Critique Group Advice – Part 2
As our regular readers know, we believe strongly in not going it alone. For us that means writing together. But even if you don’t have a writing partner, you still need help sometimes, and that’s where your network of fellow writers comes in.
Okay, so you’re going to join a critique group, or maybe even start your own. Fantastic. Last time, we covered some very general ideas such as schedules and ground rules. Now let’s dive into some details.
Practical decisions such as how to distribute work can have a big impact on the effectiveness of the group. What we’ve found to work well is sending out the chapters ahead of time via email. Give your members enough time to read the pages twice if they want, and remember it takes longer when you’re adding notes as you go. In some groups, each author reads his or her own work aloud. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, if you have the time, but we’d caution that the author’s bias and familiarity can mask issues with the grammar. Places where a “real” reader might stumble, whereas the rehearsed recitation will smooth it out.
How many pages to send at one time is also an important question. Smaller chunks lead to more detailed critique, while larger sections let your group’s members get into the flow of the story. The more material you expect to cover in a meeting, the more disciplined you’ll have to be about staying on-topic. (This can be a serious problem at any gathering of writers. We’re creative types; we know lots of things; we love words.)
A final note about the work being brought to group: how complete should it be before you start? There’s no one right answer, of course. Some people like to get hot feedback on a work in progress, or use the meeting schedule as a way to impose deadlines and stay productive. That’s awesome if that’s what works for you. Our personal experience has taught us not to take our stuff in too early. It made us second-guess ourselves too much. The feedback has been consistently more useful to us when it was collected after we had the first draft done.
More of our thoughts on critique groups still to come. Have advice or experiences to share? Add a comment!