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CRITIQUE GROUPS - HEAVEN OR HELL?
By C. Hope Clark
Critique groups conjure visions of caring, doting friends
or vicious, irritating, jealous wannabes. Writing groups are
a subject of intense diverse opinion since some writers have been
truly stung, while others have been supported and spring-boarded
by their peers. We all want the latter. So how do we avoid the
former?
The arguments that chase writers away from critique groups.
1. They'll over-edit and change your voice.
If the voice is yours, why are you letting them change it?
If you've found your voice, and that takes some time and much
writing to do, you know it like the faces of your children.
It resonates with you, and once you become published, it does
the same for agents, editors and readers. So, when someone wants
to make your arrogant protagonist humble, or your humorous
sidekick evil, stop and think. Can this add depth to your
character or does it cross the line? Only you can answer that
(or maybe an editor or agent that knows your work like her own).
Take what you like from a critique effort and toss the rest.
That's the mantra of any good writers' group.
2. Some readers act jealous and criticize to the extreme.
If the group is toxic, leave it and find another. Sticking
around to fight is foolish and takes energy away from your
craft. However, few people are worth ignoring a hundred percent.
I once had a critique group member (not now, for those of you
in my current critique groups), who had not a clue about my
subject matter. She made suggestions that were so off base as
to be comical; yet, she said them with cynical tones, ticking
me off. The first word out of her mouth made me cringe and want
to slap her. However, one out of ten suggestions she made had
merit. Ultimately, I quit working with her, when the bad
outweighed the good, but I still learned a few tricks from her.
3. Some readers don't listen to your critique of their work.
Seriously unimportant. At the risk of sounding selfish, if
the group helps my writing, I'm not concerned if a member
tosses my critiques in the trash. Because reading and critiquing
other work makes you stronger. The practice of reading fresh
material and seeking the weaknesses and strengths, reinforces
your abilities to edit your own work. Even reading or listening
to other critiquers review someone else's work makes you a better
writer. A critique group isn't just about you submitting work.
You learn from all the exchanges within a group.
4. Rejection is too hard to take.
You'll get no sympathy here in that regard. Something a critique
group does that will carry you far in your career is this...
teach you to take it on the chin, glean the wheat from the chaff,
and grow. You learn to stand there, take it, and carry home what
you need. Growth is painful. Growth means undoing the bad habits
and accepting new ones. If you can't stand to hear about your flaws,
how are you ever going to take your writing outside the walls of
your bedroom, study or kitchen dining area? Criticism helps you
appreciate your strengths...strengths you may not achieve without
a mentor helping you sift through the junk to make it shine.
5. Some writers are arrogant in their experience. Others are
ignorant in their lack of it.
Everyone is on a journey, and nobody is in your shoes. Neither
are you in theirs. You started somewhere, traveled here and
there, often backing up and changing direction. Some people
head down a straight path and dead end, thinking they've arrived.
It's not your job to fix their career. If they appear open to
your suggestions, offer. Otherwise, lead by example. Accept
critiques, offer a word of thanks for the effort, and move on.
In turn, present your suggestions and don't feel bad if they
don't understand your logic. Your focus is your writing, not
what they do with theirs. Appreciate the words of those more
seasoned, but never consider their path the only one to take.
And because someone hasn't published, doesn't mean they have
nothing to offer. You may have a "can't see the forest for the
trees" situation going on, and the simplest suggestion may be
an epiphany.
Don't be a victim of a critique group. Be comfortable enough
in your own skin to know what helps or hurts you. You control
your experience. Whether you get upset or receive benefit is
based on your reaction more than the actions of others.
Like I said...it's YOUR voice, isn't it?
BIO
C. Hope Clark will preach forever and a day about critique
groups. Test a few until you find one (or two) that offer
you more reward than stress. Can't find one? Phooey. Keep
looking...or create one. You are in that control seat.
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