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Because another set of eyes is invaluable. When you write, you know the story and your characters intimately. Your mind fills in the missing pieces without even realizing it. You are too close to things to see them clearly.
We do our best to articulate what's inside our heads, but we don't always see the varied ways it can be perceived.
If you have others critique your work, you can see what makes sense to the reader and what doesn't. Patterns might be obvious to someone else. You will learn your weaknesses and by doing the same for others, you learn as well. It's a win win situation.
But there's more! You also learn to take critique. It isn't always easy to hear anything other than, "This is fabulous." But you need to be able to consider the critique objectively if you want to get anywhere as a writer. What do you think your agent and editor will ultimately do? It's good practice.
And by the way, even positive feedback is essential. You need to recognize your weaknesses and work them, but you also need to understand and explore your strengths. Take pride in them too, and don't gloss over the positive comments.
totally agree! I tumbled into my crit group mostly through good luck and good timing. Best thing that's happened to me as a writer. :)
ReplyDeleteIn art school we had critiques with every project, and I was able to learn how to take criticism, give constructive feedback, and how to sort through all the comments to find helpful suggestions. In a field where so much of our work is done in seclusion, critiques are essential.
ReplyDeleteEven the critique of a one page query letter was incredible for me--I never thought so many people would take it on and think about it as carefully as they did. But man am I grateful, because my mind had totally been filling in some serious blanks.
ReplyDeleteVery important!
I submitted my questionnaire to Lynnette Labelle's critique matching, I'm joining our local chapter of RWA, and using my social media connections to find a group. It is difficult to find the right people or person, but I can see how invaluable it is and how much of a necessity it is for us as writers.
ReplyDeleteSo true--that we fill in the missing pieces of our own writing. We see what's NOT there because it lives in us. I'm working through revisions at this moment and am amazed at the new life my MS takes on after receiving critique.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that critique groups are great. But my biggest hurdle has been finding one that's right for me. Since I haven't found one to call home yet, I do beta switches instead.
ReplyDeleteI agree! My WIP is improving so much because of my critique group. They point out things I didn't realize needed fixing, and give great suggestions on how to improve my scenes. Sometimes it can be hard to hear the feedback, but it's always worth it.
ReplyDelete"don't gloss over the positive comments"
ReplyDeleteThat's something I need to remind myself as often as possible.
My newest critique adventure includes having someone else read your work, and then we discuss it. Never having done this before, I found it to be quite invigorating to hear my own words come from someone else's voice. I thought I really had read my work, but I'd missed a couple of obvious zingers in my self edit.
ReplyDeleteAlso, after time, partners learn your style of writing and can point to areas where you've strayed from your strengths, and comment if it's a good move or not.
Although group partners are not the final say of any work, it's sure great to get some extra feedback along the way.
I especially love the last part of this post. We get so wrapped up in focusing on the negative, sometimes we forget the value of the positive.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post, Lisa! :)
ReplyDeleteAnother set of eyes is invaluable! Like you said, everything on the page is inside our head, so we're not going to notice when something critical (or not so critical) is missing.
We do the sandwich technique - say something positive about the story, then say something constructive about the weak points - then another positive.
ReplyDeleteNothing is going to be perfect.
BUT - if the character doesn't work for you, don't say 'she's unsympathetic', say 'I lost sympathy for her around this point, so perhaps she needs to do this, that and the other' and show HOW you might fix it.
That is constructive.
'I was so bored' is not constructive.
And now, glamour calls. I must clean the bathrooms.
I remember my first face to face crit group. I was a bundle of nerves. That one didn't work out which was for the best, they didn't all write for children. But it's a must step for any writer!
ReplyDeleteCritiques are tremendously important. And you just reminded me I have a friend's MS waiting for me to get started ... :)
ReplyDeleteDead on. I've had to head whack myself when something that was so clear in my brain somehow didn't appear on the pages. Ah, the dangers of rampant visualization.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, critiques are so essential for me. I swear, there are so many things I miss, even after going over it again and again and AGAIN! You guys spot things that I don't even think of, and have helped me improve as a writer. Even though I try to make it all make sense, it'll never happen on my own. I NEED you guys. Period.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog background.
ReplyDeleteNEW FOLLOWER.
Elizabeth
http://silversolara.blogspot.com
I see my writing progress as pre-critique and post-critique. Being with my group and beta readers has transformed my writing immensely.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
So true! I love to take notes when someone is giving me a critique then give it time to process and go back to the notes. I absorb and understand a lot more of the critique that way. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't live without critique -- for sure nothing would ever go to my agent that hadn't been thoroughly hauled over the coals by my CP!
ReplyDeleteI'm very thankful for my critique group. They've provided some very helpful critiques, and I've learning things from critiquing thier work.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more, and I haven't found my critique group yet. :)
ReplyDelete(New follower. Found you through Elizabeth S. Craig's blog pointing to her guest post. Looking forward to reading more here!)