Tell Me What I'm Doing Wrong

 

Every writer needs at least one critique partner. It could be an individual or a group, and I have both. Either way, we need someone to keep us on track

Sometimes it’s big things, such as beginning a book with an epidemic that doesn’t produce the desired outcome. My online critique partner, Celeste Charlene, is a retired nurse, so I asked her for advice on what illness to use. She told me there were none that worked the way I wanted, at least not at that time in that place. Although she didn’t yet know what the story was about, she suggested some other possibilities to achieve the same outcome, including a fire, and that’s what I used.

The little things are almost as important, and they add up much faster. Often, it’s just a case of confusing my reader. I know who I’m talking about or what I mean to say, and sometimes I assume my readers will read my mind as well as the words on the paper. So when Celeste or members of the Highland Writers Group misinterpret what I said, or which character I’m referring to, I know it needs clarifying.

These independent sets of eyes make my stories so much better.

It works both ways, of course. I can’t expect to take without giving. I provide the same types of feedback to Celeste as she gives me. And it works the same way in my critique group.

Not everyone is a good critique partner, however. You don’t want Aunt Nancy patting you on the back and telling you what a wonderful writer you are. Instead, you want a Celeste Charlene who understands your writing style and notices and points out the flaws in the story. Celeste and I “met” online as part of a three-person critique group, but we didn’t fit well with the other person, who soon left to find a more compatible group. But Celeste and I have been partners for ten or fifteen years.

Although we must understand each other’s writing style, that isn’t the same as critiquing it. Since every writer is—and should be—different, style is a personal matter. We do discuss it, however, asking each other questions to make sure we understand the ramifications of our choices.

If you aspire to be a writer, find a good critique partner or group to tell you what you’re doing wrong.

I’m glad I did.

__________

The photo at the top of this post shows Celeste Charlene and me in 2012.  

It's a Zoom World

 

We don’t know how good we have it.

Imagine what it was like to leave home and not know what was happening to friends or family until a rare letter came through. Since I write historical fiction, some of my characters experience this isolation.

When COVID 19 shut everything down, I thought I was cut off from most of my creative groups. I still communicated regularly with my online critique partner, but what about writers’ conferences and meetings of my photography club? I missed the in-person contact, and I still do. But thanks to Zoom and its competitors, face-to-face interaction is not dead.

The Highland Writers Group had been meeting in-person at coffee houses, but it quickly adjusted to the pandemic by adopting a Zoom meeting format where we chat a bit and then read and critique our work. We have since returned to meeting at venues that allow for in-person interaction, but Zoom is still available for those who are worried about COVID or for whom travel to the in-person location is inconvenient.

The Calumet Region Photo Club (CRPC) also adjusted by holding its meeting via Zoom. And somebody from the umbrella group developed a computer program for holding internet competitions. Of course, that only works for digital images, so those clubs that want to have print competitions must do them in person. My club has chosen to stick with digital competitions for now, and that’s fine with me since I rarely entered prints before the pandemic. (Digital images are cheaper and less work.)

CRPC had an in-person picnic in the summer and an in-person Christmas dinner in December, and they were both wonderful. We thought we were going to return to in-person program and mentoring meetings starting tomorrow, but circumstances interfered and we’ll be online for another month.

I really miss attending writers’ conferences, and I was looking forward to attending the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ (SCBWI) Midwest conference in April. So I was really disappointed when that got cancelled. But the SCBWI has been offering free online workshops for members, and I’ve taken advantage of some of them. That isn’t a Zoom format, but I do get to see the presenters, and those who watch real-time can use the chat function to ask questions.

In-person meetings are always the best way to foster relationships and to learn from others, and I can’t wait until things return to the old normal. At least, I hope they will do that.

But the pandemic hasn’t eliminated all opportunities to interact with other creative individuals and learn from them.

And I’m grateful.

__________

The photo at the top of this post shows the Highland Writers Group’s March 13, 2021 Zoom meeting.  

Criticism or Critique?

These two words, criticism and critique, share a dictionary definition but often create opposite emotions. Many people view criticism negatively but critique positively.

Both should be positive, even when they are negative.

I belong to several groups that exist to encourage and, yes, to criticize. To criticize the material, that is, not the person.

The Highland Writers' Group is an in-person critique group that meets weekly to critique members' works in progress, and Calumet Toastmasters is a Toastmasters International club that meets semi-monthly to listen to and evaluate members' speeches. I also have an on-line critique partner who is most helpful of all. The picture shows me with Celeste when we met for lunch during my vacation last summer.

There are two things I've learned (among many, of course). First, if I want to improve my craft, I can't be sensitive. Second, if I want to improve my craft, I must be sensitive. The definition to avoid is "quick to take offense; touchy." The one to embrace is "responsive to external conditions or stimulation." (These two definitions of "sensitive" come from the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.)

Several years ago, I was writing an overtly Christian novel and sharing it with the Highland Writers' Group for critique. I found myself constantly irritated by the criticism from one member. He appeared to be antagonistic to Christianity, and most of his comments showed that he misunderstood what I was trying to say in this paragraph or that one. My immediate reaction (in my head, not my mouth, fortunately), was "You aren't my audience. Christians will know what I mean."

Then I went home and thought about it. Yes, he wasn't my intended audience, and maybe a Christian audience would understand what I wrote. But maybe it wouldn't. Equally important, what if a non-Christian picked up the book and read it? Better to reword a few paragraphs than to risk being misunderstood.

With minor variations, this experience has been a theme in the critique experiences I have found most helpful. If I quickly take offense and discount the criticisms, I don't learn anything. But if I think about what was said and respond offensively rather than defensively, my writing is the better for it. Yes, I still reject some of the suggestions I receive, but not until I have considered them carefully.

Because even negative criticism can be a positive experience.

Not a Lonely Job

Back when I was earning my living as a lawyer, I attended a hearing where a witness was asked why she wanted to work on the exchange floor when she was trading successfully from home. Her answer? "Trading is a lonely job."

That's what they say about writing, too. And it is partly true. I don't have colleagues occupying offices next door or meeting in conference rooms down the hall. When I sit down to put words on paper, I'm the only one in the room.

But I'm not alone.

No, I'm not referring to God. Yes, He is with me, but that's not what this post is about.

A truly solitary job is one that no one else understands well enough to provide encouragement and where no one else has input into the final product. I don't know if there are any truly solitary jobs out there, but neither writers nor traders qualify.

Writers are part of a broader writing community, and traders are part of a broader trading community. Both writers and traders can find others who have dealt with the same issues to provide encouragement.

Good writers seek input from critique partners, editors, and others to improve their manuscripts. Good traders read financial newsletters and study other traders' opinions and methods to improve their own performance.

I belong to a number of local, regional, and national writers' groups, and I am active in several. These include a local critique group (the Highland Writers' Group), a non-profit group formed to encourage Indiana's creative writers (the Indiana Writers' Consortium), and the Indiana chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers. Each of these groups meets several times throughout the year, and HWG meets weekly. They all provide excellent opportunities to interact with other people who understand the writing life.

Saturday was a good example.

That's when IWG held its second annual networking picnic. Although there were a couple of fundraising activities, the day was primarily about the fellowship and the food and the fun. And I enjoyed creating a literary scavenger hunt using books as clues to things people could find in or near the picnic location.

You may have a job that requires some alone time, but you aren't alone.

And writing is definitely not a lonely job.