I’m in a writer’s group that is MADE OF AWESOME, but it’s also made up of only three people, and one has to take a hiatus. If we were going to increase our numbers, what would you recommend?
I’d really rather have our own writer’s group than join someone else’s. I used to use Critters, but I’m not ready to go back there. Having been in a good critique group for awhile, I’m spoiled by regularly receiving critiques from people who give good critiques.
Don’t get me wrong, I always got a lot of crits at Critters. I’d get a couple that were really useful and insightful, just completely awesome crits, and a lot of crazed badger crits along the lines of, “I can’t relate to your character because I don’t know what he looks like. Can you include a line where he sees his reflection in a mirror and describes himself so I can relate to him?” Um, no.
(Generally speaking, when I see myself in a mirror, I don’t think to myself, “She was about 5’6, with brown hair and…” The closest I get to that is seeing myself in a mirror and thinking, “Oh, shit, is that a coffee stain on my shirt?”)
Anyway, advice for adding people to an existing in-person critique group would be welcome. I’m thinking of making it a requirement that you must have at least one sale just to weed out the fanfic-only writers and the bad milsf clones. Nothing personal against fanfic or good milsf, of course.
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Looking in a mirror and thinking, “Oh, shit, is that a coffee stain on my shirt?” would actually be a nice bit of characterization. As opposed to, “She was about 5’6, with brown hair and…”
My group currently grows through personal recommendations. It sounds like you folks don’t have that option, otherwise you would have exercised it. Maybe a post to Broad Universe? That’s how I started my group. That, plus by networking at WisCon.
Heh. It’s also more what a person might actually think when confronted with a mirror, IMHO.
That’s a really good idea, Jen! Thank you!
Hey…I’m new to Atlanta and I’m trying to find a horror friendly critique group. I’ve had three short stories published and two more to be published in the next six months. I almost fell out of my chair laughing about your mirror comment and totally understand where you’re coming from. With that said, I’m looking for a group to join and would like to know if your group is still meeting on a regular basis? I’d like to get some more information on your group if possible. I can be reached at hksteele@comcast.net
Thanks,
Kyle