Saturday mornings belong to YOU! Women develop writing skills through instruction, exercises, peer-coaching, and critique. An optional opportunity for professional editing of any work-in-progress is also available. Our new eight-week session has started and continues through the summer. Attendees can come to one or all eight session. An elegant late summer afternoon writing salon is planned. Saturday morning dates are: June 13, 20, 27, July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8.
Question of the Day: What would you do in connection with your writing if you were really brave?
Quote of the Day: "Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing." – Oscar Wilde
Book of the Day: "Finding Jade Mountain" now available on www.amazon.com!
Our Critique Guidelines:
In order to assure everyone gets a turn to read aloud on Saturday mornings, we will:
1. Determine first how many plan to read. Each person gets a fair share.
2. Limit readings to five pages or less. Have copies for everyone.
3. Allow every member of the group to give feedback verbally.
4. Make written comments on samples for the writer to take home.
5. Ask the writer what type of feedback she wants or needs or trouble areas in the piece she needs assistance in improving. The writer should also inform us if it’s a first draft, later draft, or a final draft. A first draft will be rewritten a number of times so there’s no need to get too specific since we will be focusing on overall structure, voice, style, plot or story development, and content. A final or nearly finished draft will require more detail work. We will look for proofreading errors, word usage, where to eliminate unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, and where to use a more active verb, etc.
6. Take into account the genre of the work in progress, the type of feedback the writer wishes to receive (“Did I hook the reader in the first paragraph?” “Is the action scene believable?” Does the dialogue ring true?”). It is important to indicate where the writing is strong and where the piece really works. Give good comments first and then suggest ways to improve the piece.
7. In order to get feedback on your own writing, it is extremely important to give feedback to others. We learn about our own writing through analyzing the writing of others. Being able to thoughtfully edit another’s work, makes it easier to edit your own during revision.
8. Remember you are the writer. During critique, make notes, but do not defend your work. This will only waste your valuable time. Listen, make notes, and once everyone has critiqued, you can comment or give any needed explanation. You can use all suggestions or none or some. You, after all, are the author.
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