Friday, September 11, 2009

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.

2 comments:

  1. Chris, I'm pleased to hear that the new Inspire group is working so well for you. What a blessing!

    And congratulations on having your story accepted for Revell's anthology. How exciting!!!

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  2. Chris, what a great post! I love our Inspire writers and delight in watching God polish the writer as we all work together to polish the writings. Sounds like the El Dorado group is already bonding and growing. Watch for a group starting in Lodi soon, too!

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