Anyone interested in a critique circle?

[politicat]

Here's where I am - I have 3 finished works that need a going over of the drawing blood type, and several lesser works that need a softer treatment so I don't decide to trash them.

I write fantasy lite - all the flavor, half (or less) the magic - and Social Science Fiction. I've got ideas for a couple of literary, general fiction novels.

I run 100K to 160K per book.

What I can crit - Plot holes, grammar, spelling, internal inconsistencies, etc. I can be brutal and I can be gentle or anywhere in between.

I'm also looking to exchange the "package" - the summary, the taglines, the query letters - with others.

My goal is to sell these suckers. Anyone else?

Pcat

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I may be interested

[derbstyron]

2. I would be interested

I write mainly short stories of the "literary" type. Whatever the hell that means. I would prefer honest feedback. I'm a Creative Writing major so you can't say anything to hurt my feelings.

Once you've survived your two hour thesis meeting you can survive anything! :)

I'm game!

[patdem]

3. Is this a 'Group'? or just here in the writing forum?

A 'Group' can only entertain people who contribute. Are you suggesting a 'Group'?

[politicat]

4. I suppose I am....

I used to belong to Other Worlds Writers Workshop, but for various reasons, I am not sure I was a good fit.

I suppose I am asking to see if a cooperative effort is something that can be found here.

Pcat

[kcr]

5. Why wasn't it a good fit?

Now that the political season and the busy season at work is over, I am trying to get back to writing (most of my writing the last three months went into by blog). I was going to re-up my membership, so I am interested in what flaws you encountered.

Oh, and yes, a crit cricle would be something I would be interested in. I write sf short stories, and need honest pummelings.

[politicat]

6. Because I don't write ONLY Science Fic. and Fantasy mostly.

And I was working on a contemp lit piece mostly at the time (reworking Sense and Sensibility a la Bridget Jones and Clueless.)

I also needed to grow a thicker skin, which I have now.

Pcat

[kcr]

7. They have a lit fit section now

Just so you know.

I hope this crit thing takes off.

[politicat]

9. Are you in OWWW?

Small world.

pcat

[kcr]

10. I let it slide last month

in the middle of the election season, but am re-upping in a day or two.

[politicat]

11. When did you start?

I started with them back in 2002 and left about a year ago.

Pcat

[kcr]

12. September of 2003

Haven't sold anything, but did get my first two non-form rejections out of it, so I take that as improvement :)

[patdem]

8. DrZeeLit...proposed a 'Group' for writing...we need a seperate GROUP

A Group is different than this Non Political Group...Our own group can have ..political writings...fantasy writings...sci fi writings...poetry...etc...WE NEED A GROUP!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. cricicims is critticism, and it is valuable

regasrdless of the form it takes

So if we want to form a gruop we can, or just use the PM abiltiy to exchange pieces

[VivaKerry]

14. Would we post our masterful pieces,

before they are even copyrighted? For the world to take?

And even if we distributed our work to each other privately, who is to say whether a person is up to no good and would do god knows what with our work?

I don't know if this sounds like a good idea, but I may be missing something. I would love to be able to have a writers circle, but I don't see how to do it on the internet.

[DrZeeLit]

15. The ideas on this thread cover several +/- of a group.

Trust is the main problem.
I agree, it's hard to post work without clear guidelines and yet, to get real feedback, guidelines need to be loose.

In addition, it's hard to trust the internet. Posting a work means it's available to everyone here. That is flat-out scarey.

Perhaps the posts for a group would have to be PRIVATE.
Or people could just have critique partners -- these relationships could be built over time between 2, 3, 4 writers. But ideas could be brought to a larger group.

I belong to a writer's forum with about 20 members, all women. I really trust the group. The site is locked. We support each other, have challenges, and deadlines. If we post, we read. We all post, so we all read. It is terrific to get lots of feedback for my work. I've been with this group for over a year and feel better than ever about my writing. I'm working on two novels.

So, a group has to evolve. But... it could happen here!

[whalerider55]

20. Doc...

getting back into writing after a hiatus- i was part of a writer's group lead by Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog) for about six months, but as his novel took off, the group ended and has only just begun to find a new configuration.

i would be interested and would like to part of a further discussion about this.

my email address is [e-mail]
or track me down here as this thing takes off.
thanks for broaching it.

whalerider55

[Chovexani]

16. I would love that.

I have very low self-esteem when it comes to my ability and I don't take criticism very well, but I would love to have such a circle around. I'm a hobbyist that would like to get published someday but if I don't it wouldn't kill me.

I write original fantasy stuff as well as a lot of fanfiction.

[derbstyron]

17. I agree

I think as time goes on we will learn to trust each other more. Especially as some of our post counts grow. :)

Also, matching up as individuals would be good as certain people have more interests in certain things (certain genres, styles, etc.).

[dogmastomper]

18. The problem with crit groups

are many. The first thing is that the work can't be put online without being considered 'previously published.' The acceptance rules to many publications, both literary and genre, forbid previously published material. Usually crit groups are done through email lists for that reason (so it's not being published, it's just being distributed among friends/peers for review). The copyright problem is easy to solved by doing it the same way. If your work is only seen by people who critique it, then there is less a chance that it will be stolen, and if it were stolen others would see it and know who wrote it. There should also be a disclaimer for the group stating that the work is the property of whomever submits it for critique. I've thought about starting a crit group a good deal, and actually did it at one time. It was fun and rewarding but very time consuming. If we do decide to do this, there has to be at least a couple people willing to moderate it and make sure that things get done right to protect us and our work from any loopholes. Not trying to sound cynical, but it is a big responsibility, at the same time I would love to be a member.

[flying_monkeys]

19. I ran a group for 16 months and recently shifted to a new forum (m)

It is mostly the poetry mags that are stuffiest about "previously published" in my experience - - the others recognize 'workshopping' and 'critiquing' aren't the same as actually getting published...

To my knowledge, none of our stuff has been stolen because that copyright notice has always been on the front....

[Cleita]

21. Yeah, I could get into it.

My editorial skills are pretty skimpy though, but I find it helps me to look at others mistakes. We aren't always so aware of our personal writing problems. It might get me back into writing too. I also write fantasy although I avoid elves and Arthurian legends.

[Pepperbelly]

22. When someone posts a piece, I will try and make constructive comments.

Usually brief but I hope helpful.

:D