People often ask me if they should join a critique group. The answer is, if it’s good, of course! What a boon to have knowledgeable readers right there in front of you. No waiting for an anonymous editor in some distant office to maybe write to let you know that your piece doesn’t quite work or that it’s “not right” for them. What does that tell you? Nothing. But readers in your face can let you know exactly how your piece is coming across and if there are problems, what those problems are. I once wrote a poem with a line something like, “the finger, a fluttering digit only.” I meant to convey human frailty. My readers saw a finger twitching around unconnected to a body; and isn’t a “digit” a number? so is this a finger that’s also a number? a flying finger number? They thought it was hysterical. Needless to say, I got rid of that line. Thank you, critique group.

So that’s the first benefit: immediate reaction. The second and more important benefit is knowledgeable reaction. If your readers are knowledgeable they will be able to suggest ways to fix what’s wrong. The very best readers will hone in on craft. They will be people who understand not just what’s off, but why it’s off and how to maybe fix it. Structure, characterization, description, voice, are all matters that a good critique group will address. It won’t matter whether the subject of your book is of interest to them, or even whether or not they think it’s good; their attention will be on what you’re hoping to convey and how they can help you accomplish it. Period.

That said, a group of truly helpful readers is hard to find. Some people get lucky. The noted children’s book authors Jane Yolen, Patricia MacLachlan, Barbara Diamond Goldin, Barbara Helen Berger, and Lauren Mills all happen to live in the same area and they regularly convene to swap works-in-progress. Talk about an ideal critique group! For most of us, though, this kind of gathering doesn’t readily appear.

You’ll need to search. To do so check out your local libraries, bookstores, colleges and the like. Writing classes can produce a bounty of excellent readers. Go to book festivals and writing conferences. Those events are always full of writers eager for contact with other writers. Even get in touch with any published authors in your area. Pulitzer Prize winners won’t be interested, but you never know who else might be. Give it a go. Don’t be shy. What you put out will eventually come back to you.

From one fluttering digit to perhaps another: good luck!

Our cousin Lauren (who was my lovely junior bridesmaid back in 2003) recently performed in a talent contest in Australia where she lives. She did super-awesome!! Here’s a clip for her performance.