Let's Talk About Critique Groups
One of the most invaluable resources I have at my fingertips is an on-line critique group. There is a core group of about 5-7 erotic romance writers who willingly critique my work. They are very careful how they word things--never attacking, never personal. But they can pick apart my stuff like nobody's business.
One love scene I'd written sounded like the hero had 3 arms. He was on top of the heroine, one hand at her breasts, the other a bit further south. Good so far, right? Well, unless he had another arm to prop himself up with, he'd be flat on the heroine and crushing her. One of the hands had to go.
At other times, my group catches grammar or punctuation errors. I'll admit it, I'm a comma-freak. And for whatever reason, at the moment I'm having a problem with the difference between peak and peek. (I mean, I know the difference, I apparently just can't type the difference.) I tend to favor the spelling p-e-a-k. I guess it's because my fingers can't keep up with my brain, even though I type almost 80 wpm.
To offer effective critiques, a critique group must offer pertinent feedback, doing more than just correcting spelling and grammatical errors. They must truthfully say whether the hero and heroine's motivation make sense, does the sex move the story forward, is the conflict heavy enough to make the story interesting, etc.
My group does this, hands down. And I'll do everything I can to nurture this relationship. They make me a better writer; I can only hope I do the same for them.
3 comments:
I've enjoyed working with another crit group, but my writing hasn't been mainstream and the group is. So, I've been wanting to get involved with new crit group with our PI chapter, but just haven't found the time.
Annalee, I would highly recommend that you run, don't walk, and get a critique group. When you have one that works, it is as invaluable as your thesaurus. If you can get one that has at least one published author in it, that's ideal. My group doesn't have a pubbed author in it -- yet -- but two of us are contracted. We'll be pubbed in 2006. And I will say, even though the others aren't published, they know what works and what doesn't. Run. Get thee to a critique group. Now.
True. Can help on the road to publication. The group I've been in for over a year, when we first met, one of us had an eBook accepted and coming out. Now, 3 of us in eBooks, and 2 in print so far. Not that it wouldn't have happened without influence of group, but at the same time all members are encouraging.
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