Diva Critique Partners

Finding a great critique partner is like sending the Curiosity Rover to Mars, except it's a lot more than "seven minutes of sheer terror." Finding a bad critique partner is like shooting fish in a barrel, except a lot messier.

And a good critique partner will point out all those cliches you just wrote, and she will gently suggest that you rewrite the passage.

So here's five tips on what not to do so your critique partners don't call you a diva behind your back:

1) A little politeness goes a long way.

Constructive criticism can be delivered in a way that doesn't leave the writer in tears. Instead of saying, "My five-year-old could have written a better paragraph," try "I think your hero needs to show some emotional reaction here."

2) You don't know everything.

Make sure you know what you're talking about when you're offering criticism. "A PI, a lawyer and a cop walked into an RWA meeting" sounds like the start of a bad joke, but the three of us shared all kinds of stories of bad advice we've gotten from other writers. Just because you're an avid fan of Magnum, P.I., CSI or Law & Order does not make you an expert. If you think something feels wrong in the manuscript, mention it, but refer back #1 before you tell a twenty-year HPD homicide detective he doesn't know his job.

3) Leave your personal bias at home.

We all have them, that little thing that hits our squick button. I recently had a long conversation with a friend about the prevelence of the Cinderella/rape fantasy stories since 50 Shades of Gray came out. Needless to say, the subject does not turn me on in the slightest. Sure enough, another friend asks me to look at her manuscript which features...wait for it....a Cinderella/rape fantasy.

If you can be objective about a subject that turns your stomach, great! But if you can't objectively look at your critique partner's work, you need to tell him. Again, refer to back to #1.

4) Don't rewrite your critique partner's story.

I admit this was my BIG problem under the guise of "I'm just making a suggestion." Actually, it's down-right insulting and insinuates that your partner can't write. I've had critique partners go as far to give me whole different plots along with sample dialogue. Mention the problem you see, but let your partner find his own solution.

5) Acknowledge when the partnership is not working.

Sometimes, despite everyone's good intentions, the relationship just doesn't work. That when you take a step back and have an honest conversation. As I've mentioned before, my friend Nancy and I realized our styles and genres were too different to really be able to help each other. She writes very sweet YA, and I write R-rated UF. But honest acknowledgement kept our friendship intact.

I'm not saying gentle honesty will always work. Some folks get their fee-fees hurt if you look at them sideways. Those are the relationships that you don't walk away from, you run!

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Have a brutally honest conversation about what each of you needs from a critique partner. Then be the kind of critique partner you would love to have!

Villainy and the WIP

Currently reading - Insatiable by Meg Cabot

I was caught up in villain motivations yesterday because I've finally got my head back in the current wip.

In fact, on Sunday, we finally had a c.p. get-together for business gossip and some brainstorming.  After Christie and I picked up the pizzas and I pulled into traffic, she gets all Serious.  It's rare for her to get serious with the capital 'S.' 

"I'm only going to say this once.  You'd better finish this book."  And then she shut up.  Folks, if you've know Christie or ever been around her, you know she can't stop talking.  It's in her DNA.  But no, she sat quiet as a church mouse for a couple of blocks until I said, "I will."

Monday morning, I clicked the file open and got back to work.  Only to realize that other than a brief passage in Chapter 1, I hadn't fleshed out, much less mentioned, my primary villain.  And since my villain's long-term goal is the destruction of the universe, he definitely needed some backstory.

It probably helped that on Sunday, Jody called my 'Vette evil.  Then she added that it suits me.  Fleshing out my villain shouldn't be a problem, right?

Business Plan Part 4 - Support System

Currently reading - Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti

One thing that'll get you through the recalcitrant characters, stubborn plots, and rejections (besides chocolate) will be your writing support system.

Ideally, our best support system would be our families and loved ones, but let's face facts. Unless family members, spouses, etc. are in the arts world, they'll probably think you're nuts.

DH was the bassist in a rock band for years, so he understands my writing pecadillos to some extent. On the other hand, his by-the-book oldest sister and brother-in-law gave our niece hell about wanting a degree in graphic arts and design. To the extent they threatened to cut her off monetarily if she didn't change her degree to business.

My heart broke when I heard this because my niece (let's call her Elphaba after the heroine in our favorite Broadway musical) is a fabulous artist. Fabulous enough that I want her to do something original for my website (when I can finally put one together). Fabulous enough I'd pitch her as my cover artist to my publisher.

Just like Elphaba, your family may try to sabotage your writing career for your own good. Or because they feel short-changed in the attention department. Or because you need to order in something besides pizza every night.

So what happens if you're not getting the writing love at home? That's when writing groups, live and online, come into play. Writers understand the agony of brainstorming, the ecstasy of typing "The End."

So start putting together your writing family. Trust me, you'll need them.

And while you're reading this, my crit group is out celebrating the success of one of our own with brunch at Panera's. 'Cause like I said, no one else understands this crazy business like your writing family.

Why Different Voices Make a Song

Currently reading - Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Writer's voice is one of those things no one can really teach you. It's there or it isn't.

So what is writer's voice? I think it's a combination of background, experiences and tastes that cause the lovely, little right hemisphere of your brain to choose words, sentence structure and rhythm into a particular cadence.

Let's take my critique partners for instance. If you had a chapter from Christie and a chapter from me, you might say they're both funny. But the type of humor we each use is completely different. Christie has this down-home, Alabama, situational comedy flavor. Mine is more urban attitude snarkalicious. It's about the same as comparing The Andy Griffith Show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Part of being a good c.p. is knowing when to leave your partner's voice alone. Faye sent back the first pages of AVT. She's very good about making her point without re-writing my story. I've had lots of other c.p.'s who'd rewrite whole chapters to the point where my story didn't sound like me any more.

So if you've found your voice, congratulations! You've conquered half the battle of making your work stand out.

If you haven't, stop for a moment. Are you trying to emulate someone? Nora? Stephen? Neil? Stop doing that! Now! Listen to your gut and follow it to your real voice. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

Paying It Forward

Sorry about the lateness of today's blog. The release of the latest Dresden files book, Changes, by Jim Butcher overwhelmed me momentarily. If you're a fan, he'll be at Murder By the Book here in Houston tonight at 6:30PM.

Despite my rant on Friday, I truly believe in paying it forward. Why? Because I've been the lucky recipient of folks who believe the same thing.

Roughly six years ago, this cute little blonde waltzed up to me at my first RWA chapter meeting. Her words dripped with Southern drawl, and she wore the most adorable hat. Frankly, that's all I can remember of my first encounter with classy Christie Craig. My own fear of new people and new situations blocked out most of the rest of that day.

A few months later, Christie asked if I'd like to meet for coffee. I was a little shell-shocked. Why would a published writer want to spend time with a newbie like me?

Over pumpkin and vanilla lattes, she talked about getting her first book published in 1993 and how she hit a dry spell in fiction. She put her daughter through college by writing over 10,000 magazine article. We discussed books, our current projects and how life is all about change and you can never stop learning. We discovered we had a lot in common. Growing up in small towns and taking the first opportunity to get out. Moms who weren't exactly all there in the mental department. The love of a terrific novel. And over the course of the next several years, we evolved into critique partners.

She's bent over backward helping me with plotting, emotional nuance, and my personal devil-POV. If I call with a question, she drops everything and gives her undivided attention. That's not to say we haven't had differences of opinion over certain stuff, but we respect each other's opinion enough to agree to disagree.

I've learned a hell of a lot about craft just from proof-reading for Christie. She'll downplay her talent at times. Her battles with dyslexia irritate her to no end. But she never gave up her dream of getting published. And finally in November 2006, she got that call from her agent that not only had she sold her second manuscript, but her third, fourth and fifth as well.

Shut Up and Kiss Me is Christie's seventh novel. This is my 100th Blog Post. So in honor of these two milestones, I'm giving away a signed ARC of Shut Up and Kiss Me.** It's damn funny book. I should know. I've read it already.

For a chance at winning the signed ARC, please leave a comment. Make sure you leave a name if posting an anonymous comment. You have until 11:00AM CDT Thursday morning to post a comment. I'll have GK draw a name at noon, and I'll announce the winner.

FINE PRINT and LEGALESE CRAP: Due to postage regulations and costs, I will only be able to mail the ARC to someone in the U.S. or Canada. I can't put folks outside of these two countries in GK's hat. You're still welcome to leave a comment though!



** P.S. Signed by Christie, not by me.

You Gotta Have Friends

Currently reading - Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

I'm blessed to have published friends looking out for me. Before I continue, please remember two things:

a) Don't EVER expect people to do things for you.
b) I knew most of these gals before they got famous.

Back in 2004 at the first RWA chapter meeting I attended, I met two interesting ladies. The first one was short, wore a funky hat, and had an accent more southern-fried deep than my Aunt Des's. The other was such a cute pixie I swear I expected to see wings pop out of her back at any minute. Through these two, I met a quiet, demure, pearl-wearing lady who has a wicked talent for practical jokes (yeah, looks ARE deceiving) and another gal who is a unusual combination of Southern friendliness and NY f*** you attitude.

At first glance, you'd wonder how this motley crew functions as a crit group (especially after we've had one too many celebratory chocolate martinis), but we do.

Christie and Faye had some publishing success in the '90's before hitting a little dry spell. This is not an easy industry to find success, and both ladies are perfect examples of the moxy needed to forge ahead when you smack head-first into a roadblock. Teri leads the pack in e-book frontier, willing to take chances in what was a very new medium just a few short years ago. Jody and I have magazine credits but are forging up that full-length published novel mountain.

When I hit what appears to the casual observer to be a set-back recently, these gals jumped in with support: analytical phone calls, suggesting alternative markets, and "screw the man" e-mails. (Mind you, Jody's typing these e-mails with a broken arm while her husband's still in the CCU with encephalitis.) You can't beat this type of support system.

So here's my advice: if you're looking for a critique group, don't look for someone published to pull you up. It doesn't quite work that way.

Instead, find folks with similar goals who'll give you chocolate to soothe those rejection, martinis for the successes, and a kick in the pants when you need it. And you do the same for them because that's what friends are for.