By CaraMarie Christy

The difference between a book group and a critique group is that the former is created to study literature, usually without any of the authors present, and the latter is to share work-in-progress with other writers for the mutual benefit of each participant. Those who choose to form critique groups can desire different outcomes from the effort that they invest. Productivity is subjective and depends on the end goal of the individuals who initially decide to form the new critique group. An end goal can be anything from improving grammatical skill to discovering new story ideas, or simply obtaining a better understanding of readers. Forming a group is most fulfilling when the group’s activities match most of the participants’ end goals. The focuses of the critique groups below can be mixed and matched to create critique groups that will fit various writer needs.

Skill Building– “Am I doing this right?”- This is the best way to start off a critique group for new writers. The idea behind this type of group is to focus on construction rather than content. Many writers, even professionals, make mistakes in formatting dialogue, common grammar, and switching tenses mid-story. However, if these skills are drilled often enough, writers can see a significant improvement until formatting and grammar become second nature. A great way to get this type of critique, without having to dedicate copious amounts of workshop time toward it, is to produce hard copies or email copies of work to other group members. By making use of the Track Changes function of Microsoft, which can be found under the Review tab, writers can make comments on pieces they have received and then return them to the owner without altering the original work. Through this, group members can work on the grammar and formatting of their piece on their own time and reserve critique time for a different focus.

Concept Forming- “J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis walk into a bar.”- This form of group is less about how the words are written, and more about the overall picture that the words form. To approach this style of group requires some form of mutual respect in its participants, because favorable concepts are going to vary based on a writer’s opinion. A famous partnership, and example of this, was that of J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, who used to throw around ideas with each other over drinks. Once J.R. Tolkien stated that no novel would ever be successful if it were to include a lamppost, which gave C.S. Lewis his famous idea for using a lamppost as the iconic image for his magical world in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Social Interaction- “Writers choose a lonely life.” Some writers are only out to touch base with other writers, read manuscripts, and receive/give encouraging comments. These kinds of groups give writers affirmation of their skills that they cannot provide for themselves. The problem with this sort of critique group is the heavy possibility for a lack of commitment. If meetings are only casual, members will not feel a strong need to prepare or show up to the meetings. To prevent this, a group can build into their workshop fun exercises (for example http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/7-creative-writing-prompts-to-spark-your-writing) which will help writers stimulate their creative senses and give them a reason to look forward to the workshop.

Mock Readership- “Would you buy this?”- This is a group to choose if the profitability of the work is the primary objective. This is the hardest type of critique group to form, as it requires a great deal of planning to form a group who will be subjective, with no personal bias to distract from the analysis and whether they would rate the piece favorably. For example, a friend might rate a piece of work at a higher value than a non-acquaintance. This type of group is also only productive if everyone in the group fits the “target audience” for the types of work that are being presented. If someone who writes mystery novels presents their work to a romance reader it might not receive the type of feedback that they are looking for. Few critique workshops are meant to be styled like this.