Friday Speak Out!: Take Your Clothes Off and Other Critique Group Advice, Guest Post by Donna Volkenannt

Take Your Clothes Off and Other Critique Group Advice

by Donna Volkenannt

For more than fifteen years I’ve belonged to critique groups. Over the years I’ve learned to discern good advice from feel-good advice and constructive critique from destructive criticism.

I’ve also received some sweet—and strange—advice.

My first experience was in a feel-good group. Feedback consisted of “I like it,” “I really like it,” or “I really, really like it.”

The leader encouraged us to call ourselves writers, yet he referred to publishing “the P word.” According to him, writers shouldn’t be concerned with publication; probably because he’d written several books—all of them unpublished.

The benefit from that group was I became confident enough to call myself a writer. I also made several friends who, like me, wanted to learn about the business of writing. One friend and I both had grown children and husbands who supported our writing dreams. She and I traveled to conferences, met agents and editors, and used “the P word” freely. Oh, and we both got published.

Eventually we helped form a group which was focused on publishing. Some in that group were were overly critical and not open to new writers. After much soul searching, my friend and I started a group of our own, which welcomed writers of all experience levels.

For the past several years, our critique group has met each Tuesday morning. Some mornings as many as 15 writers join us. We are serious about writing and publishing but don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our motto is: "Be candid, but kind."

The following are words of advice I’ve learned over the years:

1. Check your ego at the door. Your work is being critiqued, not you.

2. Everyone’s opinion counts. Sometimes the best suggestions come from surprising sources.

3. Don’t monopolize reading or critique time. Join the discussion, but don’t interrupt.

4. Follow the rule of three. If one person makes a suggestion, consider it. If two people point out the same problem, take a careful look. If three or more make the same suggestion--take a serious look.

5. In the end, the work is yours. Use what helps and ignore the rest.

6. Don’t argue, explain, or defend during critique. It wastes time and energy.

7. Be gracious. Being critiqued is a gift. Smile and say thanks, even when you don’t agree with what's said.

8. Never quit. Be persistent. If one group doesn’t work, find another or start one yourself.

9. Write legibly. After I read a personal essay, one critiquer told me I needed to be more open. When I got home I read his comment on my first page. “Take your clothes off.” I was shocked. Then I re-read, “Take your gloves off.” Whew! Since then I’ve reminded our members to please write their comments clearly.

10. Have fun. Write because you love to—oh, and keep your clothes on.

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Donna Volkenannt is a Pushcart Prize and Spur Award nominated fiction writer, a book reviewer, and an essayist who was recently awarded First Place in the 2012 Humor – Global Category of the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition. Her works have appeared in more than 100 publications. She lives and writes in St. Peters, Missouri, with her husband, two grandchildren, and one knuckleheaded, but lovable, black Lab. When not carpooling, running to the pet store, or trying to meet deadlines, she blogs about books, writing, and the mysteries of life on http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

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