“How to Benefit the Most from Your Critique Group” by Joan Y. Edwards

Dear Readers,

It’s great to have a critique group, either in person or on-line. Here are ways to benefit the most from your critique group:

How a critique group can help you

1. Another person can spot those spelling, punctuation, or grammar that you’ve read over 10 times and didn’t notice.

2. If you want to know if a particular scene in your book is working, the members in your critique group can give you their opinions.

3. The people in your critique group can teach you, inspire you, encourage you, and tell you the Blue Ribbon parts of your manuscript, query letter, cover letter, proposal, synopsis, summary, or whatever you ask them to check specifically for you.

Things to remember before your work is critiqued

1. Give the critiquers the right to like or dislike your work. Accept that it’s okay if they don’t like it. Accept that it’s okay if they do like it. Be ready to ask them to suggest a way they believe would be better.

2. Be open to change. Change creates a path to a stronger and better manuscript. Decide which parts of your manuscript are non-negotiable and which parts are negotiable.

3. Put your best foot forward. Use the Spelling, Grammar check in your software to check it before you share it with others.

Questions to ask your critiquer

1. Ask a critiquer to retell your story for you (James N. Frey’s suggestion from How to Write a Damn Good Novel.) Through listening you’ll discover the strong parts and weak parts. Ask them to tell it in three sentences, beginning, middle, and end.

2. Which parts, if any, confused you?

3. Is my dialogue believable? Is it tagged appropriately?

Things to remember after your work has been critiqued.

1. One person’s opinion doesn’t mean it is the truth. It does not mean what they say is a fact. It is not their opinion about you personally. It is about your writing. Keep the two things separate in your mind.

2. Don’t change anything you don’t agree with 100 per cent.

3. Let your manuscript and the critique comments rest in a drawer for at least a week before you do anything with it. Give time for the ideas to take root in your brain and jog around in your imagination.

Three Critique Group Resources

Guidelines for Group Critiques of Fiction by Jennifer Evans http://www.slugtribe.org/etiquette.html

Fundamentals of Fiction, Part III: Critique Groups and Writers’ Groups by Marg Gilks http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/fiction03.shtml

Thank you for reading my blog.

Never Give Up!

Take Action toward Your Goal!
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright © 2011 Joan Y. Edwards.

Thank you, Chiplanay with Pixabay for the use of the image!

Linda Andersen, writer of teacher guides for Cobblestones magazine, asked me, “What do you know about the rules of three in writing? I’ve heard that you have 3 things happen to the protagonist, and the fourth is the winner. I’ve also heard that two things happen to the protagonist and the third is the winning combination.”

I thought that might be a good thing to blog about. So I hope the following post and resources will inspire you to add the power of three to improve the rhythm and power of your writing.

I searched the internet to find out sources that explained the power of three.
Three is easy to remember. It sets up a pattern for the brain to remember easily. It has a rhythm to it. It gives a feeling of satisfaction.

A film that makes the use of the power of three is Pay It Forward (trailer to movie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV4TCWjehT0

In the fairy tales, the use of three was indeed powerful to help remember the stories.
Three Little Pigs – Third pig had the winning combination to get rid of the wolf.
Three Billy Goats Gruff – Third goat outsmarted the troll under the bridge.
Rumplestilstskin Three guesses

Here are other sets of three:
Beginning Middle End
Ready Set Go
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

As a writer you might think:
three problems
sequences of three
conflicts in patterns of three
inner struggles in patterns of three
outer struggles in patterns of three
three weaknesses
three strengths
three powers
three foods
three characters to help
three characters to hinder

In comedy, they say two lines ordinary, and then the third line is the opposite of what you expect, leading you to laughter. Without the first two to set you up, the third one wouldn’t be as funny. Three definitely has the power in comedy.

Here’s my try at demonstrating this technique:
First man: My wife cooks a mean dish.
Second man: My wife cooks a meaner dish.
Third man: My wife is a mean dish.

I hope you enjoyed my humor here.

In case that didn’t explain it thoroughly enough, here is a link to Andrew Dlugan’s explanations of the power of three for humor as used in speeches. http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/humor-speech-rule-of-three/

The twists and turns in your story keep your readers interested. If you lead the reader with the first try – He’s sure it’s going to work. Tell 3 reasons why it’ll work. Have the antagonist or other characters to tell 3 reasons why it won’t work. This leaves the reader questioning who is right. Write the consequences different from these and worse than expected. It builds tension into your story. It puts questions in your readers’ minds. This is good. It’s what keeps your reader going to the next page. He wants to find out what happens.

Check out these resources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_(writing)
2. http://www.copyblogger.com/rule-of-three/

Then read these resources

1.In another article, Andrew Dlugan explains in simple terms how to use the power of three in writing a speech.
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-outline-rule-of-three/
2. http://www.jonathancrossfield.com/blog/2009/06/writing-the-power-of-three.html
3. http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/the-power-of-three/

I’ll send you on your way to your writing space with the following food for thought for your new novel:

Rules of 3 about surviving in the wilderness

Urban Survival Site says:

You can survive:
three hours without shelter
three days without water
three weeks without food
three minutes without air
three seconds without hope.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please leave a question, comment, or resource.
I am honored to have 12 active subscribers.

Do three good things for yourself today! Thank you for reading my blog.

Joan Y. Edwards
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Y-Edwards-Author/111310278911077

I hope you’ll subscribe to my blog. Receive 2 free gifts. Join over 100 other subscribers and over 700,000 visitors. You’ll be sent an email to confirm your subscription. Thank you.

Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards, Author
Copyright © 2010-2019 Joan Y. Edwards
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Flip Flap Floodle Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?
Joan’s Elder Care Guide A guide to help caregivers and elders find solutions.
80 Gospel-Based Crossword Puzzles for Year B Fun for Children’s Liturgy, Children’s Church, Sunday School, and Home Bible Study