Please join me today in welcoming today's guest blogger, Lynnette Bonner! Lynnette is the author of the newly released book, Rocky Mountain Oasis. You can purchase a copy through Amazon or CBD. To get it for free, check out the guidelines for an e-copy at the end of the post! Welcome, Lynnette!
The Importance of a Good Critique Group
First I want to say thanks to Liberty for allowing me to guest post here today. What a privilege.
Jumping right into our topic…. I’d like to address the importance of good critique partners today.
Let’s face it. As writers, we are surrounded by people who often don’t get the process of writing. Many people think you write a book, send it to your editor, (who promptly writes you a 6 figure check – ha! wouldn’t THAT be nice) and then it gets published a couple weeks later. Right? When I tell people that it took me 10 years to finally get my book published, they angle me “that” look – the one that says, “Is she any good if it took her that long to get published?”
This is the first reason why it is important to surround yourself with good critique partners. As writers, we are all in the same boat and can understand and sympathize with each other. I can’t tell you the number of times that my crit partners have been an encouragement to me to keep pressing forward.
The second reason is, of course, for technical errors, grammatical errors, spelling errors, etc. – all that editing junk we need to do. My two biggest areas of weakness are spelling and grammar, but I have several critique partners who are strong in those areas. I recommend you surround yourself with people who are strong in areas where you are weak.
Also, often I get so close to the story that I miss technical details that either should be included or should be excluded. Or I can’t tell if I’ve made my point clearly enough and I rely on my critique partners to let me know if I’ve come across clearly, or if I need to say more on that particular subject. Having another person’s perspective on my story is invaluable to me.
If you aren’t in a critique group and you want to be a serious writer you need to get into one right away. Larger cities often have critique groups that meet monthly. And if yours doesn’t have one that you think would work for you, why not start one? Some of you may live in small towns where you are the only writer for miles around. For you, there are lots of online critique groups you can join. ChristianWriters is a free one that has a lot of wonderful resources. There are others like ACFW that cost some to join but have lots of helpful classes and information by email. You can find people through the blogosphere and email your critiques back and forth to each other. There really are no excuses for not having a critique partner.
Let me quickly mention my book because I’m offering a free e-copy to a lucky winner drawn from the commenters on this post. Rocky Mountain Oasis is a Christian historical romance. To read more about it and see the first few chapters you can go to lynnettebonner.com. If it sounds interesting to you, leave a comment and Liberty and I will put your name into the hat for the drawing.
So, what is your critique group like? How often do you meet? What do you do at your meetings?
Thanks, Lynnette!
As she said, we're giving away a free copy to one lucky person. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 14th! Please leave a comment on this post to register, or if you become a follower of Word Wanderings between now and Sunday, September 13th (cutoff time 6 PM, Central Time), you will also be entered. If you leave a comment and become a follower, you'll get your name put in the drawing twice! Good luck to everyone!
Until next time,
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9 comments:
Great post, Lynnette! I wish I had a critique group. Not possible at the moment. And thanks, Liberty, for having Lynnette as a guest poster.
Agreed, great stuff from you both! Lynette, that was very helpful!
Lynn and John, Thanks for stopping by. Your support means alot! :)
Hi, Lynnette. You've hit on an area near and dear to my heart: editing. Few authors realize the need for intense, repeated, editing of their work. It's certainly not wise to expect that a publisher will do that once your book is accepted. No, get the book right first, then seek representation.
I have several dear friends who aren't exactly a critique "group" but who regularly critique for me. Their help is invaluable!
Thanks for the great post.
Lynnette, I would love to win a copy of your book! :)
Great post. Thanks to Liberty for having you.
Maggie and Lorna, Thanks for dropping by. Maggie, I would say if you have friends who regularly critique you, that would count as a critique group! :)
Thanks for dropping in, everyone! :) And, thanks to Lynnette for the terrific guest post!!!
I used to belong to a critique group which met once a month. I quit because I just didn't have time. I may rejoin soon, though, now that I have more time to spare. I would love to be entered in your draw. Thanks.
wandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com
Wanda, I understand about the time factor. It is hard sometimes to balance everything we'd like to do, huh?
We'll put you into the drawing. :)
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