Living the Fictional Dream

I had a story critiqued at my writing group meeting today. Back in my undergrad and graduate workshop classes, I used to be so stressed out about having critiques. Maybe it was being graded. Or maybe it was because I was being critiqued by classmates, not friends.

The thing I love about Writer’s Ink is that balance of friendship and writing. Everyone is genuinely supportive and wants everyone else to succeed at this writing thing, but we don’t pull our punches about the stories. If there are problems, we talk about them. No rah-rahs just for the sake of praise. If people do give me good comments, I know they are sincere. And when you have that level of friendship, it’s easier to listen to what they have to say, because, let’s face it, critiques can be rough. Trust in a writing group is very important.

A good critique group is very valuable for a writer. Writing is hard on your own. You get mired down in the story and soon it is saying what you want it to say. Critiques help you see a story for what it is and make it better.

I’m excited about the story that I had critiqued today. I think it’s a good one. It has a few flaws to iron out, but I hope to have it ready to start submitting sometime soon. I have the perfect first place to send it to!

G’night all!