It's with regret that I let my membership in the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror expire this week. I joined over ten years ago and wrote nearly a thousand reviews. I've met a lot of good writers, read a lot of interesting stories, and used the workshop to revise many stories, including "A Reptile at the Reunion," Lyon's Legacy, Twinned Universes, and the short stories I've self-published. So why am I giving up the workshop?
Lack of time is the main issue. I've always had to fit critting in with my day job, writing, and daily life, and when Alex came along, of course he took priority over the workshop. But I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to critique anything on the workshop since last summer or so. Critiquing even a single chapter can be time-intensive when you're a nit-picker. (I will go through and point out every typo and misplaced comma.) But even if I manage to override my anal-compulsive proof-reading, I still have to read the chapter or short story, go through and make line comments, and sum up strengths and weaknesses.
Another factor is the nature of the workshop itself. You can't post an entire novel at once; you're limited to 7,500 words for each submission. You're also only able to put up three chapters at a time. It can take months to post a novel. Even if you form partnerships with other members who will read your entire work, this slow pacing makes it difficult to review the novel as a whole. I do think I've learned a lot by intensive line critting, but I feel I need to focus now on overall plotting.
What do I plan to do going forward? I'll e-mail some of my contacts and see if they want to continue exchanging stories outside of the group. I think I can still manage to perform crits if I can upload a manuscript to my Kindle and read it there. I can take notes as I read and then type them up for the author. I will also see if I can use Facebook to find more crit partners. Feedback is always important no matter where you are in your writing career.
How do you find crit partners? Do you prefer to crit a chapter at a time or an entire book, and why?
Showing posts with label critting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label critting. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
WisCon Schedule
WisCon isn't for another month yet, but since my programming assignments arrived last week, I couldn't wait to share my schedule with you:
Saturday: participant in Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading (I plan to read from Lyon's Legacy)
Sunday: moderating a panel: Critique Groups: How to Give and Take a Critique
Monday: The SignOut
At some point during the convention I also plan to help out at the Broad Universe table, but I won't know when that will be until I see the final programming schedule and have a chance to sign up during the convention.
So, is anyone else planning to attend a convention this year? If so, which one (or ones)?
Saturday: participant in Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading (I plan to read from Lyon's Legacy)
Sunday: moderating a panel: Critique Groups: How to Give and Take a Critique
Monday: The SignOut
At some point during the convention I also plan to help out at the Broad Universe table, but I won't know when that will be until I see the final programming schedule and have a chance to sign up during the convention.
So, is anyone else planning to attend a convention this year? If so, which one (or ones)?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Back on the Blog Chain: Give a Little Crit
I was originally scheduled to participate in the Blog Chain on Monday, but since I had some exciting news to share, Kate agreed to switch dates with me. This round, Sarah asked,
Do you work with critique partners? How did you find your crit pals, and what influence have they had on your work?
Yes, I do work with critique partners. I feel it's vital to have someone--preferably several someones--look over your work before you submit it. Since the whole point of writing is to communicate with others, it's important to make sure your words are saying what you think they're saying. Crit partners can catch errors, inconsistencies, plot holes, and other "big picture" problems, but sometimes it's also useful to have someone look at your story on a line-by-line basis.
Over the years, I've found many crit partners in many different ways. I found one of my first crit partners (I think his first name was Richard) through a snail-mail science fiction/fantasy group for writers. (I can't even remember which one this was, but it was well over a decade ago.) I've met others as part of writing workshops held at conventions; I'm still friends with some of them (Hi, Margie and David!) even if we no longer exchange drafts. I met Heather through Broad Universe, and we still review each other's work occasionally.
These days, I mostly find crit partners on the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. It's a paid workshop, though you get a trial month for free when you start. It works by requiring members to earn points by critiquing others' chapters and stories. (My lifetime review count stands at 875.) After you've earned four points, you can spend them by posting your own work for critique. Although anyone can review any story, in practice, most members form crit groups with people who post on the same schedule or write stories they like. My current group of crit partners consists of Susan Elizabeth Curnow, Heidi Garrett, Elizabeth Hull, Ann Winter, and Zvi Zaks. You might recognize those names from the Acknowledgements page of Lyon's Legacy I posted last week.
What influence do my crit partners have on my work? In brief, a lot. I use most of their comments when I revise; sometimes I go in a different direction than what they may have suggested, but I do that when I feel their advice has merit but doesn't fit with my vision of the story. These situations may be the most valuable, since they make me stop and think about my story. I feel that critiquing and being critiqued has really improved my writing ability. In particular, sometimes my main characters come across as unlikeable in the beginning, so my crit partners have made me focus on that and work to overcome that problem.
I can't resist adding a little tribute to my crit partners:
To follow the rest of the chain, see what Matt said yesterday, and check out Cole's blog tomorrow.
Do you work with critique partners? How did you find your crit pals, and what influence have they had on your work?
Yes, I do work with critique partners. I feel it's vital to have someone--preferably several someones--look over your work before you submit it. Since the whole point of writing is to communicate with others, it's important to make sure your words are saying what you think they're saying. Crit partners can catch errors, inconsistencies, plot holes, and other "big picture" problems, but sometimes it's also useful to have someone look at your story on a line-by-line basis.
Over the years, I've found many crit partners in many different ways. I found one of my first crit partners (I think his first name was Richard) through a snail-mail science fiction/fantasy group for writers. (I can't even remember which one this was, but it was well over a decade ago.) I've met others as part of writing workshops held at conventions; I'm still friends with some of them (Hi, Margie and David!) even if we no longer exchange drafts. I met Heather through Broad Universe, and we still review each other's work occasionally.
These days, I mostly find crit partners on the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. It's a paid workshop, though you get a trial month for free when you start. It works by requiring members to earn points by critiquing others' chapters and stories. (My lifetime review count stands at 875.) After you've earned four points, you can spend them by posting your own work for critique. Although anyone can review any story, in practice, most members form crit groups with people who post on the same schedule or write stories they like. My current group of crit partners consists of Susan Elizabeth Curnow, Heidi Garrett, Elizabeth Hull, Ann Winter, and Zvi Zaks. You might recognize those names from the Acknowledgements page of Lyon's Legacy I posted last week.
What influence do my crit partners have on my work? In brief, a lot. I use most of their comments when I revise; sometimes I go in a different direction than what they may have suggested, but I do that when I feel their advice has merit but doesn't fit with my vision of the story. These situations may be the most valuable, since they make me stop and think about my story. I feel that critiquing and being critiqued has really improved my writing ability. In particular, sometimes my main characters come across as unlikeable in the beginning, so my crit partners have made me focus on that and work to overcome that problem.
I can't resist adding a little tribute to my crit partners:
To follow the rest of the chain, see what Matt said yesterday, and check out Cole's blog tomorrow.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Back on the Blog Chain: Thinking Positive
For this round, Michelle asks us to
Be positive! Name some of the positive aspects of your writing --- be it a compliment from a mentor, friend or crit partner to anything special you learned concerning your writing skills.
As usual, Kat posted before me, and Kate comes next.
Sometimes it's hard to recognize the strengths in one's writing. Even if I feel an aspect of my writing works well in one story, I might immediately think of other parts of the story that don't work as well. We're so focused on improvement that sometimes we downplay the things that don't need improving. That's why I feel it's important to offer praise as well as suggestions whenever I critique a story.
Last month, one of my crit partners reviewed all of Twinned Universes for me. She said she really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down. She also felt my characters were complex and well drawn. I worked very hard on those parts of the story, and I'm pleased to see that my effort paid off, at least for one reader.
As for other writing strengths, my style isn't poetic, but it does the job. I know the mechanics of writing and try to make sure my work flows as well as possible before showing it to someone else.
Sometimes I feel that as I get closer to putting my work out in the world, the more critical of it I become. It's important to remind yourself that your words are worth sharing with others. While I can't expect all readers to enjoy every aspect of my stories, I hope that the overall experience will be positive. And to help us look on the bright side, here's a little song you may know:
Be positive! Name some of the positive aspects of your writing --- be it a compliment from a mentor, friend or crit partner to anything special you learned concerning your writing skills.
As usual, Kat posted before me, and Kate comes next.
Sometimes it's hard to recognize the strengths in one's writing. Even if I feel an aspect of my writing works well in one story, I might immediately think of other parts of the story that don't work as well. We're so focused on improvement that sometimes we downplay the things that don't need improving. That's why I feel it's important to offer praise as well as suggestions whenever I critique a story.
Last month, one of my crit partners reviewed all of Twinned Universes for me. She said she really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down. She also felt my characters were complex and well drawn. I worked very hard on those parts of the story, and I'm pleased to see that my effort paid off, at least for one reader.
As for other writing strengths, my style isn't poetic, but it does the job. I know the mechanics of writing and try to make sure my work flows as well as possible before showing it to someone else.
Sometimes I feel that as I get closer to putting my work out in the world, the more critical of it I become. It's important to remind yourself that your words are worth sharing with others. While I can't expect all readers to enjoy every aspect of my stories, I hope that the overall experience will be positive. And to help us look on the bright side, here's a little song you may know:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Contest Winners!
Thanks to everyone who entered the contests last week. It's finally time to announce the winners.
Everyone who commented on Cindy Borgne's interview last week was eligible to win a free copy of her book Vallar. This means Stephen Tremp, Elizabeth Mueller, Madeleine, and Bluebell Books are all winners! (I'm not sure if Bluebell Books is a single person or a blog with multiple authors. In the interest of fairness, I think Bluebell Books should only get one copy.)
The winner of the query critique is Trisha!
And finally, the winner of the chapter critique is Sierra!
Congratulations to all the winners! Please e-mail me at sandraATsandraulbrichDOTcom to claim your prize.
Everyone who commented on Cindy Borgne's interview last week was eligible to win a free copy of her book Vallar. This means Stephen Tremp, Elizabeth Mueller, Madeleine, and Bluebell Books are all winners! (I'm not sure if Bluebell Books is a single person or a blog with multiple authors. In the interest of fairness, I think Bluebell Books should only get one copy.)
The winner of the query critique is Trisha!
And finally, the winner of the chapter critique is Sierra!
Congratulations to all the winners! Please e-mail me at sandraATsandraulbrichDOTcom to claim your prize.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
300 Followers Contest!
During the A-Z Challenge last month, I reached the 300 (and more!) followers milestone. Thank you all very much for your support! To celebrate, I'd like to hold a contest. However, I'm not the only one offering prizes this time. Cindy Borgne and Nicole Zoltack have also generously donated prizes. Here's what's available:
Cindy: Five free copies of her novel, Vallar
Nicole: A free query critique
Me: A choice of either a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble or a first chapter (up to 20 pages) critique
I've critiqued over 800 chapters/short stories as part of the Online Writing Workshop for SF, Fantasy, and Horror. When you include critiques I've done in person at workshops and cons and through snail-mail and e-mail, the total is probably close to a thousand, if not more. I read the whole chapter first, then go back and add line comments. I try to be helpfully honest; I explain what works or doesn't work for me and offer revision suggestions if appropriate. Depending on the level of critique desired, I can also review punctuation. The critique will be done within one month after I receive the chapter.
If you're interested in any or all of these prizes, leave a comment on this post indicating which ones you'd like to win. Comments must be posted by midnight CDT Wednesday, May 18. Winners will be chosen randomly. For an extra entry, blog or tweet this contest and leave the link in the comments section. You may comment once with your prize preferences and a second time to post your link, but further comments will not be considered for the contest. (If you have questions about this contest, feel free to post them.)
Cindy: Five free copies of her novel, Vallar
Nicole: A free query critique
Me: A choice of either a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble or a first chapter (up to 20 pages) critique
I've critiqued over 800 chapters/short stories as part of the Online Writing Workshop for SF, Fantasy, and Horror. When you include critiques I've done in person at workshops and cons and through snail-mail and e-mail, the total is probably close to a thousand, if not more. I read the whole chapter first, then go back and add line comments. I try to be helpfully honest; I explain what works or doesn't work for me and offer revision suggestions if appropriate. Depending on the level of critique desired, I can also review punctuation. The critique will be done within one month after I receive the chapter.
If you're interested in any or all of these prizes, leave a comment on this post indicating which ones you'd like to win. Comments must be posted by midnight CDT Wednesday, May 18. Winners will be chosen randomly. For an extra entry, blog or tweet this contest and leave the link in the comments section. You may comment once with your prize preferences and a second time to post your link, but further comments will not be considered for the contest. (If you have questions about this contest, feel free to post them.)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Win a Manuscript Critique!
How would you like to have a published author critique not just your first five pages, your first chapter, or your first five chapters, but your entire manuscript? Doesn't that sound like something that would really help you improve your book? Well, head on over and visit my friend Maria Zannini. Follow her blog or friend her on Facebook between now and January 26 to enter her contest. Please see this post for the complete rules. Good luck!
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 Writing Goals--Looking Back
Well, here we are, the last blog post of 2010. It seems fitting to look back at the writing goals I set myself in January and see how well I did. You can find the original post here; it was part of the Blog Chain at the time. Here's what I posted:
I will attend WisCon Memorial Day weekend.--Completed.
I will read the writing books on my to-read list: Flogging the Quill and The 10% Solution.--I read The 10% Solution, but although I started Flogging the Quill and read sample chapters on the blog of the same name, I haven't finished it.
I will blog more frequently than I have been lately--at least 10 times a month. I'm thinking of blogging about some of the science news stories I read and discussing the implications for science fiction. I will also search for more blogs to follow and leave comments.--I've actually done well with all of this. I increased my blogging, posted more about science, and followed more blogs.
I will critique at least two chapters or short stories on the Online Writing Workshop (edited to add: per month). --I did this for a couple of months, but then I got so busy I let this slide for most of the year. However, I did crit work privately for writing partners and publicly on Miss Snark's First Victim and Absolute Write. And now that my son is going to bed earlier (knock on wood), I hope to have more time for OWW.
Although I made significant progress on revising Across Two Universes and think I've done as much as I can with it on my own, I'd like some feedback on the complete book from my critiquing partners before I start submitting it anywhere.
I did work on a new project; I wrote over 50,000 words of the sequel to Across Two Universes during National Novel Writing Month. For now, it's on hold until I finish ATU.
Although I didn't meet 100% of my writing goals, I did complete two goals I set for myself and made significant progress on the others. That's not too shabby. I still can't decide what, if any, goals I should set for myself in 2011. One thing I do plan to do is keep a list (on a separate page of this blog) of all the books I read in 2011. I'm not resolving to read a certain amount of books, though.
Have a happy (and safe) New Year, and I'll talk to you again soon!
I will attend WisCon Memorial Day weekend.--Completed.
I will read the writing books on my to-read list: Flogging the Quill and The 10% Solution.--I read The 10% Solution, but although I started Flogging the Quill and read sample chapters on the blog of the same name, I haven't finished it.
I will blog more frequently than I have been lately--at least 10 times a month. I'm thinking of blogging about some of the science news stories I read and discussing the implications for science fiction. I will also search for more blogs to follow and leave comments.--I've actually done well with all of this. I increased my blogging, posted more about science, and followed more blogs.
I will critique at least two chapters or short stories on the Online Writing Workshop (edited to add: per month). --I did this for a couple of months, but then I got so busy I let this slide for most of the year. However, I did crit work privately for writing partners and publicly on Miss Snark's First Victim and Absolute Write. And now that my son is going to bed earlier (knock on wood), I hope to have more time for OWW.
Although I made significant progress on revising Across Two Universes and think I've done as much as I can with it on my own, I'd like some feedback on the complete book from my critiquing partners before I start submitting it anywhere.
I did work on a new project; I wrote over 50,000 words of the sequel to Across Two Universes during National Novel Writing Month. For now, it's on hold until I finish ATU.
Although I didn't meet 100% of my writing goals, I did complete two goals I set for myself and made significant progress on the others. That's not too shabby. I still can't decide what, if any, goals I should set for myself in 2011. One thing I do plan to do is keep a list (on a separate page of this blog) of all the books I read in 2011. I'm not resolving to read a certain amount of books, though.
Have a happy (and safe) New Year, and I'll talk to you again soon!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The First 25 Words
Authoress has graciously offered to host another critiquing session on her blog. This time, she asked that we send in the first 25 words (or less if otherwise you'd submit an incomplete sentence) of our novels to see if people would keep reading. Mine is #66. I'm not sure how well it hooks the reader, but I figure this is a good way to find out. Please feel free to head on over there and comment--not just on mine, but on other people's as well. There are so many entries Authoress had to post them in two waves!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain--Your Best Mistake
I'm back with another edition of the Blog Chain. This round, Rebecca wants to know, "What is the best mistake you've made so far in your journey as a writer? How has that mistake helped you grow?"
Check out Amanda's and Eric's posts to follow the other links in the chain.
This is a tough topic for me to answer. As a perfectionist, I hate making mistakes, not to mention admitting them. Of course, I do make mistakes, and I've had a lot of time to make them with my writing. The problem is I really can't point to a specific instance and describe it as a light bulb moment. So I'll discuss a few that are worth mentioning.
My very first attempt at a novel was pretty awful. I had what I thought was an interesting premise (characters who refrain from speaking to build up magic inherent in language encounter people who speak a different language), but the heroine was a bit cliche (white-haired female magician), and I tended to avoid conflict. They traveled, but it wasn't an exciting journey. I'm glad that one will never see the light of day.
I'd like to think my second novel, Day of All Seasons, has a better plot and setting, more characters, and more conflict. But it's also very long (about 170,000 words), and features a lot of viewpoint characters. I'm amazed it worked out as well as it did! My first mistake with this one was to submit such a long novel. I had a couple of partial requests, but I never got farther than that. Lesson Number One: learn to write shorter novels.
A few years ago, I dusted Day off and posted some of it on the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. (The link is in the sidebar.) I tried reworking the beginning a couple of times according to suggestions, but I felt they were changing the story into something I didn't want it to be. Eventually the novel went back in the trunk. Lessons Two and Three: Sometimes you can't go back, and you can't change everything to please other people.
Many of my most memorable mistakes involve critiquing. I don't want to go into too much detail, but there have been misunderstandings by people who didn't understand what I was trying to do with the story. I've run into problems when I've tried to critique a genre I'm not familiar with. I've brought in stories that weren't thought through enough, I've made characters too unsympathetic in the beginning (my intent was for them to change over the story, but perhaps I went too far with their flaws) and made characters sound younger than they were. It took time to overcome these problems, and I'm sure there are others out there I'm not aware of. And while I'd love to start submitting Across Two Universes as soon as I finish this draft, I know I need some time away from it and a fresh reviewer to read it. Impatience can lead to some pretty big mistakes!
Mistakes are inevitable anytime you try something new. It's commonly said that you first have to write a million bad words before you can start writing good stuff. I guess that's one good thing about writing long novels in the beginning; it helped me speed through my first million words faster! I have no idea how many words I've written by now, but I hope they're starting to add up to something good.
Check out Amanda's and Eric's posts to follow the other links in the chain.
This is a tough topic for me to answer. As a perfectionist, I hate making mistakes, not to mention admitting them. Of course, I do make mistakes, and I've had a lot of time to make them with my writing. The problem is I really can't point to a specific instance and describe it as a light bulb moment. So I'll discuss a few that are worth mentioning.
My very first attempt at a novel was pretty awful. I had what I thought was an interesting premise (characters who refrain from speaking to build up magic inherent in language encounter people who speak a different language), but the heroine was a bit cliche (white-haired female magician), and I tended to avoid conflict. They traveled, but it wasn't an exciting journey. I'm glad that one will never see the light of day.
I'd like to think my second novel, Day of All Seasons, has a better plot and setting, more characters, and more conflict. But it's also very long (about 170,000 words), and features a lot of viewpoint characters. I'm amazed it worked out as well as it did! My first mistake with this one was to submit such a long novel. I had a couple of partial requests, but I never got farther than that. Lesson Number One: learn to write shorter novels.
A few years ago, I dusted Day off and posted some of it on the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. (The link is in the sidebar.) I tried reworking the beginning a couple of times according to suggestions, but I felt they were changing the story into something I didn't want it to be. Eventually the novel went back in the trunk. Lessons Two and Three: Sometimes you can't go back, and you can't change everything to please other people.
Many of my most memorable mistakes involve critiquing. I don't want to go into too much detail, but there have been misunderstandings by people who didn't understand what I was trying to do with the story. I've run into problems when I've tried to critique a genre I'm not familiar with. I've brought in stories that weren't thought through enough, I've made characters too unsympathetic in the beginning (my intent was for them to change over the story, but perhaps I went too far with their flaws) and made characters sound younger than they were. It took time to overcome these problems, and I'm sure there are others out there I'm not aware of. And while I'd love to start submitting Across Two Universes as soon as I finish this draft, I know I need some time away from it and a fresh reviewer to read it. Impatience can lead to some pretty big mistakes!
Mistakes are inevitable anytime you try something new. It's commonly said that you first have to write a million bad words before you can start writing good stuff. I guess that's one good thing about writing long novels in the beginning; it helped me speed through my first million words faster! I have no idea how many words I've written by now, but I hope they're starting to add up to something good.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Back on the Blog Chain: Critique Groups
When we last looked in on the Blog Chain, we were writing short stories about hearts. For this round, Mary has asked us about critique groups:
Are you in a critique group? If so, at what point do you send chapters to the members of your group? How detailed are the critiques you receive and give? Do all members in you group write the same genre?
Michelle was the last person to post before me.
As several other people have done, I'm going to break up this topic into the individual questions as I respond.
Are you in a critique group?--Yes, I'm a member of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. I joined back in 2003.
At what point do you send chapters to the members of your group?--The OWW works a little differently from other critique groups in that you post chapters on a website (it's password-protected; the author retains all rights.) and then other members are free to read and comment on your chapters. In theory, any other member of the workshop can critique anyone else's work, but what often happens is that over time you develop critting partnerships with several other people. In my most active period, I was following at least six or seven people at once. You can have up to three chapters posted at any time. I post mine when I feel I've done as much on them as I can. I write pretty cleanly to begin with, but I will go back and try to add description (my description tends to be sparse on the first pass), clear up any inconsistencies or awkward phrases, and fix any other potential problems I spot. My philosophy is that it would be wasting other's time to have them point out problems I'm already aware of. I want my critters to push me and my writing to a higher level than I can achieve on my own, so my writing has to be the best it can be from the start.
Other people who've already posted on this topic have said sometimes they give their crit partners "raw" writing to get some quick feedback about how well something works. I've seen other people on OWW do that too, though I tend to find that distracting to crit as I still want to make line comments. While I do see the value of brainstorming with crit partners, I don't do much of that myself, at least before they comment. Sometimes if I have a question about one of their comments, I will follow up with them for clarification or to ask if they think a particular idea will work better. Also, if I have a concern with a particular aspect of the chapter, I will ask for feedback on that when I post the chapter.
How detailed are the critiques you receive and give?--I can be a very nitpicky crit partner. I have done copy editing before, so I still do it as part of my regular critting. I feel I ought to point out as much as I can in a crit, since I don't know how much revising the author will do before submitting the work. Sometimes it can take me a couple of hours to copy edit a single chapter. Although I focus on "line edits," I always try to step back and look for larger issues as well. If the author has questions, I answer them. I always offer praise on some aspect of the work (it helps the medicine go down) and phrase my comments constructively.
The critiques I receive vary in level of detail -- and in how useful they are. Some people do line edits; others offer overall comments. No matter how I feel about what the person said, I e-mail them thank-yous if they've given me an e-mail address.
Do all members in you group write the same genre? -- By definition, the OWW is limited to science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Some of my regular reviewers prefer fantasy; others, science fiction; and other people, like me, write both. (I'm not a horror fan--I get enough horror from the news--so I avoid it.) Only recently, as I've started to follow other blogs such as Miss Snark's First Victim, have I branched out and critted other genres. I have to admit it's easier to review genres I'm familiar with.
That covers all of the questions Mary had for us. If anyone would like to learn more about the OWW, please post questions in the comments. Otherwise, please visit Kat Harris's blog (she posts after me) or our newest member, Annie Louden!
Are you in a critique group? If so, at what point do you send chapters to the members of your group? How detailed are the critiques you receive and give? Do all members in you group write the same genre?
Michelle was the last person to post before me.
As several other people have done, I'm going to break up this topic into the individual questions as I respond.
Are you in a critique group?--Yes, I'm a member of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. I joined back in 2003.
At what point do you send chapters to the members of your group?--The OWW works a little differently from other critique groups in that you post chapters on a website (it's password-protected; the author retains all rights.) and then other members are free to read and comment on your chapters. In theory, any other member of the workshop can critique anyone else's work, but what often happens is that over time you develop critting partnerships with several other people. In my most active period, I was following at least six or seven people at once. You can have up to three chapters posted at any time. I post mine when I feel I've done as much on them as I can. I write pretty cleanly to begin with, but I will go back and try to add description (my description tends to be sparse on the first pass), clear up any inconsistencies or awkward phrases, and fix any other potential problems I spot. My philosophy is that it would be wasting other's time to have them point out problems I'm already aware of. I want my critters to push me and my writing to a higher level than I can achieve on my own, so my writing has to be the best it can be from the start.
Other people who've already posted on this topic have said sometimes they give their crit partners "raw" writing to get some quick feedback about how well something works. I've seen other people on OWW do that too, though I tend to find that distracting to crit as I still want to make line comments. While I do see the value of brainstorming with crit partners, I don't do much of that myself, at least before they comment. Sometimes if I have a question about one of their comments, I will follow up with them for clarification or to ask if they think a particular idea will work better. Also, if I have a concern with a particular aspect of the chapter, I will ask for feedback on that when I post the chapter.
How detailed are the critiques you receive and give?--I can be a very nitpicky crit partner. I have done copy editing before, so I still do it as part of my regular critting. I feel I ought to point out as much as I can in a crit, since I don't know how much revising the author will do before submitting the work. Sometimes it can take me a couple of hours to copy edit a single chapter. Although I focus on "line edits," I always try to step back and look for larger issues as well. If the author has questions, I answer them. I always offer praise on some aspect of the work (it helps the medicine go down) and phrase my comments constructively.
The critiques I receive vary in level of detail -- and in how useful they are. Some people do line edits; others offer overall comments. No matter how I feel about what the person said, I e-mail them thank-yous if they've given me an e-mail address.
Do all members in you group write the same genre? -- By definition, the OWW is limited to science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Some of my regular reviewers prefer fantasy; others, science fiction; and other people, like me, write both. (I'm not a horror fan--I get enough horror from the news--so I avoid it.) Only recently, as I've started to follow other blogs such as Miss Snark's First Victim, have I branched out and critted other genres. I have to admit it's easier to review genres I'm familiar with.
That covers all of the questions Mary had for us. If anyone would like to learn more about the OWW, please post questions in the comments. Otherwise, please visit Kat Harris's blog (she posts after me) or our newest member, Annie Louden!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Work In Progress Wednesday
Hard to believe it's been a week since my last blog entry. Alex hasn't been sleeping well, so I haven't been sleeping well. Heck, I don't sleep well even when he does. I've either busy or too tired to blog, but updating my status doesn't take too long.
After reading the post on the QueryTracker blog about manuscript formatting, I decided to switch from Courier to Times New Roman for my font. Consequently, the total number of pages in my manuscript shrank dramatically since last week:
Currently On: Chapter Five, page 45
Total Pages: 309
Total Words: About 101,000
(As you can see, I pulled out some text as well, though I put it in a separate file in case I decide to use it after all.)
For comparison, last week I was about 12.7% through the manuscript; now, I'm at 14.6%. Not too bad, given I didn't get much done over the weekend.
My chapter ending did well during Authoress's Drop the Needle crit-fest last week. Most of the suggestions were nits, pointing out some repetition and sentences that could be tightened. Otherwise, almost everyone wanted to read further. I'm pretty pleased, especially since that scene is new.
Time to get back to work; I left Paul after he revealed his secret to his friends. They're reacting differently to different parts of it, so there's lots of potential here for conflict. My latest Blog Chain post will appear by Friday or Saturday, so come back soon!
After reading the post on the QueryTracker blog about manuscript formatting, I decided to switch from Courier to Times New Roman for my font. Consequently, the total number of pages in my manuscript shrank dramatically since last week:
Currently On: Chapter Five, page 45
Total Pages: 309
Total Words: About 101,000
(As you can see, I pulled out some text as well, though I put it in a separate file in case I decide to use it after all.)
For comparison, last week I was about 12.7% through the manuscript; now, I'm at 14.6%. Not too bad, given I didn't get much done over the weekend.
My chapter ending did well during Authoress's Drop the Needle crit-fest last week. Most of the suggestions were nits, pointing out some repetition and sentences that could be tightened. Otherwise, almost everyone wanted to read further. I'm pretty pleased, especially since that scene is new.
Time to get back to work; I left Paul after he revealed his secret to his friends. They're reacting differently to different parts of it, so there's lots of potential here for conflict. My latest Blog Chain post will appear by Friday or Saturday, so come back soon!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Work In Progress Wednesday
Kate's idea of doing a weekly progress report has caught on with other Blog Chain members. Here's a quick summary of where I'm at with Across Two Universes:
Currently on: Chapter Four, page 55-56 (at the end of page 55)
Total pages: 434
Total words: Approximately 104,000
I think I'll finish Chapter Four before the end of the month.
I've sent the first two chapters to two readers for feedback.
I've entered the Drop the Needle critfest on Miss Snark's First Victim. My chapter ending (from Chapter Two) will post tomorrow. It'll be #50 if you want to check it out.
Time to get back to work; I have more chapter endings to crit.
Currently on: Chapter Four, page 55-56 (at the end of page 55)
Total pages: 434
Total words: Approximately 104,000
I think I'll finish Chapter Four before the end of the month.
I've sent the first two chapters to two readers for feedback.
I've entered the Drop the Needle critfest on Miss Snark's First Victim. My chapter ending (from Chapter Two) will post tomorrow. It'll be #50 if you want to check it out.
Time to get back to work; I have more chapter endings to crit.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
How Not to Make a Good First Impression
One of the links in my sidebar is to a blog called Flogging the Quill. It's run by a writer/editor, and he critiques the openings (the first sixteen lines, or about what would fit on the first page of a properly formatted manuscript) of novels submitted by writers. I've been following him for a while, and I think he does a good job of pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the submissions. I decided I would submit the first chapter of Across Two Universes once I was satisfied with it.
Before I share my work with others for review, I always make it as good as I can possibly make it on my own. Although I finished Chapter One last month, I held off submitting it to Flogging the Quill so I could tweak the opening. Today during my lunch hour, I decided it was time to send the chapter. I can't access the Internet from my personal laptop at work, so that meant uploading the file to a flash drive, copying text and pasting into a new file, tweaking text again and updating all the files on two different computers...you get the picture. Making this even more fun was having Word on my laptop fail in the middle of this and losing my work from yesterday. (I thought I saved it, honest!) But finally, at the end of my lunch hour, the chapter was ready. I wrote up a short but professional e-mail telling the writer how much I liked his blog, (making sure I addressed the writer by the right name) attached the file, and sent it.
A few minutes later, I realized I had misspelled the name of the website in the subject line.
At this point, all I could do was laugh at myself. I thought about sending a follow-up e-mail to apologize, but I decided that would not only call more attention to the typo but flood the writer's Inbox with unnecessary e-mail. At least he won't be critiquing my e-mail; he'll be reviewing my novel, and that's good. I'll consider it good until he posts it and I see all sorts of issues I should have fixed.
Ah, the thrill of a writer's life never ends, does it?
Before I share my work with others for review, I always make it as good as I can possibly make it on my own. Although I finished Chapter One last month, I held off submitting it to Flogging the Quill so I could tweak the opening. Today during my lunch hour, I decided it was time to send the chapter. I can't access the Internet from my personal laptop at work, so that meant uploading the file to a flash drive, copying text and pasting into a new file, tweaking text again and updating all the files on two different computers...you get the picture. Making this even more fun was having Word on my laptop fail in the middle of this and losing my work from yesterday. (I thought I saved it, honest!) But finally, at the end of my lunch hour, the chapter was ready. I wrote up a short but professional e-mail telling the writer how much I liked his blog, (making sure I addressed the writer by the right name) attached the file, and sent it.
A few minutes later, I realized I had misspelled the name of the website in the subject line.
At this point, all I could do was laugh at myself. I thought about sending a follow-up e-mail to apologize, but I decided that would not only call more attention to the typo but flood the writer's Inbox with unnecessary e-mail. At least he won't be critiquing my e-mail; he'll be reviewing my novel, and that's good. I'll consider it good until he posts it and I see all sorts of issues I should have fixed.
Ah, the thrill of a writer's life never ends, does it?
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Reviewing
I've spent the last two days trying to review a single chapter on the Online Writing Workshop. (Names and titles withheld to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent, as the case may be.) I didn't get all my comments done in a single session, so I posted what I had as of yesterday afternoon, then worked on it again last night. Unfortunately, as I was finishing up, the OWW logged me out, and I lost all of my changes. That'll teach me not to write it up in Word first! It was frustrating having to review it twice, but at least I had a better idea of what to say the second time around. Still, I'd like to make more progress and clear more of the crits I owe before more new chapters get posted. There are days when it would be easier to push rocks uphill in Hades! (Just kidding, really.)
Needless to say, I haven't gotten far on my own work. After the log-out yesterday, I did manage to write over a hundred words in The Key to All Locked Doors, the latest installment in my Lennon's Line saga. One of these days, I hope to finish the chapter. Of course, I'm also revising the second chapter of Day of All Seasons before I post it to the workshop as well. And once I finish reading some of the recent Lennon biographies, I should start revising Lennon's Line. And people think I spend too much time at the computer as it is. Sigh.
Not much going on in real life at the moment. Eugene and I are starting to plan our annual holiday frenzy of baking and entertaining. With all of the people we plan to send cookies to this year, we'll be very busy! At least I have an excuse to try some new receipes. I'm slowly going through our wedding photos and picking out my favorites; I'm only a third of the way through. Two months isn't enough time to get the album figured out. Let's hope Eugene and I agree in our scary way on what we want to do with it.
Speaking of Eugene, I assume he might like it if I spend some time with him, so I'd better call it a night.
Needless to say, I haven't gotten far on my own work. After the log-out yesterday, I did manage to write over a hundred words in The Key to All Locked Doors, the latest installment in my Lennon's Line saga. One of these days, I hope to finish the chapter. Of course, I'm also revising the second chapter of Day of All Seasons before I post it to the workshop as well. And once I finish reading some of the recent Lennon biographies, I should start revising Lennon's Line. And people think I spend too much time at the computer as it is. Sigh.
Not much going on in real life at the moment. Eugene and I are starting to plan our annual holiday frenzy of baking and entertaining. With all of the people we plan to send cookies to this year, we'll be very busy! At least I have an excuse to try some new receipes. I'm slowly going through our wedding photos and picking out my favorites; I'm only a third of the way through. Two months isn't enough time to get the album figured out. Let's hope Eugene and I agree in our scary way on what we want to do with it.
Speaking of Eugene, I assume he might like it if I spend some time with him, so I'd better call it a night.
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