Thankful for…my critique group!

~ Becky Ross Michael

Amid troubles far and wide, reaching for positives as a lead-in to the coming holiday season feels like a wise course of action. Beyond the importance of family, health, and meaningful work, I’m drawn to reflecting upon my writing critique group. Most of us met through a larger local organization where we occasionally share our works and also enjoy monthly presentations on writing craft. However, several of us longed for a smaller group where we would share our work more regularly. So, about a half-dozen years ago, our small critique group of six was born. Twice a month, we meet in a study room at the Frisco, TX, library. We made it through the pandemic online but were happy to resume meeting in person.

Critique groups come in all shapes and sizes; the group I belong to is no exception. Our members write fiction for adults and children, nonfiction, novels, novellas, short stories, blog posts, and newsletters. We are both traditionally and self-published. Our process is simple. About four days before each scheduled meeting, we email our writing pieces to all members. Those members then read and offer praise, observations, questions, and suggested edits, then return the marked documents to the authors.

At our meetings, we discuss all the feedback as a group. In addition, we also talk about other things: publishing options, querying, what we’re reading, our research, and sometimes our personal lives. I’m happy to say we’re supportive not only as writing peers but as friends. Thank you: Linda Baten Johnson, Carolyn Lis, Gary Thornberry, Jan Angelley Cobb, and Donna Anderson. And also a note of appreciation to Karen Hodges, our former member who moved away with family. My writing has grown with your help. I’m grateful for each of you!

If you crave a successful critique group, various sites offer informative articles to assist your efforts. The Jane Friedman website tells how to “Find the Right Critique Group or Partner for You.” And after you’ve found your group or partner, the Writers in the Storm blog suggests “How to be a Good Critique Group Partner.”

I’d love to know about your experience with a critique group or partner! What didn’t work, and what DOES work for you?

As the following photo reminds us, interesting writing topics can appear in the most unexpected places!

Take care, Becky

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

57 thoughts on “Thankful for…my critique group!”

    1. It has been very helpful and enjoyable, Dave! In the past, I also facilitated a critique group aimed just at writers of children’s literature. Alas, the pandemic did us in. As a group, we lost steam and never recovered. That makes this other group all that much more important to me!

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  2. it’s wonderful being part of a critique group. I belong to a local writers’ group. WE meet once a fortnight, share and critique each other’s work and write towards an annual publication. We are a tight little unit of ten —

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    1. John, that sounds like a great idea to do an annual publication! Do you put that on Amazon, or is this mainly for personal use? I’m glad to read that your group is working well for you. PS I had to look up “fortnight”:)

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  3. It’s good to hear that you found such a good critique group! I facilitate a critique group via Zoom in the Woven Tale Press Forum. We’re spread out over the country, with one person on his way to relocating to Canada. What I’m seeing is that the group has been motivated to getting new work does, revising old work, and getting publication credits along the way. So, I’d say it’s working out!

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  4. I was in a small critique group for a while, but drifted away. In truth, I’ve discovered that my blog readers have served me far better than that particular critique group. As I developed long term relationships with some readers (many of whom are still with me after twenty years) and nurtured conversation rather than just short comments or likes, I began to find out a lot about what ‘worked’ and what didn’t. Between the blog and a very few books written by people like Annie Dillard, John McPhee, and Bill Zinsser, I know what I need to do to improve. I just need to put my sweet little rear end in the chair and do it!

    As for that photo: the first phrase that came to mind was “It’s Chip, and Dale.” There could be a story, there!

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  5. Would love to find a local critique group that met the wants and needs of the group and not the ego of the leader. Came close once before the new group leader decided to remake the group on his own image. Nice, Becky.

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      1. I lost track of any writers and am not motivated to seek any out. We have a local place called Writers House but my experience with them is that they are very rigid and only their points of view are valid.

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  7. Our little group has been going for years. Joining it got me started writing properly as we wrote a piece each week, read it out then the tutor took our pieces home and wrote a critique. Our tutor is in her nineties and can no longer get into town to the library where we meet, but still receives our work and writes a critique. We are about half a dozen on average turn out and take it in turns to run the sessions for a month.

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  9. My group meets weekly. Four of the five of us are retired, which allows these regular gatherings. Our process sounds pretty similar except that a couple of our members prefer to not read our partners’ work ahead of time. I actually would prefer to do so. Our process is this:

    1. People can bring up to ten pages from their work in progress. They provide copies for everyone. Everyone reads it silently and writes comments and suggestions on the paper as they’re reading.

    2. After everyone finishes one person’s pages, we go around the group and share our thoughts. I like that the writer must be quiet and listen to all of the comments first. If more than one person has the same constructive criticism, it seems likely that this is a problematic area.

    3. After each person comments, we move into the periond called “open discussion.” Now, the writer can respond to any comments or ask the others to clarify remarks they didn’t understand.

    The big thing is that we’ve developed a level of trust to know that other people are offering their honest thoughts and critiquing the writing rather than the person. People offer plenty of positive comments as well. I agree with 90% of the comments I receive from the other members, and they always point out things I hadn’t noticed. It’s an invaluable tool for writing.

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  11. I’m so glad you’ve found a good place with your critique partners, Becky. I’ve been in not-great groups before and one issue (for me) was an imbalance in terms of dedication to craft and actually creating work which resulted in many meetings being more about catching up on life than critiquing writing. A good group is hard to find, so congratulations to you and yours! 🙂

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  15. I’ve tried to find one where I live now and thought for a bit that I had but was then introduced to a new arrival as “a blogger” with a bit of disdain in their voice. I decided I wasn’t a good fit. I’ll keep my blogging family, thank you very much. They are always kind and gentle. I had a large group at the senior centers in a couple of town but this one has no writers or readers or even crafters. There is a dearth of creativity here. I’m still looking though.

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  16. This sounds excellent, Becky! LOVE that you meet at a library!

    I’m not part of a writing group, as I don’t write much. I take photos, draw and make gowns.

    I have a special friend who makes gowns, as well. We are both couturier trained. She lives far away, but we get together virtually. We speak a dying language of an almost forgotten art.

    SO, I understand why the support is so important.

    Thank you for this post!

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  17. Your writing critique group sounds wonderful. Over the years I’ve taken several writing classes where we critiqued each others work, but nothing ever continued beyond the end of the class.

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  18. I miss a critique group. I’ve been in more than one, and for various reasons, they both fell apart after a number of years together, as things sometimes do. I found it so useful. We met in person, and were very supportive of each other, but the greatest challenge, I think, was that some of us wanted to be traditionally published, and some did it for enjoyment. The result was that some of us were reading many more children’s books, had more dedication, and were learning and growing at a different pace. Still … well worth it!

    These days, I’d like a PB illo group, in person, but efforts to organize one so far have not come to fruition.

    Keep writing, Becky!

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    1. Yes, Jeanne, it can be challenging when members have differing goals. But I bet you had many things in common, as well. Does SCBWI have a group that meets near you? That might be a place to connect with other illustrators.
      Take care!

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      1. SCBWI was actually the first place I looked. The old site used to list critique groups around the country, whether or not they were accepting new members, details, etc., but the new site does not. I even asked them about it, but nothing was in the offing immediately. But your idea was a good one.

        If and when there’s a group for me, I’m sure the info will come to me.

        You, too, and Happy Christmas!

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