You’ve been working on your novel for months or maybe even years, but don’t seem to be making much progress.  Each time you reread the manuscript, you come away disappointed.  Something doesn’t quite work and you have no idea what’s wrong.  You’ve allowed a few friends or family members to take a peek, but their comments weren’t really helpful.  If this describes your situation, maybe a critique group could help fix your ailing manuscript.

My critique group, The Write Sisters, is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary.  With four novels behind me, I can honestly say that being part of a critique group has been an important element of my writing success.  For me, being part of a critique group fulfills three primary purposes.  First, receiving constructive feedback about my manuscript-in-progress from a group of smart, insightful writers helps me grow as a writer.  Second, having the support and encouragement of my writer/friends helps me stay both focused and motivated.  Third, having a deadline for producing something for the group to critique keeps me writing.

There are four members of The Write Sisters and we meet once a month for three hours, usually on a Sunday morning at 9 a.m.  We rotate the meetings among the members’ homes and the host is responsible for preparing a light meal.  At each meeting, the work of two writers is up for review.  The critique submission is required to be emailed to the other members at least a week before the meeting and the members must read it prior to the meeting.  The submissions are typically fifty pages or less.  If a member has completed an entire manuscript, the meeting will be limited to reviewing only that member’s work.  

If you’re tired of going it alone, maybe it’s time to considering forming your own critique group.  Here are a few ground rules to help you get started.  

1. Members:  Only invite individuals to join your critique group if they are both serious about writing and willing to be supportive of other writers.  Avoid rude, negative people!
2. Meetings:  Meet at least once a month, establish a regular schedule for your meetings and stick to it!  
3. Group Size:  Limit your critique group to no more than eight people.  This will allow at least half the group to present something for review every other month.  Larger groups are more difficult to manage and will require a longer discussion time.   
4. Submissions:  Determine a specific page length (e.g., 25-50 pages) that writers must submit for review.  
5. Critique Process:  Require members to email their material to other members at least one to two weeks before the meeting.  Members should review the material in advance of the meeting and write their comments directly on the manuscript.  At the meeting, spend a minimum of 45 minutes critiquing each submission based on a set of critique guidelines agreed to by the group.  In my critique group, the author is required to remain silent during the critique discussion.  After all members have shared their critique, the author can then ask questions.  Members should agree to never share a member’s work with someone outside the group without the author’s permission. 
    

Pamela’s Top 5 Critique Group Rules of Etiquette

1. Freely give praise when warranted.
2. Rather than criticize, offer suggestions for fixing the elements of the story that didn’t work for you.
3. Never make the critique personal.
4. Critique the manuscript as both a reader and a writer.
5. Critique as you would want to be critiqued.

Back to Top