The Treasures of Critiques

"Arghh! Gimme yo treasures, Matey!"

This week we had our first session of critiques at the newly added Inspire Christian Writers location in El Dorado Hills--five minutes from my home. Most of the writers at this location are new to Inspire. We submit our manuscripts several days ahead to allow a thorough and thoughtful critique. As I opened each document and began my critique, awe and wonder filled me. Wow! This is some very fine writing I thought.

What a pleasure it is to help a fellow writer tweak their manuscript, learn more about the nuance of point of view (POV), tighten up the wording, provide clarity to a confusing passage, and catch the nuisance typos and wrong words. Overall giving a manuscript a fresh look with a sharp pencil.

Afterwards I gather the copies of my marked-up manuscript and carry them home like treasures. Yes... that's right... treasures. Treasures that help me be a better writer. Attending weekly critiques these past few months has greatly improved my writing skills. I have gained improvement by the following:

• My own work being reviewed
• My critiques of other's work
• Listening to others critique a manuscript
  

So if you write, I recommend you get thyself to a critique group post haste. Then watch your writing soar. You'll soon experience the treasures too. I wish you the best in finding a critique group as great as mine.