Stepping (Gingerly) Into a Critique Group
by Tom Tripp
I realize I probably should have done this before now, but then again, I'm done with "should-ing" on myself, so it doesn't matter. I thought I would write about the process here on Write On The Water so others who might be lingering on the sidelines can see how it works (or doesn't).
Christine, Mike, Victoria and John on this blog are, I know, experienced critique-group members so I'm hoping they'll chime in with comments and suggestions. Anyway, here's what's happened so far for me.
Critique groups can meet anywhere, even in a spare office
Like many writers, I spend more than my share of time writing in coffee shops. My latest haunt is a little shop in Miller Place, NY, called "Bean Berry." As time goes by, I usually begin to recognize the other regulars and occasionally I've gotten to know some of them. At "the Bean," I met two reporters for a local community newspaper publisher. They had recently been forced into the virtual office environment when the publisher closed his physical office spaces.
To be honest, I didn't have a lot in comment with these young reporters, except a common experience in journalist, and, as it turns out, a wider passion for writing. Samantha, in particular, was spending some time working on short fiction as an outgrowth of some coursework she had done in college. She had actually interviewed me after Hurricane Irene blew through Long Island late last summer, as one of the "displaced" home-office workers who were populating local coffee shops in search of electricity and Internet connections.
After the interview she asked more about my writing work, which includes both freelance magazine/Internet writing and publishing, as well as work on my first mystery/thriller novel. One afternoon, Sam stopped by my "desk" at the Bean and asked if I had ever been a member of a critique group and I admitted, sheepishly, that I hadn't, despite many years of creative writing efforts. She said she was interested in creating one. I remembered Christine and Mike having talked here about some of what they got out of their group and I decided to take the plunge.
But Sam didn't have any idea how to create a group. She thought maybe we should put a notice up in the Bean and see if we could get a large group together. To me that sounded more like a group "reading" than a useful critique group. The scale of it scared me. Let's face it, sharing your best work with total strangers is quite a lot like getting naked in public. Seems better to start in the backyard than in Yankee Stadium.
We're still getting organized at this point and we only have three of us committed so far. I'm not sure what the ideal size is for starting out, but it feels like four or five might be good. Our plan is to start out by sharing one piece, or fragment each with the group and trying to tackle one or two per evening session. I guess we'll have to see how much time the process takes.
Our first meeting I hope will seek agreement on the specific goal(s) of our group. In my mind, the main goal is to get constructive feedback on our work from others who have no emotional attachment to the work but who are genuinely interested in helping contribute to our success.
If you've been a member of a critique group before, what worked for you and what didn't? Any suggestions for us as we begin to create a group from scratch?
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