That is the way you keep standard in a writing group
Author groups can be an incredibly rich experience. In fact, you can learn more about the craft of writing from a good writing group or creative writing club than from a thousand blog posts about writing.
At the same time, a bad group of authors can be a waste of time and, when particularly dysfunctional, can even be incredibly damaging to your confidence and writing.
If you're part of a writing group, how do you take it to the next level? And if you're looking for a writing group, how do you make sure you pick the right one?
Looking for a group of authors? We are in the process of starting a new group in Becoming Writer, our online writing group and writing workshop. If you're interested, click here to learn more and join the waiting list.
Good author groups review
Here is the rule by which a group of authors is judged:
Good groups of authors give good reviews. To grow your group of authors, you need to learn how to provide better feedback.
Not only is criticism a normal part of most writing groups, it is possibly the best part.
However, if you've ever received bad review, be it poorly thought out or just plain wrong, you know that sometimes criticism can do more harm than good.
With that in mind, let's talk about how you give feedback to just about any New York editor, and then how you understand it like a pro.
3 steps to give the best feedback
Before we begin, let's all acknowledge something about the nature of criticism: it sucks. Criticism is painful at best, deeply wounding at worst, and can often have a lasting effect on our writing and self-confidence.
With that out of the way, one surprising thing about the review is that it's incredibly useful for creativity, too. In fact, researchers have found that criticism is far more effective at generating ideas than brainstorming. Here is Charlan Nemeth, a psychologist at Berkeley:
While the "don't criticize" instruction is often cited as an important brainstorming instruction, it appears to be a counterproductive strategy. Our results show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas, but stimulate them in relation to any other condition. … Authentic dissent can be difficult, but is always invigorating. It'll wake us up in a moment.
At The Write Practice, we always seek criticism in an encouraging and invigorating manner. That's why we're following the following three-step process to provide feedback.
The Oreo Method of Criticism
What's your favorite part of an oreo? If you're like me, the two cookies are definitely the best part of an Oreo (I have a thing for Oreo cookie milkshakes in particular).
Likewise, the best parts of a review that follows the Oreo method are the two cookies (the filling is the hard part!).
This is how the Oreo method works:
Step 1: Give positive praise.
The first step in building your oreo sandwich is to first talk about any things you liked about the piece of writing you read.
- What is unique or effective about your writing style?
- What did you like about their characters or did you respect them?
- What is a sentence or paragraph that caught your eye? Why?
- Which authors you have read do they remind you of?
The key here is to be as specific as you can and describe exactly what they did, what was effective.
What if you can't think of anything good? Then you are not reading carefully enough. I've edited some pretty bad writers, but even then, I've found that if I'm struggling to find something to praise, not theirs, it's my fault. I find that when I look back at your writing and read it carefully, I will always find many things to praise.
The golden rule of criticism is: "First understand, not be understood." Your job as a reviewer is to find out what's best about your writing. Don't you want the same from your critics?
If you can't provide positive feedback on someone's writing, then you are not reading carefully enough. (Do you share this on Twitter?)
Step 2: Provide constructive feedback.
Next the filling. It's time to share yours negative Feedback.
In all honesty, I usually find it easier to talk about what I didn't like than what I did (maybe that says something about me!), But that's why step one of criticism is so important. If you don't give positive feedback, the author you are criticizing may not be able to accept your negative feedback.
Again, be as specific as possible here. State exactly what did not work for you and give specific examples. This is what I mean:
I really enjoyed how you pulled us into the scene by describing the environment as if we were actively walking through it. I particularly liked your description of Manhattan here: “Go around the city on a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Walk from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip and from there head north at Whitehall. «
However, I found that your language was too rigid and formal, especially when you use words like "from there" and "circling" which are so far from common usage that I had to look up some of them. I think you will find that using a more informal vocabulary will make it much easier for people to connect emotionally with your novel.
Do you see how specific I was? Easy enough right? (Bonus points if you know which famous novel I "criticized".)
Step 3: give more positive praise.
You always remember negative criticism more than positive praise, and this is why it's so important to complete your oreo sandwich by overwhelming it with something positive.
What I find is that I am much more willing to accept the negative feedback when it is surrounded by insightful, positive praise. "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine sink," right?
Note: When you run out of nice things to say, copy and paste something from Step 1.
Positive. Negative. Positive.
That's the formula for a review that can change how someone writes (for the better!).
Why we criticize
It's easy to avoid giving this type of feedback. It can be incredibly time consuming. It can also be difficult to give hard feedback to writers you don't know very well. Wouldn't it be easier to just say "Great story!" Accept? And continue?
Be better than that. Be a writer who cares enough about the craft to say both the hard things and the good things. And at least you should be a writer who cares enough about your own writing to provide the kind of in-kind feedback you hope for.
More resources on author groups:
How about you? What other tips do you have for criticism? Share below.
