Being Vulnerable Makes You Strong: Seven Benefits of a Writers’ Critique Group
Write, read, and join a writers’ critique group.
Writing is challenging, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, no matter how much you’ve been published. But here’s a tip that can make it easier.
Often a new or wannabe writer asks me how they can get started, or improve their writing. My answers are simple: write, read, and join a writers’ critique group. The first two are straight forward enough, but I often see a new writer blanch at the third. Having others read your writing and comment on it is not easy. I can’t think of many other situations in which a writer feels so vulnerable.
Understanding the benefits of a WCG and knowing how to start one might make the task less frightening.
Seven Benefits of a WCG:
Others can see problems in your work that you can’t spot yourself, no matter how many times you’ve read what you’ve written.
You can improve your own work by noticing and analyzing the mistakes other writers make.
The company of other writers who understand your passions, obsessions, and quirky habits is a source of moral support.
Regularly scheduled meetings provide a soft deadline that helps you make other deadlines.
Other group members may share outlets for your writing and marketing ideas that might not have occurred to you.
You gain a forum to discuss and brainstorm issues or problems that occur with your writing: plot misdirection, unnecessary dialogue, and weak beginnings.
A WCG keeps you motivated.
How to Form Your Writers’ Critique Group:
First Meeting:
Set goals after discussing what everyone wants from the group.
Decide the maximum size of the group (since group size sometimes grows as word gets out). Four-to-six people is optimal; there shouldn’t be more than eight members.
Decide how often the group will meet. Weekly or every other week is ideal.
Establish that every member must bring at least one writing sample to each meeting with enough copies for each member. These samples will be taken home and read by members who are asked to make objective comments in the margins, and add a short summary at the end. Comments should be positive and constructive: say what works, and offer fixes for what doesn’t. Avoid saying simply that you like or don’t like the work. Subjective comments like this are not helpful.
Share group members’ contact information.
Agree not to miss a meeting without notifying the group; all are eager to hear what others think about reviewed material.
Second Meeting:
Divide the meeting time equally among members. Appoint a timekeeper.
Critique one submission at a time. The writer who is being critiqued should listen and take notes without interrupting.
Once each critique is finished, the writer may make a few comments and ask questions, but should avoid explaining and justifying.
Debrief at the end of the meeting and discuss what worked and what didn’t.
Further Meetings:
Meet at least four times before you decide if the group is working or not.
Remember, all writing is individual and distinctive. No one should take every piece of advice as correct, but each member should take the time to consider what’s been said and written. And not all groups mesh. For a group to work, members must learn to trust one another and respect opinions. I’ve belonged to five different groups since I started writing and only one did not gel. That group eventually disbanded. If this happens to yours, don’t give up. Go back to square one, seek out other writers, set goals, and try again. F. Scott Fitzgerald once advised: “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”
