Critique Groups - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

In General:

Beginning writers need a supportive, friendly atmosphere to hone their skills and learn to give and receive constructive criticism. They often need help with the basics: dialogue, plotting, motivation, and show-don't-tell. They blossom in an atmosphere of caring and sharing.

More experienced writers may have just one or two weak areas on which they need to work. Often, they are well into a novel, or may be editing it ready to send to a publisher. Some may have been published before, perhaps in other genres. they don't want (or can't afford) to spend time constantly going back over the basics. They want to work on their own novels, not short exercises and drills.

Some DOs and DON'Ts for Critique Groups:

DO....

• Critique the work in terms of its intended market. The writer wants an evaluation of the work as it is presented, not criticism about his or her choice of genre or category.

• Praise what works as well as what doesn't. Be specific. Rather than: 'I thought their encounter at the shopping mall worked well', say "You really heightened the suspense when John spotted Kieran at the mall and realised he'd been followed'. And be diplomatic - not: 'I didn't like the scene in the old castle' but 'I was really enjoying the story until the scene in the old castle - at that point John started to seem a bit of a bully. Is there some way you could lighten it a little?'

• Bring copies, if possible, of the pages you intend to read to the group. It's a lot easier to pinpoint why something 'doesn't sound quite right' if you see it on the page.

• Share the time fairly. You may have to nominate a time-keeper - especially if one member of the group consistently takes more time than he or she should.

• Use the 'sandwich' technique - open with a positive comment, give suggestions for improvement, then finish with encouraging words. Helpful advice wrapped in encouragement and praise! Be honest, but be kind.

• Don't argue with those offering advice. Advice is there for you to listen to and act on only if you want to. It's a waste of time to defend your work. Remember, what you hear is an opinion, not a demand to rewrite. As a rule of thumb: if everyone picks on different things, change only what makes sense to you. If everyone criticises the same thing, you probably do need to work on that aspect.

• Don't present your opinion in terms of 'that's wrong, this is right'. Offer alternatives; evaluate strengths and weaknesses; raise questions.

• Don't lose patience with those who don't seem to be 'getting the message', when the group has pointed out the same weaknesses several times. Instead, look for different ways to rephrase the same advice. People often take a while to 'click' with some aspect of the craft.

DON'T leave all the work up to one person. Not only is it unfair, it can result in the eventual disintegration of the group.

Take a close look: is your group coordinator becoming burnt out from doing all the encouraging, all the encouraging, all the preparation and bringing along all the ideas?

Consider these options:

• Elect a coordinator to be the contact person for mail and new members, but nominate a different chairperson for each meeting.

• Allot tasks to members (or ask for volunteers, if some members lack confidence) for future meetings. Spend a meeting brainstorming future workshop topics. Use people's strengths - if someone writes great dialogue, ask that person to run a workshop or to devise group exercises on that topic.

• Discuss ways in which your meetings can be more fun; more inspiring; more helpful.

• Schedule a short session every three or four meetings to discuss existing meeting procedure, and to air any concerns about the direction of the group.
• Arrange occasional joint meetings with other writing groups in the area or in a nearby town.

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/