Seeking (and Providing) Critiques as a Scribe
If you're a lone writer seeking good, honest feedback to enhance your writing skills, consider joining a writers group. These communities, either online or in person, offer a platform for exchanging constructive critiques with fellow writers or readers who understand and respect the writing process.
According to the author, adult education programs and community colleges are excellent alternatives for finding a critique group. They often offer writing classes geared towards specific genres. Writers groups can be found in various locations such as senior centers, bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, and church basements.
The author recommends identifying 6-7 people from the group who give perceptive feedback and with whom you feel comfortable to form a critique group. These groups typically meet as frequently as possible to improve writing skills more rapidly.
Each participant brings a paper copy of their manuscript pages for the attendees. The optimum length of a passage to critique is around 1000 words, about 4 pages double-spaced, but they vary as needed. During the meeting, the group discusses the manuscript, correcting typos, marking unclear sections, writing questions, crossing out unnecessary words, replacing passive words with active ones, suggesting reorganization, pointing out redundancies and inconsistencies, writing a word of encouragement, and identifying potential markets.
Participating in a writers group allows you to hear what others are contributing and learn how to offer constructive criticism. The author's critique group, for instance, has been meeting weekly for 25 years, consisting of women who give well-reasoned evaluations of the author's work.
The author suggests setting a time away from the original group to discuss logistics and agree on expectations. It's also important to remember that it's beneficial to attend a writers group for a period of 6 months to a couple of years. The author's group meets weekly for about 3 hours.
In addition to writers groups, the author also advises seeking trusted friends or readers who enjoy reading and are willing to be honest, not just flattering, in their responses. The author's friends have proven the value of their expertise.
Lastly, the author suggests considering writing programs or coaching services that provide personalized feedback from experienced author coaches. Platforms like Jericho Writers offer spaces to make friends, find beta readers, get feedback, and seek advice with user-friendly interfaces.
In summary, the key is to build a network of readers or writers who provide constructive, honest, and balanced feedback—not just praise or harsh criticism—and to engage in communities or services that foster supportive literary critique.
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- "The group moves forward with anticipation"
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