I'm torn about whether critique groups are right for me. However, perhaps some of my experiences will help you, as a writer, to make your decision.
Critique groups have done the following for me:
-Clued me in to the mechanics of writing: i.e. my passive writing at times
Not only passive writing, but adding more sensory description, improper sentence structure, grammatical elements, shown me where I can improve my technique or voice.
-Critiquing the work of others is valuable.
It shows you different ways of writing. Seeing the way others write, can help you identify what your style is, and what you like and don't like. It can also help you vary the way you word sentences and your structure. This is invaluable to me as a writer.
-Being around other creative individuals, in particular writing fuels my own creativity.
Whether you're bouncing ideas off one another, or simply inspired by their idea, I find being around other writers fills me up. I enjoy living in a world of words and it's nice to share that with someone, or many people.
My negative experiences with critique groups:
-Getting bogged down with negativity.
Becoming wrapped up in their opinions and preferences instead of what's best for my book.
-Not having readers in my genre.
Urban fantasy has its own jargon and there is a general level of understanding by most readers. Urban fantasy allows for a larger word count and I believe, a slightly more patient reader where mystery is concerned. This doesn't translate well to a mainstream fiction writer.
-Not finding the right mix of people.
I do think that these groups can be quite effective, but I think that the group has to be just the right recipe of people for it to really shine. Personally I have found one reader who is always willing to read my novel as I write it. She is invaluable to me and if I had a whole group of her in a group I'd be there in a second. However I don't.
So my consensus on my experiences? Well I took a break from my group for quite a few months, but I recently joined back up. I do like being around them. For now I am only critiquing their work. I'm not sure the members are right for my work, they don't read my genre and don't particularly like it.
A word of caution: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however that doesn't make them right. Even if more than one person agrees, their opinion or suggestion may not be right for your book. As a writer you have to have a thick skin, but you also have to have a very clear sense of your story, or it could be all mucked up like a pot of soup with too many cooks. Beware.
This has nothing to do with the blog except that I've been listening to it repeatedly over the last few days as inspiration for my writing. Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
A writing critique group: To join or not to join?
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2 comments:
*singing* Whoa Black Betty, bam a lam
Ahem, ok, enough w/ the singing and on to the commenting. I think you probably bring up some excellent points when it comes to writers groups, as I'm not sure many people think about what could go wrong. While it is invaluable to have people to read and write with, its imperative to know what they like as a reader before they read your stuff.
I would also like to point out a con for these groups. Usually you only meet once a week, at the most, so everything goes very, very slow. It would honestly take you like 3 years to get through a book at that rate. Just my opinion though. ;)
But as always, awesome blog. I most especially like the nod to me. *straightens invisible tie* We cheerleaders are awesome though. lol
CoD
Very good point CoD. Yes, it does take a long time to get through the book. Hell, even if you do a chapter every week it'd still take me 2/3 a year, not including rewrites and I'm not that patient of a person.
I would also like to note that I believe the smaller the group the better. You get more individual attention, and also don't have some many pieces to review to take up your time.
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