Tipsy Tuesday

I've blogged about this before, but it bears repeating, I think.

The power of a well-working critique group is valuable beyond belief. At the simplest of levels, this kind of group (or any writing group) provides support. Writing is a solitary endeavor. You don't sit in an office for 8 hours a day surrounded by other people doing the same work. (Usually.) It's just you and your computer, or typewriter, or legal pad. You can whine and moan about how much trouble you're having with your current work-in-progress and find sympathy. (Or a kick in the pants, whichever is needed. Sometimes it's both.) They can point out what you're doing extremely well (and, trust me, you'll need those strokes) as well as what doesn't seem to be working and give you ideas to fix it. A timely word of encouragement can be something you revisit time and again as you struggle over the page.

If you're lucky enough to get a group like mine, they love to brainstorm. And sometimes even part of their critique will get the juices flowing in a different direction. (And sometimes not. If you feel strongly enough about something, don't change it. That's the beauty of this kind of thing. Take what is helpful; discard what isn't.)

I can't recommend getting into a writing group strongly enough. Mine has just started its third year. We lost one member when she moved out of state, but we're still going strong otherwise. It's a great mix--one member has been multi-published in Regency historicals for many years; another has a great science/editorial background; and the third is multi-published in non-fiction work. And there's me. LOL But we gel, and that's what's important.

Decide for yourself if a writing group would work for you.