Word to the Writer: "Evaluation"

Here is step four in my series. I am posting it this Wednesday because tomorrow is my blogfest post. I hope you all don't mind.


 By now you are probably very sick of reading your own work. Here is where you can break away. After you have fixed simple errors, plot holes, and sentence structures, its the perfect time to submit to Beta readers or a critique group.


 There are Pros and Cons to letting other people read your work.

 Pros:

•  Another set of eyes gives you a fresh take on your writing.
• They have differnce in opinions so you get a broad range to work with.
• They can help you fix errors that you missed because you are too close to your work.
• Others can give you new inspiration and ideas to work with.

Cons:

•  You get alot of feed back inside a critique group that you have to decide either to change or keep.(remember to use your own judgment based off your story idea.)
• They will tell you negative as well as positive if they are a good partner
• People are finicky creatures and sometimes only see their side, or their opinion.
• If you chose someone who doesn't understand the writing process you might get bad advice

Remember: they will tell you what they think as a reader.


How do you know if a beta reader or critique partner is any good?
 A good partner will tell you both the good and the bad of the piece.
 If the person says "its great i love it just the way it is" get a second opinion.
If the person says "I hate it you should stop writing" get another opinion




 Keep in mind not every one will love or hate your work, we all come with individual opinions- you are not looking for Justification- you are looking for ways to better your piece.


 After you have some critiques to work with then start revising again. During this process you do not need to take every single suggestion. Its important that you understand where your story is going, and if something is unclear you need to make sure you want to clear it up or keep it unclear.


 After you have revised, submit again, or submit as many times as you think you need.


 One good place I have been using since 2006 is www.critiquecircle.com
check it out if you are so inclined.

My final step comes next week titled " Metamorphosis"