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Make your writing shine with feedback from other writers

You’ve spent a lot of time writing your story. But how can you make it perfect before you start thinking about publishing?

Scribophile is a writing group focused on getting you feedback on your manuscript. — in fact, we’re one of the largest online writing groups out there. Our points-based peer critique system guarantees you’ll get feedback from writers from all walks of life. You can then use that feedback to polish your writing before you take the next step in your publishing journey.

How Scribophile works

1 earn points by giving feedback.

Earn karma points by critiquing writing. Giving feedback to group members is fast, easy, fun, and helps improve your own writing, too!

2 Get feedback on your own writing

Spend karma points to post your own writing for critique from our writing community — anything from flash fiction to novels. Our writer’s group will give you detailed feedback on how to improve it, regardless of your specific genre, and all in a supportive environment.

3 Make friends and meet beta readers

As you participate in our writing group, you’ll meet and form relationships with many different kinds writers. They’ll become your inspiration, your encouragement, and even your beta readers, ready to help with your current manuscript, and your next ones too!

Scribophile was the first place I stopped when I went from being an I-wanna-be-a-writer to I-am-an-author. Now I have four international bestselling novels with major publishers, and when authors come to me I always send them to Scribophile. Genevieve Graham Tides of Honour and others published with Simon & Schuster

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Our writing workshops are taught by bestselling authors, expert teachers, and industry insiders. We have workshops for writers of any skill level, where we cover everything from beginning topics to advanced techniques.

Our writing workshops are designed to be both comprehensive and transformational — they’re your fast track to leveling up your writing.

Some of our upcoming writing workshops

Enhancing Your Writing By Engaging All the Senses with David D. Levine

May 25, 2024 • 2 hour webinar

Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning author David D. Levine shows you the methods and techniques master writers use to draw readers in by engaging all of their senses.

Writing Action Scenes That Will Leave Readers Breathless with Carly Stevens

Jun 1, 2024 • 1 hour webinar with instructor feedback on your writing

Acclaimed author Carly Stevens teaches you how to write propulsive and impactful action scenes.

Our writing group welcomes writers of any skill level

Our writing group welcomes writers of all skill levels — from beginners to published authors, and every writer in between.

Each critique you receive on your manuscript is a fresh perspective for you to incorporate. Our bustling writing forums feature writers discussing the craft twenty-four hours a day — share inspiration, ignite your creativity, get support, and connect with others no matter your genre. Plus, our extensive Writing Academy is full of insightful articles on the art — and business — of writing.

Scribophile played a major part in helping me polish my novel for submission. I learnt a huge amount from critiquing other people’s work, as well as from reading critiques of mine. I now have a wonderful agent and have signed a three-book deal in the UK, a two-book deal in Germany, and a TV option. The book was also shortlisted for The Debut Dagger! Roz Watkins The Devil’s Dice and others published with HarperCollins

Giving and receiving critiques on Scribophile made a big difference to the quality of my writing. I learned how to write a query letter here and that led to an agent and a book deal. Ruth Lauren Prisoner of Ice and Snow and others published with Bloomsbury

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Sometimes, the hardest part of the writing process is how lonely it can get.

That’s why the most important part of Scribophile is our community of hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world. No matter what genre you work in, or how far along you are in your manuscript, the friends you make at Scribophile will give encouragement, accountability, and will finally take the loneliness out of our solitary craft.

My years on Scribophile have given me a master’s level education in writing. The critiques are great, but I’ve learned as much from reading and analyzing other writers on Scribophile. I don’t think I could have polished my novel to a publishable level without this site. I’m an addict. Laura Creedle The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily published with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Our mission is to achieve a high level of participation in giving critiques on short stories, novel chapters, and entire novels in the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. The focus is on providing timely, helpful critiques. Our Rules are what make this work.

CRITTERS DIPLOMACY

Fundamental to Critters' success is how people deliver criticisms. Start by reading Critiquing the Wild Writer: It's Not What You Say, But How You Say It. and The Diplomatic Critiquer.

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A Message from Jeanne Cavelos, Director, about Critique Services:

To further our mission of helping writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror improve their work, the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides writers of all levels, from beginners to successful pros, in-depth, insightful, professional-level critiques on their work.

One of the most effective methods of improving your writing is to discover how others experience your work. A critique that explains the reader’s experience, why the reader had that experience, and how that experience can be strengthened, helps the author gain perspective and provides valuable direction for revision.

The Odyssey Critique Service provides an honest assessment of your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses are then explored in depth, so you see very specifically which elements aren’t working well, why they aren’t, and how they might work better. The critique is also instructional, explaining concepts and techniques relevant to your work as needed.

How in-depth are the critiques?

You’ll receive your manuscript back with significant line edits and marginal comments written on it. This will be accompanied by the critique. Critiques average over 8,000 words each.

How much of my work can I submit?

The Odyssey Critique Service offers three options:

• Short story writers may submit up to three stories, with a total word count of no more than 20,000 words.

• Novelists may submit the opening chapters of their novel, and if they want, a synopsis of the remainder. The synopsis can be no more than 1500 words, and the total of excerpt and synopsis can be no more than 20,000 words. The chapters should be consecutive.

• Writers can submit more material if they want, up to an entire novel.

All material must be submitted at once.

What is the procedure?

1. Print out the stories or chapters/synopsis. Make sure that your work is in standard manuscript format . This provides the critiquer room to write comments.

2. Calculate the appropriate fee, or contact me  for help. The fee for the first two options listed above is $300. If you are submitting more than 20,000 words, the cost is $15 per 1,000 words. So, for example, if you are submitting a novel of 80,000 words, the cost would be $15 x 80 = $1,200.

3. Make your payment. You may pay via US personal check, bank draft in US dollars, or PayPal , a service that allows you to charge the cost to a credit card.

4. Mail the following four items to this address:

Odyssey Critique Service P. O. Box 75 Mont Vernon, NH 03057

• The printed copy of your submission.
• If you are paying via check or bank draft, include that in your package.
• An unaddressed envelope large enough to hold your submission, with $7.50 postage on it. We will use this envelope to mail your submission to your specific critiquer. Those outside the U.S. should simply add $15.00 U.S. to the critiquing fee. This will cover the $7.50 postage as well as the additional postage cost involved in returning your edited manuscript to you.
• Your regular address, email address, and phone number.

5. We will email you to let you know the date we received your package and who will be critiquing your work.

6. If you have submitted 20,000 words or less, you will receive your critique within 60 days. If you have submitted a longer work, we may need up to 90 days. Once we’ve received your work and identified an available critiquer, we can let you know whether this extra time will be required. You will receive via regular mail the critique and your original manuscript marked with line edits, comments, and suggestions.

7. After reviewing your critique, if you have any questions for your critiquer, you may send one follow-up email with those questions. Email your questions to me , and I will relay them to your critiquer. The critiquer will respond as her schedule allows.

Can I email my submission instead?

Scientific studies have shown that revising or critiquing on an electronic document discourages major re-conceptualizing of a text. The author or critiquer sees only narrow windows of the text rather than the whole. While this can allow for very useful line edits and minor comments, it hampers the ability to compare distant passages of text or to consider big-picture issues, such as whether a scene is necessary, whether a character or plot is developing in a strong arc, or whether a change in the order of scenes might benefit the story. We work on print documents to maximize the help and insight we can offer to you.

If exceptional circumstances require electronic transmission of your manuscript, or require that you receive line edits and marginal comments within an electronic document,  contact me .

If a critiquer makes an edit or a suggestion, can I use it, or is that suggestion the property of the critiquer?

You are the author, and whatever changes you make to your work, including ideas or wording suggested by the critiquer, are yours. Our critiquers operate very much like editors at publishing houses function, suggesting ways to make the work stronger. Those suggestions are for you and belong to you, just as the original work you submitted belongs to you. An editor at a magazine or publishing house doesn’t own any part of the copyright of a work that she edits; your Odyssey critiquer doesn’t either.

Is the Odyssey Critique Service a substitute for the Odyssey Writing Workshop?

Unfortunately, no. The Odyssey Writing Workshop is a unique and powerful experience. Getting away from your “real life” and focusing only on your writing for six weeks allows you to make progress at a much accelerated rate.

The Odyssey Critique Service can’t substitute for that experience. But it can provide you with key insights that will help you see your work in a new light and make major steps toward improving it. The feedback you receive will give you a clear sense of your strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and it will provide you with direction. You will know where to focus your efforts to make the greatest improvement and conquer your greatest problems.

Will using the Odyssey Critique Service guarantee that I'll be admitted to the Odyssey Writing Workshop or to one of Odyssey's Online Classes?

No. Using the critique service can certainly help you to improve, but how much you improve depends on how you use the feedback you receive. For years, I dismissed all the criticism I received on my writing, thinking,  These people just aren’t smart enough to understand my work.  That made me feel better, but it didn’t help my writing at all. Only after many wasted years did I finally begin to listen, and learn, and improve. Even so, it sometimes takes me months or even years to understand the underlying problem in my work and how to solve that problem.

While using the Odyssey Critique Service in no way guarantees admission to one of Odyssey’s programs, one of the reasons I wanted to start the service was to help applicants. Many writers apply year after year. Some of them improve each year and are ultimately admitted to the workshop. Others struggle, their skills remaining the same. I’m unable to give more than a few sentences of personalized feedback when I respond to applicants. I’ve often thought that if I could give a full critique of each application story, perhaps I could help the writer. But time doesn’t allow that. With the critique service, though, a writer can receive assistance.

The journey to become the best writer you can be is an unending one, and it’s not easy—that’s why I chose the name Odyssey. How much a writer will improve and how quickly he will improve are different for each person. We’ve set up the critique service to be as helpful as possible. I hope it will help you to make significant progress down that road toward making your work as vivid, powerful, and moving as it can be.

MEET THE CRITIQUERS

Carrie Vaughn

Bestselling author Carrie Vaughn graduated from Odyssey in 1998 (the year Harlan Ellison was Writer-in- Residence). She returned in 2009 as Odyssey’s Writer-in-Residence and in 2020 as a guest lecturer.

Her latest novels include the post-apocalyptic murder mystery,  Bannerless , winner of the Philip K. Dick Award, and its sequel,  The Wild Dead . She wrote the  New York Times  bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty, along with several other contemporary fantasy and young adult novels, and upwards of 80 short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. She’s a contributor to the  Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin. An Air Force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado. Visit her at  www.carrievaughn.com .

Carrie’s been in various critique groups almost continuously for over ten years, where she’s critiqued novels and short stories across all genres. She’s critiqued beginning, unpublished writers, as well as award winners.

Barbara Campbell

Barbara Campbell has been praised by reviewers and readers alike for her compelling characters and her “emotional, heartfelt” storytelling. Her background as a professional actress, lyricist, and librettist has helped her delve deeply into character and explore the complexities of human nature on the stage as well as on the page. Her musical adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd  has been optioned for Broadway.

Barbara’s first published series was the dark fantasy trilogy  Trickster’s Game  (written as Barbara Campbell). Published by DAW Books,  Trickster’s Game  was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society’s 2010 Fantasy Award for adult literature.

She drew on her musical theatre roots for her second novel series (written as Barbara Ashford), the award-winning Spellcast  and its sequel  Spellcrossed , set in a magical summer stock theatre. DAW Books released the two novels in an omnibus edition:  Spells at the Crossroads .

A 2000 graduate of the Odyssey workshop, Barbara has taught eight online courses for Odyssey and has served on the staff of the Odyssey Critique Service for more than a decade. You can visit her dual selves at  barbara-campbell.com  and  barbara-ashford.com .

Barbara believes that thoughtful, in-depth critiques are vital to becoming a better writer. “It’s hard to get enough distance from your work to view it critically. Whether it’s a scene that provokes a response you weren’t expecting or prose that muddies the impact you’re trying to achieve, the critique process can highlight strengths as well as weaknesses, and provide insight into aspects of your writing that may be interfering with your story-telling.”

Lane Robins

Lane Robins is a 1999 Odyssey graduate who has her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. She is the author of  Maledicte (Del Rey) and its sequel,  Kings and Assassins . Under the name Lyn Benedict, she wrote the Shadows Inquiries series, which includes the novels Sins & Shadows , Ghosts & Echoes, Gods & Monsters , and Lies & Omens . She attributes much of her success to critiquing. Critiquing allows the writer to have new eyes on a manuscript, highlighting that often crucial gap between what the writer intends and what’s actually on the page. Critiquing can be an extremely useful diagnostic tool that has the potential to expose rough spots in a writer’s repertoire beyond the needs of a single story or manuscript, that improves not only the critiqued manuscript but the ones that come after. Visit her website at authorlanerobins.com .

Elaine Isaak

Elaine Isaak writes knowledge-inspired adventure fiction, including The Dark Apostle series about medieval surgery (as E.C. Ambrose), The Singer’s Legacy fantasy series (as Elaine Isaak), and the Bone Guard international thrillers (as E. Chris Ambrose). In the process of researching her books, Elaine learned how to hunt with a falcon, clear a building of possible assailants, and pull traction on a broken limb. Her short stories have appeared in  Fireside, Warrior Women , and  Fantasy for the Throne , among many others, and she has edited several volumes of  New Hampshire Pulp Fiction . A 1997 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop, Elaine has returned there to teach, as well as at conventions and writer’s groups across the country. She has judged writing competitions from New Hampshire Literary Idol to the World Fantasy Award.

Elaine dropped out of art school to found her own business. A former professional costumer and soft sculpture creator, Elaine now works as a part-time adventure guide. In addition to writing, Elaine creates wearable art employing weaving, dyeing, and felting into her unique garments. To learn about all of her writing, check out RocinanteBooks.com .

A founding member of the Poet’s Unbound workshop, Elaine also belongs to the Science Fiction Writers of America, the Professional Authors’ Network of Romance Writers of America, and Novelists, Inc. She has run an invitational genre critique group locally and worked with teen writers as part of the Young Writers’ Conference. Writers at all points in their careers benefit from thoughtful and timely critique of their works in progress, geared toward the needs of the writer and the goals of the work. While there are many public writer’s groups and on-line resources, it can be hard to get the sort of in-depth reading that can help to advance your work to the next level. Aside from the direct benefit to the work at hand, receiving an insightful critique helps to train the mind of the writer—transitioning from reading for pure pleasure, to reading with an understanding of the tools and techniques that top authors use to win your attention and earn your loyalty.

Eric James Stone

A Nebula Award winner, Hugo Award finalist, and winner in the Writers of the Future Contest, Eric James Stone has had dozens of stories published in  Year’s Best SF 15, Analog, Nature , and Kevin J. Anderson’s  Blood Lite  anthologies of humorous horror, among other venues. His first novel was released by Baen in 2016.

One of Eric’s earliest memories is of seeing an Apollo moon-shot launch on television. That might explain his fascination with space travel. His father’s collection of old science fiction ensured that Eric grew up on a full diet of Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke.

While getting his political science degree at Brigham Young University, Eric took creative writing classes. He wrote several short stories, and even submitted one for publication, but after it was rejected he gave up on creative writing for a decade. During those years Eric graduated from Baylor Law School, worked on a congressional campaign, and took a job in Washington, DC, with one of those special interest groups politicians always complain that other politicians are influenced by. He quit the political scene in 1999 to work as a web developer in Utah.

In 2002 he started writing fiction again, and in 2003 he attended Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp. In 2007 Eric got laid off from his day job just in time to go to the Odyssey Writing Workshop. He has since found a new web development job. From 2009-2014 Eric was an assistant editor for  Intergalactic Medicine Show .

In addition to attending critique-based workshops, Eric has actively participated in several critique groups since 2003 and believes they are extremely helpful in getting his work ready for publication. He says a good critique is not just about finding mistakes and weaknesses in a manuscript—it’s about understanding what story the author is trying to tell, so that the manuscript can be improved to best convey that story to the reader.

Visit his website at www.ericjamesstone.com .

Barbara Barnett-Stewart

Barbara Barnett-Stewart (or Barbara A. Barnett, as you’ll usually find her credited) is a Philadelphia-area writer, musician, and orchestra librarian. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and has had over 60 short stories published in magazines and anthologies such as  Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Fantasy Magazine, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Daily Science Fiction, Flash Fiction Online,   Black Static , and  Wilde Stories: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction .

Barbara earned her Bachelor of Arts in music and English literature from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. A 2007 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop, she currently serves as managing editor of the workshop’s blog and spent several years as Resident Supervisor for The Never-Ending Odyssey (TNEO), a workshop exclusively for Odyssey graduates.

Since 2005, Barbara has participated in both online and in-person critique groups. She has found critiques—giving them as well receiving them—to be an invaluable part of her growth as a writer. She values critiques that are truthful yet constructive, detailed yet not prescriptive, that recognize what kind of story the author wants to tell and what tools might help them get there, and that acknowledge what the author is doing well, not just what needs improvement.

You can find Barbara online at  babarnett.com .

CLIENT COMMENTS

“I really appreciate what I think of as the mini-lessons—reminders or introductions to concepts, such as how to evaluate a scene, pacing, secondary characters, and structure, and then an analysis of these in relation to my manuscript. The report is invaluable not just for this novel but also for my future novels.

“The most important element is that I received feedback on what is wrong that is expert and well-considered. It’s very valuable, too, to know what has worked (so I don’t end up removing it, not realizing it’s fine) and I’m glad to have received that feedback, too. Other services are not as knowledgeable or rigorous.”

—Karen McKenzie

—Gavin Grant

—Andrew Chamberlain

—Lee Wee Leng

—Walt Mutschler

—James Breyfogle

—Larry Hodges

—Karen Lacey

—C. R. Steevens

—Michael Damon

—Suzanne Y. Truong

—John Berks

—Ronald Kaiser

—Sylvia Saxon

“I received an incredibly comprehensive critique. Everything in my stories, from concept, character and plot, to grammar and punctuation, was thoroughly examined. The Odyssey Critique Service is a wonderful resource: I will use it again.”

—Jay Doolittle

—Steven Wheelock

—Thompson Parker

—Zoe Zygmunt

—Marques Dillard

—Josh Roberts

“Many services say they critique fantasy but after investigation they really don’t know fantasy. Odyssey knows fantasy and has the reputation to back it up. The service did provide me with a very thorough genre critique.”

—Cheryl Carter

“Well worth the price! I will definitely use this service again.”

—Barbara Bowen

—P. Matt Kimme

—Justin Monroe

—Erik Bundy

—Michael Kessinger

—Larisa Walk

—John Iovine

—Steve Thomas

—Steve Clancey

“The critique broke my story down into manageable bites so I could digest all the information and start to work on my story to make it stronger, to make it publishable as a work of fiction.

“The line edits, and I am sorry to Barbara Campbell for this, were throughout the novel and were instructive. They showed me the faults I was blind to in my writing, showing me how to tighten up the scenes and sequences I had while giving wonderful, truthful feedback. And that is a rarity.

“Try getting this kind of feedback from a community college or even a four-year college. It won’t happen.”

—Joe Hanzlik

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Sep 04, 2019

49 Places to Find a Critique Circle to Improve Your Writing

Contrary to popular belief, writers aren’t solitary creatures by default. In fact, we’re often better when we write together , swapping trade secrets and exchanging manuscripts for mutual critique. Unfortunately, accidents of geography can stop us from congregating as often as we’d like. We don’t all live in literary hubs like London and NYC, so finding a critique circle in real life can be a bit of a challenge.

Luckily, you don’t have to be limited by the vagaries of place: there are plenty of online spaces where you can find writing partners ( and their excellent tips ). From the Critique Circle — the internet’s most famous writing group — to the more intimate critique groups studding the netscape, it’s easy enough to find gimlet-eyed readers ready to bring out the potential in your works-in-progress.

We’ve rounded 51 places to get feedback on your work. General writing critique groups are at the top, and genre-focused communities at the bottom. Because, to paraphrase the Starks of Winterfell , if the lone wolf dies while the pack survives, the lone writer struggles while the critique circle thrives.

GENERAL CRITIQUE GROUPS

1. Critique Circle

Most of this list is in alphabetical order, but Critique Circle is so well-known it’s worth breaking the mold. This Iceland-based community has a no-frills aesthetic. But since it opened in 2003, it’s offered more than 700,000 critiques for over 140,000 stories. Members sign up for free and earn credits — needed to put their work up for review — by offering feedback to other users. Every 3 reviews earns you enough credits to “buy” an opportunity to post.

Freshly enrolled writers have their work scheduled in a Newbie Queue, which sends their writing out for feedback faster than the regular queue. Word to the wise: the quality of feedback can vary — especially if they come from newbie members still learning the art of constructive criticism. But experienced members stand by to help to newbies as they get comfortable with the process.

Perfect if: You want to check out the internet’s most famous critique group

2. Reedsy Writing Prompts Contest

Yes, this one is facilitated through our very site! Here at Reedsy, we host a weekly writing contest where writers are invited to submit a short story based on one of our writing prompts. Shortly after launching this contest, we noticed a cool thing happening: writers started leaving constructive criticism and feedback on one another's stories — completely un prompted. We decided we wanted to encourage this initiative, so we created a critique circle within the contest.

Here's how it works: sign up for a free Reedsy Prompts account , and submit a short story to one of our contests. Once the contest ends, you'll receive an email asking you to leave feedback on other participants' stories — and the other entrants will likewise be encouraged to leave feedback on  your story.

Perfect if: You want the opportunity to earn cash prizes as part of your critique circle experience

3. 10 Minute Novelists Facebook Group

This support group for time-crunched writers runs a weekly #BuddyDay thread every Tuesday, where members can post their work for review. Excerpts are fair game, as are blurbs , author bios, cover art, and the like. If you’d like to test drive a couple of different packages for your indie masterpiece, #BuddyDay might be a good place to start.

Even if it’s not Tuesday, 10 Minute Novelists is a great place to “hang out.” Members commiserate about how real life gets in the way of your literary dreams — and encourage each other to stick it out anyway.

Perfect if: You know you’ve got a novel inside you, but you can’t seem to carve out more than 10 minutes a day to actually write it

4. ABCTales

This free writing community lets members post their own work and comment on each others’ — think WattPad, with way less emphasis on One Direction fanfic. Discussion seems to revolve around how to write a poem to best effect, although some short story writers frequent the forums as well. The feedback tends to be earnest and encouraging. Members happily dole out congratulations at one another’s literary triumphs.

ABCTales emphasizes slow and steady writerly development more than hustling for bylines. The pieces posted on its forums likely won’t be eligible for publication at many mainstream outlets, so they tend to be exercises written for practice, or from sheer love of the craft. That said, there is a forum full of writers swapping tips for publication .

Perfect if: You want a wholesome community to help you hone your craft in a low-stakes way

5. Absolute Write Water Cooler

This sprawling writers’ forum can be a bit of a maze, but there’s a wealth of material to help you along on your writing journey. If you’re in search of critique, you’ll want to make your way to the Beta Readers, Mentors, and Writing Buddies board. It works a little like a craft-focused version of the old Craigslist Personals section. Just post a description of the piece you’re working on, and forum members who fancy giving it a beta read will get in touch.

While you’re waiting for your perfect beta reader to respond to your post, you can hang out on any of Absolute Write ’s other craft-focused message boards. Many are genre-specific: check out Now We’re Cookin’! if you’re into food writing, or Flash Fiction if you’re a fan of pith.

Perfect if: You harbor romantic fantasies of finding your One True Reader on a personals site

6. Christopher Fielden

Christopher Fielden’s website offers tons of free resources – ranging from how to do research, how to keep your creativity fresh, and advice about self-publishing. He also curates a list of writing competitions – whether you’re looking to submit a short story or a poem, there are tons of options to choose from. You can pay for a critique from his team as well and a seasoned writer like Dr. Lynda Nash or Allen Ashley will go over your short story, novel, or poem.

7. Beta Readers and Critique Partners Facebook Group

This Facebook group has been helping writers find beta readers for two years now, and it’s still going strong. Almost 500 new members joined in the last month, bringing the total up to over 7,000. Rest assured, the mods won’t tolerate any nonsense: scorched earth critiques are forbidden, and members are encouraged to be kind at all times.

The Beta Readers and Critique Partners group welcomes members of all skill levels. Participants do their best to keep in mind whether they’re reading a seasoned pro, or someone just getting started as a beta reader . Self-promotion is banned, so don’t worry about being spammed.

Perfect if: You want a group where newbies can freely mingle with seasoned pros

8. Critique It

This peer review tool works like Google Docs on steroids: a group of collaborators can work on the same project, leave each other feedback, and feel like they’re all gathered around the same desk even if they’re actually scattered across the globe. Unlike GDocs, Critique It makes it easy to drop in video and audio files as well. That way, critics can leave their feedback in whatever format they like.

It won’t actually help you find a critique group. But it will let you form one with whoever you choose — no matter where in the world they’re based.

Perfect if: You want to form a writing group with friends from afar

9. The Desk Drawer

Here’s a critique group with high standards: send out multiple submissions that haven’t been spell-checked, and the group just might kick you out. This ultra-active, email-based workshop is a perfect fit for the kind of scribblers who thrive off prompts —  and who want to use them to hone their craft in the (virtual) company of fifty-odd like-minded writers. Every week, The Desk Drawer sends out a writing exercise. Members can respond directly to the prompt with a SUB (submission) — or offer a CRIT (critique) of another writer’s response.

To stay on the mailing list, workshoppers have to send out at least three posts a month: 1 SUB and 2 CRITS, or 3 CRITS. And membership is selective: if you’d like to join, you’ll have to send in a short, 100- to 250-word writing sample based on a prompt.

Perfect if: You want some disciplined — but mutually encouraging — writing buddies to keep you honest as you build up a writing habit

10. Fiction Writers Global Facebook Group

Despite its name, this community welcomes writers of fiction and non-fiction alike, although those who work specialize in erotica are encouraged to find an alternative group. At 13 years old, it’s one of the longer-running writing communities on Facebook. The mods have laid down the law to ensure it continues to run smoothly: fundraising, self-promotion, and even memes are strictly banned.

If you’re still weighing the pros and cons of traditional versus self-publishing , Fiction Writers Global might be the perfect group for you. They have members going both these routes who are always happy to share their experiences.

Perfect if: You’re determined to go the indie route — or thinking seriously about it

11. Hatrack River Writers Workshop

This 18+, members-only workshop was founded by renowned speculative fiction writer Orson Scott Card, of Ender’s Game fame , and it’s now hosted by short fiction writer Kathleen Dalton Woodbury. Both these writers cut their teeth on genre fiction, but don’t feel limited to tales of magic and spacefaring — anything goes, except for fanfic.

At the Hatrack River Writers Workshop , members can submit the first 13 lines of a WIP for review — an exercise designed to make sure the story hooks the reader as efficiently as possible . A loosely structured Writing Class forum offers prompts, called “assignments,” designed to help blocked writers start (or finish) stalled works.

Perfect if: You want to polish your story’s opening to a mirror-shine

12. Inked Voices

Unlike the cozy, Web 1.0 vibes of older online critique groups, Inked Voices is as sleek as they come, with cloud-based functionality and an elegant visual brand. Its polished look and feel make sense considering this isn’t so much a writing group as a platform for finding — or creating — writing groups, complete with a shiny workshopping app that has version control and calendar notifications built in.

Each workshop is private, invite-only, and capped at 8 members. You can sign up for a two-week free trial, but after that, the service costs $10 per month, or $75 for the year. Membership also lets you tune in for free to lectures by industry pros.

Perfect if: You’re willing to pay for an intimate, yet high-tech, workshop experience

13. Litopia

This website calls itself the “oldest writers’ colony on the ‘net,” a description that probably proves its age. One of its main draws? The writing groups that allow members to post their WIPs for peer review. The community tends to be friendly and mutually encouraging — probably the reason Litopia has lasted so long.

There’s another major draw: every Sunday, literary agent Peter Cox reviews several 700-word excerpts from members work on-air, in a podcast called Pop-Up Submissions. Cox tackles this process with a rotating cast of industry professionals as his guests. They’ve even been known to ask for a synopsis from a writer who impresses.

Perfect if: You’ve always wanted to spend some time in a writer’s colony, but you can’t jet off to Eureka Springs just yet

14. My Writers Circle

This easy-going discussion forum is light on dues and regulations, but members seem to be friendly and respectful anyway. A stickied thread on the Welcome Board encourages new members to read and comment on at least 3 pieces of writing before posting their own work for review. But this isn’t the kind of hard-and-fast rule that’ll lead to banning if you fall short. Members go along with it because they genuinely care about one another’s writing progress.

My Writers Circle has three dedicated workshop boards that allow forum users to seek feedback on their writing. One, called Review My Work, accepts general fiction and nonfiction, while additional spaces allow poets and dramatists of all kinds to get their verse, plays, and TV scripts critiqued.

Perfect if: You want a community where people are nice because they want to be — not because they have to be

15. Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Nathan Bransford worked as an agent before he switched over to the other side of the submissions process. Now, he’s a published middle-grade novelist and the author of a well-rated, self-published craft book called How to Write a Novel . In the midst of all his success, Bransford gives back to the literary community by running his ultra-popular Forums.

A board called Connect With a Critique Partner functions as matchmaker central for writers seeking their perfect beta readers. And if you’re not looking for something long-term, there’s the Excerpts forum, where you can post a bit of your WIP for quick hit of feedback.

Perfect if: You want to be part of a writing community that’s uber-active, but low-key

16. The Next Big Writer

Since 2005, this cult-favorite workshop has provided thousands of writers with a friendly forum for exchanging critiques. The site boasts an innovative points system designed to guarantee substantive, actionable feedback. To gain access, you’ll have to pay: $8.95 a month, $21.95 a quarter, or $69.95 for the whole year. Fortunately, there’s an opportunity to try before you buy: a 7-day free trial lets you get a taste of what the site has to offer.

The Next Big Writer also hosts periodic contests : grand prize winners receive $600 and professional critiques, while runners-up stand to gain $150 and 3 months of free membership. Meanwhile, all entrants get feedback on their submissions.

Perfect if: You like the sound of a members’ only writing contest with big prizes — in both cash and critique

17. NovelPro

This fiction writing workshop is one of the more costly online communities to join. But it has the rigor of an MFA program, at a tiny fraction of the price. Members — their numbers are capped at 50 — pay $120 a year. And that’s after a stringent application process requiring the first and last chapters of a finished, 60,000-word fiction manuscript and a 250-word blurb. Think of it as a bootcamp for your novel.

Even if an applicant’s writing sample passes muster, they still might not make the cut — there’s also a critique exercise that asks them to pass judgment on a sample novel chapter, with a 2-day turnaround. No wonder prospective NovelPro members are urged to reconsider unless their prose is “accomplished” and their fiction skills “advanced.”

Perfect if: You want a critique group that’ll take your work as seriously as you do

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Finished with your first draft? Plan and execute a powerful rewrite with this online course from the editors behind #RevPit. Get started now.

18. Prolitfic

Launched by University of Texas students frustrated by the vagaries of the publishing process, this slick, Gen Z-friendly site encourages emerging writers to help each other out with thorough, actionable reviews. Members critique one another’s critiques — dare we call it metacritique? — to keep the quality of feedback high.

Prolitfic 's rating rubric, which assigns all submissions a star rating out of 5, insures that all reviewers are coming from the same place. Reviewers with higher levels of Spark, or site engagement, have their feedback weighted more heavily when the site calculates each submission’s overall rating.

Perfect if: You’re a serious, young writer hoping to find support in a tight-knit community built by your peers

19. Scribophile

One of the best-known writing communities on the web, Scribophile promises 3 insightful critiques for every piece of work you submit. Members earn the right to receive critiques by stocking up on karma points, which they can get by offering feedback on other works. You can get extra karma points by reacting to other users’ critiques — by clicking on Facebook-like buttons that say “thorough,” “constructive,” and the like — and by having your critiques showered with positive reactions.

A free membership lets you put two 3,000-word pieces up for critique, while premium memberships won’t throttle your output — but will cost you either $9 per month or $65 for the year.

Perfect if: You’d like to play with a critique system that has shades of Reddit — but far more civil!

20. SheWrites Groups

This long-standing community for writing women boasts a treasure trove of craft-focused articles. But the site also hosts a wealth of writing groups, split into genres and topics. Whether they work on screenplays, horror novels , or depictions of the environment, women writers can find a group to post their work for feedback — and commiserate on the travails of writing life.

In addition to their articles and writing groups, She Writes also operates a hybrid publishing company that distributes through Ingram and, naturally, brings women’s writing into the light.

Perfect if: You’re a woman writer in search of a friendly community full of like-minded, mutually encouraging folks

21. Sub It Club

Gearing up to submit finished work can be even more daunting than writing it in the first place. If you’d like to get some friendly eyes on your query letters or pitches — in a virtual walled garden away from any agents or publishers — this closed Facebook group might be the perfect place for you.

If you’re in need of more than a one-off review, Sub It Club runs a Critique Partner Matchup group to pair off writing buddies. The group moderators also run a blog with plenty of tips on crafting cover letters, dealing with rejection, and all other parts of the submission process .

Perfect if: You want a private, low-stress setting to get some feedback and vent about life as a yet-to-be-published writer

22. WritersCafe.org

This sizable — but friendly! — community boasts over 800,000 users, all of whom can access its critique forums for free. Members offer feedback to one another at all stages of the writing process: from proofing near-finished pieces to leaving more substantive feedback for still-marinating works.

For more quantitative-minded scribblers, WritersCafe ’s graphs make it easy to visualize how their work is being received. The site also allows members to host their own writing contests — and even courses to share their expertise with fellow Cafe patrons.

Perfect if: You’re a visual, data-driven writer who prefers to think in charts — even when it comes to writing!

23. Writer’s Digest Critique Central

Writer’s Digest is an institution in the literary world, and its critique forum is as popular as you’d expect: it’s collected more than 10,000 threads and nearly 90,000 individual posts over the years.

Critique Central boasts dedicated boards for a variety of genres — poetry is the most popular, with literary fiction next in line. You can also find spaces dedicated to polishing query letters and synopses, and a board that aggregates critique guidelines to make sure every member is giving — and getting — the best feedback possible.

Perfect if: You’d like a one-stop shop for critiquing your WIPs, queries, and synopses

24. The Writers Match

Founded by a veteran children’s book author, The Writers Match aims to, well, match writers with their comrades-in-craft from around the world. Think of it as okCupid for critique partners. Just fill out a profile and then shop for matches on the Members page, where writers will be sorted according to experience and genre.

If you find any promising would-be partners, shoot them a message and see if the literary sparks fly. And if it turns out you don’t quite vibe, there are plenty of other fish in the sea of critique.

Perfect if: You live somewhere without a robust writing community, and you’re tired of missing out

25. Writers World Facebook Group

Founded by veteran editor and sci-fi author Randall Andrews, this critique group welcomes serious writers of book-length prose. Members aim to shepherd each other’s manuscripts through all stages of the publication process, from the developmental edit to the query.

Andrews himself remains heavily involved in Writers World ’s day-to-day activity, pitching in with critiques informed by his 30 years of experience in the publishing industry. He’s also happy to explain his comments, and weighs in periodically with links to useful resources on craft.

Perfect if: You’ve got a book in the works, and you’re in the market for a critique group headed by a mentor who’s extremely generous with his time

26. Writing.Com

This sprawling community has been a meeting point for writers of all levels since 2000, whether their goals are to be published in a top-shelf literary magazine or to score an A in English Composition. Writing.Com users, who work in every genre under the sun, make use of the site’s portfolio system to post their writing and seek feedback from fellow community members.

Free memberships allow users to store up to 10 items in their personal portfolio, while the various tiers of paid membership gradually increase the limit — starting at the 50 items afforded by the $19.95 per year Basic Membership.

Perfect if: You want to be part of an enormous community where you’re sure to encounter a diversity of viewpoints

27. Writing, Prompts & Critiques Facebook Group

Writing, Prompts & Critiques is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Members seek critique on posted threads and can also comment on one another’s responses to the group’s daily writing exercises.

Speaking of which: unlike conventional writing prompts, which encourage you to write new work, WPC’s daily challenges try to get you thinking more deeply about your existing projects. So come with a manuscript in hand, and see if the folks here can’t help you make it even better.

Perfect if: You’d like to get some feedback on a WIP — and experiment with some writing exercises to refine it

28. Writing to Publish

This 25-year-old critique group might have an American flag gif on its homepage, but its membership is worldwide. Writing to Publish members meet live in a chat room every other Monday at 7 PM Pacific time — which the website helpfully specifies is lunchtime on Tuesday for Australians.

New members have trial status until they’ve sat in on a handful of live-chat sessions, after which point they can start offering critiques themselves. Only after two critiques can they become full-fledged members, with the ability to submit their own work for review. Discussion tends to be lively and honest — but unfailingly polite.

Perfect if: You want your critique circle to operate in real-time — even if it includes folks from all over the world

29. YeahWrite

This writing community’s home page describes it as “part workshop, part competition, and all focused on getting from where you are to where you want to be as a writer.” Its biggest claim to fame? Free weekly writing challenges in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, where writers submit 750-word pieces in response to curated writing prompts.

If you fancy more concentrated feedback than the weekly challenges can give you, YeahWrite also offers paid editorial evaluations — one for $25 a year or two for $50. Send a 1,000-word piece of writing for review, and an editorial staff member will get back to you with a developmental edit or a line edit, depending on your manuscript’s needs.

Perfect if: You find that nothing sparks your creativity energies more than a good writing prompt

30. YouWriteOn

[update 4 Feb 2022: YouWriteOn seems to be temporarily inaccessible]

This free service boasts Bloomsbury and Penguin Random House reps among its members. So if you join and upload a story or chapter, you stand a chance of getting some very discerning eyes on your work. With such powerful people roaming the joint, it’s no wonder that some first-time authors have been discovered through YouWriteOn: historical fiction writer Doug Jackson, for instance, sold his Roman epic Caligula to Penguin through the forum.

Reviews come in one at a time and assign each piece a star rating in 8 different categories: characters, story, pace and structure, use of language, narrative voice, dialogue, settings, and themes and ideas.

Perfect if: You want some Big Five eyes on your work, in a supportive, low-stakes setting

GENRE-SPECIFIC CRITIQUE GROUPS

31. Allpoetry

This poetry site allows free members to join a writing group and post their verse for review, while premium members can use it to host their own private writing critique groups. A silver membership, for $5.95 a month, allows you to form a group, while a $14.95 gold membership provides analytics to track your visitors.

Allpoetry boasts 238 currently active groups — the biggest weighing in at 50 members while the smallest hover around 6 or 7 members. The site also offers free, self-paced poetry classes for beginners to the craft, on topics ranging from sonnets to beating writer’s block .

Perfect if: You’re a poet who wants the ability to choose between several critique groups of various sizes

32. Chronicles Science Fiction & Fantasy Community

This sleekly designed forum is primarily a fandom space — a thriving community for dissecting the works of your favorite speculative fiction authors. But Chronicles also operates a suite of craft-focused forums for sci-fi and fantasy fans who double as writers themselves.

The Chronicles Workshop forum hosts frequent, 100-word writing challenges that combine a theme and a genre, say “Crime & Punishment” and “Urban Fantasy.” Members tend to respond to these with enthusiasm, but they also have the option of posting their own, freestanding work for review in the writing circle.

Perfect if: You’re both a speculative fiction writer and a speculative fiction reader, and you want a community that can indulge both your inner creator and your inner fan

33. Critters Workshop

A passion project run by a former VP of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Critters has been helping authors polish their sci-fi, fantasy, and horror for almost a quarter century. The workshop is a space for serious writers, whether they’ve been showered with accolades or are still unpublished.

Critters stands out for treating critique itself as a craft deserving of careful attention. Participants learn to read with both acumen and empathy, offering substantive, yet tactfully framed criticisms of one another’s work. To remain in good standing, every “critter” writes an average of one critique a week.

Perfect if: You’re willing to learn the art of constructive criticism — and eager to get 15-20 thoughtful responses for each piece of writing they submit

34. Critique.org Workshops

The Critique.org workshops act as an expansion of Critters — including 16 furthers genres and media. The resulting spin-offs cover every form of writing you can think of, from thrillers to screenplays. Some are more highly trafficked than others, but all of them echo Critters’ dedication to the art of critique.

Multi-genre writers who work on, say, both romance and thrillers have to sign up separately for every workshop they’re interested in.

Perfect if: You like the sound of Critters but don’t like the idea of writing sci-fi, fantasy, or horror

35. Eratosphere

This online workshop might be named for the muse of love poetry, but versifiers working on all subjects are welcome to post. Eratosphere isn’t for the faint of heart: the site’s guidelines stress high standards of craft and emphasize that the forums might not be suitable for beginners or “those who mainly seek mutual support and praise.” But if you’re a practiced poet serious about refining your craft, you won’t find a more knowledgeable workshop.

The site is especially helpful for poets specializing in metrical verse forms. Poets who already produce polished, near-publishable work can make use of The Deep End, a forum tailor-made for metrical poetry gurus thick-skinned enough to deal with intense — but constructive — critique.

Perfect if: You’re an experienced poet eager for gimlet-eyed critique

36. FaithWriters

This online hub for writers of faith operates a Christian Writing Critique Circle. Unlike many groups with more stringent requirements, members only need to submit one critique for every piece of writing they put out for feedback. The FaithWriters moderators occasionally pay professional editors to come in and review pieces that haven’t gotten enough love from members-at-large. So there’s no fear that your work will remain forlorn and ignored.

Writers too pressed for time to offer critiques can pay in cash for the ability to receive feedback. FaithWriters limits submissions to 1,000 words each, and allows every member 4 per month.

Perfect if: You’re a Christian writer who’d appreciate a guarantee of feedback from your critique group

37. Fantasy & Science Fiction Writers in America Facebook Group

This group for serious, craft-focused speculative fiction writers actually welcomes members from all over the world, as long as they write in English. Members post small excerpts from their work for critique, but they also like to swap trade secrets — about both the craft and business sides of writing life.

Because Fantasy & Science Fiction Writers in America welcomes writers of all ages, members need to keep it PG-13. The four admins keep an eye on things to make sure the discussion stays civil and safe for work.

Perfect if: You’re an aspiring sci-fi or fantasy author not interested in smut or gore

38. Fiction Writing Facebook Group

This 90,000-member Facebook group is moderated by a triumvirate of published authors who’ve banded together to create a space where their fellow writers can swap WIPs. The moderators run a tight ship in terms of hate speech, bullying, and spam, and the resulting community is full of serious writers despite its daunting size.

Fiction Writing members can share the occasional bit of verse in the dedicated #poetry thread, but for the most part, the focus is on short stories and novel excerpts. The moderators also make occasional postings drawing the community’s attention to publishing opportunities, usually in the anthology series they help curate.

Perfect if: You want to dive into a community where you won’t be subjected to endless self-promotion or straight-up hate speech

39. Historical Novel Society Manuscript Facebook Group

This closed Facebook group provides dues-paying members of the Historical Novel Society with a private space to get into the weeds of mutual critique. Manuscript Facebook Group members can, of course, post their manuscripts for general review. They can also use the group to find long-term critique partners.

Membership in the Historical Novel Society costs $50 per year and nets you a free subscription to the Historical Novel Review , a listing in the group’s directory, and notification of the many conferences and colloquia it hosts every year. In addition to its manuscript critique group, the HNS also operates a more general Facebook group where members swap research tips and writing inspiration.

Perfect if: You’re serious about bringing the past to life by writing top-notch historical fiction

40. The Internet Writing Workshop

This site aggregates several genre-specific mailing lists that allow writers to submit their own work and critique one another’s. Dedicated lists for short fiction, book-length projects, romance, poetry, and YA ensure almost every author can find a place to get feedback. Another list dedicated to writing exercises encourages members to respond to weekly prompts — and critique each other’s responses.

To remain in good standing as an Internet Writing Workshop member, you’ll have to commit to a minimum participation requirement. But it’s a pretty modest one, coming down to only half an hour a week. The workshop also runs an active writing advice blog that dates back to 2007.

Perfect if: You want a free, email-based workshop with pretty light participation requirements

41. Kingdom Writers

This email-based critique list provides a home on the internet for Christian writers, both published and unpublished. While encouraged to post work explicitly aimed at their faith community, members can also share more secular writings — as long as they’re PG-13. Civility is a must: works criticizing other religions won’t be tolerated.

Thanks to their fellow Kingdom Writers ’ critiques, participants in this online fellowship have managed to publish a number of books, from devotional texts and Bible trivia to romance and historical fiction.

Perfect if: You’re a Christian writer hoping to join a tight-knit community where you won’t encounter anything NSFW

42. Mystery Writers Forum

This forum for latter-day Arthur Conan Doyles has been around since 1997. With nearly one thousand members roaming its 22 discussion boards, it’s nothing short of an institution.

Still, mystery writers of all kinds can patrol the Writing Advice forum in search of genre-savvy critique partners. There’s plenty more to explore. Whether you’re interested in nailing down the elements of a cozy mystery or confused about how courtroom procedure should work in your trial scene, the Mystery Writers Forum will have something to point you in the right direction.

Perfect if: You have some very specific burning questions that only a fellow mystery buff can answer

43. Online Writing Workshop for Science, Fantasy and Horror

This genre writers’ paradise has a modest price for entry. After a month-long free trial, members pay $49 a year for access to the site’s critique group. But the workshop also operates a scholarship fund for writers having trouble making ends meet. Both agents and publishers keep an eye on submissions through free professional memberships, so a discerning, influential eye just might fall on your manuscript.

Submissions are limited to 7,000 words each, and members of the Online Writing Workshop are required to review if they want to be reviewed. Plenty have found success through the workshop, winning Hugos and scoring Big Five contracts.

Perfect if: You don’t mind paying in exchange for access to a genre-savvy community where some agents and publishers tend to lurk

Speaking of scholarships, if you're a student scraping together tuition, why not apply to writing scholarships to supplement your funds?

44. The Poetry Free-for-All

This online workshop encourages poets to work seriously towards the refinement of their craft, by embracing constructive criticism and learning to offer it in turn. As is standard among critique groups, members have to provide 3 reviews for every piece they submit for feedback.

The Poetry Free-for-All is an offshoot of EveryPoet.com, an archive of poetry designed to instill a love of verse in all visitors. Whether your posting your own verse for critique or browsing through the classics — from Chaucer to Edna St. Vincent Millay — you can easily lose a couple of hours on this site.

Perfect if: You’re a poet who’s serious about your craft, but you want a workshop that’s less structured than some of the other options out there

45. Romance Critters Yahoo Group

This 18+ Yahoo group has been helping serious romance writers refine their craft since 1998. They’ll look at squeaky-clean teen romances, bona fide erotica, and anything in between , where’s it’s historical or set in outer space. However, you’ll have to apply to get access to the community.

Romance Critters members submit a chapter at a time for review — and only once they’ve submitted 2 critiques of other pieces. Ten full critiques can also earn you an in-depth beta read.

Perfect if: You want some well-trained eyes on your meet-cutes — or your sex scenes

46. Screech Poetry Magazine

Despite its name, this isn’t so much a publication as an open forum for posting and critiquing poetry. Think of it as a democratic, crowd-sourced compendium of contemporary verse.

Occasional writing contests tempt entrants with the promise of Amazon vouchers. But for the most part, Screech emphasizes open-hearted sharing over competition. The community has a collective soft spot for Japanese verse forms, from the humble haiku to the lesser-known renga. But poetry of all kinds is welcome, from the the kid-friendly to the NSFW.

Perfect if: You like to experiment with Japanese verse forms and want a critique group that takes them seriously

47. Seekerville

In 2004, 15 women writers with big dreams met at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference. Seven years later, all 15 of them had snagged book deals. Now, they run the Seekerville blog to pass their tips on to the next generation of Christian authors.

The Seekerville ladies host periodic Open Critique Days, where they offer feedback on short passages posted by their devoted readership. The most recent one yielded 105 comments.

Perfect if: You’re a Christian woman writer wanting mentorship from some warm-hearted authors who’ve been there before

48. SwoonReads

This YA-focused writing community is owned by Macmillan, one of the storied Big Five publishers. Still, its business model is far from traditional. For one thing, it’s also a publishing imprint. Aspiring authors upload unpublished manuscripts for community members to rate and review — all in the interest of helping Macmillan sniff out the next The Fault in Our Stars or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before .

SwoonReads accepts YA manuscripts of all kinds, from contemporary romance to supernatural horror. Authors chosen for publication receive a $10,000 advance. Those who find their manuscripts passed over are welcome to revise and resubmit.

Perfect if: You’re a YA novelist dreaming of a Big Five book deal

49. Women’s Fiction Writers Association

This professional association caters to writers of women’s fiction — mostly, though not necessarily, women themselves. According to the group’s homepage, the important thing is that members’ work centers on a well-developed character’s transformative emotional journey. Membership costs $48 a year, but gives you access to a number of perks. In addition to an annual retreat and periodic online pitch sessions — where members can, well, pitch potential agents — the Women's Fiction Writers Association runs two critique programs.

The WFWA Critique Forum Facebook Page allows dues-paying members to swap loglines, query letters, and synopses for feedback, or find fellow writers to arrange manuscript swaps. There’s also the WFWA’s Critique Group Matching Service, where organization leaders break match up interested members based on their interests.

Perfect if: You write emotionally intricate, character-driven fiction

Do you have a go-to writing circle for helpful critiques? Tell us about it in the comments below!

5 responses

Robin Gaster says:

11/09/2019 – 16:39

fascinating that you found almost nothing on nonfiction

11/09/2019 – 22:28

A lot of forum and email based groups along with Facebook. If you only have the online ones that actually workshop the manuscript it will drop down to maybe a 16-17. That does include several closed/not for public groups.

Gregory A. De Feo says:

11/09/2019 – 23:26

Did you hear of www.writersvillage.com? What's your opinion of it, if so?

Ned Marcus says:

18/09/2019 – 00:19

Thanks for the list. It looks good. One other point. You don't need to live in a literary hub to find fellow writers—as long as you do live in a city, you'll probably find other writers. Starting your own critique/writers group can be very productive. It's worked very well for me, even though at the beginning I didn't know what I was doing. I asked an experienced writer and workshop regular (from another city), followed the advice, adjusted it, and now I have a great group with really talented writers as members. It took a few years, but it was worth it.

Bev Hanna says:

20/09/2019 – 18:02

Do you know of any critique forums for memoir and autobiography?

Comments are currently closed.

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13 best practices for creative writing critique groups

The value of quality creative writing critique for authors should go without saying. When you write, you’re full of intention and ideas and inspiration. But readers don’t get that. Readers get only what’s on the page. Crit helps you get some distance from your writing so you can see more clearly what really is there in your text.

For an author, receiving crit can be hard—hopes and intentions getting cut down with just a few words. “You need to develop a thick skin,” they say. I say you mainly need to learn how to get some distance from the material.

Giving good and useful critique is also hard. It’s a learned skill. Everybody has an opinion, but not everyone knows how to give quality crit. What most find is that learning how to provide criticism an author can use makes them a better author.

This is why every author working on a project or projects can benefit from belonging to a crit group.

What makes a good crit group? #

After years of writing workshops in college and grad school, teaching a couple as an adjunct, and working in a handful of crit groups both good and not so much, I’ve seen a wide variety of styles and ground rules for author groups engaging in critique.

General approach #

Most crit groups fall into one of two basic categories.

• Reading aloud. People on a rotating or productivity basis bring pages in and read aloud (or better, someone else reads aloud and the writer must listen).
• Pre-submit and discuss. Everyone in the group distributes pages in advance of meeting, everyone reads everything, marking up the printouts (or digital files) with comments. Then, in the actual meeting you have timeboxed discussion on each takes place.

Reading out loud #

The first method was how some of my best writing workshops were run. There’s nothing like reading your text out loud to everyone. You hear your words with their ears. Awkward phrases, repetitions, overwriting, and errors leap up off the page. Your first time can be mortifying.

But it can be downright terrifying to hear someone else read your text aloud. Having to listen to your prose without any hint of performance to convey intention can reveal unintended line readings. You the author must sit there at the mercy of your own words there on the page.

The catch for this out loud approach is the time requirement. Reading out loud is slow. You can cover only so much material per hour—fine perhaps for a 3-hour workshop meeting 2–3 times a week, but maybe not so helpful for a crit group meeting two hours every two weeks.

Pre-submission (before crit group meeting) #

For a group of authors who are working on longer projects or a number of shorts, I think the second type of group can work best. Each person emails out their pages (up to a mutually agreed-upon word count) 4–7 days in advance of the gathering. Then your meeting time can focus completely on discussion of the work. This way, you can cover a lot more material.

Just remember that you’ll have to take time reading and critiquing everyone else’s pages, so the time commitment is more than just the actual meeting.

That covers the logistics. But what about the content of the crit itself. The first thing to remember is:

Critiquing is a learned skill #

“Everyone has a right to an opinion,” right? Sure. But crit requires more than having an opinion. It involves learning how to read someone else’s pages and provide helpful feedback that is informative, clear, and respects the author. Vague judgmental comments like “it sucks” are not helpful. Kid-gloves comments are not helpful either.

The goals of crit groups and workshops are:

• the writer gets quality feedback; and
• everyone learns to critique better.

Nobody is born being able to critique well. You have to learn from doing it. Guidelines can help.

8 Recommended Rules #

• Keep the group small. 4–6 people can work best, I feel. Large groups can be difficult to manage unless you’re meeting frequently, and that requires a larger time commitment, not only for the meetings but to read all those pages of submissions.
• As an author, don’t submit raw pages that you know have problems. Make it as good as you can first. That way feedback will hopefully reveal to you things you don’t know rather than just things you already know need to be fixed. It also means that your crit partners will (hopefully) enjoy reading your submissions more.
• Members who don’t participate are dead weight and should be asked to take a leave of absence and come back when they’re refreshed and ready to participate.
• Authors need to learn to separate themselves from their text. Everyone writes crap now and then. Don’t take crit as judgement of you as a writer. This is only about these particular pages.
• Matching genres can be very helpful. On the other hand, members coming from other diverse genres can be helpful too, as long as nobody is imposing their own genre tropes onto other genres.
• Virtual groups are possible, but work best with video (Skype, Hangouts, etc). Something about seeing each other helps. Audio-only sessions can feel less cohesive. In my experience it’s harder to sustain.
• Open online “crit sessions” can be the most difficult and least productive. Readers are reading once and are asked to give what amounts to snap responses. Experienced members (working authors and editors) tend to adapt to this environment better, but it’s still hard. For authors sharing, off-the-cuff feedback coming from random folks can be hard to process. Bad (as in least-helpful) crit is more likely when random folks can jump in. This is perhaps not for the newbie.
• Authors must be prepared to hear disappointing news. Feeling bummed is a natural response. Roll through it and when feeling clear, review your notes and decide what’s most helpful. Don’t get defensive. Hear the feedback with an open mind. You have final cut. You can reject any crit. This is your story.

5 Helpful Gudelines #

I won’t call these rules. Consider these my preferences.

• Critique the writing, not the author. This goes all the way to not saying, “You wrote…” Rather, stick to the text . “This paragraph…”
• Include comments about what’s working, what’s really great. Some groups even have a rule that you always open by saying something nice, but this isn’t about coddling author ego. It’s about helping an author who may have lost any sense of what’s working anymore. Comments about questions or anticipations you have on the first read can be very informative to the author.
• Don’t solve problems for the author. Having a group brainstorming “better” solutions can lead the author away from her own story. Sometimes it can be an absolutely demoralizing process, destroying the author’s faith in her own story instincts. Instead, use “bad examples” of solutions to help illustrate the problem and how the author might approach fixing it.
• Don’t ask the author to explain herself. This invites the unwelcome problem solving noted above. And it cultivates defensiveness on the author’s part. Crit is about the text. Those offering criticism aren’t there to judge. What matters in crit is what’s on the page.
• The author should remain silent until end of discussion. Then the author can ask follow-up questions. iAs an author, you should come to crit with some specific questions in mind. Ask those questions if nobody addressed them in their own feedback.

These are my druthers, drawn from experiences that reflect great privileges I was able to enjoy. My conclusions to date are nowhere near universal, but I hope some of these are helpful.

What are your thoughts?

Writing workshops are a wonderful way to grow and expand your writing skills—provided you know how to workshop creative writing. There are different writing workshop models, both online and in person, each with their own particular ways of benefiting your writing journey. What are those models, and how do you engage in proper critique writing?

This article is all about making the most of your writing workshops. Whether you’re taking a course with Writers.com, entering your first workshop in undergrad, or putting together your own private writing group, the tips and models in this article will help you learn how to workshop creative writing.

There are a couple of different definitions of writing workshops. For the purposes of this article, we will examine writing workshop models under the university definition, which is the process of sharing your work in a setting where you receive writing feedback and suggestions for improvement. 

If you’re looking for the best multi-week creative writing workshops, here are some tips for finding the best on the internet:

The Best Online Writing Workshops: How to Succeed in Creative Writing Workshops

Different Creative Writing Workshop Models

There is no singular way to workshop a piece of writing. Different schools, universities, and institutions have developed different models over time. Even at Writers.com, some of our classes use different writing workshop models.

Here are a few common models you might see employed around the web. Note: this list only applies to adult writing workshops. Youth-focused writing spaces tend to use some form of the model developed by Lucy Calkins .

1. The Iowa Writers’ Workshop Model

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is one of the most prestigious writing programs in the United States, having produced dozens of Pulitzer winners, National Book Award finalists, and poet laureates. It also developed the standard writing workshop model for universities, specifically under the directorship of poet Paul Engle.

The writing workshop rules are pretty simple: the writer’s work is distributed to every workshop attendee in advance. Each writer then comes to the workshop with their thoughts on the work. The attendees have a conversation about the piece—how they interpret it, aspects they like, what can be improved, etc.

Most importantly, the author cannot speak at any time. This is the “gag rule” of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and it’s the aspect that’s both the most recognizable, and the most criticized, of this workshopping model.

Pros: The argument for keeping the author silent is that the author should not have to explain anything in the work. If the author is allowed to speak, they will most likely interrupt the conversation to defend the writing, rather than pay attention to what does and doesn’t work, and what readers failed to grasp.

Cons: This writing workshop model has been routinely criticized for the ways it silences the author . While authors certainly shouldn’t commandeer the conversation to defend their work, they also deserve space to explain what doesn’t seem to be clicking for the readers. Writing workshops have historically catered to privileged groups; if you’re the only Asian author in a room of non-Asian writers, and the conversation gets stuck on dim sum , shouldn’t you be allowed to correct course?

Workshops should privilege the author and provide useful feedback to all attendees. The “gag rule” has some merit, but as workshops become more diverse—both in identity and in genre—there have to be better ways to run productive creative writing workshops.

These next models all, in some way or another, correct the deficits of the Iowa Writers’ model.

2. Liz Lerman’s Writing Workshop Model

Choreographer Liz Lerman developed a feedback model that has been adapted to a variety of settings, including creative writing workshops. It’s a 4 step process that runs as follows:

• Statement of meaning: Each group member tells the writer what aspects of the piece resonated for them. This allows the session to lead with what’s working, which is important because an author often doesn’t know what’s good about their writing, and an author usually revises based on the best parts of their work.
• Questions by the writer to the group: The writer asks questions they have in mind about craft elements in the piece. Did this work? Do you understand this? Typically, these are yes/no questions, and the group members shouldn’t elucidate unless asked to.
• Questions to the group by the writer: Group members then ask questions about the work, including aspects of it they didn’t understand. This is a much more empathetic way to approach creative writing critique, because it uses questions to point to improvements in the writing, rather than stating “X needs to improve because Y.”
• Opinions: If there’s time, group members then share their overall opinions of the work, highlighting more of what they liked and wish to see improved.

3. The Playwriting Writing Workshop Model

Although this model is specifically used in playwriting workshops, it can be adapted to poetry, nonfiction, and fiction writing workshops, too.

In this model, participants do not read the work ahead of time. Copies are distributed to everyone, and roles are assigned to the participants. (If there aren’t many characters, participants might be assigned pages; for poetry, only one person might be assigned to read the poem.)

After the reading, the workshop leader will host a general discussion of the work.

This model can prove super beneficial, as it allows the author to hear their work spoken aloud. Where did the reader stumble? What did or didn’t sound natural? Engaging with the work from a distance helps the writer see it more clearly, and they might come away from this reading already with new ideas and opportunities for revision.

And, rather than have students prepare thoughts in advance, a general discussion in the moment reveals how readers will engage with the work in the moment. When you have a book, story, or poem published, the reader probably won’t write out all their thoughts afterwards; eschewing this model gives the writer direct, unadulterated insight into how people engage with their writing.

4. Wild Writing / Writing Circles

The Wild Writing model was developed by Laurie Wagner, and it encourages writers, particularly poets, to produce as much material as they can from their own unconscious minds.

Our instructor Susan Vespoli bases her writing circles off of the Wild Writing workshop model. In these Zoom-based poetry writing workshops, participants do the following:

• Each participant verbally shares an image with the group. It is an image that has sat on their minds for a few days. They should share it without qualifying it—as in, keeping to visual language, not using words like “beautiful” or “interesting.”
• The group leader reads a poem twice. They then highlight some striking lines in the poem, which can be used as starting points for the writing session.
• For 12-15 minutes, each writer free writes, without editing themselves or eschewing certain thoughts. Writers should not cross out words, and they should keep the pen moving. (When they run out of things to say, they can try putting in transition phrases, like “What I mean to say is…)
• At the end of this, each writer goes around reading from their journals. Writers do not comment on one another’s journal entry . The point is to write and share what’s on the mind in a supportive, encouraging environment.
• Typically, a Zoom call will repeat this process twice, for 3 sessions in total.

Unlike other workshops where participants give each other writing feedback, this model produces work in a supportive community space. The opportunity to read work aloud allows writers to have deeper insights into their own writing and thinking. In this model, writers grow as writers not by giving feedback, but by being vulnerable in a safe writing space and encountering new ideas from both their brains and the minds of other writers.

When paired with lectures and written feedback outside of the Zoom call, writers come away with rich material for their own work, as well as a new, generative writing practice.

5. Other Modifications on Writing Workshop Models

Writers love to tinker with form, and this includes the form of writing workshops. This article by Jim Nelson offers one such way to modify the workshopping space so that each writer is treated with respect, dignity, curiosity, and encouragement.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: 15 Tips for Success

If you’re participating in online writing workshops, you will be presented with opportunities to give and receive writing feedback. Regardless of genre and the writing workshop model, here are some tips to get the most out of every workshop you attend online.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Giving Writing Critique

• Share your own experience. How the work is impacting you as a reader. Readers are very different, so how the piece is landing for you is more helpful than general statements. “I read this as X,” not simply “this is X.”
• Praise what’s working in the piece. Writers need to know what resonates and where to build from. Every piece of writing has something working well.
• Keep all writing feedback constructive. Use encouraging language to frame your suggestions, such as “simpler dialogue tags might help this passage flow more smoothly.”
• Be specific in your feedback. For example, “I love this” is less helpful than “I love how your description of the character’s clothing gives a sense of his personality.”
• Consider the author’s intent with the piece. Don’t try to shape the work into something you would write; try to advise the writer based on their vision for the piece. If it’s unclear, ask!
• Consider asking questions when you have them. Instead of “X’s decision doesn’t make sense,” try “Why does X make Y decision?” Talking through ideas in this way can help writers consider new possibilities for the work, without making them feel like they’re doing something wrong.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Receiving Writing Feedback

• Ask questions. The best writing workshops give you the space to work through what you don’t know how to do. Come prepared with questions about your work, and don’t be afraid to follow up with the suggestions people give you.
• Consider your ideal reader. Is the person giving you feedback the person you intend to read this piece? Ideal readers will probably give you the most useful creative writing feedback. That said, readers who have different backgrounds than your ideal reader will also have ideas you might not have considered, which can be useful for both your current project and future ones.
• Leave your ego at the door. All writers are protective of their work. It’s understandable! But if you enter the workshop space with walls up, you will prevent yourself from seeing the work through other points of view. Don’t let your pride, your vision, or your sense of artistic value prevent you from seeing ways to improve your writing. And remember, we’re all insecure in some way about our work. Workshops give us the chance to improve together, in both our craft and confidence.
• Know what you want to achieve. At the same time, it’s good to have a vision for what you want your piece to be. Coming into a writing workshop with this vision will help you ask questions and lead a more productive workshop session. It will also help you filter through the writing feedback you receive.
• Advocate for yourself. It is rare for a workshop to go south, but it happens. When the conversation doesn’t seem to be helping you (for example: non-Asian writers getting stuck on dim sum), you should be able to correct course and make the workshop work for you.
• File it away. After workshop, file the feedback away for a little while, and don’t try to fix your piece all at once. Rushing into revision is a recipe for regret, as it takes time to absorb and incorporate feedback into your writing. Be slow, methodical, and careful. Above all, don’t let workshop change your vision for the piece—creative writing workshops are stepping stones, not boulders, to your ideal work.

How to Workshop Creative Writing: Improving as a Writer

• Pay attention to other workshops. The workshop space isn’t yours alone. Often, engaging with other writers’ work and listening to other writers’ critiques will help you grow as a writer yourself. You will encounter dozens of ideas in one workshopping session. File these ideas for later, and pay close attention to everyone’s craft so you can later steal like an artist .
• Experiment. Writers who experiment with ideas often achieve the most. While it’s good to have an ideal sense of where your piece is headed, it doesn’t hurt to copy your work into a new document and try using ideas you disagree with. What happens when you try writer B’s suggestion over writer A’s? How about vice versa? The more time you spend tinkering with your work and experimenting with ideas, the more insights you have into the craft and into your own vision as an artist.
• Be patient. Writing is a craft that takes a lifetime to master—and even the masters want to write better. Most writers hate the work they wrote a year ago, and that’s good—it means they’ve grown, sharpened their skills, refined their tastes, and gotten closer to the kind of work they want to achieve. Above all, be diligent and consistent in your writing. It might not be this month, or even this year, but you will one day write stories and poems you feel genuinely proud of.

Find Useful Creative Writing Feedback at Writers.com!

The courses at Writers.com are designed to give you useful creative writing critique. Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, you’ll receive expert creative writing feedback from all of our instructors, and learn how to workshop creative writing in the process. Take a look at our upcoming course calendar !

Sean Glatch

This is such a valuable article! The advice here has made me much less nervous about signing up for workshops in the future. Thank you so much!

What do you consider the ideal number of participants in a workshop? What if the goal is to workshop everyone’s submission once a month and there are more than three or four participants? How do you prevent spending all day workshopping? Our group is dealing with time management issues for both writers and critiquers.

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How to Critique Other Writers’ Work

by Melissa Donovan | Oct 31, 2023 | Writing Tips | 76 comments

How to critique other writers’ work.

As a writer, it helps to be thick-skinned. Once you put your work out there, people will judge, review, and criticize it. But critiques are more helpful when they are received long before publication. In fact, critiques are one of the best ways to improve your writing.

Many writers who want critiques that will help them improve their work will find a writing partner or critique group, which is a reciprocal relationship. You won’t only be receiving critiques — you’ll be providing them too! Fortunately, the process of critiquing other writers’ work thoughtfully and intelligently will strengthen your own writing.

There’s an art to providing well-constructed and thoughtful criticism that helps a writer improve the work and that recognizes the fine line between personal preference and the objective quality of the work.

The tips below explain how to provide critiques that are helpful and respectful. If you can apply these tips to the critiques you give, then you’ll better position yourself to receive helpful and respectful critiques in return.

Don’t Crash the Party

Generally, it’s bad form to sound off on a writer’s work unless you are invited to do so. There are writers who can’t handle feedback, and often these are the ones who won’t ask for it. Chances are, they’re just going to defend their work to the bitter end, so your feedback will be little more than a waste of time. Other writers will openly declare that feedback is always welcome. It is here that you should focus your efforts, assuming your goal as a critic is to help people, and not make them feel inferior or feeble. However, your best bet is to simply limit your critiques to those writers who personally ask you for feedback. This will usually be a trade, in which you swap critiques, an arrangement that should be mutually beneficial.

R.S.V.P. with Care

Some writers ask for feedback, but what they really want to hear is how great they are. These are the narcissistic types who write more for their own egos than for the sake of the craft itself. It takes a little intuition to figure out which writers really want you to weed out all the flaws in their work and which are just looking for praise. If your critique partner asks specific questions, you should answer, but try to avoid back-and-forth arguments and getting into a position where you are defending your critique or where the writer is defending their work. Exchanges like these are a sign that this is not a beneficial or positive critique relationship.

Bring Something to the Party

If you’re giving a critique, whether in a writer’s group, a workshop, online, or with a friend, you should take the time to really read a piece before you construct your feedback. Read every line carefully and make notes, mark it up as you go, and then jot down your thoughts when you’ve finished reading. If time and the length of the piece allow, give it a second reading, because that’s often where things really click or stick out. There’s nothing worse than receiving half-baked feedback. It’s blatantly obvious when someone hasn’t put sincere effort into a critique, and it renders the critique useless while damaging the relationship.

Devour the Food, Not the Hostess

Whatever you do or say during your critique, your feedback should be directed at the writing, not the writer. Don’t start your comments with the word you  — ever. Always refer to the piece, the sentence, the paragraph, the prose, or the narrative. You are judging the work, not the individual who produced it, and though compliments aimed at the writer might be well received, there’s a subtle but significant difference between pointing out flaws in the piece versus the person who created it.

Let the Good Times Roll

When you are giving a critique, always start by emphasizing the good. This is the cardinal rule of effective critiquing, and I cannot emphasize this enough: always start by telling the writer what works and where the strengths lie. By doing this, you’re kicking things off on a positive note. Also, it’s much easier for a writer to hear where they have failed after they hear where they’ve succeeded.

Here are two examples to illustrate this point:

1. The language is effective, with strong, colorful images. I can easily imagine what’s happening in this scene. However, some of the phrases are clich és , so one way to make this even stronger would be to come up with alternatives for the more commonly used phrases, like… 2. Well, there are a lot of clichés. You should have tried to use more original word choices. But your imagery is good; I can visualize what the piece is communicating.

The first example is an appropriate critique whereas the second is both unprofessional and inconsiderate. It’s much easier to let a little air out of an inflated balloon than to blow up a deflated one. It’s especially easier on the person who is on the receiving end of your feedback.

Try to Have Fun Even if it’s Not Your Scene

Some people hate stories written in first person, but that doesn’t make a piece written in first person bad; it just makes it less appealing to the person who is turned off by it. Know the difference between your own personal preferences in terms of writing styles and try to separate these from your critiques. You can also issue a disclaimer letting the writer know that some of the elements in his or her work are not to your personal taste. If the entire style or genre is outside of your taste, then you may be doing the writer a favor by declining to critique or by recommending someone who would be a better match.

Help Clean up the Mess

Eventually, you’ll have to tell the writer where the piece falls short. Do this with grace. Avoid using strong negative language. Don’t repeatedly say things like “this is weak,” “you’re using the wrong words,” or “it’s boring.” Instead, use positive language and phrase your comments as suggestions for making improvements:

• This word is vague. A stronger word would be…
• A better word choice would be…
• This could be more compelling or exciting if…

Remember, you’re there to help, not to hurt. If someone appreciates your opinion enough to ask for it, then provide it in a manner that is conductive to learning and supportive of the writer’s efforts to grow. Whenever possible, offer concrete suggestions. If you spot a weak word, try to offer a stronger replacement word.

Nurse the Hangover

There’s a good chance that no matter how gentle you are, your writer friend will feel a bit downtrodden after hearing that their piece still needs a lot of work. Many writers are tempted at this point to give up on a piece, while others will be motivated and inspired by the feedback.

After you’ve given a critique, check back with the writer and ask how the piece is coming along. Inquire as to whether your comments were helpful, and offer to read the piece again after it’s revised.

Learning How to Critique

Constructive criticism involves a little compassion. If someone cares enough about their work to show it around and invite feedback, then it’s probably something in which they are emotionally invested. If you are the person they feel is qualified to provide that feedback, then embrace the invitation as an honor, and approach it with respect.

It can be awkward at first — after all, who wants to be the bearer of bad news (and almost every critique contains at least a little bad news)? After you do a few critiques, you’ll get the hang of it, and it will become easier and more natural. Just keep these basic tips on how to critique in mind:

• Don’t provide a critique unless you’ve been invited to do so.
• Don’t waste time on writers who are looking for praise. Seek out writers who want feedback that will genuinely help them improve their work.
• Take time and make an effort so you can offer a critique that is thoughtful and helpful; otherwise, just politely decline.
• Critique the writing, not the writer.
• Always start with the strengths, then address the weaknesses and problem areas using positive language.
• Be objective, especially if the piece you’re critiquing is not in a style or genre that you prefer.
• Make solid suggestions for improvement. Don’t be vague.
• Follow up with the writer to offer support and encouragement.

Do you have any tips to add? Have you ever struggled with providing critiques to other writers? Has the critique process helped you improve your own writing? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing.

76 Comments

I am a romance writer (published under a pseudonym) and participate in a writer’s workshop group (I prefer they not know I actually make a living writing) and have been attending (religiously!) for more than a year (every two weeks) – I love it! But, here is the dilemma… The pieces that we workshop – most of it is good… what I mean, they are really good writers (pretty words and stuff), but the stories they are writing… not so good. So far, the reputation I have is “you are too nice…”. I don’t want to change the way they write… they do that fine… but they need better stories and they all write in the first person POV (I prefer fiction written in the 3rd POV – 1st POV is all right if the story is really good, otherwise…). I find that I can’t even get to the second page of their stuff without wanting to put it down… how do I tell them that if this were an agent or publisher they wouldn’t be “nice”? How do I give a [I think, a much needed] critique without being ‘not nice”?

Hi KD. I think first you have to realize that you’re not doing your fellow writers any favors by holding back on the criticism, especially if they regard you as being “too nice.” That indicates they’re willing to take deeper criticism from you. But you can still be nice about it. Try starting all your critiques with the strengths: Great sentence structure and word choice, I especially like how you’ve described this character, etc. Then when you address problem areas, frame them in positive language: This scene would be more captivating if… Sometimes, you might have to be blunt: After two pages, the story just wasn’t holding my attention. It would be more compelling if… .

As for first/third POV, that is strictly a personal preference. You can certainly let your group know you prefer third, but be aware that this is subjective; a good critique always tries to be as objective as possible.

Melissa – Thank you for the very helpful feedback.

You’re welcome.

KD, it sounds to me like your group knows the craft of writing, but not story telling. So teach them how to tell a great story. There are specific things that can raise almost any story out of the doldrums: things like giving the POV character something they desperately want, and putting obstacles in their way of getting it; or increasing the tension; writing scenes filled with more conflict and less description/introspection, etc.

And I’m with Melissa. If they’re saying you’re “too nice,” they want to hear what they’re doing wrong. Tell them the truth — just say it gently, and don’t forget to also say (every time) what they’re doing right.

In my groups, we “sandwich” criticism between praise and encouragement.

Sandwich it with true compliments I really enjoy your descriptions, however, I’m getting lost when it comes to the….plot, character motive, etc. I can see Sally really well but I need some idea of where Sally is going or what she wants she’s very likable. I just want to know more.

Melissa, our Writers Group is just starting to coalesce into a helpful experience rather than everyone being afraid to stick their toe in the water. As it does, I’ve tried to encourage people to give actual feedback rather than “I would have written the story this way.” So your article is perfect. I linked to it through our WG bulletin and talked about it last week.

Now, if I can only get other people to read it, we might all mature a bit more in our writing!

Thank you for the guidance.

Thank you for sharing this post with your writers’ group. I know many writers are hesitant to give honest feedback because they don’t want to hurt their peers’ feelings or cause friction. It takes a bit of patience and practice to learn how to give and receive critiques. I think once writers start to see the results (the improvements in their writing), they embrace critiques more easily. Good luck with your writing and your group.

A critique is helpful when the identifited weak point in the writing can be associated to a writing principle. People who are schooled or self-educated in the principles of writing are hard to find. Consequently, beware. The cacaphony of opinions the group may offer can be misleading and confusing more than clarifying.

That’s true. It’s important for writers to choose their alpha/beta readers carefully and use caution when applying suggestions from critiques. Get a second opinion and use your best judgment.

I think it can help to ask the writer what it is that they are looking for. Some might want particular attention on their dialogue, structure or characters for instance. I know when I’ve asked for feedback I haven’t given any direction and therefore don’t get much back. I think if I did this it could help.

That’s a great tip to add to this list. I know when I need a critique, there are usually specific elements that I want feedback on. Thanks for mentioning this, Kiwi.

Hello Melissa, and thank you for this thoughtful piece. I tried writing for an amateur website a couple of years ago and was expecting some criticism for my unpolished work. Sadly, the entirely destructive comments made, without even any word of welcome to the site, pierced my already thin skin so badly that I have been quite unable to write since; I still visit the site from time to time to try to encourage new writers but my own pretensions to being a writer were destroyed, callously, a long time ago.

My advice, which I know hasn’t been solicited, is to write to entertain yourself only; Hell, as someone once remarked, is other people – if you turn the other cheek they will strike it all the harder.

I would say that to be a writer, you need to have tough skin, and if you don’t have tough skin, then you need to cultivate it. Also, if writing is your passion, a few negative remarks or destructive comments could fuel your passion and make you want to write better. The trick is learning how to take those negative remarks and put them to work for you.

And yes, some people just write for personal reasons. There’s no law that says you have to write for a readership.

Thanks, Melissa, for your razor-sharp piece here.

I believe that the thorniest part of this critiqueing business is how quickly some so-called critiquers get on their high horse and show off for the rest of a writing group. Experienced writers I hang out with and whose blogs I admire will tell wannabes that writing groups or workshops are not all they’re cracked up to be and should be avoided. Public humiliation is the worst, especially from those folks who have never empathized in their lives (and there are many these days in all fields).

I have witnessed firsthand how an online writers group became so heated and out of control that almost everyone left. The egos flew like wildfire!

That is why your point about specifically declining to critique work which is not in a genre or style of one’s choosing, is wise advice. Let’s take that one step further by saying that it would be very wise for a budding genre writer to choose critiquers from his/her particular genre and NOT ask for advice from those who either don’t like or have no experience in, certain writing forms. The shotgun approach is just asking for trouble and hurt feelings.

Yes, writers should have a thick skin because of the snarkiness and ego-tripping found in our line of work, especially the kind of verbal assaults proffered by those cowardly types who hide behind their false IDs and computer screens on the Internet.

But wait. There is hope. I see a new playing field opening wide which is all about inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, and that is in the ebook self-publishing field (where my own work and experience resides).

This brave new world of epublishing lets the READERS decide; not agents, not old-school publishing door-keepers, nor entitlement-minded so-called writers who have never lived in a reality-check family or academic atmosphere.

Just try to imagine a writer who, through sheer force of their unique imagination or social POV, creates a whole NEW genre. Maybe we’ll call him Mr. Poe. Or Mr. Dickens. Or maybe someone who at one time in her writing life was so clinically depressed and contemplated suicide, she eventually came to be known as J. K. Rowling. What if they had been stifled by ill-mannered writing hacks who had no clue of the greatness right under their very snotty noses?

I leave you with something biblical, a challenge which sums up this knotty critiqueing issue perfectly:

“He who is without sin, let him [her] cast the first stone.”

Thanks for your response, Wayne. When we talk about critiques, we are walking a fine line.

On the one hand, there is this attitude that people who criticize other people’s work are arrogant, egoistical elitists. How dare they tell me this sentence doesn’t sound right! Who are they to judge my characters! What’s wrong with where I’ve put my commas! The problem is that the critic might be trying to help, and the writer is the one with the big ego, the one who can’t take the constructive criticism. I have seen this many times.

On the other hand, (and this is especially problematic in online critique groups), there are lots of people spouting opinions who don’t know what they’re talking about, and this can run in two extremes: critics either compliment everything or harshly insult everything. A poorly constructed critique does more harm than good.

I usually recommend that young and new writers get their first critiques from a teacher, a professional editor or coach, or within a workshop at an accredited school (community colleges are great for this, and some offer online classes). Other writing groups and online workshops can be helpful, but by getting critiques from schools and professionals first, writers will better know what to look for in a more casual group setting and can be more judicious in choosing future critique situations. I suspect that most writers who’ve had negative experiences with online critiques simply chose poorly because they didn’t know what to look for in a critique group.

Amen, Wayne and Melissa. Last night, I returned to my critique group after a year-long absence to report my good news about an agent asking for material during a pitch session and to get pointers about my work. While some were diplomatic in their critiques, others (not in my genre) appeared to misunderstand on purpose.

As not only a writer but also a college English teacher, I know the importance of letting people know their strengths as well as suggesting areas where their writing could improve. I also agree about critiquing only in one’s own genre. Some reading work from their genre, last night, received misleading advice. Others critiquing others had no work to read, themselves.

On my first night to read, someone whispered some sage advice in my ear: “Take whatever they say with a grain of salt.” That advice has served me well.

It sounds like good advice to me. I believe that to give someone guidance and advice, you have to understand what their goals are. If your goal is to write within a genre, then your writing group’s critiques should keep that in mind. It sounds like they are trying to shift your work to their goals, which I’m guessing are more along the lines of literary fiction.

Always remember, the best thing about critiques is that the writer gets to decide which ideas to use and which to discard.

I’ve been lucky enough not to experience such a thing. My writing group, and the critiquers on the forum that I frequent, all seem to have a passion for helping other writers improve. Yes, the comments can be brutally honest, but they are always given in the spirit of improving the work.

That’s wonderful. I’m always thrilled to hear positive stories about writing groups that truly help their members improve their work. Thanks, Brian.

Hi, A problem we have in our writing group is unwillingness to critique others. This is mainly because many of our members are new to creative writing having come from business or military backgrounds. Their work is clever and well written, they just don’t feel competent to “judge” other’s writings. When they do comment, I find their opinions to be clever, honest, valid and thoughtful. However, it’s like picking teeth to get them to do this. How do you get the shy “Newbies” to relax and share their wealth of experience?

Ooh, that’s a tough one. I think it starts with leading by example. One of the most valuable things I learned in a poetry workshop was how to critique. Our instructor made it very clear: first say what you liked about the piece, then offer something that could be improved.

Here’s how it worked in our workshop: the author handed out copies of their piece. We took our copy home and had a week to read it and make notes. Then we came back to class, and the author read their piece aloud. Then we went around in a circle and everyone had to say something nice and something critical. The feedback was absolutely amazing. I think everyone in the class loved it. Highly recommend as a writing workshop structure.

It might also help to get them thinking about the benefit of offering and receiving critiques. I absolutely loved getting criticism because I could use it to improve my work. Actually, to this day, this is why I love feedback and edits. The participants are not helping their fellow writers if they withhold feedback that could be useful. The trick is to teach them to be tactful (thus start by saying something nice) and how to take the feedback gracefully (accept that your writing can always be improved and embrace it).

Best of luck to you! I love writing workshops and groups.

It has taken me years to find the right group of workshoppers. We are tough on one another, but it’s never personal. I’ve had my share of horrible critiquing to the point where my story had been totally rewritten and been told that grandmother’s can’t be nasty or, as a horror writer, why does there have to be blood. So at the end of the day I weeded out those who were negative towards my writing, found the courage to find what my strengths are and movd forward in my writing career. I love my writing group even if they do make my head hurt at the end of the night. Trust me that’s a good thing, means they have made me think.

Outside of a classroom setting and one online critique group I found years ago (which is now defunct), I’ve found it extremely challenging to find good critique groups and partners, online or off. So I’m glad to hear that you found a great group of workshoppers and that you appreciate them (even though they make your head hurt). Keep writing!

Great piece, Melissa!

I left a comment several weeks ago regarding the group I attend. The woman who runs the group brought a new guy in (based on your suggestion) and I thought it would be a wonderful addition; my chance to (finally) get the male perspective on my work.

His first shot at my work, the first words out of his mouth, what did he do? “This is stupid, non-sensical, boring, and a waste of time.” Needless to say, I was highly offended.

I’ve gotten the last laugh though: That same excerpt of my book advanced into Round 3 of the Amazon Breakout Novel Award contest amid Vine Reviews with “crisp and believable and hold the potential for a lot of fun,” “a great deal of style,” “I would totally hang out with these characters,” and “elements of character construction, dialogue, and other incidentals, all of which the author demonstrates at least competency in, and in some cases mastery.” Of course, there were criticisms as well: “the author could have taken a bit more time…it stretches belief,” “the ex-fiancee character is whiny.”

This new member of our group has since toned down his rhetoric and has added some useful critique, but brother! did he need to learn some manners!

Wow, I’m shocked that someone who is new to a writing group would make such comments in a critique. I was going to suggest that you ask him to be removed from the group (because that’s highly inappropriate), but it sounds like he’s learning.

It sounds like you’re getting good feedback through the contest as well. Soak up all those compliments, but don’t forget to note all the criticisms and suggestions so you can use them to improve your work! And good luck to you.

I didn’t ask for him to be removed – I called and removed myself. Through a bit of correspondence to the group, I made my case for proper manners. I never got an apology from him, but didn’t expect one. The announcement of my advancement in the Amazon competition kind of took the wind out of his sails.

The feedback through the contest has been fantastic and extremely useful in the editing process. My fourth draft is shaping up. I’m praying I make it to Round 4, which will provide a critique of the entire manuscript by Publisher’s Weekly. That would be invaluable and a worthy prize in itself!

It sounds like a great contest. I don’t think I’d participate in a writing group unless there were policies set in place regarding the appropriate way to give a critique. I was trained on critiques in college, and I’m a stickler about treating fellow writers with respect and courtesy. Having said that, if the writing group is truly helping you with your writing, then by all means, you should stick with it. Good luck in the contest!

I have a coworker who wrote a training manual and completely missed the point. How do you advice them to start from scratch.

Fred in Frisco

Hi Fred. Thanks for posting your question here. You’re dealing with business writing, and your question is a bit outside the scope for this forum, which is not a place for workplace or business writing advice. In any case, if you give your coworker feedback, start by finding and pointing out three areas where the work is good (this could be proper grammar, easy-to-read sentences, or good formatting) and then break the news that it needs to be redone. Be specific in any instructions for the project. Often when writers don’t deliver what is expected, it’s because the expectations weren’t properly set to begin with. In business writing, there should be a clear and detailed project description that states the goals and purposes of the final document. Good luck.

Hi Melissa,

I want to thank you for some insightful thoughts on this subject. I’ve been researching it because of some of my own experiences and I’m trying to get a grasp for the ‘what went wrong’ type of scenario.

I find it interesting that there was a comment here about POV writing because that highlights my experiences of what does go wrong.

POV preferences seem to fall in the subjective area more than in the objective and tend to get into the way of getting and giving constructive criticisms. And, though I agree that there is a lot of subjectivity in a persons criticism I believe its best when that can be put aside and the critic can focus on what they know and how that can help the piece that they are critiquing.

You are absolutely on the mark about highlighting the positive first. In most of the online forums I’ve been involved in a prime rule is that the writer cannot critique the critic meaning in most cases they are supposed to sit mute. When you add to that the potential that many of the mega posters get into the habit of feet first editing of punctuation and grammar and context without first reading through the material it begins to border on rude behavior towards a captive audience.

This includes, sad to say, those people who insist that first person should never be used because readers , agent, publishers and perhaps all rational humans don’t like it. Though one person did suggest to their victim a website that would show them the proper way to do first person if they really felt they had to do first person.

This is why I mostly lurk outside these forums and rarely participate. Most of these forums post guidelines similar to your suggestions. Not all users abide by them and that puts the writer-poster in an uncomfortable position and really has less to do with thin skin than outright abuse. It’s the equivalent of flaming used in forums and user groups to bully new users to keep them in line.

Since it’s very difficult to tell if a poster- no matter if they have 1 post or 100000 posts credited- is knowledgeable in anything except bullying I think its better and less frustrating to use face to face writer groups.

Just my opinion.

I agree; it’s difficult to find a quality critique forum online. In all my own searches, I’ve only found one that I thought was worthwhile, and last time I checked, it was defunct. You might have better luck with an in-person workshop. You could also work with a writing coach, start your own writer’s group (a good place to start is your local, indie bookstore), or find a writing buddy you can swap critiques with. I think eventually there will be better writing critique forums online. I’d love to see some universities launch such sites.

I stumbled across this site while searching for information to help my creative writing high school students, and it is wonderful. What advise do you have for TEACHING people to critique? We are using The Writing and Critique Group Survival Guide, and it provides some nice information, but I wonder if there is something out there to help kids who are just learning to critique the work of others. I know it will take time and practice, but I don’t want to have to reinvent the wheel if information is available. I would welcome any tips you having for training students in the art of writing critiques!

I think the most important thing I learned was to start every critique with positive feedback. That alone makes a world of difference in how the critique is received. For the people who are giving the critique, it forces them to consider the best parts of a piece before ripping it to shreds. For the people receiving the critique, it starts the feedback on a positive note. I think starting with the positive makes the negative a little easier to digest and accept, because you begin from a place of hope. Also, it’s crucial to critique the work and not the writer. Good luck with your class.

I’ll admit that I’m still learning to be an effective critiquer, but I’m not sure that I agree with the “start with the positives” approach. A couple of points:

1. I’ve heard it said that it’s best to close on a positive note, therefore lessening the impact of the negative aspects by leaving the author with the good parts.

2. The method you’re advocating seems to be primarily concerned with sparing the feelings of the writer. I definitely agree that you shouldn’t trash someone’s work needlessly, but I also want to deal with people who are seeking to improve their writing. I’ve had my work torn to pieces with no sugar coating. My writing is better for it.

Then again, maybe it depends greatly on who is being reviewed and the perceived attitude of the critiquer. If the author knows that the critiquer is only acting for his benefit, it makes the comments easier to swallow.

I see your point, and it’s one I’ve considered before. However, when you start with the negative, you set the tone for the entire feedback session on a negative note. It’s easier to let a little air out of an inflated balloon than to blow up a balloon that is completely deflated. I would definitely advocate ending on a positive note too, but instead of ending by citing the strengths in a piece, I would end by explaining how the piece could be improved. For example: this sentence is good, but it would be even better if…

A simple formula for critiques:

1. Explain what is working in the piece. 2. Highlight areas that are not working. 3. Offer suggestions for areas that could be improved.

As for sparing the feelings of the writer, that’s not quite what I am advocating. The idea is to refrain from destroying the writer’s confidence and to employ tact while criticizing their work. I find that other than simple laziness, lack of confidence is one of the biggest roadblocks for would-be writers. I’ve seen many talented writers give up their dream because they don’t think they are good enough while weaker writers succeed just because they are confident and driven.

And there’s nothing wrong with sparing someone’s feelings. If there’s a way to help someone while keeping their self-esteem intact, I think it’s worth a little extra effort.

Last year my book had a bad review on Goodreads. I was given a one star out of five rating with the comment ,’Rubbish. Couldn’t finish it.’ My reaction was to say to myself, ‘Well how can you give a book a fair evaluation when you don’t even make the effort to read it to the end?’ I contacted Goodreads and used this argument to try and persuade them to flag the offending comment, but to no avail. Personally, as a matter of principle, I always finish reading a book I’ve begun, regardless of the interest it inspires. And in many cases I read it twice over. I’m frequently surprised by what I missed the first time round. I’d appreciate your comments.

Hi Barry. My understanding is that Goodreads also allows reviews on books that haven’t been read at all (i.e. books that aren’t available yet). I think if a book fails to hold readers’ interest and they stop reading it, that warrants a review, although I think readers should give books a fair chance (maybe 10% or so?). Having said that, there will always be people who like your books and people who don’t like them. The trick is to focus your energies on finding readers who will like your work and encourage those readers to leave reviews.

I’m lucky to belong to a wonderful writing group ninevoices.wordpress.com which grew out of a creative writing class in Tunbridge Wells, UK. We’ve been meeting for more than 15 years now. There is always unlimited support and helpful criticism – and a lot of fun! The only occasional – and probably groundless – worry (which I expressed in a post ‘self-publishing: mixed emotions 30th November 2016, when my second novel Of Human Telling was about to appear!) is that we have all grown to love each other’s writing too much and so might not be as impartial as we need to be ,,,

Thanks for sharing your experience with your writing group, Tanya. I haven’t heard about anything like this before, and it’s an interesting dilemma. I can definitely understand how familiarity with someone’s writing style can prevent us from seeing the flaws. Criticism and feedback is important for fine-tuning any piece of writing, and for those writers who want constructive feedback so they can improve their work, it would make sense to look for some new people who can provide that feedback more objectively. Having said that, I also think it’s possible to remain objective and critical, even after years of reading someone’s work. You mentioned that you get helpful criticism from your group and also said that your worries about this matter are probably groundless, so maybe there’s no problem.

This is so helpful, thank you! I have just started a critique group with seven other people I met in a writing class, and it’s great to know we seem to be doing a pretty good job so far. We have been following most of these rules, and it seems to be beneficial to all of us. But I will definitely be referring back to this piece when I am doing my critiques, to make sure I am checking all of the boxes. Thank you!

Thanks for your feedback, Courtney. I’m always glad to hear that one of the articles here helped someone.

I critique in the on-line MasterClass for students in their writing classes and this has helped me tremendously.

From other articles, I was privy to some of this information and put the advice into play. This article hones my skill level.

Since “feedback” is popular in the MasterClass program, I posted this Website for students.

Thanks. Great article.

Thanks for sharing Writing Forward with students. I’m glad you’ve found the articles here helpful.

Thank you for the opportunity to understand the requirements for providing and receiving feedback- not always an easy task if you want to be constructive. I particularly found the point about being objective, and remembering that it is the work you are critiquing and not the author.I hope to try this out tonight wth a new circle to whom I have submitted my own piece.

Thanks for your comment, MikeU.

I have read 40 books this year and I find most are over wrought with the word, “that”. It’s everywhere, sometimes two or three times in one sentence. For example, “He reported that” or “It is claimed that” or “I think that”; in none of these examples is the word “that” necessary. It is meaningless, does nothing for the sentence, and is a hindrance to the reader. A second over used word is “manage”. “He/she managed to (verb); it’s best to forget the word “manage” and just write what he/she did. And why is it necessary to write, “in order to”? It’s just, “to”, delete the “in order”. Let’s write more efficiently.

Let’s try this:

In order to leave a comment on a blog, you must enter your email address.

This sentence will not work without the word to :

In order leave a comment on a blog, you must enter your email address.

However, your points about overuse of the word that are good. Technically, it’s allowed, but it’s not always necessary. In these contexts, it’s often functioning as a preposition. As with articles, we find many instances of prepositions throughout written works. Usually the sheer number goes unnoticed, but sometimes, once you notice their frequency, they draw the eye more and can become repetitive.

I’m trying to develop my critique muscles. When I read pieces from my group I really only notice the technical errors. When I look at the sentence context I’m really not seeing where they can improve or what may be missing. When the group begins feedback time I prefer to go 3rd or last so that I have an idea of what others are thinking or what they are looking for. It makes me wonder if I should quit writing or maybe read more. If I could afford it, I would go back to school and take more literature classes.

Hi JP. Thanks for sharing your experience. No, you should not quit writing because you cannot find anything to critique in your writing group. Give yourself some time to observe the other critiques and try to learn from them. Look for areas in the writing that you think could be improved. When I took a writing workshop, we were taught to always offer some positive feedback first, and then follow it with suggestions for improvement. I’m not sure if this is what’s holding you back, but it could be that you simply don’t want to criticize fellow members of your group. Instead of viewing it as criticism, view it as constructive feedback. And even if you cannot ever find anything to critique, you should stick with writing. Critiques are a different skill set; while helpful to a writer, it’s not absolutely essential.

Finally, you can study good writing outside of formal education. Find books and articles. Seek out interviews with professional authors. Some elements of writing (or providing feedback) can take a long time to master. Be patient with yourself.

I’m trying to develop my critique muscles. When I read pieces from my group I really only notice the technical errors. When I look at the sentence context I’m really not seeing where they can improve or what may be missing. When the group begins feedback time I prefer to go 3rd or last so that I have an idea of what others are thinking or what they are looking for. It makes me wonder if I should quit writing or maybe read more. If I could afford it, I would go back to school and take more literature classes.

Well, if you’re new to this, then you should give yourself some time to learn. And some people are just going to be better at spotting technical errors. Keep trying!

I was asked to critique a novel. I’ve now finished reading and am about to do the critique. This has come just in time. Thank you.

You’re welcome!

As a former elementary teacher for many years, I treat critiques in the same manner as I treated parent/teacher conferences. I like your point about starting with positives and then delving into areas that could be strengthened by offering suggestions. Above all, we should respect anyone who has the courage to be critiqued.

I agree. Putting your work out there to be evaluated takes courage, and we should be respectful of that in how we treat the author and their work. Tact is so precious!

I’ve been searching the internet for an answer to a critiquing question, and so far, I haven’t found it. The question is, what do you tell writers who ask for a critique, but their grammar, punctuation or even their ability to speak English is so bad that it’s hard to read? I have a sort of writing partner. We became friends by sharing our novels. But as I made progress through his story, I start yawning and blanking out. He writes how he thinks. And that means long lines of periods, dashes, italics, and story diversions. At first, I told him I was going to edit a bit on the punctuation and grammar, but this was more for my sake than his. It delayed my feedback which put a strain on the critiquing exchange. But honestly, it’s so hard to read! But, then he wins me over with funny passages and endearing scenes. Your article is helpful, but it looks like I need practice with putting a positive spin on my approach. Thanks for the article.

Hi Cheryl. When dealing with ESL (English as Second Language), you probably shouldn’t be doing a critique. A person should be writing fluently in any given language before they are writing at a level where they are getting a critique rather than feedback on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. With that said, you might ask your friend to clean up the mechanics more before sending you material for critique. Just let him know that the draft is still too rough and the errors are distracting. Obviously, there shouldn’t be “long lines of periods, dashes, italics…” in a piece of writing that someone is asking someone else to critique. However, on the other hand, sometimes being a friend means being patient. If the work is so messy that it’s taking too long, just tell your friend that you can only give a set amount of time, and then stick to it. Good luck to you.

These examples were very helpful.

I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks, Maria.

The biggest issue is — does the beginning grab you and the remainder of the story keep you spellbound! Nothing else much matters at least in story telling! The true critiques should be directed to ‘how to grab and keep the reader’s interest.’ That thought should be flashed like a neon sign when critiquing, and when you think about it, all the techniques used in writing are just legs that support ‘Keeping the reader interested,’ yet ‘keeping the reader interested’ is never mentioned much!

It is important to grab the reader’s attention in the beginning and keep them interested as the book progresses, but it’s not necessarily the biggest issue. I think it depends on the book and the reader. A lot of highfalutin works of literature do not concern themselves with being compelling from start to finish (they are, as a result, often dull). I like the idea that all techniques in writing are just in support of keeping the reader interested. I’m not sure if I agree completely, but there’s something to it.

I’m talking about short stories and not literature. However, if the subject matter doesn’t grab the readers attention, then usually they wouldn’t read it, and if they do like in a college text, the reader will not remember it much.

Well George, you didn’t say anything about short stories and neither did this article. You might be interested to learn that short stories are a type of literature, and in fact, one of the oldest types of literature. Different things grab different people’s attention. A story that opens with a gripping play in a game of football would grab the attention of many readers, but it would not interest me in the slightest. In that situation, knowing your audience is even more important (so you can consider whether your target reader will be compelled by a football scene). So much in writing is subjective, and the rules and guidelines are rarely fixed.

I agee with you. Writing is subjective in which case no formula will ever answer the dos and don’ts for all target readers. In fact, as we age our likes and dislikes often change! The simple answer to writing is write! The simple answer to critiqueing is to critique and read other’s critiques.

So true, George!

I have trouble getting motivated to write now. Maybe my age, seventy-four, maybe my shifting interests, medicine I have to take or something else. Things change so much, yet with changes new and exciting avenues for writing should exist.

I find that motivation comes and goes throughout life. I have gone through periods when I need a short (or long) break from writing, but I always come back to it.

I’m 74, been to Vietnam, worked in a coal mine, a steel mill, a dairy, and finally retired from a public utility after near 30 years employment at a generating station in Western Pa. Believe me, what you say is true. Sometimes, I think the lack of interest in writing comes from diverse and compelling alternate changes in our lives.

When I was sixteen, I spend all my evenings helping a guy in his twenties work on his cars! I couldn’t wait to get to his garage after school. This when on for six months. Then one day everything stopped and I when to the pool hall after school and lost all interest in the garage. A couple of times he called me for he needed help pulling out an engine. I did help him, but after the engine was pulled, back to the pool hall I went. Then a few months at the pool hall, I started to go to the YMCA for Judo classes! Our interests can ebb and flow for reasons that I don’t understand. Nice talking with you.

I needed these tips, I’m being asked to help with a story that is full of punctuation errors, strange paragraph indents, is written in a pov style I don’t like, has almost no description and the dialogue is on the nose, the main pov is immediately agreed with and given whatever they need. I don’t even know where to start! 😵 I feel like when I first started it’s so overwhelming many things to fix and learn. Poor author! Nobody’s ever told them about these issues. How can I help them in a kind way? I’ve got to figure this out.

My first suggestion would be to filter out anything you “don’t like.” You might not like first-person, but that’s your personal taste, and commenting on it is not constructive criticism, because many people like and even prefer first-person POV.

When I’ve provided feedback on writing that needed a ton of work, I sometimes make a list of issues that I will address, and then in my notes, I will mention that the feedback didn’t look at all aspects of the writing. For example, I might focus on story and structure, so I would include notes about dialogue, but I would leave out the strange paragraph indents, and then I would note that the feedback is focused on story and structure but does not address grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. I don’t think it’s helpful to overwhelm young and new writers with too much feedback, so that’s one way to make the process a bit gentler.

“…Devour the Food, Not the Hostess…” I liked them all, but that is my favorite one. 😀

I’m not going to lie…I was a little proud of that one when I wrote it! Thanks, Kymber.

I’m in two online critique groups. One point that both insist on is not being personal. I always start with something good. I think that might be a throwback to when I was a teacher,marking children’s work. I’ve only ever had one egotistical person. He asked for a critique ( not in the groups). His punctuation of dialogue was wrong. When I pointed it out (nicely), his reply was “That’s how I do it and I’m not changing it.” So why ask for a crit?

The best article on critiquing I have ever read. It hits my bookmark box straight. Thank you for the good work.

You’re welcome! I’m glad you found this helpful. Happy critiquing!

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General Critique Guidelines

At the Writers’ Loft, we take community very seriously. Please try to give feedback in a way that can be heard and only for the motive of strengthening a peer’s manuscript. It’s a great rule of thumb to start with the positives, and move into those areas that confused you or pulled you out of the manuscript. Many writer s take offense if you tell them how they should change the manuscript. Instead, highlight what you think are missed opportunities in the ms or things to be careful of.

For instance, instead of telling someone how to change the sentence It was a cold day, you could point out the sentence and say, “be careful of telling, not showing.” Or, “this might be a missed opportunity to see the day through the main character’s eyes.”

Tips for giving criticism

Arrive with the appropriate mindset: Please arrive with the attitude that we are all here to help others (and ourselves) get to the next level in our writing. If you don’t have that attitude, then this group is not for you.

Use the sandwich method: start with something you liked, then provide constructive criticism, then end with something you liked.

Use “I” statements: It’s better to say “I found this part boring” not “This part was boring.”

Be specific: If you “found this part boring,” explain why you found it boring. Don’t just say you found it boring.

Offer suggestions: If you “found this part boring,” offer ways to make it not boring.

Use polite phrasing: If you “found this part boring,” it might be nicer to say “I found this part a bit slow,” or “this part pulled me out of the story…” and then explain why.

Never criticize the writer: Discuss the manuscript, not the writer. If you “found this part boring,” never tell the writer “you write boring manuscripts.”

Don’t rewrite in your own voice: Suggesting word choices or rephrasin g to clarify unclear sections can often be helpful, but do not rewrite paragraphs, entire stanzas, or pages in your own voice.

Don’t take ownership: The writer makes the ultimate decision on whether to accept or reject any criticism. Even if you feel certain a change needs to be made, do not push the writer.

Be nice & show respect: Even if you hate a piece of writing, the writer has invested time and effort on the manuscript. Phrase your criticism in a way that wouldn’t offend you if it were your writing.

Tips for receiving criticism

No draft is perfect: While you may feel strongly about a first, second, or tenth draft, it likely needs improvement. While the number of changes you make hopefully shrinks with each revision, don’t stress if the editor returns with lots of red markings.

Don’t take it personally: Criticism of your work is not criticism of you as a person. While you have put a lot of effort into the manuscript, try to maintain a separation between you and your writing.

Refrain from getting defensive in the moment:  You don’t need to defend your writing. Nobody is attacking it. Let it go if you don’t agree with someone’s critique.

Everyone has an opinion: You might think it’s perfect, others think it’s too long, and still others think it’s too short. Learn to classify voices offering criticism so you can decide which trumps which.

Don’t abuse your power: While the ultimate decision of what goes into your manuscript is yours, don’t dismiss criticism that is harsh or might be difficult to implement. Sometimes following the hardest advice can be most worth it.

Listen: Don’t just hear, listen – especially if it’s something you don’t like. Often the most useful suggestions are the ones you find distasteful at first. Try others’ ideas out. Be open-minded and challenge your assumptions. The more you listen, rewrite, and see improvements in your work, the easier it will become to accept criticism in the future.

Wait: After hearing criticism, let it sit for a day or a week before going back and revising or thinking about changes. You should only make changes in your manuscript based on what rings truest to you.

Remember that ultimately, ownership is yours: As Neil Gaiman said: “When people tell you there’s something wrong with a story, they’re almost always right. When they tell what it is that’s wrong and how it can be fixed, they’re almost always wrong.” Listen to what people think doesn’t work for your story, and then figure out how you want to fix it.

References and Additional Resources

http://ericaorloff.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-critique-is-and-isnt.html

http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue%205/butidon.ht m

http://www.network54.com/Forum/69237/message/962680132/Standard+Critique+Form

http://robsanderswrites.blogspot.com/2012/02/beginning-critique-group.html

http://phrasefixer.com/2012/10/15/giving-constructive-criticism/

http://phrasefixer.com/2012/10/22/accepting-constructive-criticism/

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Unsilencing the Writing Workshop

Students might learn more and hate it less if they talk about their own work.

If you’ve taken creative writing classes then you probably know what it’s like to sit in silence while everyone else in the room discusses your work as if you aren’t even there. This is called workshop, the traditional foundation of creative writing programs.

When I asked a group of writers how they would describe their workshop experiences, responses included: crushing, nightmare, hazing ritual, test of endurance, awful, ugh. I’ve heard of students drinking before their workshops; I’ve heard of students crying in class and after it; I’ve heard of students never looking at their workshopped pieces again. The word brutal is often used, as if honesty must necessarily be brutal. All of this seems to be viewed as inevitable, just part of the workshop experience, because it’s balanced by the positive: detailed critiques, solid suggestions, real ideas for revision, and validation from peers and professors. We are told that this is how workshop goes: praise and critique, praise and critique. Throughout, the student who is “up” for workshop sits in silence.

But is this format really the most effective way to go? Perhaps it’s time—way past time—to rethink how we workshop. To make it less a test of endurance and more a space of open discussion. Perhaps it’s time to undo the silence of workshop, to let students be part of conversations about their work rather than mere witnesses.

Here’s a story from my own MFA experience. I had submitted a piece in which characters were on their way to dim sum. In the workshop, people wanted to know what dim sum was. They couldn’t ask me directly because it was workshop; the writer was supposed to stay silent and take notes. They spent some time talking about how dim sum must be something Asian but it was confusing and it made the whole piece confusing—they were distracted, you see, by not knowing what dim sum was. Of course the whole time I was thinking, really, you don’t know what dim sum is? Also, why didn’t you find out before workshop? But again I was supposed to stay silent, and everyone knows that at the end of workshop when you’re asked if there’s anything you’d like to say, it’s better just to say thanks and not much more because otherwise you’re just going to sound defensive.

In this workshop format, the idea of what constituted basic knowledge did not include dim sum. They, the rest of the people in the workshop, decided what constituted basic knowledge. And yes, they were white except for one other person and I was not (though you already knew that). The group’s knowledge was knowledge. I was the outsider, the strange Asian who needed to adapt my work to what they understood. This wasn’t intentional malice; it was baseline assumption.

This is also the kind of unchecked, micro-aggressive yet forceful imbalance of power that is the typical workshop environment. It is undoubtedly experienced in some way by everyone but profoundly so for writers of color, especially since creative writing programs, nationally, are 74 percent white.

I got my MFA in 1998, which feels like a very long time ago because it was. Yet workshops are still conducted in the same way. I have participated plenty in the typical language of traditional workshop—I wanted to see more of this or that, what are the stakes—the usual starting with praise then quickly turning to critique. I also know that, more often than that, I left workshop feeling some combination of demoralized and uncertain; I left wanting more validation, no matter how much I’d already received. But I didn’t question the overall system. It was just the way things were done.

As I became a workshop leader myself and a professor of creative writing, I perpetuated the same ideas about workshop space: the silence, the barrage of praise and criticism, the feeling of not knowing what to do with all the conflicting comments. I did this because it’s what I knew; it’s what I had learned. This system is so powerful, so much the core of what some call the creative writing industrial complex, that even today the majority of creative writing instructors adhere to it.

And so most of us end up getting through workshop with endurance stories that we go on to tell our friends. Like the story I just told you, about dim sum, which is minor compared to countless horrible workshop stories I have heard from other writers. But we do endure; we get through it; often we do it in order to get somewhere else—to the end of the semester, end of the program, to the other side of the classroom.

But I think that a system that relies on silencing and skewed power and endurance is a terrible system. Possibly it begins in how we’re taught literature and writing in elementary school through high school: the idea of thesis statements, textual evidence, and the emphasis on texts. The author—intention, context, biography—is made to disappear, as if in their disappearance we can reach some kind of objectivity. Students are trained to think about texts and in workshop they are trained to think of their classmates’ works as texts.

But a text doesn’t exist without its author or without the time, place, and circumstances—political, cultural, and more—in which it needed to be created. Which is why workshops are always, always personal, no matter how often we’re told not to take it personally.

I began rethinking workshop space in earnest years ago when I started teaching nonfiction. Here the personal is real. There is no scrim of fiction. This makes the space more delicate: when you talk about a “text” that is true, and the author is in the room, then you are also talking about the author. No way around it. For underrepresented students especially, this can quickly become a tense, stressful environment.

I was also tired of workshop spending so much time talking about a plot point or logistical matter that could easily be cleared up by simply asking the writer what was intended. So one day I did just that: started asking the writer what they meant. And the entire workshop shifted. The mood lifted. The writer and the rest of the workshop could talk about intention—what carried through and what didn’t. The writer could engage in process during workshop.

When we unsilence workshop, when we invite students to participate in the discussion of their own work, everything changes: the writer is no longer passively accepting comments. Rather, they become who they should be: the creators and navigators of their own work.

The workshoppers, in turn, are asked to do less prescribing (I want to see more of this; I want this or that to happen; I didn’t want that character to be here) and more questioning. Why did you use first-person? How important is the sister character supposed to be? Instead of a typical old-school workshop comment such as “I want to see more about the mother,” there’s a question: “We don’t see much about the mother—how important of a character is she?” The former is a demand; the latter is an opening.

When the writer gets to talk about what they’re trying to do, they discover something more about what they actually are doing. Almost always, they reveal information that they’d been holding back. In other words, their talking within workshop, rather than at the end of it, helped them process their own process.

I remember, when I first started opening up workshop space, that it felt very rebellious and transgressive. I was letting the writer talk! Letting them answer questions! The students were shocked by this too. That’s how well-trained we are in the traditional system. But it didn’t take long to get used to an open space because, it simply feels more productive. It simply makes more sense to have a conversation.

Here’s an overview of how I ran a recent fiction workshop in which MFA students were writing novels and short stories:

I began the semester with a few classes devoted to talking about workshop and craft. I did this because most of the students had never before been in workshops that hadn’t followed the traditional format. Crucial essays we read were Matt Salesses’s “Pure Craft is a Lie” series at Pleiades, and Joy Castro’s “Racial and Ethnic Justice in the Creative Writing Course” in Gulf Coast.

These essays also helped establish how the semester was going to proceed: that we were rethinking and revisioning our way of talking about story-making. That we respected each other’s individual histories, backgrounds, and experiences and understood that our critiques and suggestions were informed by our own backgrounds and experiences.

When a student distributed their stories for workshop, they were encouraged (but not required) to include a brief written overview of what they hoped the workshop would address. For example, students would say they were particularly concerned about structure, or not sure about the point of view, and so on. Some students wanted particular attention paid to certain paragraph or sections. The workshoppers’ feedback letters focused on how they interpreted the story, what they thought it was about or what they thought the story was doing, and included questions around areas that seemed unclear, confusion, or particularly tense.

On workshop day, the writer who was “up” began discussion by talking about how they wrote the story. Where ideas came from, why they wrote it, what they were trying to do. They got to set the stage for their own workshop. From there, workshop moved in the direction of conversation, with questions and suggestions supplied by the rest of the class. For example, a typical comment of praise we might hear—“I love the images in the first paragraph and I thought it was a great way to being the story”—would be reframed into a question like: “I love the images in the first paragraph and I thought it was a great way to being the story—how did you decide to begin with that?”

Of course, students sometimes fell into habits of traditional workshop critique, and sometimes that worked fine, integrated into our more open approach, and sometimes some additional steering on my part was needed. My steering often returned the conversation to the writer, asking them to consider their own work. In the first few weeks students often said, I’m not used to talking , almost cautiously, as if they were breaking a rule. It took practice to adapt to this more open system but it didn’t take long, probably because this unsilenced method creates a greater level of comfort in the room.

What I have found is that an unsilenced workshop is a more invigorated and healthy space. There is conversation rather than everyone waiting to take a turn to speak their critique. Numerous students have told me that they’d never actually enjoyed a workshop before. That they felt less worried about on how their peers would react—and thus more free to take risks.

My goal is for students to leave feeling heard and feeling motivated to keep working and revising, with ideas (rather than demands) in hand. The traditional, silenced workshop tends toward tension, competition, a sense of failure. The unsilenced workshop tends toward encouragement, generative discussion, a sense of possibility. The critiques are not directives but perspectives.

The creative writing workshop has always been about doing workshop more than being up for workshop; you spend far more time considering the work of your peers than hearing comments on your own. This process helps teach us how to be better at revising and editing. A more open, unsilenced, dialogue-focused workshop space continues this benefit while also allowing writers to be more actively involved in their own process. They aren’t watching the critique of their own work, but rather central to the conversation. In talking out loud about their work, writers often find their own answers.

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How to Critique Creative Writing

A Few Thoughts on Critiquing or One Size Doesn’t Fit All

One of the difficulties in trying to establish some guidelines for critiquing manuscripts in a creative writing class or feedback group is the vast array of differences we see from piece to piece.  One piece may be whole and nearly perfect as it is presented to us (whether from a lot of revision or because it sprang fully formed the first time) whereas another may be just struggling into existence, a virtual embryo compared to the full term birth above. Obviously we cannot approach these two manuscripts in the same way. Likewise, what a piece may need is a macro approach, where we talk about large issues such as themes or the overall structure; or it may need a micro-approach, attention to the language in the first paragraph, say, which establishes a certain voice and tone–or doesn’t.  It may be a combination of these two.  There is also our sense of the writer, whether she wants and need a lot of criticism or needs basically affirmation in order to proceed, or permission to engage in a lot more process as opposed to rushing a product.  And of course there’s the possibility that we feel either blank in terms of our own response or overwhelmed and disorganized about how to address the issues.  In other words, one size does not fit all.  We have to be sensitive and adjustable regarding every piece of writing.  At the same time, we need some general ideas and approaches to guide us.

What follows are my suggestions for how to go about critiquing:

1.  Read the piece through the first time as a pure consumer, for interest and hopefully enjoyment.  Try to give yourself over to the piece.  See what is there.  After finishing the piece note how you feel about it.  What is your overall feeling or impression?  What are the first things that come to your mind about the piece?  Write these first general impressions at the end of the piece for the writer.

2.  Now consciously read the piece through more critically.  Even though you may have been very enthusiastic about the piece initially, that doesn’t mean that now on the second pass, you can’t see some ways to improve it.  This second effort really requires critical thinking.  Some people take the word “critical” to mean something negative.  But it really just means that you’re applying a different way of thinking about the piece.  This way of thinking is still based in your feelings and responses, but now instead of simply consuming the piece, you’re actively looking for things which, now that you think about it, didn’t work so well for you.  Or it may be that your initial reading left you feeling very unsatisfied with the piece.  Now, on this second reading you try to figure out why.

Some people combine these two stages or steps, and process their response to a piece very quickly.  This certainly may be appropriate in some cases.  The danger it is that you may stop at the first stage and not want to do the harder work of actually critiquing a piece.  It may be that you don’t feel trained or qualified as a critic.  But you’re not being asked to be the final word on a piece or to write it for the writer.  You’re only being asked to be what you already are, a good reader.  The writer has reached the point where he or she can no longer “see” the piece, and so needs your eyes and ears and heart and mind to know what is really there.

One thing I always ask myself in responding to a piece of writing is What are the terms of this piece?   In other words, what is the writer trying to do?  What is the writer’s intent here?  It’s nearly impossible to have a helpful response if you don’t understand the terms of the piece.  For example, let’s say someone is writing a short story which tries to capture a character who is very analytical, very cold, someone who intellectualizes everything in his life.  The writer writes a first person story in this character’s voice using very abstract, intellectualized language throughout.  Unfortunately, because the language is so abstract and distanced, the story never engages you.  To critique this story, you go through step No. 1, noting your initial reactions, and then you move to step 2, in which you try to grapple with why the story doesn’t engage you and what might be helpful to the writer.  You have figured out what the writer’s intentions were, and determined that the technique didn’t work.  But because you know what the writer is after, you might have some useful ideas that go beyond simply saying It didn’t work for me .  In this case, the writer might need to try a different approach to the material, such as trying it in third person, rather than simply revise here and there.  In another case, you see, for example, that the writer is attempting to be humorous or lighthearted.  Those of the terms of the piece.  You need to address the piece in light of its terms.

So the questions become, What are the terms of this piece?  Does the writer meet them?  It’s not why not, or are the terms themselves off in some way?

Here are some useful questions to ask yourself as a reader:

1.  Did this engage me?  Why or why not?

2.  Did this hold my attention throughout?  Where was I most engaged and why?

3.  Are any things confusing to me?  Could I follow the piece, or were there gaps, or need for more information?  What else did I need to know?

4.   What about the opening?  Did the piece draw me in?  How effective is the first sentence and first paragraph and why or why not?  Did I want to keep reading?

5.  Do things move along?  What is the pace of the piece, and why?  Again, come back to the terms of the piece-what is it trying to do and how well does it succeed, and do you question the terms?

6.  What about language?  How would you describe it?  How does it function in terms of what you feel the writer is trying to do?

7.  What are you “getting” from the piece?  This could be any number of things, but it’s really helpful for you to feed back to the writer what is coming across for you, story or meaning or themes or emotional impact or enjoyment or whatever-wise.  The writer is really hungry to hear what is coming across.

This raises the question of how to receive criticism.  Let it be said that we all want to hear, “I loved it!”  That would be nice every time, wouldn’t it?  But sometimes, often in my case, I sense that my piece is not all it could be, but I’ve reached a point where I don’t know what to do to make it better.  At this point I ask for criticism.  I’ll probably be a little defensive, whether I want to or not.  I’ll certainly want to explain what I was trying to do, and maybe even what everyone is missing!  But I do better if I simply listen, at first, before I “pollute” the conversation about my piece with my explanations, apologies, defenses.  After I’ve heard some initial responses, I may want to enter into the dialogue about the piece.  I try keeping an open mind, and also not to react too strongly to things that are said.  I recognize that the dynamic of the workshop is oblique, mysterious, indirect, and I’m not to take suggestions too literally, at least a first.  I know from my own experience as a critiquer that I can’t really tell another person how to write his story or memoir. I have to trust my own feelings and authority ultimately, but I also recognize that other people can “unstick me” sometimes, give me new energy, open my eyes to something I’m blind to, or look at the piece much more objectively.  Usually it takes some time before the value of the criticisms sink in.  David Huddle puts it this way: “stories yearn towards a state of perfection. It is up to an author to give the story what it wants or needs, and it is up to a critic to help the author discern the story’s desires.”

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Vivian Gornick on Situation and Story

What the Reader Needs…

This list of considerations for critique work is helpful. I used it step by step in my review.

This is excellent. I would like to use it for my writing students who are new to the critiquing process.

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Writing Fiction: An Introductory Guide: Writing Classes & Critique Groups

• Recommended Reading
• National Organizations

Writing Classes & Critique Groups

• Blogs & Websites
• Tools of the Trade
• Reader Services at the Central Library
• Introduction to Writing Classes & Critique Groups
• Take a Writing Class
• Choose the Right Critique Group for You
• Join a Critique Group
• Start Your Own Critique Group

So you'd like to take a class to learn more about writing, or you'd like to get feedback from others to improve your work. Critique groups and classes offer support, feedback, accountability, and encouragement. You also stand a good chance of making life-long friends who also love the same thing you do: writing.

Writing Classes & Critique Groups contents

Take a Writing Class  - This is a list of classes that are online and/or in the Boston area. 

Choose the Right Critique Group for You - What should you consider when choosing a group? Find out here!

Join a Critique Group  - This is a list of existing groups that are online and/or in the Boston area. 

Start Your Own Critique Group - Tips for starting your own writing group! 

Free vs cost & local vs online

• The Join a Critique Group  tab has been split into two lists: Local first and online second.
• In the Take a Writing Class tab, each listing will say either "Local" or "Online" in parenthesis.
• Some of these groups and classes will be free, while others will have a cost associated with the group or individual classes. These have been noted for each listing as either "Cost" or "Free". Please check the individual websites for specific costs and possible discounts. 

A note on critique groups

You will see in Choosing the Right Critique Group For You a list of various types of groups, from writing to critique and social to accountability. For simplification, and because the most popular group among them is the critique group, this guide uses the term "critique" in a general sense to mean any of those types of groups.

Angela James' Classes - (Cost & Free/Online) Join editor Angela James as she teaches you how to edit your novel  and learn the ins and outs of publishing . 

The Writer's Roadmap   –  (Cost/Online)   A free email course by author, Tomi Adeyemi. Her website also includes downloadable writing tools including structure and character worksheets, back story templates and planners, writing prompts, and more. 

Gotham Writers   -   (Cost/Online)   A creative home in New York City and online where writers develop their craft and come together in the spirit of discovery and fellowship. We’ve been teaching creative writing and business writing since 1993. 

GrubStreet   -  (Cost/Local & Online)  By rigorously developing voices of every type and talent and by removing barriers to entry, GrubStreet fosters the creation of meaningful stories and ensures that excellent writing remains vital and relevant. Includes w orkshops, online classes, intensives, a Young Adult Writers Program, Consulting, and more. 

GrubStreet's Neighborhood Classes   -  (Free/Local)   Write Down the Street has a special focus on making creative writing workshops more accessible to those who have been underrepresented due to cost, racism, immigration status, language access, lack of access to transportation, and other barriers.  These are drop-in and multi-week classes offered by Grubstreet at your Boston Public Library neighborhood branches ! 

Holly Lisle's Writing Classes   -  (Cost & free/Online)   Here you’ll find writing classes, lively discussions in forums filled with writers who WRITE, and the answer to "How do I do that?"  The classes are available in ebook formats (Kindle/ePub) and printable PDFs.

LitReactor   - ( Cost/Online )  We bring in veteran authors and industry professionals to host classes covering a wide range of topics (from the writing craft to finding an agent) in an online environment that’s interactive and flexible. You get detailed feedback on your work and take part in discussions in a judgement-free zone. 

Master Class   -  (Cost/Online)  Take video-based writing classes with best-selling authors like James Patterson, Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Margaret Atwood, and others.  

Peer 2 Peer University   - (Free/Local)  P2PU is a non-profit organization that helps get free online classes into the classroom setting. These are known as Learning Circles, where a facilitator helps students learn a specific topic, such as creative writing or computer coding. Check the class listings to see what is on offer or tell your community center or library that you're interested in a class.  

Skillshare - (Cost & Free Trial/Online)  These classes cover a wide variety of topics such as character driven stories and steps to a successful writing habit. They are also taught by published authors such as Roxane Gay, Simon Van Booy, Daniel Jose Older, and Yiyun Li.

Writer’s Digest University   -  (Cost/Online)   Whether you’re writing for publication, extra money, or to tell personal stories, Writer’s Digest University can help you get your writing career underway. Our expert instructors will provide advice, specific instruction, real-world experience, expertise, and the motivation and drive to help you achieve your goals.

The Writers’ Loft   - (Cost/Local)   The Writers’ Loft is a non-profit community which helps local writers foster their creativity, strengthen their spirit and grow professionally by providing them with quiet writing space, educational programs, opportunities to connect with supportive colleagues, and access to industry experts, as well as opportunities to give back to the greater writing community.    

Reasons to join a critique group

• You're looking for feedback in order to improve your work and possibly get published
• Share support, motivation, and a passion for writing with a long-term working group
• Discuss pitching, querying, and publishing insights
• Having a group at your back with deadlines helps to keep you accountable
• Meet and work with writers who share a love of your genre

Know the types of groups first

There are four major types of groups, but they do not have to be exclusive of each other, as some groups may want to combine elements of two or more.

Writing groups -  A writing group is traditionally a group of people who get together to write in the same space at the same time, and in general, keep each other motivated to get words down on paper. Keep in mind that many times a group labeled as a writing group could very well be a critique group as well.

Critique Groups -   A critique group will usually do their writing on their own time and then come together to read what they've worked on and offer advice and critique the work. 

Social Groups -   These groups exist for writers to get together and talk about writing, whether it's about their own work, the way a publishing trend is going, how to market their upcoming book release, or anything in between.

Accountability Groups -   Members will write on their own time and use the meetings as a deadline. The group is used to keep writers motivated and accountable for their work. They will check in with other group members to see where everyone is in writing and whether they're reaching their goals or are falling behind. Members can also read their work at meetings or use the time for other discussions on writing.

What to consider when looking for a group

• Do you need motivation to keep writing or are you looking for feedback on your work? 
•  This is often based on where you feel you are with your writing and how much help you need to improve your work. 
• Where do you think you will be in the future, in terms of how much work and effort you're willing to put in. Will you still need a group in six months? Will you quit once your book is published? Or do you have another book idea waiting in the wings? Or are you just starting your book journey?  
• Always err on the conservative side, because life happens, and sometimes the muse won't talk to you.
• Remember that if you join a group, you will be expected to read and critique others' work on your own time, while also carving out time to write your own book. 
• Do you live or work near the meeting location? 
• Does your free time line up with meeting dates and times?
• An In-person group , where you're in the same room with everyone, or an  online group , where you submit your work to the group and get it back electronically? 
• It helps to know what you're writing. If you're not sure of your genre, or age range, or if you like to read a wide variety of things, try a general group. Keep in mind that in a general group, they may not know the intricacies of your genre if you're the only one who writes in that genre.
• An open group where new members are always welcome or a closed group where you're working with the same people at every meeting? 

Local groups

Asian American Resource Workshop Writers Group   –  (Cost)  A hub for both accomplished writers as well as budding writers alike as a safe space to refine their craft. Members come together on a regular basis to share and discuss writings & ideas, get and provide support, and practice exercises to keep writing skills fresh.

Cambridge Writers’ Workshop   –  (Cost/Local & Online)  All writers from novices to professionals, who are looking for a serious writing community, are welcome to join the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop, which includes online creative writing courses and writing retreats.

Writing Meetups in Boston   -  (Free & Cost)  Many local writing groups use meetup.com to get together. Use this link to find writing groups not seen on this list, from casual writers to more serious critique groups, in and around Boston. 

Warrior Writers   –  (Free)  Warrior Writers is a national non-profit. Our mission is to create a culture that articulates veterans’ experiences, build a collaborative community for artistic expression, and bear witness to war and the full range of military experiences. Check the Events page for Boston area programs.

The Writers’ Loft   -   (Cost)   The Writers’ Loft is a non-profit community which helps local writers foster their creativity, strengthen their spirit and grow professionally by providing them with a quiet writing space, educational programs, opportunities to connect with supportive colleagues, and access to industry experts, as well as opportunities to give back to the greater writing community.    

Writers Room of Boston   –  (Cost)  Founded in 1988, the Writers' Room of Boston is a nonprofit organization that functions as an urban writers' retreat committed to providing a quiet, affordable, and secure workspace for emerging and established writers. Members can choose to meet regularly for readings, community gatherings and events. Periodic readings of the members' work are organized and open to the public.

Writers Rumpus   –  (Free)  A critique group in Andover, MA and blog for children’s, middle grade, and young adult authors.

Writers Without Margins   –  (Free)  Our mission is to expand access to the literary arts for unheard and under-resourced communities in Greater Boston — including those isolated by the challenges of addiction recovery, trauma, poverty, disability, and mental illness — through free, collaborative, writing workshops, public readings, and publication opportunities intended to empower community, amplify the voices of individuals, and to share stories with the world.

Online groups

Critique.org -    (Free) Workshops focus on in-depth critiques of your works, a process which helps both the recipient  and  the reviewer to grow. In addition to depth of analysis, much of critique.org's secret is our emphasis on respectful and diplomatic critiques.

Critique Circle   - ( Free & Cost ) Critique and be critiqued online. By critiquing work by others, you earn credits which allow you to post your own work for critique. 

Facebook   - (Free) There are many writing groups on Facebook, for all of your whims and desires.  

Goodreads   - (Free) It's easy talk about books on Goodreads in their Groups area, whether you wrote them or you've just read them and want to recommend them to others. 

Google Groups - (Free) Allows you to create and participate in online forums and email- based groups with a rich experience for community conversations.

Groups.io - (Free trial & Cost)  Email Groups. Supercharged. A modern platform for serious communities. Powerful management tools. Mobile ready. No ads, no tracking.

Inked Voices -  (Free)   A platform for writing groups and an online space for writers.

Scribophile   -  (Free & Cost Accounts)  A respectful online writing workshop and writer's community where writers of all skill levels join to improve each other's work with thoughtful critiques and by sharing their writing experience. 

Writer'sCafe - (Free) Post your poetry, short stories, novels, scripts, and screenplays. Get reviews and advice from thousands of other writers, enter hundreds of free writing contests, join writing groups or start your own, take and subscribe to free online writing courses, and more.

Writing.com - (Free & Cost) W elcomes writers of all interests and skill levels. Whether you're a writer looking for the perfect place to store and display your poetry, stories and other writing or a reader willing to offer feedback for our writers and their writings, this is the website for you. Meet and bond with fresh creative minds!

Reasons to start your own group

It may be that there isn't a writing group in your area or that the groups near you don't meet your needs. But you need to be interested in  helping other writers improve their work just as much as you're interested in having others help you improve yours. This should always be your top reason to start your own group. No writing group exists to help only one person. 

If you don't have the time to help others right now, but still want feedback on your work, consider hiring an editor or find some beta readers. See the Finding an Editor  tab under Publishing , for more information. 

Tips for starting a local group that meets in-person

Time: 

• Make sure you have the time to run a group, write your own work, and read & critique everyone else's work. If time is an issue, joining an existing group might be better for you.
• Will your group meet online or in-person?
• If in-person, choose a location that everyone can get to easily by car or public transportation. Make sure it will work for any members who are handicapped. And if it's a restaurant, make sure it can handle everyone's dietary needs, if you know these things in advance.
• Also keep your decibel level in mind. You'd be surprised, but a group of writers, when they get excited about their work and discussing the craft of writing, can get pretty loud. Make sure you choose a place that will be okay with however loud you end up.
• If you are interested in space at the Boston Public Library, you will find room use guidelines, forms to fill out, and contact information for our Events department on our website here:  Reservable Community Spaces .  Please note that these rooms are not intended for use as your organization's primary meeting place. 
• Choose a date and time that will work for everyone, and that you can keep consistent.
• How often will you meet? Once a week? Once a month? Choose something that will work with everyone's schedules.

Mission Statement:  

• Write a mission statement that addresses the purpose and parameters of the group that everyone can agree on.
• Do you want to talk about writing, have time to write in a group setting, critique each other's work, or something else? 
• Will you concentrate on a specific genre or topic?
• Some examples of language are: to support & encourage writing, guiding writers on the path to publication, to become stronger writers and editors, with an atmosphere of trust and caring writers can work to improve their manuscripts, to discuss the craft of writing...
• This will help attract members you want and get you off to a good start.

Membership:  

• Determine who you want to join your group, such as already published authors, or maybe you want to be open to everyone, regardless of where they are in their writing career.
• To find new members, if you don't have anyone in mind already, you can use social media, an ad in the local paper, blog about it, post it on Meetup  or Eventbrite , post fliers around town, or anything else you can think of.
• Make sure you determine ahead of time how many members you want so you don't end up accepting more than you are comfortable working with. Remember, you'll need to read all of their work! But also remember that in the beginning days of your group there may be a high turnover rate as people determine if the group is a good fit for them.
• Keep in mind if you keep membership open all the time, any time new members join you'll need to brief them on everyone's projects, which can get time consuming if new members don't stick around and more new members keep joining. 
• Your membership might be open to a select group of people if you only discuss science fiction, or if your group is for people who have taken a specific class (so you guarantee everyone has had the same experience), or if members have to be nominated by a current member. This allows for an open membership, where there won't be as many people coming and going.

Leadership:

• The group leadership role usually becomes a facilitator role once the group gets going.
• As a leader, remember to keep to your commitments or explain to the group when something prevents you from doing so. This will inspire other group members to do the same and will help to keep everyone accountable.
• If group participation starts to drop, speak up and ask the group, either privately or all together, if they're still interested. It might be that life is getting in the way, but they are still interested in being a member and speaking up about the lagging participation will inspire people to become active members again. It might be that you need to change the format of the group or the number of meetings you hold. But if you don't say anything, the problem will persist.
• The leader may have to cut members loose if it's not working out for that person and the group. It's not fun, but someone has to do it, if it becomes necessary.

Submissions:

• How much of their work should writers submit for critique at one time? (1-2 chapters, 5-10 pages, or by word limit?) Keeping the amount the same for everyone keeps members from dominating the group's time if they submit ten pages while everyone else has submitted only two. 
• To get good feedback, it is helpful for writers to ask for what they need based on where they are in their project. And it's helpful to add this to the document when submitting it. For example, if you are just starting your novel you may want to ask people to be on the lookout for plot holes, or weak characterization. If you're just starting the editing phase, you may ask people to look out for smaller things like continuity issues, or even smaller things like grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Determine whether you will read your work at the group meetings for the first time, or if members need to email their work to each other ahead of time by a specific date, say one week before the meeting, to give others a chance to read and review it.
• Will there be a trial period for new members where they will be required to only review others' works for a time before they can submit their own? This is a great way for everyone to determine if the new member is a good fit without the new person just getting the feedback they need on their own work and not sticking around.

Meeting Format:

• If the work is shared during the meeting for the first time, everyone should get a printed copy. Then someone will either read it aloud, or everyone will read silently. The copies will get marked up and returned to the author, and verbal comments will also be made.
• If the work is shared ahead of time, reviewers can email a marked up copy back to the author or bring a marked up printed copy to give them in-person. The meeting time is then used for discussion and critique of the work.
• How many writers will critique at the meeting? Will everyone get a chance at every meeting or will it rotate between members? 
• Will critique happen one-on-one with the group pairing up and rotating during the meeting or as one large group?
• How long will the meeting last? 

Feedback Format:

• Having a set format makes critiques feel like less of an attack on the writer when they know what to expect. See the two articles linked below for more critique guidelines.
• Will reviewers be allowed a specific amount of time to talk? Two minutes, as an example, cuts down on long winded diatribes.
• Some groups refuse to let the writer talk while the work is being critiqued so that they can't defend it and make excuses for decisions they've made. Once the critique is over then the writer can ask clarifying questions or respond however they need to. This can help keep things civil as well as keep the meeting to the desired length and flow without awkwardness.
• Will reviewers need to comment on something they liked as well as something they didn't, or will that not matter?
• Remember that if time limits are used, someone will need to keep track of the time during meetings.

Communication: 

• How will you communicate with each other outside of the meeting? Via email? A Yahoo! Group? Facebook? Goodreads?

Change Happens:

• Remember that as groups grow and develop, things may change and you may need to revisit these steps.
• It will also take a while, perhaps even up to a year, for your group to settle into itself with a core group of regulars that are comfortable working with each other. Patience is key.

Other things your group can do once you're set up:

• Write a blog
• Bring in speakers
• Schedule an open mic night at a local coffee house to share your work
• Celebrate members' successes

Online places to start your own group

See the Join a Critique Group tab, for websites that can host your group online as well as this list, which may overlap.

Discord   - Create a free chat space, known as a "server", where you can have multiple channels to discuss different topics as well as video and audio channels. 

Facebook Groups   -  There are many book groups on Facebook, and it's easy to start your own here as well.  

Goodreads   - It's easy talk about books on Goodreads in their  Groups  area, and they have a poll feature that makes voting on your next read super easy! 

Google Groups   - If you're comfortable connecting via email, try searching Google for online groups.

Groups.io   - (Free trial & cost) Email Groups. Supercharged. A modern platform for serious communities. Powerful management tools. Mobile ready. No ads, no tracking.

Google Meet   - Free video chat meeting space. It's easy to start a video and invite others to join or schedule something in advance!

Inked Voices - (Free trial & Cost) A platform specifically geared for small writing groups and workshops to collaborate intimately despite distance and strange schedules. 

Jitsi Meet  - A free, open source video chat platform. Simply type in the title of your meeting and you'll have an everygreen link you can keep forever! 

Proboards   - A free forum hosting service, where you can create your own forum and keep your discussions organized.

Slack   - This app works on iOS, Android, PC, and MAC and is a free forum where you can set up discussion threads, add photos and documents and easily set up meetings and decide what you're reading next!

Zoom   - This is a video chat platform that lets you have meetings up to 40 minutes for free. 

Ways to critique

Here are a couple of articles on how to write a critique that you may find helpful for your group.

Writing Groups: How to Write a Constructive Critique   by Mandy Wallace

Thoughts on Writing #12: Good Critique, Bad Critique by Seanan McGuire

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The Writer's Pocket Guide

The Writer's Pocket Guide | The Pocket MFA

In-depth craft guides for serious writers

Writing Effective Workshop Critiques

Produce effective writing workshop critiques—and improve your own work in the process.

For the uninitiated, the critiques or reader's notes required of an MFA writing workshop, or any other workshop, can lead to heart palpitations. After all, you won't only be writing them—you'll be receiving them too. Read on to learn how to develop effective writer's workshop notes that not only support your fellow writers, but help you improve your own craft.

Letter Format

I prefer giving notes in letter form because it's a reminder to both the recipient and myself that the exchange between author and critic is a deeply personal act. I've just received a piece of art that came from the writer's heart, and the format encourages me to deliver the critique with compassion, empathy, and respect. (And by letter format, I mean, quite literally, that you begin with, "Dear Katie," and end with "Yours, Seth.")

With that said, writers expect, and should receive, frank and objective criticism based on elements of craft, in addition to thoughts of appreciation for the work . As a note-giver, if you're not daunted by the task at hand, you should be. I get a little nervous writing notes because it's a big job with which my friend or client has entrusted me. There's a lot of ground to cover, and your communication has got to be effective, thorough, and respectful. Deliver on only two of the three, and the work has been for naught.

Your communication has to be Effective, Thorough, and Respectful—deliver on only two of these dimensions, and your work has been for naught.

Critiquing is as much a matter of personal style as authoring a story itself. What follows is my own method for providing notes with maximum impact. (This guide t o participating in workshop as an effective reader will also help set the stage.)

Start with a Brief Summary

Start by summarizing the piece you've just read, and try your best to include elements of both the outer and inner stories . For a short story, the summary might be a three-line recap; in a longer work such as a novel it might be a paragraph; in screenwriting, it's called a "log line."

The summary is important because it invites a comparison between the reader's takeaway and the writer's original intent. They're not always aligned; sometimes the recap raises an immediate flag that the reader and writer don't agree at all on what the story is doing. But a misalignment isn't necessarily a bad thing. Quite often the reader will pick up on an interesting element that the writer wasn't even aware of—and now the writer can deliberately cultivate that nugget in the next draft.

The exercise of writing a brief summary also helps you as a reader, especially if you're not sure how to begin your critique. It'll jog some memories about what worked and what didn't—and refine your thoughts on the author's intent.

What You Loved and Why

After tackling the summary, you’re now ready to talk about what worked in service of the inner and outer storylines. What did you love and why? Be specific, and use the language of craft. Instead of "I really dug the opening passage" or "I couldn't stop reading,"talk about the author's facility with building tension or earning turns. Pick out a few examples from the text. I don't recommend going overboard, but if you're truly feeling effusive, go for it! Your enthusiasm for the work will encourage the writer and help prepare them for the less-fun stuff to come.

Because many early drafts are quite fine loaves of bread that simply need more time in the oven, I like to present many of my "criticisms" in the form of questions. I might not understand the dynamics of certain characters' relationships, or why a particular passage was necessary; I might be curious about the protagonist's motivations, or I might question the author's decision to shift the POV partway through. Asking questions is an implicit way of pointing out general areas of murkiness that need more work.

Strategic vs. Tactical Commentary

A student once approached me about how to frame and apply my notes to his second draft. He was a physics major who happened to be a skilled writer of speculative fiction; the draft he'd turned in had promise but it needed work. I proposed that he separate my comments into two stacks: the hard stuff and the easy stuff. Of course, nothing in a rewrite is easy, but he understood my advice to mean that some of my comments were strategic in nature,"big-picture"issues that would take time to figure out, while others were more tactical—issues that, while not "easy," were easi- er to fix. The writer should tackle the big-picture issues first, because the big decisions will have a cascading effect on the smaller ones.

Examples of strategic issues: structure, plot, dialing in a protagonist's motivation, a weak character arc, lack of a consistent through-line, or uncertainty regarding what the story's really about.

Examples of tactical issues: Thin secondary characters, POV infractions, word choice, imprecise detail, loose management of time, or confusing "stage direction."

A note on the biggest strategic question of all: Sometimes the writer might tell a clear and detailed outer story, but you can't figure out the inner story. You finish the story and think: So What? Asking the writer to explicitly answer the question, "Why is this story being told now?" will help her figure out the "So What?" or the Big Idea—the story's primary intent.

Why is the story being told now?

Just to be clear, this is a strategic, big-picture question. Perhaps the most strategic, biggest-picture question there is. Make sure the text answers it—and if it doesn't, let the writer know. It might be a bitter pill to swallow, but swallow it she must.

The Critique Lives Inside the Story

While I encourage you to pepper your critique with the language of craft, especially when addressing tactical issues, most of your big-picture comments will require a deep-dive into the particulars of a story. For example, rather than saying, "I thought Charlie's character arc wasn't believable," you might say, "By page 15, Charlie was focused on cleaning up his life—going sober, working out, finding a new job, and moving out of his mom's basement—then he decides on page 16 to participate in a bank heist, seemingly out of the blue. What motivated him to take such a drastic measure? Did he miss the feeling of freedom of his bad-boy days? Was he self-sabotaging? And if so, why?" Asking questions in this context will encourage the writer to think about the particulars of the story. Charlie seems underdeveloped, and his goals aren't clear...but a brief note to "develop Charlie" and "give him a clear goal" wouldn't have been helpful. Avoid the abstract, and commit yourself to going deep inside the story.

Relatability and Authenticity

Be wary of the words "relatable" and "authentic." The concept of relatability is controversial because one of the very goals of fiction (and poetry and screenwriting) is to introduce the reader to different lived experiences. While the reader might relate to some portion of the characters' lives, by and large it's not the writer's job to create characters you'd want to befriend because they resemble you.

Similarly, the notion of "authenticity" is problematic because it assumes that a writer should adhere to some unwritten law of character "type"—and that politicians, athletes, fishermen, professors, children, and grandmothers should appear, speak, and act along prescribed lines. Writers are meant to create nuanced characters, not cartoonish tropes.

Prescriptive Suggestions

It’s OK to give prescriptive suggestions but do it sparingly—and only if you point out the reason for the suggestion first . Instead of suggesting that "Charlie should start drinking again on page 10," advise the writer first that "Charlie's bank heist seems sudden and unearned—and showing him sliding off the wagon is one possible way of suggesting his growing discontent. Or you might revisit Charlie and write more deeply into his character—and see what emerges organically." I don't think you want to get anymore prescriptive than this. You wouldn't suggest, for example, that "Charlie should sneak sips of Irish whiskey from a bottle in his desk at work."

The danger with being too prescriptive is that you might be making suggestions that reflect your idea of the story—not the author's. One of the most important rules of critiquing is to keep the author's intent in mind. The last thing you want to do is wrestle the story into the ground and turn into your story. If the story is about a haunted baseball dugout on the off-season, told in quiet, moody prose, don't ask the author to turn it into a tale about an epic underdog win at the World Series...just because you love baseball.

The danger of prescriptive advice is the impulse to turn the story into your own—not the author's.

Arranging Your Comments

I like to give each issue type a heading—for example, if I feel Charlie's character is underdeveloped, I'd write about his issues under a heading called "Charlie" or "Charlie's Character." If the writer has a repeated craft-related issue, I'd create a section naming the craft element. For example, if the writer has trouble writing intros and outros of her expository flashbacks, I'd create a section called "Managing Flashbacks." I might also organize my comments according to chapters or passages. How you arrange your comments is up to you—as long as the arrangement scheme helps the writer to receive and comprehend those notes. In general, however, a big block of text is more difficult to navigate than clear sections arranged by subject.

In general, however, a big block of text is more difficult to navigate than clear sections arranged by subject.

Then, I'll save the last section for a list of any short, sentence-long "orphan" comments that don't belong under any particular header. These are, by nature, minor comments that don't require more than a few words.

Before signing off, I like to recap things I loved. Whether it's an inventive plot line, a unique or authoritative voice, particularly lovely details, or characters who jump off the page, I always find something to appreciate about the work. Above all, I remember to be respectful in my tone, objective in my interrogation, and specific in my guidance, especially since I'll be on the receiving end the next time around!

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Saturday, May 25

• SJP and UC Divest Coalition Demonstrations at UCLA

Poetry workshop on ‘Why I Write’ brings poets together to create and critique

By maya parra, may 23, 2024, arts , lifestyle.

Stacie Cassarino is pictured workshopping a poem. The poetry workshop took place in Kaplan Hall on May 22. (Brandon Morquecho/Photo editor)

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Stacie Cassarino is guiding the next generation of UCLA poets.

On Wednesday afternoon, the UCLA English department held a poetry workshop with poet and alumnus Stacie Cassarino. The workshop, which took place in the recently launched media lab in Kaplan Hall, lasted from 12-3 p.m. and included readings and feedback of participants’ poetry. The event was an intimate gathering, with only six participants gathered around a center table in the small room.

[Related: UCLA professor Harryette Mullen weaves hope into environmental poetry publication ]

The poetry workshop began with a quick five-minute icebreaker where each participant was directed to write their life story on a small index card. After the five minutes, participants were encouraged to take turns reading their mock-autobiography aloud while others gave their initial reactions to what was shared. Though given the same prompt, each writer presented a different take on the question, with some focusing on their academic journey, and others on their childhood memories. Humzah Farrukh, who is a recent graduate, said he came to the event to find community. He found the workshop to be unique and enjoyed the introductory activity, Farrukh added.

“The writing exercise was a bigger part of understanding how to condense your ideas and then get out of your head, but in your head at the same time, if that makes sense,” Farrukh said.

The workshop was the second of its kind this year, as a similar workshop led by alumnus and poet Randy James took place in March in the same location. Similarly, this month’s workshop required each participant to submit three poems of their own work, as well as a short statement, with this particular event inviting the poets to answer the question “Why I Write.”

When the introductory activity ended, each participant was given a printed compilation of everyone’s poems and the feedback process began. Each poet was asked to read aloud their poem and then another was encouraged to conduct a second reading. Once the poem was read twice, participants were asked to provide thoughts and feedback on the piece while the poet refrained from speaking until feedback was done. Farrukh’s sister and fellow alumnus, Umiemah Farrukh, also attended the event and said she liked the rule of not being able to speak while feedback for the poet’s work was being given.

“It was good to be an observer while your piece was being critiqued,” she said. “That’s a little different from most workshops.”

Brian Kim Stefans, a professor in the English department and the organizer of the event, said the workshop’s purpose was to bring in accomplished poets to be able to inspire students and show that it is possible to succeed as a writer after graduation. Stefans added he wanted to create an accessible creative writing event, given the fact that those kinds of classes available on campus often become inaccessible with the various requirements that are needed. Stefans said he hopes that the workshop can serve as an event open to those who typically do not have access to these resources.

“I wanted to create a class for English students who weren’t necessarily creative writing majors, or students who were blocked out at some of these other classes,” Stefans said. “I also wanted to make it available to anyone on campus too, so you don’t have to be an English major to actually take a creative writing class.”

The small-scale nature of the workshop benefited the attendees, as they received extensive personal feedback on their work, Stefans said. The environment also created a comfortable space for participants to feel less intimidated when sharing their personal poetry among strangers, Cassarino said at the end of the workshop. Though each attendee only received feedback for one poem at the time, Cassarino promised to read any other poems participants didn’t share during the workshop and send any notes she gathers at a later time. Humzah Farrukh, among other attendees, said he appreciated this offer and felt the workshop’s feedback helped him grow as a writer.

“I think it took out everything that you’re apprehensive about when you’re writing out of the equation. Humzah Farrukh said. So you just felt comfortable figuring out OK, ‘How can I make my work better?’ but in a non stressful environment,”

[Related: Alumnus Boris Dralyuk to feature timeless works in Hammer Poetry Series ]

Wednesday’s workshop was the first Humzah Farrukh had attended, and he credited the small group format as one of the reasons he found the event to be beneficial to him as a poet. Orly Vermes, another attendee of the event, said she attended the workshop because she struggled to find the time to return to writing and saw the event as an opportunity to get feedback while meeting new people. Vermes, who is a doctoral student in art history, believed the feedback she received was very useful.

“(The event) inspired me to want to write more and just getting feedback from other people and revisit work” Vermes said. I’m going to revisit my work after this.”

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LIBRARIES SUPPORT ASPIRING WRITERS WITH SPECIAL WORKSHOPS

Throughout the month, Fort Bend County Libraries will host programs that are intended to encourage new writers by providing tips and tricks, writing and publishing advice, and support from other aspiring novelists.

These programs are free and open to the public.

• Prose Pros Writing Group – Monday,  June 3 , 6:00-7:30 pm,  Cinco Ranch Branch Library  (2620 Commercial Center Blvd, Katy)

The featured topic this month is “ Writing Essays .” During the latter half of the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to share their manuscripts with others and get constructive feedback.

• Writer’s Workshop – Thursday,  June 20 , 2:00-3:00 pm,  Fulshear Branch Library  (6350 GM Library Road, off Texas Heritage Parkway)

In this monthly series, learn the basics of creative writing. Get tips on story structure, characterization, setting, tone, and more. The topic for June is “ Plot Points .”  Registration required.

• Story Spinners Writing Club – Thursday,  June 20 , 5:30-8:30 pm,  George Memorial Library  (1001 Golfview, Richmond)

From beginning blogger to published novelist, writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome to write, share, learn, support, network, and critique each other’s work at this monthly meeting. Writing prompts, brainteasers, and brief exercises will be available to ignite the imaginations of any and all wordsmiths who wish to hone their craft. This program is recommended for adults and teens aged 14 and up. The topic for June is “ Character Creation .”

For more information, or to sign up for the programs requiring registration, see Fort Bend County Libraries’ website ( www.fortbend.lib.tx.us ), click on “Classes & Events,” select the library, and choose the program on the online calendar, or call the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).

Northern Nigeria Writers' Workshop Opens For Emerging Authors

Flame Tree Writers' Project, in collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Abuja Office, has opened applications for a Writers' Workshop targeting emerging writers from Northern Nigeria.

Led by NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature recipient Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, the initiative aims to empower emerging writers in creative writing, envisioning a future for Northern Nigeria marked by democracy, peace, gender equity, and social justice.

The five-day workshop, taking place in Abuja from June 24 to 28, 2024, will feature co-facilitation by NLNG Nigeria Prize-winning author Chika Unigwe. Participants will receive mentorship to craft short stories for potential publication in an anthology of new writing.

Exclusive to writers from the 19 Northern States of Nigeria aged between 18 and 35, this inaugural edition prioritises inclusivity, particularly encouraging applications from female writers.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim expressed his enthusiasm for the project, highlighting its goal to publish workshop stories in an anthology and integrate them into educational curricula.

Ere Amachree, Programme Manager at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Abuja Office, echoed excitement for the project, aligning with the foundation's commitment to fostering a writing culture for political expression, inspired by Heinrich Böll's legacy.

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The Young and Teen Writers Workshops have served the community for over 38 years. Take a journey into the world of creative writing.

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Our program is one of the oldest workshops for young writers in the nation and remains one of the most affordable options for academic programs. We offer generous need-based financial aid packages.

Students will work on their craft and meet and learn from professional authors and artists. We offer two workshops:

• The Young Writers Workshop accepts applications from creative writers entering 5th through 8th grades. The 2024 YWW will meet on weekday afternoons, July 8-19.
• The Teen Writers Workshop accepts applications from creative writers entering 9th grade through rising college freshmen. The 2024 TWW will meet on weekday afternoons, July 22-August 2.

Past Guest Authors

The very first Young Writers Workshop guest author was the great Clyde Edgerton in 1986!

Our 2023 guest artists include returning authors Frances O’Roark Dowell and David Carter.

In recent years, YWW has featured NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, award-winning songwriter JR Richards; novelists Miriam Polli, Nahid Rachlin, Ben Shaberman, David Carter, Sean DeLauder, Kyle Winkler; poets Dorianne Laux and Al Maginnes; nonfiction author Cat Warren, and voice-over artist Graham Mack.

Previous guests through the years have included Jhon Sanchez (fiction), Eric Roe (fiction writer), Stephanie Van Hassel (poet), Chris Tonelli (poet), Bianca Diaz (poet), Ravi Tewari (poet), Alice Osborn (poet), Ian Finley, (drama), Ed Mooney, Jr. (fiction), Eric Gregory (fiction), Kayla Rutledge (fiction), Sarah Grunder Ruiz (fiction), David Tully (YA novelist), Cari Corbett (comics), Jeremy Whitley (comics), Megan Roberts (fiction), among so many others.

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Can you list the top facts and stats about Elektrostal?

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Libraries Honors Student Scholars with Black Queer Studies Awards

The University of Texas Libraries recently recognized a group of student scholars for their engagement with the innovative Black Queer Studies Collection. The Monica K. Roberts Graduate Award and the Hogan/Schell Undergraduate Award honor outstanding student scholarship and creative projects in the field of Black Queer Studies.

The Monica K. Roberts Graduate Award, featuring a $1,200 prize for winners and a $600 honorable mention, and the Hogan/Schell Undergraduate Award, with an $800 prize for winners and a $400 honorable mention, were presented at the Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies graduation ceremony on April 30, 2024.

Chidera Orazulike, a Radio-Television-Film major, received the 2024 Honorable Mention for their screenplay "Somayina." Set in contemporary Nigeria, this work delves into themes of sexuality, generational trauma, and Igbo traditionalism.

Jayden McCree, a student in the Liberal Arts Honors program, won the 2024 Hogan/Schell Undergraduate Award for "Eden." This collection of ten poems and four musical compositions, inspired by KB Brookin's "Freedom House," explores McCree's experiences of modern Black transness through both word and sound.

Leandro Stoffels, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, earned the 2024 Honorable Mention for "Precarious Pop: Leona Vingativa, Social Media, and Black Eco-Transfeminism in Brazilian Popular Music." Stoffels' paper analyzes a trilogy of viral videos by Afro-Brazilian transgender comedian and artist Leona Vingativa, highlighting her unique approach to environmentalism and critique of capitalism.

Kyle Okeke, a creative writing MFA student in the English Department’s New Writers Project, won the 2024 Roberts Graduate Award for "In the Image of God." This series of poems, blending surrealism and concrete imagery, explores sex, religion, and Black history, reflecting Okeke's experiences as a Black queer individual in America.

The awards were presented by Dr. Lyndon K. Gill, Chair of the Black Queer Studies Collection Student Awards Committee, at the graduation ceremony. The event recognized the achievements of these students and their contributions to the field of Black Queer Studies.

All students enrolled in any college or school within the University of Texas system are eligible to apply for these awards. Submissions must be from the past two academic years and must draw upon materials from the Black Queer Studies Collection, including appropriate citations and references.

The prize money for the awards is generously provided by the Libraries, with additional support for honorable mentions from the interdepartmental Black Queer Diaspora Studies Committee, funded by the Department of African & African Diaspora Studies.

This recognition highlights the vital role of the Black Queer Studies Collection in fostering academic and creative excellence among students, encouraging them to explore and contribute to the rich field of Black Queer Studies.

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Gagarin Cup Preview: Atlant vs. Salavat Yulaev

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Gagarin cup (khl) finals:  atlant moscow oblast vs. salavat yulaev ufa.

Much like the Elitserien Finals, we have a bit of an offense vs. defense match-up in this league Final.  While Ufa let their star top line of Alexander Radulov, Patrick Thoresen and Igor Grigorenko loose on the KHL's Western Conference, Mytischi played a more conservative style, relying on veterans such as former NHLers Jan Bulis, Oleg Petrov, and Jaroslav Obsut.  Just reaching the Finals is a testament to Atlant's disciplined style of play, as they had to knock off much more high profile teams from Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg to do so.  But while they did finish 8th in the league in points, they haven't seen the likes of Ufa, who finished 2nd. 

This series will be a challenge for the underdog, because unlike some of the other KHL teams, Ufa's top players are generally younger and in their prime.  Only Proshkin amongst regular blueliners is over 30, with the work being shared by Kirill Koltsov (28), Andrei Kuteikin (26), Miroslav Blatak (28), Maxim Kondratiev (28) and Dmitri Kalinin (30).  Oleg Tverdovsky hasn't played a lot in the playoffs to date.  Up front, while led by a fairly young top line (24-27), Ufa does have a lot of veterans in support roles:  Vyacheslav Kozlov , Viktor Kozlov , Vladimir Antipov, Sergei Zinovyev and Petr Schastlivy are all over 30.  In fact, the names of all their forwards are familiar to international and NHL fans:  Robert Nilsson , Alexander Svitov, Oleg Saprykin and Jakub Klepis round out the group, all former NHL players.

For Atlant, their veteran roster, with only one of their top six D under the age of 30 (and no top forwards under 30, either), this might be their one shot at a championship.  The team has never won either a Russian Superleague title or the Gagarin Cup, and for players like former NHLer Oleg Petrov, this is probably the last shot at the KHL's top prize.  The team got three extra days rest by winning their Conference Final in six games, and they probably needed to use it.  Atlant does have younger regulars on their roster, but they generally only play a few shifts per game, if that. 

The low event style of game for Atlant probably suits them well, but I don't know how they can manage to keep up against Ufa's speed, skill, and depth.  There is no advantage to be seen in goal, with Erik Ersberg and Konstantin Barulin posting almost identical numbers, and even in terms of recent playoff experience Ufa has them beat.  Luckily for Atlant, Ufa isn't that far away from the Moscow region, so travel shouldn't play a major role. 

I'm predicting that Ufa, winners of the last Superleague title back in 2008, will become the second team to win the Gagarin Cup, and will prevail in five games.  They have a seriously well built team that would honestly compete in the NHL.  They represent the potential of the league, while Atlant represents closer to the reality, as a team full of players who played themselves out of the NHL. 

• Atlant @ Ufa, Friday Apr 8 (3:00 PM CET/10:00 PM EST)
• Atlant @ Ufa, Sunday Apr 10 (1:00 PM CET/8:00 AM EST)
• Ufa @ Atlant, Tuesday Apr 12 (5:30 PM CET/12:30 PM EST)
• Ufa @ Atlant, Thursday Apr 14 (5:30 PM CET/12:30 PM EST)

Games 5-7 are as yet unscheduled, but every second day is the KHL standard, so expect Game 5 to be on Saturday, like an early start. 

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Out of the Centre

Savvino-storozhevsky monastery and museum.

Zvenigorod's most famous sight is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, which was founded in 1398 by the monk Savva from the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, at the invitation and with the support of Prince Yury Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod. Savva was later canonised as St Sabbas (Savva) of Storozhev. The monastery late flourished under the reign of Tsar Alexis, who chose the monastery as his family church and often went on pilgrimage there and made lots of donations to it. Most of the monastery’s buildings date from this time. The monastery is heavily fortified with thick walls and six towers, the most impressive of which is the Krasny Tower which also serves as the eastern entrance. The monastery was closed in 1918 and only reopened in 1995. In 1998 Patriarch Alexius II took part in a service to return the relics of St Sabbas to the monastery. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic monastery, which is second in status to a lavra. In addition to being a working monastery, it also holds the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Belfry and Neighbouring Churches

Located near the main entrance is the monastery's belfry which is perhaps the calling card of the monastery due to its uniqueness. It was built in the 1650s and the St Sergius of Radonezh’s Church was opened on the middle tier in the mid-17th century, although it was originally dedicated to the Trinity. The belfry's 35-tonne Great Bladgovestny Bell fell in 1941 and was only restored and returned in 2003. Attached to the belfry is a large refectory and the Transfiguration Church, both of which were built on the orders of Tsar Alexis in the 1650s.  

To the left of the belfry is another, smaller, refectory which is attached to the Trinity Gate-Church, which was also constructed in the 1650s on the orders of Tsar Alexis who made it his own family church. The church is elaborately decorated with colourful trims and underneath the archway is a beautiful 19th century fresco.

Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is the oldest building in the monastery and among the oldest buildings in the Moscow Region. It was built between 1404 and 1405 during the lifetime of St Sabbas and using the funds of Prince Yury of Zvenigorod. The white-stone cathedral is a standard four-pillar design with a single golden dome. After the death of St Sabbas he was interred in the cathedral and a new altar dedicated to him was added.

Under the reign of Tsar Alexis the cathedral was decorated with frescoes by Stepan Ryazanets, some of which remain today. Tsar Alexis also presented the cathedral with a five-tier iconostasis, the top row of icons have been preserved.

Tsaritsa's Chambers

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is located between the Tsaritsa's Chambers of the left and the Palace of Tsar Alexis on the right. The Tsaritsa's Chambers were built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Tsar Alexey - Tsaritsa Maria Ilinichna Miloskavskaya. The design of the building is influenced by the ancient Russian architectural style. Is prettier than the Tsar's chambers opposite, being red in colour with elaborately decorated window frames and entrance.

At present the Tsaritsa's Chambers houses the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum. Among its displays is an accurate recreation of the interior of a noble lady's chambers including furniture, decorations and a decorated tiled oven, and an exhibition on the history of Zvenigorod and the monastery.

Palace of Tsar Alexis

The Palace of Tsar Alexis was built in the 1650s and is now one of the best surviving examples of non-religious architecture of that era. It was built especially for Tsar Alexis who often visited the monastery on religious pilgrimages. Its most striking feature is its pretty row of nine chimney spouts which resemble towers.

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The Unique Burial of a Child of Early Scythian Time at the Cemetery of Saryg-Bulun (Tuva)

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Pages:  379-406

In 1988, the Tuvan Archaeological Expedition (led by M. E. Kilunovskaya and V. A. Semenov) discovered a unique burial of the early Iron Age at Saryg-Bulun in Central Tuva. There are two burial mounds of the Aldy-Bel culture dated by 7th century BC. Within the barrows, which adjoined one another, forming a figure-of-eight, there were discovered 7 burials, from which a representative collection of artifacts was recovered. Burial 5 was the most unique, it was found in a coffin made of a larch trunk, with a tightly closed lid. Due to the preservative properties of larch and lack of air access, the coffin contained a well-preserved mummy of a child with an accompanying set of grave goods. The interred individual retained the skin on his face and had a leather headdress painted with red pigment and a coat, sewn from jerboa fur. The coat was belted with a leather belt with bronze ornaments and buckles. Besides that, a leather quiver with arrows with the shafts decorated with painted ornaments, fully preserved battle pick and a bow were buried in the coffin. Unexpectedly, the full-genomic analysis, showed that the individual was female. This fact opens a new aspect in the study of the social history of the Scythian society and perhaps brings us back to the myth of the Amazons, discussed by Herodotus. Of course, this discovery is unique in its preservation for the Scythian culture of Tuva and requires careful study and conservation.

Keywords: Tuva, Early Iron Age, early Scythian period, Aldy-Bel culture, barrow, burial in the coffin, mummy, full genome sequencing, aDNA

Information about authors: Marina Kilunovskaya (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Vladimir Semenov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Varvara Busova  (Moscow, Russian Federation).  (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Kharis Mustafin  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Irina Alborova  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Alina Matzvai  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected]

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