copyright 1999

Before your group begins exchanging material, there are several points you might consider.

1. Discuss the pros and cons of reading aloud. Many find this to be a poor method for critiquing. Not everyone has the ability to voice their prose with the gripping kind of enchantment Garrison Keillor relates when speaking of his visits to Lake Wobegon. We are a society of visual junkies, depending more and more upon film, television and the written word for our entertainment rather than the radio. Therefore, our listening skills are gradually dwindling. Think about the last time someone read aloud lengthy material to you. Did your mind wander with the undisciplined focus of a first-grader anticipating recess? If so, consider exchanging written material.

2. Agree on a standard amount of pages critiqued per meeting.

• Don't hand over your entire ms without first asking permission.
• Don't accept more than you can handle to critique.
• If you accept material to critique, it is your obligation to critique it by the next meeting. "I didn't have time to look at this," is not acceptable critique behavior.

3. Submit your ms as if you were submitting to an editor.

• 1-1/4" margins, double spaced, spell-checked, without careless typos.
• Title in upper left corner, name and page number in upper right.
• Place a draft # on first page to let critiquer know which stage your work is in
• Never submit material with a previous critiquer's remarks written on the page. You don't want one critiquer influenced by another.

4. When forming a critique group, make it a requirement that each member is obligated to give a critique in return for a critique. Beware of writers who show up only to have their material critiqued, then leave without giving critique of others work.

5. It is unprofessional to submit something for critique that is clearly a slap-dash job the author wants her critique partners to rewrite for her. Everyone is responsible for their own careers.

6. Always include a SASE with your submission. Never ask a fellow critique member to absorb the cost of your critique.

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