Critique Groups: Fellowship of the Ring
Actors need a director who can see the big picture as well as the details and provide valuable feedback, perspective and vision to the whole of the production. In the last 1980's I joined the Ventura County Writers' Club for the same reason. I wanted other writers to read (or hear) what I wrote, and then to give me a perspective that I might not have found when writing the piece, to get ideas on how to make the writing better, more entertaining, to receive assistance in the process of polishing my story.
Okay, I was lonely. I wanted new friends. There. You've got the truth.
And that happened. I developed friendships with other writers who have continued to support my work. And I've been able to help other, beginning writers to avoid the chasms of this lonely art. As a writer, I often forget that I'm not alone. I sit at my keyboard alone, writing to an unknown globe of faceless people.
The list of advantages of a critique group is short but powerful. I can think of four--no, five--good reasons to join a writers' critique group:
Writing Deadline
This was a weighty reason for me. Each month I knew I had to have something written. Or I was just going to sit there and listen and eat fudge cake and cashews--which isn't a bad thing. But I wanted the time to be about my project, too. Especially since in the group of seven or eight there were two or three who read the same damn thing every week with barely any changes. (One of the downsides of critique groups.) So I knew I had to create new material, or at least re-write that which I had had critiqued the previous month. Having a deadline pushed me to write and polish.
Encouragement
Sitting in a ring in one of the writer's living rooms, I sometimes felt like I was in a small lifeboat and we all were in it together with the same goal to survive the onslaught of the natural order of things, namely, to improve our writing and get it on the desks of editors and agents. So I could sit there and look into the faces of my fellow writers and fellowship in our common strife and successes (some of us were getting published), and I felt encouraged to keep writing and not worry about the storms of disappointment or the sharks of rejection that silently circled us. I always came away invigorated and eager to get back to writing the next day. Even when my writer friends tore something I'd written to pieces, which I actually learned to enjoy, because when I received compliments, I knew they were real and not superficial.
Criticism
"Criticism" sounds negative. But it's not. Because I wanted it. If I didn't want it, I wouldn't be there. The snacks just weren't that good to come back for. This was the primary reason I attended the group: to get feedback. I wanted other writers, some of whom were quite talented and experienced, to answer these questions:
1. Did you like the story?
2. Why or why not?
3. As a whole, did the chapter or piece work?
4. Were there rough areas that didn't make sense?
5. Were the plot and the characters' motives in alignment?
6. Did I tell rather than show?
7. Where were the awkward phrases, trite phrases, stumbling transitions and incorrect grammar?
8. Was the dialogue believable?
9. Was the narrative and the action in balance?
10. Did I vary the sentence patterns?
And there are many other elements of the critiquing examination process that helped me polish, strengthen and sharpen my writing. And praise! Criticism usually began with praise for something good I did. It was one of the unwritten rules of critiquing another writer's work: first the praise. But never worship. It made us all listen and balance our preferences; otherwise, all we'd have for the writer was what we didn't like. I learned to find something good to say about a writer's piece. And you know what? There always is something good if I'm looking for it.
Finding an Edge
Over several months, the writers in my fellowship ring became familiar with my style, characters, story and point of view. In a way that an ordinary reader wouldn't, because an ordinary reader is reading for a selfish reason: he paid 20 bucks for the book and expects to be entertained, enlightened and educated. My fellowship ring of writers, though, want more than that; they want to help me be the best writer I can be.
In my years in the critique group, I learned who to listen to for one thing and who to listen to for another thing. And being that all these folks had real jobs with other skills and talents, I could fasten my writing relationship to these other aspects of their lives and learn from them. Marketing ideas, fresh insight, and technical advice were often added benefits which gave my book an added polish and sharper edge. This edge could make my book stand out when it reached the editor's desk.
Fun
At first I almost didn't include this as a reason for joining a critique group. But it's a dynamic reason, especially after I'd been attending for months or years. Because there were times when I wasn't writing or I was struggling or I didn't have any material to read, and I still knew I was going out that night to climb into that little lifeboat. But I would be with friends. And I was going to commiserate over our failures, celebrate our successes and in that course of our relationship, between bites of chocolate-covered strawberries and Nacho-flavored Doritos, by golly I was going to laugh, cry sometimes, and feel alive. And, for me, that's the definition of "fun."
When I became discouraged about my writing, in a state of confusion, wondering if I had talent, if what I had to say was interesting and entertaining, like a man down on his luck finding God, I found my fellowship in the writers of a critique group. It saved my writing. It kept me from giving up.
There are writer's clubs, art centers, and community centers that may have a critique group just for you. Or you could organize your own group if you know some writers. Joining a critique group should not be taken lightly, though. It is a commitment to write something each month, polish it and share it. It's one of those commitments that I find difficult not to accept.
Posted by Tom Eubanks at 5/19/2010 12:06 PM 
Categories: Picky Picky Picky, Everyone's a Critic, On Writing
Tags: Ends Justify We are the World
Categories: Picky Picky Picky, Everyone's a Critic, On Writing
Tags: Ends Justify We are the World
I've said it before and I'll say it again: there are no coincidences. The timing on this entry is perfect for me. Just as I am beginning to question whether I have any talent, here lies a suggestion that might just light a fire under my butt and get me doing the only thing that makes a writer better -- writing.
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I've doubted my writing since I began at age 11. When I was 14 I took the Palmer Writer's Course, a correspondence course, and the feedback was always encouraging. There's something about honest feedback that emboldens us writers to carry on. I think your writing is excellent. And I hope you'll use this blog by submitting longer pieces--short stories or short non-fiction, first-person pieces. Anything. As you said: the only thing that makes a writer better--writing.
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