Our group has grown to the point we couldn't complete all the critiques in one meeting before the pizza joint where we get together needed to close for the night. I added another session each month to cover the overflow, and also to provide a separate meeting for those who are close to completing their manuscripts.
I shared some ideas with the group last night on ways we might be able to speed up the critique process. Everyone was in agreement and things went pretty smoothly. We finished up six critiques in under two hours which meant the folks who live an hour away got home at a decent time.
I'm pleased to report, words are actually being put down on paper again, and my head is filled with stories. I'm one of those folks who writes in their head. When I've got a scene worked out in my mind where it's just the way I want it, then it gets written down. With the constant pain and grogginess from lack of sleep the last couple of months, I haven't been able to concentrate enough to run those scenes through my mind.
Dumping words on a page for the sake of word count, hoping they can be made into something coherent later, is just not my style. Some of my critique group accuse me of writing final drafts, and they have trouble finding things to critique. That may or may not be true, but it makes for a slow process. It works for me. I hope to publish two more stories this year so it had better work.
Thanks for reading.
Huzzah! Someone that has a similar process to me. I know I will need to swing back around to improve draft #2, but I still want draft #1 to be a recognizable story when I finish it. The "infinite number of monkeys" method so popular in the writing world is nothing but lapping the track countless, tedious, soul-sucking times.
ReplyDeleteAnd, there's more! In the past months, insomnia has robbed me of that creative spark on too many occasions. It leaves me able to do routine tasks during the day, but filling a blank page...fuggetaboutit.
Both of the writing groups I belong to have seven members. Just yesterday someone floated the idea of a friend joining, but we regretfully decided "no". If everyone submits a piece, the homework critiquing load and then the time spent at the actual meeting is just about right with six or seven.
WRITE ON!
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I could never do NaNoWriMo. I've got better things to do with my time than vomit a bunch of words on a page knowing most of them will get trashed.
ReplyDeleteI've been in our main group for almost six years, and we always had a turnover rate that kept the group small. However, in the last year or so, we've grown to a pretty solid core of about twelve people. Like you said, six or so critiques a night is about all you can fit into two hours. That's why I had to split the group. Myself and three other members who have been in the group longest, meet separately at my home twice a month. We work well together, and it has been a great help to all of us.
On a side note: I never heard back from you on the story I sent you, so I can only assume you didn't like it and don't want to hurt my feelings by saying so. Don't worry about it, I'm to old to let my feelings get hurt. I do want to improve, so if you have any suggestions on how I can make my story better, I'd love to hear it.
Thanks for commenting!
You're entirely correct and I do apologize. I've been remiss in my obligations. I'll get on that pronto.
ReplyDeleteI reckon I was holding back due to possible "hurting feelings". Even after all these years in writing groups, and no matter how diplomatic I phrase my comments, I still get overly anxious about treading too hard on creative toes. Since I've never made anyone cry and everybody still welcomes me at each meeting, this is all in my own head.