Critique groups are promoted as a way for novice writers to hone their craft.
Why not just get together a group of friends and exchange stories now and
again? Why are critique groups essential for the success of budding writers?
1. Find kindred spirits. It can be difficult to find people who take writing fiction
seriously, and even more difficult to find people who take writing speculative
fiction seriously. A critique group, such as Critters.org., that is dedicated to
speculative fiction writers can instantly match you with tens, hundreds, or
even thousands of people who love writing speculative fiction and who are
experienced genre readers.
2. Get the readers’ perspective. Critique groups give an author something that
is almost impossible in any other venue: initial feedback from a wide variety of
unbiased readers – far wider and less biased than a group of family or friends.
Some of the feedback will be positive; some will be negative. But receiving
feedback is always A Good Thing.
3. Get help with line edits. I am terrible with line editing. Typos are my bane.
Critique groups, however, give a writer many fresh eyes to review a work.
There are very few typos left in a manuscript after it’s gone through the ringer
in a critique group.
4. Get Plot Suggestions. Critiquers will find any plot hole. Even better, many
critiquers will suggest solutions. Some of these ideas will take a story in whole
new directions the writer may never have thought of alone. Some plot
suggestions even spawn additional stories.
5. Improve Your Writing by Critiquing Others’. Critique groups are, of course,
a two-way street. In order to receive critiques of your manuscript, you have to
critique others’. But the good news is that critiquing is not a waste of time. In
fact, a good critiquer can learn just as much by marking up other people’s work
because the very act of critiquing compels thinking about writing, editing,
revising, plotting, characterization, voice, off-stage action, pacing, word
length, and other issues...
Why not just get together a group of friends and exchange stories now and
again? Why are critique groups essential for the success of budding writers?
1. Find kindred spirits. It can be difficult to find people who take writing fiction
seriously, and even more difficult to find people who take writing speculative
fiction seriously. A critique group, such as Critters.org., that is dedicated to
speculative fiction writers can instantly match you with tens, hundreds, or
even thousands of people who love writing speculative fiction and who are
experienced genre readers.
2. Get the readers’ perspective. Critique groups give an author something that
is almost impossible in any other venue: initial feedback from a wide variety of
unbiased readers – far wider and less biased than a group of family or friends.
Some of the feedback will be positive; some will be negative. But receiving
feedback is always A Good Thing.
3. Get help with line edits. I am terrible with line editing. Typos are my bane.
Critique groups, however, give a writer many fresh eyes to review a work.
There are very few typos left in a manuscript after it’s gone through the ringer
in a critique group.
4. Get Plot Suggestions. Critiquers will find any plot hole. Even better, many
critiquers will suggest solutions. Some of these ideas will take a story in whole
new directions the writer may never have thought of alone. Some plot
suggestions even spawn additional stories.
5. Improve Your Writing by Critiquing Others’. Critique groups are, of course,
a two-way street. In order to receive critiques of your manuscript, you have to
critique others’. But the good news is that critiquing is not a waste of time. In
fact, a good critiquer can learn just as much by marking up other people’s work
because the very act of critiquing compels thinking about writing, editing,
revising, plotting, characterization, voice, off-stage action, pacing, word
length, and other issues...
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| Why Join a Critique Group? By SC Bryce |
Publication History |
| Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter |
|
First Printing:
SFandFantasy Workshop
Newsletter, Vol. 25, No. 300,
Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, ed.
(Oct. 2006).
SFandFantasy Workshop
Newsletter, Vol. 25, No. 300,
Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, ed.
(Oct. 2006).