In my past two blog posts I told how I discovered the need for a writing/critique group to make my work better—to hone my writing skills. Through trial and error, I found clear meeting frameworks and became able to spot supportive behaviors vital to create and bolster a helpful healthy writing/critique group. I am happy to share what I learned.

Part 3: FORMING A GROUP

Questions to consider

• How many members? The time available and size of location for meetings may influence the number of members.
• Mixed genre or specific? (Prose, Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction)
• Particular genres may lend themselves to specialized groups, i.e., Memoir, Thriller, Children’s, Poetry Chap Book. The Writing Sisters were unusual as we had a mixture of prose, poetry, and children’s books.

Parameters for the Group

• Time frame? Three months? Six months? A year? At the conclusion of your agreed upon time limit the members could discuss whether to continue as is—or modify something.Frequency of meetings—same day certain week of month? Or bring calendars and choose a date for the next meeting? Or same day each week adjusting for holidays?
• Length of Meetings
• Location(s) of Meetings.
• Ways to maintain contact between meetings.

What type of commitment?

One person only showed up when she had five or six full pages to share. Her behavior was not perceived as supportive to the group. This made for huge load on the group every few meetings and no support from the writer for the other members’ work in-between. Expectations for attendance need to be discussed and clearly outlined and agreed upon.

Group Norms and the importance to be addressed at the first meeting

• Setting up group norms for editorial review and constructive feedback as well as creating guidelines for treating each other with kindness is vital. The goal is to support each other, not to tear down.
• Sadly, there are too many stories of writers who had their work torn to shreds.
• Some give up writing altogether.

Courageous Conversations
When a member dominates or does not seem to fit in with the group, courageous conversation is important, i.e., “I don’t think this group is meeting your needs.”

EXAMPLE: The group would agree on the length of time available to each member who brought a piece to read and receive feedback. One writer refused to stop reading. After three meetings of this repeated behavior—with mild nudges to stop on time, I needed to let her know that our format did not seem to meet her needs.

EXAMPLE: If a member acts in a manner that is not reflective of the group’s agreements, it is helpful to be able to point to the established group norms—with a gentle reminder—and if inappropriate language or behavior continues to use the phrase, “I don’t believe this group is meeting your needs.”

Members can then either adjust their behavior to meet the norms or chose to leave the group.

Suggestions for constructive approaches

• Use “I” statements. Avoid “You” statements.

• Give helpful feedback:

I really liked how …
I would like to know more about …
I found this especially effective …
I am curious about …
I found this description endearing, etc.
I am wondering about …
I am not sure I understand …

• A response from the person being critiqued:

Tell me more about how you understand this.
Can you clarify your comment further?


• Receive the comments as a gift—not a pin to deflate your balloon.

EXAMPLE: While my third book, A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE Dogs Came to Be, was still a work in progress, I received the feedback, “Kizzie it’s lost its sizzle.” That comment was difficult to hear but motivated me to redo the story text in anapestic tetrameter rhyme. The constructive suggestion turned out to be a tremendous help. The book was awarded Little Peeps First in Place from Chanticleer International Awards. How thankful I am that I moved on with the rewrite!

Remember authors make the final decisions about their work.

EXAMPLE: My first book, How Dachshunds Came to Be: A Tall Tale About a Short Long Dog included the phrase “…petticoats sashaying in the wind.” Some critique members expressed their concerns that kids today will not know the term petticoats. However, petticoats were a delightful whimsical image for me, when I wrote my first draft looking out at the tide leaving seafoam on the beach. It made me happy. My story also included many sea creatures, like anemones, muscles, and barnacles. The children may not know about them either, but they will learn. Not long after my book’s publication, the New York Times used the word petticoats in a front-page article! And readers frequently comment with pleasure on this phrase.

I close with a wise and compassionate quote from Edmonds author Nicki Chen, “Writing skill is nice in a writers’ group. But kindness and the desire to support each other is even better, especially when you are critiquing each other’s work. I hope you find a good group.” (Tiger Tail Soup, Vanuatu, Behind the Story, nickichenwrites.com)

REFLECTIONS & QUESTIONS are welcome in the Comments section.