Critique Groups

Critique Groups

Critique, from the Greek kritike tekhne "the critical art."

The lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. To see them, you need only look at the work clearly - without judgment, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes, without emotional expectations. Ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen, the way a good parent listens to a child.

               David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art and Fear

SBWC invites writers to contact us if they are interested in critique. SBWC both facilitates beginning groups and acts as a clearinghouse, connecting experienced writers looking for a new workshopping community.  An ideal group has four to six dedicated members, working in the same genre, at similar levels. 

NEW GROUPS FORM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. To find out more about the SBWC critique groups, or if you would like to join or start a critique group, click here: https://goo.gl/forms/9WTg9JboWTqf6rEm2

The critique workshop is not about the writer's background, approach, or choice of subject matter, but about the work on the page.  By closely examining the work of others in terms of craft (character, point of view, setting, action, dialogue, etc.) we are better equiped to revisit our own work - to see its successes and failures, and to improve as readers, editors, and writers. 

Allowing our work to be read by others involves risk, and, for some, considerable trepidation. Our goal is always to support the writer in the revision process. Comments are respectful, based on a thorough reading of the submission, and are supported with specific examples from the manuscript. Instead of speaking in negatives or positives, our comments  strive to be helpful. 

Critique workshops are a collaborative effort, but remember, you are the final editor of your work.  Ultimately, you, the writer, make the final decisions about whether or how feedback applies to the vision you have for your story. 

For questions, please contact us at 7bridgewriterscollaborative@gmail.com.

            The workshop is a studio, not a gallery.

                                                                                       Alan Ziegler