Blogging with Kristine Cayne: Online Critique at Emily Bryan's Red Pencil Thursday

Online Critique at Emily Bryan's Red Pencil Thursday

Although I'm a member of a critique group and I also have a critique partner, I thought it would be a good idea to get some comments from people I don't know. Through a friend, I discovered Emily Bryan's Red Pencil Thursday. Each week she critiques the first 500 words of someone's work in progress.

(To make sure you don’t miss any entries, please consider subscribing by RSS feed or email. The links are right here on the side ===> )

It's not an easy thing to put your work and yourself out there for everyone to see, for everyone to judge. You worry what if people hate it? But the reality is that most people are not mean-spirited and make comments in good faith. I figure that if someone takes the time to read my work and comment on it, they are doing it in the spirit of giving back, of wanting to help.

I consider each comment I get and try to understand what is the real meaning behind the comment. Sometimes, it's just a misplaced word, other times it's a character trait that is not coming across right. In general, I act on a comment if a) after some reflection, I agree with it, or b) I get comments from various people about the same line or paragraph because clearly, if multiple people are getting hung up in the same place, then something is wrong.

Several months ago, I attended a workshop on critique groups and critique partners and got the best advice: wait at least 24 hours before reacting to any critique. I took this advice to heart and it has saved me considerable embarrassment