Did I mention that Siri Mitchell and I will be exchanging our manuscripts, to critique each other? We did this with our last books, A Constant Heart for her and My Sister Dilly for me. We met briefly at the Christy banquet last year and some time after that I asked her what she thought of the idea of critiquing each other’s work. It was one of those things that fell into place so easily and comfortably that I had the feeling it wasn’t my idea at all, but something God had arranged.
Why have a critique partner? I’ve known some writers who write alone, and seem content to continue that way. But I’ve always enjoyed receiving honest (yet tactful) feedback from someone else.
My first choice for critique partner is, of course, another writer who reads with the eye of a writer—preferably someone with similar taste in reading so asking for such a time commitment won’t be a chore for them. Writers tend to see books differently than someone reading strictly for pleasure. Most readers are mainly concerned about storytelling—they notice if the characters are believable, likable or sympathetic, if the plot works and the ending is satisfying. Writers look at all that too, but they also notice things like clarity and succinctness, character point of view and author intrusion, the balance between narrative and dialogue, the effective use of conflict and where the story might sag…and so on.
Sharing my work with someone else’s fresh eye, preferably an experienced fresh eye, is what having a critique partner is all about. I knew when I asked Siri about exchanging manuscripts that I’d enjoy it because I’ve always admired her work. I trust her judgment, respect her opinion. And I knew it would be easy to listen to her advice because of that.
Critique groups can be great, too, offering more than one opinion at a time, but effective groups are sometimes hard to find. And unless you’re writing short stories or articles, groups can’t read the entire manuscript, at least not in any timely fashion. It’s really valuable to me to have someone read the work as a whole.
Another benefit of exchanging manuscripts with Siri is that she writes even faster than I do. Amazingly enough, I feel no competition with her. I’m glad she’s a fast writer. It makes me want to strive to do better, to keep going so at least I’ll have something to give her when she’s ready to start exchanging at the half-way point. It’s not a race, but it does give me an added incentive to write a few pages even when I don’t feel like it.
Like today.
Gotta get to work.
Join Me!