Steering out of a ditch...call in the troops...

I've mentioned some of the benefits of joining a face-to-face critique group here.

One benefit I recently enjoyed is getting help with a "stuck middle."

What do you do when you reach a fork in the road for your character?

I'm a meticulous plotter, yet when I begin writing the characters take over and move the story in their own direction. The imaginary tyrant takes the wheel! She likes to take the back roads. Sometimes she even likes to drive through a local farmers field after a rainstorm. Then "Miss Tyrant" wants ME to pull her out!  Suddenly I can be of service to her.

Or the car sits idly by the side of the road after one of the infamous abominable snowstorms in the homestate of "she who must be obeyed." This time I had to call in the forces.

My critique group.

Shamelessly grovel.  Call on their amazing word power and plot prowess to help you tow out "Miss Tyrant."

Here are some questions that helped get me through one of my stuck points:

1) What are my characters' options at this point? My critique group shared some options which led me to think of even more options.

2) Where will each option take her?

3) How will each option affect the resolution of my story?

4) Which option does my character have the most motivation to take, given what I know of her as a character?

5) What new obstacle can I put in her way to increase the tension?

After a session of brainstorming I found myself filled with new ideas and seeing my story in a whole new light.

Fortunately, my friends carved ruts in the ditch on their way in and through the grooves I can get back to the main road...or maybe I'll carve my own ruts and head in a new direction, but I'd better hurry up before Miss Tyrant takes the wheel again.

Taking Their Crits with a Smile: Why Join a Face-to-Face Group?

There are so many great resources available online, have we forgotten to take advantage of opportunities for growth in our own hometowns?

As college students my husband (then boyfriend) and I spent hours sipping Caramel Macchiatos and analyzing the word choice of our poetry with two of my dorm mates. 

Over a decade later I rediscovered the lost (to me) art of the face-to-face critique group. 

This time it was slightly more intimidating.  I didn't have anyone to cuddle with over my Cherry Mocchachino.  My five pages weren't being critiqued by the friend with whom I had spent my high school summers biking.

Instead I sat staring into my Mocha praying that God would give me the grace to accept the critiques I was about to receive by a table full of complete strangers.

I rely heavily on the online community for help with my writing.  ACFW is a fabulous organization with many like-minded Christian writers and countless services available for the new and experienced writer.  Through this organization I found my invaluable critique partner.  I've also been able to take advantage of critiques offered by several authors.

However, I believe there are some special advantages offered by the face-to-face critique group.  I would encourage other authors to become involved in the local writing community, as well as the online writing community.

1) Multiple perspectives offered in a short period of time:
Where else can you have multiple people critique your story within a half-hour time frame.  I return home with a folder of marked up copies and several different perspectives.  Different editors have different strengths, it is wonderful when you can combine this in one group.

2) The ability to "hear" your word choice and dialogue.
Several times another reader read a piece of my dialect.  I immediately realized how unrealistic it sounded in several places.  I don't often take the time to read my work out loud and occasionally even when I do, the "wrong" word choice or dialect just slips past me.  Sometimes hearing your own work can be the most powerful correction.

3) Teaches how to respond with grace to criticism:
Let's face it, that little bug called criticism isn't something we always take well.  The online world gives us some time to process, then respond graciously.  There's something that seems easier about it, isn't there.  Its somewhat harder to smile immediately.  What a witness this can be, especially if we are involved in a writer's group with non-Christians.

4) Seeing our work through new eyes:
All of the people who have helped me with my writing online are Christian.  Many even write in the same genre I do.  However, a face-to-face group is often less homogenous.  In the group of four writers I met with last week, each writer has an entirely different profession.  Each is writing in a different genre.  And we each have differing strengths and weaknesses in our writing. 

Do you participate in a face-to-face group?  Are any available in your area?  What are some benefits you have experienced from a critique group?