Do you know what effect your words have on others? Certainly, you hope to move readers, inspire them, make them think, cause them to smile, give them hope, teach them something new, give them a different perspective\u2014touch them in some way. But how do you know that your attempts are successful?<\/p>\n
One way is to test your writing before it goes live. How? Join a critique group.<\/p>\n
Sure, there are good ones and bad ones. You\u2019ll come across individuals in some of these critique groups who don\u2019t have much tact or taste. You\u2019ll meet people who are way too opinionated to be useful critics. There are, of course, all kinds out there.<\/p>\n
But for the most part, if you go into a critique group with an open mind and a willingness to learn, you\u2019ll grow as a writer. What will you learn?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tHow your words affect other people.
\n\u2022\tWhether your favorite scene actually works.
\n\u2022\tIf your message is getting across or is it falling flat.
\n\u2022\tAre your characters believable?
\n\u2022\tIs your dialog working?
\n\u2022\tDoes your story flow or are there things that stop the reader?
\n\u2022\tCan you write or do you need help?<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll also learn how to critique the works of others. A critique group is a give and take proposition, you know. You\u2019ll discover that some people are more sensitive than others about their stories. Some have chips on their shoulders and resist most ideas if it means change. And some welcome any and all suggestions as if they don\u2019t have a mind of their own in the matter of their manuscripts.<\/p>\n
Writers of all experiences and skill come to me for help. While some present me with a well-written, well-organized manuscript to edit, others want to know how to go about writing a book. I can usually identify the stage or level of the hopeful author by their email. If they write a coherent, grammatically correct email, they generally have a well-written or fairly well-written manuscript. Those who approach me with an email full of errors or a writing sample that needs a lot of work, I suggest the following:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tJoin a writers\u2019 group.
\n\u2022\tParticipate in a critique group.
\n\u2022\tFor some, a basic English class is in order.
\n\u2022\tI also recommend creative writing courses for some would be writers.<\/p>\n
Do you belong to a critique group? I\u2019d like to hear how it has helped you to be critiqued and to critique the works of others. Has it been a good learning experience for you? Has it made you a better writer? Leave your comment here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you know what effect your words have on others? Certainly, you hope to move readers, inspire them, make them think, cause them to smile, give them hope, teach them something new, give them a different perspective\u2014touch them in some way. But how do you know that your attempts are successful? One way is to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t