I love my critique group!
The fabulous thing about their feedback is that it's so individual. I had to laugh at one point when one person suggested I cut a phrase that another person absolutely loved. Having both their perspectives at the same time really helped me to understand my own work better.
I could see how it was being received in general (where they agreed) and which parts would be loved/hated depending on the reader. For the latter, I go with my gut instincts. For the former, I happily revise according to their consensus. And it makes my book better.
If you haven't found yourselves a critique group, I highly recommend putting one together yourself. Chat up one of your favorite twitterer-writers, or connect with somebody in a writing forum (absolutewrite.com or querytracker.com). The worst you have to fear is that they'll say no thanks. But once you find somebody you click with (preferably who writes in your genre, too), you will wonder how you got along without them!
Okay, I'm off to write my work in progress.
Stay tuned for news about our new collaborative Operation Awesome blog. It's going to be epic.
I have a great writers group too..and sometimes they do disagree about my work! That's when I have to just go with my gut and do what I think is best! :) But I know I wouldn't be where I am without all of them!!
ReplyDeleteLove your title above your profile pic....still looking for my agent soul mate too!
Congrats on finding such an awesome group! I'm still on the lookout. I'm hoping to find at least a couple of people who live close to me so I can chat with them in person on occasion. I'm curious, do your group members live close together or do you communicate everything via email, etc.?
ReplyDeleteI found them online at www.meetup.com. It's a great site that helps you find all kinds of groups in your city or town. So we are internet based...all of our meetings are posted online and we have a message board and calender. But we meet in person...sometimes at a coffee shop- in the warmer months, a park. But we all live in the general area, Buffalo and its suburbs. One of our members does live in Canada, but it's only about a half hour drive for him to come to meetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, ladies!
ReplyDeleteLiz - Operation Awesome is not geographically similar. In fact, we have two members living in different countries. It's all online for us. I can see advantages and disadvantages to living close.
Advantage: in-person book discussion.
Disadvantage: the time it takes for in-person book discussion and the headache of organizing that.
Ultimately, I love the setup we have. But everyone has different needs.
Stephanie - meetup.com is a great site. It's not specifically for writers, so I'm sure you get a mix of interest-levels. There are lots of great ways to meet other writers, huh? I'm seriously amazed and grateful to be living in such a connected age.
No, meetup is not exclusively for writers. The biggest meet up group in my city is actually a Pug owners group! LOL! There's like 150 members!! And yes, we get a very wide range of writers-different genres, different stages of writing, different experience levels. We have some that come to one meeting and never see again. We get to meet all different kinds of people...but sometimes it is difficult. I am the only one who writes romance and women's fiction.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I was at a gas station yesterday and I kid you not they had an entier section for pug accessories. I guess pugs are popular everywhere! Bahahaha!
ReplyDeleteKatrina, you're right, it definitely is tough to organize in-person meetings. I had a crit group a couple of years ago that fizzled out because we could never figure out a time to get together.
LOL Liz!!! That is too funny!!!!!
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