by kmessner

All About Critique Groups (and a chance to connect!)

Some of you have been thinking you’d like to get together with other like-minded teacher-writers to form critique groups, and that’s a great idea. Let’s talk about how critique groups work…

(Please note: The thoughts below were originally posted on my blog as part of my critique-groups post for Teachers Write 2012. No need to reinvent the wheel, after all.)

A critique group is a small group of people (usually 2-6) who write and agree to read one another’s work from time to time and provide feedback with the purpose of helping one another improve. Critique groups can happen in person — if you live close to some other writers, you might agree to meet once a month at the local coffee shop for this — or online, in which case you’d exchange pages of writing via email or set up a system with folders in Yahoo Groups or something similar.

They can be made up of people who are at about the same level (beginners, folks revising first novels, etc.), people who write the same genre (YA, MG, picture books, nonfiction, etc.) or people who write different kinds of work but have an appreciation for what the others write, too.

Sometimes, critique groups operate on a schedule (each week, writers take turns sending maybe five pages for critique by the others) and sometimes they’re more informal (people share work when it’s done or when they need feedback, and others critique as they can. This is more common with experienced writers, I think, who tend to have deadlines and less predictable schedules.)

Sometimes, it takes a while to find the right critique group. People sometimes post new critique groups or openings in established ones at the SCBWI site or on Verla Kay’s discussion boards for children’s writers. Sometimes, you express interest in this, and someone else has filled the spot already or seems to be a better fit for that particular group. Do not take this personally or read anything into it at all. It happens. It happened to me numerous times when I was looking for a critique group, and if it happens to you, it doesn’t mean that you’re not a good writer or a nice person or anything else. It only means that your “just-right” critique group is still out there.  And sometimes, people join a critique group and then realize it’s not a good fit, so they drift away. All of this is part of the process, and it’s okay.

I’ve been in a bunch of critique groups over the years, all full of great people and talented writers. Some have been better fits than others, especially my current group with writers Loree Griffin Burns, Eric Luper, and Liza Martz.  Though we write different genres, we all appreciate one another’s work.  We run into each other at conferences & retreats sometimes, but our group operates mostly online (via Yahoo groups) and we don’t have a set schedule.  I also have a couple other good writers friends with whom I swap manuscripts sometimes.

Last summer, I wrote a pretty detailed piece on how to critique a friend’s writing for the Stenhouse Summer Blogstitute. It uses one of my editor’s revision letters as a mentor text for how to critique someone’s writing in a way that’s constructive and rigorous without making that person feel sad or frustrated or so angry they want to shove their crummy manuscript up your nose.  You should read that here. Go ahead…and then come back. I’m going to get a cup of coffee while you do that….

So…do you think you might like to be in a critique group?  I can’t create one for you…or tell you who to have coffee with, but I can provide a place for you to talk with other like-minded people who feel the same way and might want to connect with you to share work.

If you’d like to start a critique group where you live, or an online group, leave a comment here with the following information:

  • Your name
  • Where you are in your writing life: (beginner, long-time poet, working on 1st novel, agented nonfiction writer, etc.)
  • What you’re working on now or what you most want to write: (YA fantasy, MG mystery, picture book biographies, professional books, poetry, etc. Or you can say not sure – a little of everything.)
  • Where you live if you’re hoping for an in-person group, or just “Online” if you think connected via email will work out better.  Or share both if you’re open to either of those.

(Remember that in-person critique groups actually go someplace to meet and eat brownies and drink coffee once or twice a month, while online groups do all their critiquing and commenting via email or Google docs or something like that. Sometimes, they eat brownies while they do this, too, but it’s harder to share.)

If you’re intrigued by all this, but you’re not the kind of person who likes to start things, then you can just hang out and see if anyone posts a request for critique partners in your city, or if anyone who shares your passion for memoir is looking to form a group. If you see a comment from someone you’d like to chat with about forming a group, then reply to it and figure out how you’d like to continue the conversation (email, Facebook, etc.) to work out details.  Then I’d suggest you arrange to swap just a few pages of something for a sample critique, so that you can see how it works out and figure out if you’re compatible in this way. (You can read this piece I wrote for Stenhouse to get ideas on how to offer good feedback.)

Please don’t get stressed about this ,okay? If no one answers your request right way, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or that you smell like onions or anything else. Give it some time, and if this doesn’t work to connect you with someone like-minded, we’ll find another way.

Once you’re connected with a maybe-critique-buddy, try it out. See how it goes. And understand that this is not a perfect science. Critique groups have fits and starts, growing pains, and bumps in the road, so it may take a few tries before you connect with someone who is the right match. It’s worth it, though. You’ll get great feedback on your writing,  you’ll learn a lot from critiquing your partners’ writing, and you’ll come away with some ideas that you can share in the classroom or library with kids who are trying to help one another improve their writing, too.

Ready  to round up some critique partners?  Fire away in the comments! Remember that the point is to find one another here and then trot off to email or Facebook or Google to talk amongst yourselves and decide how you want your group to work.  There’s a good number of authors planning to visit for Q and A Wednesday next week, so if you end up with more questions about critique buddies, be sure to ask for their thoughts.

17 Replies on “All About Critique Groups (and a chance to connect!)”

  1. Looks like I’ll get things started.

    I’m Wendy and I live in Central New York. I’m currently working on my first novel, which is MG historical fiction. I have an interest in all writing, but will concentrate on MG and YA (and most likely historical).

    I would love to meet face-to-face, but online is probably best for my schedule right now.

    Thank you for this opportunity Kate!

  2. Thank you Wendy for being brave.

    I’m Linda. I’m happily very busy with life….and take long breaks from writing…but always seem to come back to it as if I should be writing. LOVE IT! I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever publish. However, I like to work at things and get better….kinda like runners ( who I do not understand at all) keep running and enjoy it.

    I am currently working on a collection of primary source family documents for my family….I actually have been doing this in my family for a long time not even knowing that it was a “thing”. But, now I’m working on Blurb…so it feels official. That family work is the inspiration to a collection of poetry that I would like to turn into a middle grade novel in verse.(Vaunda Nelson’s “No Crystal Stair” is a tremendous inspiration–except that I’m/my family is white and it would be in verse 🙂 Right now. It is the “pile-o-stuff”.
    I’m also working on a collection of poems for a middle grade picture book for EL students. My aim for that work is that it would be bilingual.

    I live in Virginia. An on-line group would be wonderful for me because as a Teacher-Librarian and mom of four it’s really tough for me to work out times to “get out”.

    I was just at a literacy conference here in VA and heard several YA authors speak and one of my favorite lines is from L.B. Elliott who said “I write in the cracks of my children’s lives….carpool line, soccer games, backs of horse trailers…” I SO get that and love her successful books: Under a Worn Torn Sky trilogy. And, I’m of an age — 47 — where I want to do some things that I want to do like write and write well. It’s time!

  3. Disqus has it out for me. I’m trying to be brief in hope of success.
    Writing my first middle grade novel. I live in Connecticut, but like Wendy, it would be easier for me to work online.

  4. Wonderful article- I enjoyed meeting you at the New York SCBWI conference. I was the one who did the speech about finding writing after breast cancer.

  6. Hello, my name is Elisa and I am in Quito, Ecuador. Therefore I would have to participate in an online group. I am interested in writing a professional book though right now my focus is on writing I am doing for my doctorate. I would love to be part of a critique group.

  7. I am working on my first novel too–I am writing an MG novel in the mystery genre–I like comedy[ my dream would be to be able to write in a style like Janet Evanovich, except for kids, haha). I\’ve been writing snippets here & there but once my kids go back to school in a month, I\’m really gonna get going heavily at it.

  8. I am Joanne and live in Minneapolis, Mn. I am working on a first time Middle grade novel although I have two picture books written and in need of revision. They are hiding on my computer. No sure anything will move to publishing but would love to develop my skills. I would do on line or in person.
    Thanks for helping people make connections.

  9. I am Kimberley. I live in Hampden, Maine. I would like any kind of a critique group. I’ve written a picture book and need support to find out how to get it published. I’m working on a memoir and need a class to help keep me moving along. I would love to start writing for magazines.

  10. Hello,

    My name is Shay and I live in Northern VA. I am currently working towards completing a young adult fiction piece that I started years ago. I can’t let the characters go. I also just completed a children’s picture book and would like to find an illustrator and editor for that. My goal is to do what I love and write for a living. I would love an online group and to meet in person.

  11. Greetings to all. I am an educator who enjoys writing picture books, both fiction and non fiction. This year I applied to be a part of The Write Team with a local county newspaper: The Macoupin County~Carlinville Enquirer~Democrat Newpaper. I share tips, ideas, and information about various topics including, Make a Personal or Family Resolution and Fulfill the Promise, Recognize, Respect and Pay Tribute to Memorial Day and most recently, Reading Should Not Be not On Summer Vacation. I am always interested in learning and growing. I feel I can learn when others critique my work and I can in return critique their work. I reside in Staunton, IL about 50 miles South of Springfield, IL and 50 miles East of StL, MO. My email address is sleopold@gmail.com Thank you. ~Suzy Leopold

  12. Been dying to be a part of a critique group. I’m five years in to historical/sci-fi YA novel. Three of those years has been revision. I’ve gone from third-person to a complete rewrite in first person to making it one character’s story and then rewriting so another was the main and then swung back again to original character. It just happened that way.

    Please consider me 😀 I’m a SCBWI member, went to my first conference this winter in NY and then did a regional in MD.

    Online and/or travel.

  13. My name is Cathy and I live in eastern Long Island. I think online would work best for my schedule. I’m currently working on a YA short story. My favorite genres are sci fi and poetry

  14. I live in southern Utah, I am working both on MG and YA. I am somewhat new but have been writing for a while. I would love to be in an online critique group/ email/ google docs…etc. Thanks!!!

  15. Hello, my name is Beth and I live in Northern Virginia. I am just starting work on my first MG realistic fiction novel. During the day I am a MS teacher — 6th grade reading. I usually have my head in a book or a writing journal when I am not with my family or students. I would love to be part of an online critique group but could meet in person as well.