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How to Build a Good Critique Group

Filed Under: Speculative Fiction, Writing Advice, Writing Process

So, to continue the theme of writing advice, we move on to another question from Monday’s thread, this time from the LJ mirror by alaneer:

Here’s a problem: how does one go about finding a small crit group whose member have to give crits in less than 2-3 weeks? Or forming a crit group like that.

This is a good question. I have no idea how anyone managed to learn storycraft in the age before the internet. SF writers were probably spread over as much geography as they are today, so how did they critique each other? Postal mail? In-person workshops? They’d have to meet somehow in the first place. Ah, so they went to cons? Those cost time and money. Luckily, we were born at a time where we could take advantage of nearly free, instantaneous global communications, and that means finding people willing to be in a critique group is the least of your problems. Finding the right people is much more difficult. Here are some techniques that have helped me.

Join one of the larger established workshop groups such as the Online Writer’s Workshop or Critters. Personally, I’m an alumnus of the OWW. So is Sarah Prineas, Elizabeth Bear, Charles Coleman Finlay, and many others. There’s little doubt in my mind that the experience of putting your work thorugh the OWW will improve it. Will it get you a book deal or a pro sale? Maybe. You’re doing most of the work, but if you listen to what people have to say, I think you will come closer sooner than you would have on your own.

When you first join these workshops, you’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. You have no idea who is going to read your story and provide a critique, at least in the case of the OWW. While you’re waiting, you should go find work that you think is at least at your level of skill, if not several levels higher. Provide a thoughtful critique. They won’t always return it, but sometimes they will see something they like in your work as well, and this is how you start building indvidiual relationships.

I no longer use the OWW, but I have kept in touch with many of the writers from that workshop for the purposes of critiquing and of course due to the fact that they’re my friends. In any large group workshop, I think talent has a way of finding like talent. Groups are formed within, and they can be exported easily from the larger workshop. You will outgrow together the lower-level issues that workshops address particularly well.

Another option is to just ask authors who you admire if you could trade critiques with them. This is how Jay Lake and I ended up trading comments on each other’s stories.

Jay taught me a very valuable notion, which was particularly helpful when I was writing a story a week or more and still looking for feedback. That was to build a list of first readers/critiquers, but make sure they know you don’t expect them to read everything you send out. And vice versa. Sometimes people have time, sometimes they don’t. In an ideal situation, you’ll have enough people on your list that each piece of writing you send out will get you several solid critiques that will help you revise or determine whether to send the story out at all.

I don’t really believe in forming groups persay anymore–although I have been part of them from time to time, and I suspect groups like Blue Heaven are really great for what they do. For the way I write, I just prefer to build individual, one-on-one relationships. Any time you get more than four writers in a group, you will have politics, and I have little tolerance for that myself. Maybe you like it? If so, form a group, set up a list-serve for email and go to town.

Any of the methods above will help you with your ultimate goal, which is finding people with which to collaboratively improve your work. Also, you’ll probably make good friends. But I should point out, a good critiquer is not necessarily a good friend, and the opposite is often even less possible. Depending on how you react to the criticism, you end up hating your best critiquers, but in a broccoli kind of way.

Good luck. Anyone who is interested in trading critiques with me need only drop me a line. I can’t agree to do so with everyone who asks, but I try to do so. I have a lot less time to critique now that I am editing Escape Pod.