Across the web of information at our fingertips, it's agreed: A critique group is a small group of writers (or artists) who share creative work and offer feedback. In my experience, however, the format, efficiency, and equity in a critique group can vary widely.
I've been writing, showing art, and in positions of leadership for more than 20 years now. I've been encouraged and gently directed to get better and keep going. I've also been cut down so low it's taken days to recover. So to me, the question isn't what is a critique group, but what makes a good, effective critique group.
Here is my personal, unofficial list of five qualities I've sought in a critique group:
Similar level of skill
Desire to grow and improve in your shared craft
Balance between praise and pointing out what doesn't work
Commitment
Care about each other
Let's break these points down into (a tiny bit) more detail.
Similar level of skill
You want to surround yourself with people you can learn from. When one person in a group has a certain level of experience and the rest do not, it becomes imbalanced. But when everyone is on a similar trajectory...
Desire to grow and improve in your shared craft
Jumping off the level of skill conversation, everyone should be seeking to grow and improve their craft. If you're not all trying to get better, what even is the point? If you want to improve, and your partners want to improve, you're going to share new knowledge you acquire, opportunities you come across, and your honest opinions about how each other's work can be the best it possibly can be.
Balance between praise and pointing out what doesn't work
In a recent newsletter I wrote about what a critique looks like, I mentioned an art critique that went awry because the critiquer never talked about what worked in the pieces submitted. It's necessary to know and understand what doesn't sit right with your readers, but it's also essential to know what does. Not only does a raving "I looooooooved the romance between your main characters" or a surprise text with "this part made me laugh so hard" make it possible to keep pursuing a solo endeavor such as writing books, but it teaches you what to keep doing.
Commitment
A critique group is a form of relationship, and equal commitment keeps it healthy. In both of my critique groups, we've had personal struggles and life's hardships come up. Obviously. We're all human. When that happens, of course no one is expecting that person to stress themselves out over reading our work or bringing their own. But you can tell the difference between someone who is dedicated, going through a tough season and someone who only shows up when it works for them, right?
Care about each other
Hot Mess Writers Club is an example of a long-term, closed critique group. There are open and drop-in critique groups out there, and they can be valuable and serve a purpose. In my opinion, what you run the risk of in those groups is not knowing the people reading your work. Are they trustworthy? In the sense that you know their education and knowledge is worth its weight in feedback, or they understand the literary sweat and tears you poured into this piece and treat it with care. Both of those things might be the most important component to a valuable critique group, for me at least.
Are you a part of a critique group? What works for you? I'd love to hear in the comments.
Heidi M. Rogers is an author and illustrator who writes picture books, early readers, graphic novels, middle grade, novels-in-verse, and young adult. She has more than two decades of experience in writing, editing, graphic design, and art and most of her work centers inclusion, community, and love, while exploring themes of neurodiversity, ecoconsciousness, and grief.
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