Donna Bowman Bratton
My friend and fellow blogger Donna Janell Bowman last week ran a series of posts about the benefits of critique groups and how to make the most of them. For her posts, Donna interviewed a bunch of writers inlcuding yours truly! (Yes, that’s me.)
Among the questions we answered were: What are the biggest challenges of critiquing someone else’s manuscript? What are the biggest challenges of having your own manuscript critiqued? How do you handle situations when you, as the author, disagree with the feedback? And others. And in the answers, there’s lots of great information and advice.
Part 1 features P.J. Hoover (“It’s okay to accept the feedback, say thank you, and choose not to use it”) and Meredith Davis (critique group “pushes me to allow my work to morph and change”).
Part 2 features Emily Kristin Anderson (“You’ve got to respect what your crit partners are writing — respect their style and their vision — in order to take it apart and help them put it back together.”) and Lindsey Lane (“Part of how a critique group functions for me is that their comments help me deepen my commitment to the manuscript”).
And Part 3 features Shelley Ann Jackson (“You can’t improve your writing without letting people read it.”), Cynthia Levinson (“Vague directions like ‘try heightening the language here’ or ‘show don’t tell’ aren’t nearly so helpful as ‘how about gash instead of cut’.”) and me (“Getting feedback helps me know if I’m on the right track with my story, if what I intend is coming across.”).
Click through to Donna’s blog for more great insight.
Write On!
