male, you can also try the Slash and Hack Yahoo group and Emily Veinglory’s forum, The Erotica Writer’s Forum also has threads for posting for beta readers. You can also try other writers’ forums and post, looking to exchange critiques.
James, above, is right. You *really* have to be ready to hear critique! Remember, crit isn’t a slam on you, it’s just a review of the writing and whether or not it works.
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