“The Four Hidden Dangers of Writing Groups”

A blog post by Jennie Nash.

(With bonus Pixar content from the book Creativity, Inc.)

I’ve found that while critiques are useful, it soon becomes apparent that they aren’t usually very consistent. What’s listed as a problem for one critic is sometimes another critic’s favorite part.

One key is looking for patterns. If several separate people think your tense isn’t right for the story, they may be on to something.

It also makes a difference who’s doing the critiquing. Sorry, but all else being equal, an experienced opinion from a writing professional should probably carry more weight than your writing group’s opinion (unless your writing group has a best-selling author or two in it).

That doesn’t mean the professionals can’t be wrong. They sometimes are.

When it comes down to it, you have to develop enough experience and maturity to judge your work yourself, and that isn’t easy. I’m still working on it.