tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post4293308039963674355..comments2024-03-29T03:45:01.236-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: Critique partners - finding and valuing themJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-25590517860869717142011-08-16T13:05:38.206-07:002011-08-16T13:05:38.206-07:00Thanks, Marybk! Very kind of you.Thanks, Marybk! Very kind of you.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-18518316228209434062011-08-16T12:34:43.528-07:002011-08-16T12:34:43.528-07:00Hi, Juliette! Thanks for this terrific post about ...Hi, Juliette! Thanks for this terrific post about finding CPs. I've awarded this post with a little bit of bling:<br />http://notaneditor.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-ever-eye-of-critiquer-blog-awards.htmlMarybkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12013291291298167627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-77863541265206571352011-08-16T12:33:42.662-07:002011-08-16T12:33:42.662-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Marybkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12013291291298167627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-52785960010026705922011-08-02T18:50:06.339-07:002011-08-02T18:50:06.339-07:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Megan. When I sa...Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Megan. When I say "readers" I mean readers of published work just as much as readers who will then critique. Reviewers also fall into this category.<br /><br />Bruce, interesting idea. However, I don't see why a group with pantsers and outliners couldn't work so long as people are aware of one another's styles. I think the third person you mention might not fit since he/she has little idea of the market's demands.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-67960898894861361262011-08-02T13:57:46.373-07:002011-08-02T13:57:46.373-07:00Another issue with finding a critique partner or g...Another issue with finding a critique partner or group is to find one (or more) using the same Craft methodology. Doomed to failure is a group with a pantser, a blueprinter, and one who claims Victor Hugo's _Les Miserables_ style is exactly suited to the YA market.<br /><br />You need basic agreement on standards. Might be the "wrong" standards, but that's a whole lot better than spending hours going back and forth when you're not even in the same library, much less the same book and page.<br /><br />My preference is Larry Brooks with a dash of Randy Ingermanson. Then again, I come from a long background of technical writing and programming.<br /><br />Agree on the basics before you start; you'll have much faster progress.Bruce H. Johnsonhttp://www.freespirituniverse.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-5236297191144659782011-08-02T10:34:57.772-07:002011-08-02T10:34:57.772-07:00"Whatever it evokes in the mind of the reader..."Whatever it evokes in the mind of the reader is a legitimate interpretation."<br /><br />This is so true, and one of the primary things I try to remember. A critiquer may not have grasped the place in the text where the error actually occurs, or they may not know what you were trying to say and give the wrong solution, but they are pointing out a problem. And if I read carefully enough, I can usually figure out how to address the problem whether or not I do it where the reader actually noticed it.<br /><br />As a side note: I'm always surprised when people don't realize that READERS have the same prerogative, to read and draw their own conclusions. Because I felt satisfaction with the way L'Engle wrapped up the Charles Wallace storyline at the end of "A Swiftly Tilting Planet," I was told by another writer that I was projecting onto the story and making assumptions because apparently that writer and L'Engle herself felt the storyline hadn't been resolved. Um... I just read the book. I didn't know about how anybody else felt satisfied or unsatisfied, just how I felt about it.<br /><br />The experience made me realize that even once you've honed a story to perfection and tried to make it only mean a certain thing, the READER will still interpret the story however they do. And there will be multiple interpretations. And that's good.<br /><br />That's why I think an important part of the editorial process (or critique process) is to have someone that "gets" what you're writing and can help you put that on the page and to also have someone who doesn't "get" what you're writing, but is an excellent reader, so you can see how other readers will understand the work.Meganhttp://www.inkedwithlove.comnoreply@blogger.com