The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 5 – Writers to Your Marks
Different Levels of Experience

August 23, 2010

The writers that show up to a critique group will be at different mile markers on the race to publication. Some will be ahead of the pack, some will be sprinting hard to break loose, and others will look like they wandered in by accident. Not all are ready to hear the starter pistol, so [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 4 – Keep a Shine on Your Boot

August 15, 2010

Nobody cares if you don’t write. Sorry if you weren’t clear on that point, but unless you’ve already signed with a discriminating agent, have a looming deadline, or a reading club awaits a book jacket with your name, the only reason to write is that you must. A good critique group can be the angel [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 3 – Great Expectations

August 9, 2010

Not everyone wants to see his name on the New York Times Best Sellers list.  I do. But I’m not everyone.  Many of the people that come to a critique group are there to have a third party confirm that they can write, they’ve lived a fascinating life, or the tragedy they’ve suffered is more [...]

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Point of View – POV – As I See It

August 4, 2010

Point of view (POV) can be a confusing beast. Some writers are POV purists, while others hop from head to head like a bad case of lice.  As with any construct in writing, one must know thy rules before thee break them. POV is the character with whom we walk through a story. Sometimes the [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 2 – Rules

August 2, 2010

My first experience allowing a group of veritable strangers to critique my written words might have made a less determined writer turn in her quill and nibs.  One of the women asked me if I read books in the genre for which I was writing.  Ouch.  She wasn’t even trying to be mean. My husband [...]

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E-Books: a Fact for Fiction

July 25, 2010

Most people involved in the publishing industry concur that e-book sales will outstrip dead-tree versions within a few years.  Only those hopelessly buried on the banks  of denial continue to argue the point. Even then, they argue about should it happen, not will it happen.  The supremacy of e-books marches inexorably onward  like Sherman’s troops [...]

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5 Simple Exercises to Buff Up Your Writing

July 20, 2010

Messages vying for our attention are as prevalent as stringer tanks in the gym.  Email.  Billboards.  Internet.  TV. Snail mail. Radio.  Information sweats us from too many sources to give each an equal hearing, even when we might benefit.  Only the muscle-bound messages break through our sensory defenses.   If you want your message to flex [...]

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The Gentle Art of Critique – Part 1 – Group, Partner, or Paid Escort – Find One

May 18, 2010

Nobody likes a critic. Critics are universally critical. But writers must allow others to read their work, eventually.  The sooner the better, otherwise, it’s tough to get any better.  But you can microwave your improvement with a tribe around you to help you shed, stretch, strut your words into publishing shape.  If not a team, then at least a [...]

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Essentials for Full-Time Writing – Are You Ready?

May 14, 2010

During the fall, winter, and spring, I run in the late morning. Come summer, I better get my shoes out early or find an indoor alternative.  It’s Texas.  And freakin hot.  Like Solomon said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” The same goes for full-time [...]

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