When you join a critique group what's your reason?
In my experience most writers join critique groups because they want some feedback on their writing. There are a few who only want to be told how great they are and take umbrage at any criticism, but the majority are happy to hear what's good in their writing as well as what's bad.
I've found, however, that the greatest, and most overlooked benefit of joining a writing critique group is how much you can learn about your own writing by critiquing other's work.
It's far easier to spot where someone else's story is going wrong than it is to pinpoint faults in your own. You get so close to your own work that unless you've got loads of experience it can be difficult to look at it objectively and really get a clear picture of what your written words are saying to the reader.
All writers carry far more information about the story in their heads than they put on the page. It can be hard to know if you've said enough, or too much, when you already know all there is to know about a situation or character.
Think back to conversations you've had with someone where you think you've explained everything but your listener just doesn't get it, or doesn't understand who said what or what order things happened in. The same misunderstandings can happen in fiction. The reader just doesn't have the right information in the right order to understand the writer's intention. It's not the reader's fault, it's the writer's.
When you critique some else's writing, you can get a sense of where stories are most likely to go wrong. You quickly pick up on common mistakes, spot plot misdirections and recognise dialogue that's not doing it's job.
The savvy writer realises these lessons learned can be used in their own writing and that by working through a piece of writing not their own they're honing their own skills.
Many members of critique groups shirk the workload when it comes to returning critiques. They fail to understand that they'll get even more out of working through someone else's story than they will from all the feedback on their own.
And of course it's a two-way street.
If a critique group is stuffed with members who just want feedback on their own work, how do they think they're going to get it? The other members are the same as them. They just want to do the minimum; make any old comments without giving the story much thought. None of the critiques received are going to be worth very much.
Contrast that with a group where the writers actually realise the personal benefit of seriously critiquing a story and the quality is going to go through the roof.
We're always asking 'what's in it for me' after all. Few of us like to do something for nothing.
So do yourself a favour. If you're a member of a critique group, give it your all. Approach each new story like a personal lesson in creative writing and learn all you can from the mistakes others make. By the same token, learn about what works too.
Not only is critique work a two-way street, it's got more than one lane going in each direction.
About the Author
Deborah Sutton is a writer and creative writing tutor. http://www.deborahsutton.co.uk
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