By Dr. Diana Stout, with Llewella Forgie

Receiving and giving critiques is an important writing step, especially for new writers. Belonging to a critique group is one of the fastest ways you can grow and improve your writing. Not only do you receive feedback, but you can learn by reading and critiquing the writings of others. 

I’m often asked by writers if they should get an MFA degree, wondering if it would help their writing. It’s one way to receive (and give) critiques, but an MFA can be costly and requires three years of your time. A major plus is it’s a terminal degree—equal to a Ph.D. in other fields—meaning you can then teach writing classes at the university level. 

Critique Groups Operate the Same

From my critique experiences as an MFA graduate, having been in several critique groups outside of the classroom, and having started a critique group at the request of a nationally named bookstore, I can tell you that all of these critique groups operate the same way.

Manuscripts are exchanged, comments are written on the copies shared at the previous meeting—whether electronically or as hard copies. And then, the manuscripts are returned to the author after comments and opinions have been expressed at the meeting. 

My MFA classes generally had 8-12 students, where each student would present a different manuscript several times during the semester for critiques. The problem I had with the class critiques is that we wrote for different genres, thus their feedback didn’t always apply to my genre. Generally, I was writing commercial stories while they wrote literary stories. 

One such example was when I had drafted a short story where the students agreed I was using an incorrect story structure, a structure I had purposefully chosen. The professor told them that my story, “Bread Pudding,” was an example of a recipe story, where each ingredient became a metaphor for the events of the elderly woman’s life, thus many of their comments became invalid. 

Likewise, even a small critique group made up of individuals writing in different genres can be problematic.

At the same time, having different genres can provide different perspectives or a detour from normal standards and can offer a learning/growth opportunity for all members.

Are You a Good Fit?

Getting a good critique is a lot like looking for a marriage partner. Typically, that means you want critique partners who write in your genre or who have a good knowledge of it. Also, you want critique partners who are at your level of writing. 

For example, an advanced group made up of published writers doesn’t want to be spending their time teaching a new writer. Nor does an advanced writer want to be in a group of novice writers, otherwise, they’ll be teaching and receiving little in the way of a critique.

So, how can you find a critique partner or critique group? Start a small group with two or three other writers or find a group that will let you join. Before you commit to any partner, however, you may want to vet each other to determine if you’ll be a good fit for your genre and your level of writing.

How Two Critique Groups Vet New Members

While talking with a group of writers who belong to my accountability write-in group, (a topic I wrote about in August 2024, “Accountability Can Be a Writer’s Best Tool”), one of our members, Llewella Forgie, told us how her group was looking for a new critique partner to replace a member who had left. Their three-step process is amazing.

Their process eliminates taking a chance on a writer who could prove to be a huge detriment later, even if that person is known to one or more of them.

Forgie states that when she joined an existing children’s book critique group, the group had dealt with an earlier, uncomfortable situation where the writer turned out not to be a good fit. Consequently, the group created a new policy to protect the group—provisional membership. 

Forgie attended her first meeting as a provisional member. Nothing was guaranteed at that point. As a result of her demeanor and contributions to the critiquing, she was invited to join. She had shown them that she would be a good fit for the group.

Since then, she has joined a second critique group and both groups now use this multi-step process when admitting a writer into their midst.

The Multi-step Process

Step One

Prospective members provide a writing sample. It’s an attempt to eliminate new writers who require far more teaching assistance than the groups want to provide. The groups want writers who match their skill level. While individuals within the groups don’t mind helping new writers outside of the critique group, they prefer skilled writers for their critiques. A writing sample quickly reveals a writer’s skill set.

Step Two

Writers who pass Step One are invited to a meeting. The purpose is to discover if the writer’s personality will be a good fit for the group. While a writer can have top-notch writing skills, if their personality isn’t a good match, the results can be disastrous. I’ve seen wonderful groups dissolve because a new member came in with unknown toxic behaviors, thus disrupting the dynamics. 

Step Three

The provisional member attends the meeting, reads and critiques submitted work like everyone else. This step is crucial, allowing the group to see how the new member provides criticism and how they respond to criticism. 

A writer who takes criticism personally or becomes defensive won’t be a good fit. Additionally, the provisional member needs to provide decent feedback, otherwise the group isn’t benefitting. A writer who offers nothing useful won’t be a good fit for the group.

In Summary

These three steps are how organizations hire personnel these days. Provisional with a trial period. 

It makes sense, then, for critique groups or even individuals looking for a partner to operate the same way. These provisional trial steps can prevent a group from being torn apart. So, what can you do when wanting to start a group or join an existing one?

1. Find an individual or group who shares your genre.
2. Exchange pages or a chapter to determine if your writing skill sets are similar.
3. Meet in person or on Zoom and chat for a brief time to see if your critique goals are similar. 
4. At the first in-person meeting, exchange verbal feedback with a return of your comments in their manuscripts.
5. And then, if all goes well, set up your guidelines for both future critiques and the meetings.

If at any point you discover right away that it doesn’t feel like a good fit, it’s easy to back away and try again elsewhere or with different writers.

What has been your experience with critique groups? Great? Not so great? Disastrous? 

Does this three-step process make sense to you? Would you ever start a critique group using it? Does it make looking for a critique partner a bit easier?

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About Diana 

 Dr. Diana Stout finds joy in helping other writers and is working on her fourth resource guide for her Finding Your Fire series. Early this year, she published books two and three: CPE: Character, Plot, & Emotionand its companion book, the CPE Workbook, that show how character, plot, and emotion are three equal pillars of storytelling. Writers love the chart that compares the terminology of several storytelling experts and their plot point positions. 

Michael Hauge states that “Diana brilliantly reveals and edifies the uniquely powerful principles of plot and character.”

To learn more about Diana, visit her Sharpened Pencils Productions website and check out her Recommended Reading page where she provides links to books and articles that have helped her become a better writer.

About Llewella

When Llewella was young, her father read her the Oz books, the Narnia books, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Her family watched PBS costume dramas and murder mysteries on television together. In college she began attending Science Fiction conventions. All that comes together in her writing, as she writes fantasies set in historical times that involve stopping criminals.

Llewella has a Bachelors in English Literature and a Masters in Teaching. She has been called an “amazing editor” and also “a 21st century Maxwell Perkins.” She was one of a few developmental editors for the anthology Turning Points by Off Campus Writers’ Workshop which came out in June 2021, and she reprised that role for the anthology Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction, also by OCWW, which came out in April 2023. Both anthologies have been finalists for awards.To learn more about Llewella, visit her Llewella Forgie website.