Blog Chain - People I Couldn't Write Without

This topic was chosen by the lovely Sarah who wanted to know:

Do you work with critique partners? How did you find your crit pals, and what influence have they had on your work?

Oh yes. I have crit partners. Probably too many LOL but I've met so many awesome writers over the years and we pretty much all exchange manuscripts at least once in a while.

My very first group I found by googling. I met some great people on there, learned a TON. I was a very VERY newbie writer. Had finished one book, paid an editor to go through it, gotten a few good suggestions from him, but it wasn't until this group (and one awesome lady in particular, Jeannie Ruesch) got a hold of it that I actually started pulling that poor manuscript together.

I can't believe how much she taught me. Stuff I'd never heard before. The adverb rule, POV tricks/rules/no-nos, ways to show different sides to my character - for all those who have read Treasured Lies, the pea scene was suggested by Jeannie. If she hadn't taken me under her wing, I don't know where I would be right now. I think I've mentioned before that I once wrote a scene where I had FOUR povs going on in ONE paragraph. Yeah...Jeannie was the one who explained why that was bad LOL

My other critters I met through QueryTracker. Toni Wilson (we are often called the eTwins by our QT friends) - I send everything to her. I mean literally everything. She often crits my emails before I send them LOL

Kristal Shaff and Cole Gibsen - again, these amazing women read pretty much everything I write. And I've learned so much from each of them. They are all awesome with things like plot flow, word choice, motivations, plot holes (and Kristal and Toni in particular are great at pointing out when I'm going overboard on the romance LOL). These women ready all my stuff and they are so incredibly sweet about reading my pages over and over again. I think they know my stories more than I do sometimes LOL

I met Elana Johnson through QT and joined a crit group with her and the absolutely wonderful Christine Fonseca. Elana is amazing - she will tell you how it is and she doesn't let you get away with anything. I usually get my pages back thinking "yeah, I knew she'd mark that." :D I'm slowly learning to just remove it before she has to mark it up LOL

Christine is amazing with emotions - I can go way overboard with them sometimes...and sometimes I don't have enough. She keeps me on track with my plot and characters and their motivations and personalities. She is also a fellow Non-fiction writer and is my main critter for all things NF (though Toni reads some of that stuff for me as well) :) It's so wonderful to have someone I can send those pages too. I don't know what I'd do without her.

And I also have my amazing Operation Awesome gals. I joined their group not too long ago (actually...I think it's been a year or so now!) It's been wonderful having a fresh group of eyes and learning from each of them - both from their crits of my work and from my crits of their work. They are an incredible group of women and I am so lucky to be a part of their group.

When I lived in Utah I was very privileged to be part of a live group with Bethany Wiggins and Bonny Anderson. I still send them pages and am always thrilled to read theirs, though I miss seeing them face-to-face :)

I have several other friends and readers that I send my pages too. They are all priceless to me. I would never be able to make it down this road without them.

Who are your critters and how did you meet them?

Be sure to see who PK shreds paper with and stop by Tere's tomorrow to find out about her crit pals :)

Today I'm Thankful For....

Since November is Thanksgiving month, I thought I'd focus this month's topics on the things in my writing world that I am thankful for. I am, of course, always grateful for my family and friends and the love and support they give me. But the world of writing and publishing is sort of it's own little...well, world :D

And it got me thinking about what things specific to my writing I am thankful for. First and foremost in my mind - crit buddies.

I don't know where I'd be without mine. My critique partners are quite simply some of the most awesome people I have ever met. Not only do they give up their time to go through my books, but they care about me enough to be brutally honest when necessary. They shred my manuscripts and then help me pick up the pieces.

They are always around to support me and brainstorm with me. They hold my hand while I query, console me when the going gets rough, and party with me when good things happen. They read revision after revision and are patient with me when I just don't get it. They don't give up on me and don't let me give up on myself.

They are sheer awesomeness and my life would be bleak without them.

So, my wonderful crit buddies, I just want to tell you how thankful I am for each and every one of you. I wouldn't be able to navigate through this crazy writing world without you :)

How to Find a Critique Group

With our recent Blog Chain post being on critique groups, I’ve have them on the brain lately. So I thought I’d share some tips on how I found my critique groups and partners.
As with everything, there are many, many ways of going about this. But, this is what worked for me.

1. Google
You really can find just about everything on Google :) When I first set out to look for a group, I had no idea where to begin and lived in a remote area where finding another writer was going to be difficult, if not impossible. So I hit the internet. I googled for “online critique groups” and started scrolling.

Going about it this way is going to turn up a lot of results. So choose carefully. In my case, I found a group with an extensive screening process. I had to submit an application of sorts, with a bio and writing samples. I was reassured that this group was legitimate because they were obviously very careful about who they let in.

I very much enjoyed my time with my group, and learned A LOT. I was a very green writer when I started with them; they showed me the ropes, the rules, helped me get my writing under control. Finding a good group is invaluable.

2. Writers Websites and Forums
When I first starting seriously writing, I joined as many writer websites as I could find. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the whole publishing world. I did okay at writing, but I wanted to be better. I found a ton of sites; only a handful were really good, valuable places. Through these sites, a met a few good writing friends. We exchanged some material, and I had my first few critique buddies.

Again, practice caution. Not all sites are there to help writers. Some just want to take advantage. But you can find some really excellent sites. I usually enjoy AbsoluteWrite. They have some excellent information available to writers and I met some really great people there.

But my all time favorite site is QueryTracker.net. I know I posted a lot about them last week, but I just can’t say enough good things. I joined the site and forum when QT was just getting started, and I was lucky enough to become very close with the members of the site. These people have not only become my critique partners, but are close friends as well.

3. Local Writing Groups
This isn’t something I’ve tried myself as I live in a very small community (and have such a great online support group). But in larger communities, you should be able to find writer’s groups. Your local library is a great place to start looking. Check the newspapers as well. Being able to meet with your crit partners in person can really be a great experience.

4. National Writers Groups
Organizations like Romance Writers of America, and the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators have many different chapters you can join. I know with RWA, there are chapters specialized in the different sub-genres of romance as well as chapters by location. These types of organizations are a great place to find critique groups or partners. Check out the forums…there is usually a thread devoted to people looking for crit buddies.

I truly believe no writer should be without at least one critique buddy. A fresh set of eyes is always a good idea :) Happy Critting!