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Feedback: What a Critique Group can Do for Your Story–And It’s MORE than You think!
Our local critique group met yesterday and it was an exciting meeting. Almost everyone sent the first chapter of a new project. That’s exciting. It means that the group is healthy, that we are collectively working hard on our stories. Critiquing Manuscripts I learn almost as much when I critique manuscripts, as when I get…
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Feedback on a Works in Progress: When, How Often, How
When do you get feedback on a work-in-progress? Never, early, mid-project, as often as possible? Types of Feedback and When to Get Them Good early feedback Pat on back. Often what you need is just a pat on the back, someone saying, “Good job!” My local critique group does this by just asking people to…
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Openings: And the Winner Is. . .
Thanks to everyone who read and commented on yesterday’s post on story openings, in which I gave you twelve options from a WIP from which to choose. First, the informal survey hit some hotspots for some writers: “I would throw the ‘it was’ line in a lake with a stone tied around it. Sorry, I’m…
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Facing a Critique or Editorial Letter: 2 Destructive Attitudes
And a 3rd Attitude that Helps This week, I will be receiving a series of feedback letters from friends about a manuscript. Whether these are editorial letters or critiques from friends, it doesn’t matter, there are two destructive attitudes and a third attitude that has potential to smooth over the process. (And 10 Ways to…
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Outlining First Draft Reveals Structural Flaws
Use Outlines to Revise Fiction Organization of a nonfiction piece of writing is paramount. Ideas and/or should build upon each other is an inevitable progression that leads to understanding. For fiction, the outline is the plot structure, events unfolding in an inevitable progression that lead to entertainment. When you use a narrative structure for creative…
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Feedback: 3 Attitudes that Help
I’m working on a novel and have just gotten a couple rounds of feedback from friends. Here’s what I noticed. They didn’t give me the answer I wanted! Be Open. I wanted them to say that this version was perfect, ready to send out. What they said was: Are you sure this should be chapter…