I once belonged to a critique group that was so anal……they had a “Sergeant-at-Arms” whose job it was to ring a bell when one of the members strayed from group protocol. For example, if the author opened her mouth to explain – ding! (The rule was, the writer couldn’t speak until all the critics had their say).
Then there were two tough old men who each, on separate occasions, reared back in their chairs and bellowed, “I don’t know what the HELL you’re talking about!” At me. At the time I was a new writer. You can imagine how badly it intimidated me.
I lost my writing voice, and my confidence. I left the group, thinking I had no talent.
Now I’m in another group. We meet in a divey bar in Hemet CA every Monday morning, and the atmosphere is a lot more free-wheeling. We blabber about politics and whatever the hell we want before getting down to business, and once we start critiquing we interrupt each other liberally. I even, once, in front of everybody, told the leader to F- off.
My writing has never been better.
Here’s my message: unless you feel right at home from the get-go, don’t stay with the first critique group you find. Try out several. There are good groups and bad groups, and good groups that are bad for you, and the reverse. You don’t want to kill your creativity. Find the right group, the one where you feel safe taking chances. For more on choosing the right critique group, check out this article by Becky Levine.
And for more on hating your critique group, go to Part 2.
Lynne, that is great advise to be discerning in selecting the right critique group. Thanks for the link to the WD article as well. I haven’t been able to find a group in my area yet but am using some online groups to edit/critique my work. I definitely will keep your points in mind when I do find a group!
Let me know how the online groups go. Is one in particular working well for you and why? If you have advice on that let me know.
Hi Lynne,
I have been participating in webinars through National Association of Memoir Writers with Linda Joy Meyers. She has written several books on memoir writing and recently published her memoir,Don’t Call Me Mother. We basically all connect by phone during the workshop but have been emailing each other outside of the workshop. Last Friday, three of us were on the line waiting for Linda so we began talking and agreed to review /critique each others’ writing. It’s a pretty focused group and we need to be as writing a memoir that will capture the eye of an agent or publisher seems like a gargantuan task so we need all the support we can give one another. I simply cannot find a local writers group so for me this is a very reasonable alternative.
Kathy
Thanks for the comment, Debbie. I wish I had had that kind of strength back then – I would have stood up and walked out, but I didn’t. Live and learn!
Lynne: Outstanding! I, too, would have lost my nerve with your first group. I suppose the old saying has some merit, “To thine own self be true.” You have to know yourself, what you need to hear, the kinds of people who motivate you to grow and stay positive, and separate yourself from whatever brings you down!