Blast those crickets! Not only have they kept my in-box empty, but they also kept me away from the computer today. I know y'all ARE doing things: Eli is back in the land of the happy-laptops and writing again, Jen mailed her second query, Paty's finishing up her contemporary edits and is very happy with them (yay!), Paty's also running a contest this month, and everyone returned safely from their travels. I KNOW there are more little snippets of news floating around, so why don't you go ahead and email me for next week.
One small RWA reminder: Send your comments about the GH/RITA format changes in!!
So in lieu of news, I'm going to send you over to Jenny Crusie's awesome post about ideal writing groups. BUT, you must return and share your thoughts with us here! What would your ideal writing group look like? Do you think her format is a good one? How have other groups that you've belonged to worked?
Also, who's made good progress this week? Let us bask in your good writing ju-ju!
10 comments:
I think we should start an online writing group like JC did! What a great learning tool!
Wavy, sorry you don't have any more info to add to the blog. Wish I could help! I'm plugging along on OIP. Had a plot breakthrough this morning, thanks to Eli. ;) And the edits are done on Nanny, just waiting for the galleys and the cover now.
Yay Paty! You rock!
I also like the idea of using a private blog like JC is--it overcomes my two biggest CP weaknesses: deadlines and volume. I much prefer getting (and giving feedback) on a scene at a time and I do much better with deadlines (poor Jen can attest to this). I also like how with a larger group, not everyone has to comment on every post or post every week to be vital part.
Wavy--Interesting. I enjoyed JC's thoughtful and educated approach to this. I think she is right on the money with the no publishing comment and her stress that the story comes first--always. That's my mantra, too, and I believe she is right that things like money and publishing and who has what editor/agent, puts the emphasis where it does not belong.
I've been a part of several writing/critiquing groups in the past with various levels of success. I've enjoyed them for what they were and formed some lasting friendships. Mine were always done face to face--an impossibility now that I live where I do.
Congratulations, Paty! That's great. I'm sorry I haven't had news to send, Wavy, but I am between things still and there just isn't much to say.
Thanks for sharing this blog.
Alice
No news from me, either. Damn. I want there to be news.
JC's post was really in-depth. I think she raised some great points. Over on the RWC crit loop, you can post chapters for crit from any of the registered members. That's how I actually found my cps...we were all there posting at one time or another and eventually hooked up and branched off from the main group. The pro to that loop is you can get lots of feedback. If you don't get at least 3 crits on your chapter you can resub. The cons are simply that you don't know WHO is critting your work, if they're published or unpubbed because it tends to be a pretty anonymous loop, and sometimes the comments aren't really relevant. You have to pick and choose. However, if you're new to critting, I always point people in this direction because it's a great place to learn to crit, to have your work critted by others, and to meet writers at your stage in the process. For those of you interested you can find the RWC crit loop through charlotte dillon's website. I have a link to her site on my blog (www.elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com) in the lower left-hand column. (You have to scroll down a little ways. It should be under Recommended Resources.)
Eli--I think the advantage to JC's new group (and do I have to say how many organs I would have sold to be one of the lucky 25) is that the members are all known to each other. It's fine to have people from different genres or different backgrounds, but I want to know if the suggestions come from an english teacher-mystery writer-on first WIP--I'll give it the appropriate weight. The RWC loop is an excellent starting point, but I see advantages to having something more personal.
Yes, I like the idea of having the same people critique and submit. You get to know their styles and can help with what they really need and not sit there injecting commas when they want more meaty comments. And that it is closed to only those members.
I want to perfect my writing to the point it doesn't matter what I write an editor will want to publish it. That is my goal.
I found one of my cp's by joining a critique loop. We meshed, left the loop, and have been critiquing ever since. She writes suspense. So you don't have to write in the same genre to be of help to another writer.
After three days of camping at the coast and not writing, I am on fire today, and don't want to take the time away from it to look at JC's blog right now. But thatnks for posting it, Wavy. As Paty told me, I'm obsessed right now, and likely will be until I get this book finished.
Some news I meant to send was about Jen -- she wrote 100 pages between our last two chapter meetings and was the only one to reach her goal.
A round of applause, please, for Jen, my fellow conflict-string holder....
And congrats on your computer being back on its feet, so to speak, Eli.
Paty wrote:
"I want to perfect my writing to the point it doesn't matter what I write an editor will want to publish it. That is my goal."
How can this happen?
It's not writing talent or style that always stops a work from being bought, it's also story idea, freshness, market conditions---blah, blah, blah. What we can control is our writing. We can't control the fact that two other people thought of our idea yesterday. Or that the numbers are down. Or that the editor bought one like it last month.
I think there are probably just a handful of writers whose work is so coveted that any editor will buy them. But that doesn't mean their work is well crafted--it translates into dollar signs, and there's nothing wrong with that, but haven't you read the xteenth book of Ms. Famous Hotntrot and found it woefully misguided and terrible reading and known that the mitigating force behind that sale was previous numbers? I would hate to be like that.
Alice
Alice- I want to be able to put emotions and imagery on the page so that no matter what the subject is, it draws the reader in and holds them hostage beyond the last page.
And no matter the market, they'll want to buy it.
Chris York here --
I like the blog/critique idea. IT's sometimes difficult for those of us in isolated areas to find good critique partners, and I am leery of "hooking up" with a stranger online (no comments about meeting my husband that way, okay?!)
I've been in a few groups over the years, and anywhere from 12 or 15 up to 20 or 25 works well. And a good mix of styles and genres and voices makes for a lively group and good discussion.
Which is a long way of saying, if anyone wants to try this, I'd be delighted to join in.
Chris
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