Having a pair of eyes other than your own read your writing before you send it off to publishers, agents, and literary magazines is crucial. Maybe your mom or brother or spouse read your work but the only feedback they can give is “I like it.” Or maybe you are feeling too isolated writing for hours and hours alone. Perhaps you are experiencing full blown writer’s block and need help generating new ideas. If any of these scenarios sounds like you, you are in need of a critique group!
Join a Critique Group
Chances are there are others like you nearby who would like to share and discuss their writing. How do you find these people? It’s possible that there are already critique groups in your area – now you just have to find them. Many groups will advertise their meetings. The best places to look are on bulletin boards at bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops. Some online community sites may also be helpful such as craigslist and meetup.
Form a Critique Group
Can’t find a critique group in your area? That’s ok – you can form your own. Place an ad on one of the websites listed above or put up flyers on community bulletin boards in bookstores and libraries. Speak with booksellers or librarians to find out if they know of local aspiring writers.
Critique Group Meetings
Now you have formed your own group. But now what do you do? There is no right or wrong way to lead successful critique groups. At your first meeting, discuss with the other members their expectations of the group and go from there.
It may be helpful to designate a consistent time and place for your meetings. Also, form a schedule of whose work will be critiqued on which days. It will be too much work to try to critique every writer at every meeting. Space out the critiques. This gives the writers more time to prepare their work and the readers more time to give thoughtful feedback. You may also want to designate an amount of time for each member being critiqued.
Allowing some time for discussing new ideas, writer’s block, and/or successes since the last meeting is a great idea because it keeps each member up to date on the other writer’s progress. You should also know each other’s short and long term goals because it enables members to support each other.
Beginning or ending each meeting with a writing exercise is another good idea. It keeps ideas flowing and it never hurts to practice writing as much as you can.
After a few meetings you will probably discover that you have formed more than just a critique group, but a group of friends, too.
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