Not to be harsh or anything.... but why do you *NEED* to have a group?
I don't use a group, and submit it with my own editing. I rather be my own editor than allow for a bunch of others thinking outside of my head to do my editing for me.
I don't need a critique group - I went without one for years, and even when I did have one the members only ever saw and commented on a fraction of my writing (it was a specialized group for fantasy/science fiction writing only).
Critique groups, at least the kind I was talking about, don't do my editing for me. I, as the writer, do that. The value in a critique group comes exactly from what you said: a bunch of other people thinking outside my own head. When writing, it's easy to become "blind" to your own writing, to not recognize your own weaknesses or not realize that something that seems perfectly clear to you doesn't come across nearly as well to another reader.
This is where a critique group comes in. A group of people who can read over your work and give you their opinions on what works and what doesn't. The key word is "opinions." I, as the writer, have the freedom to listen to or disregard their advice as I see fit. I have the freedom to take their suggestions into account when I edit or not. The point is to have fresh
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Oh, I suppose you were commenting on the whole "I have to find a new group" thing. Well, just take that as journalistic exaggeration. I don't absolutely have to find a new group, but it would be nice, seeing as the one I was a part of was a tremendous help to me and my writing.
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I don't use a group, and submit it with my own editing. I rather be my own editor than allow for a bunch of others thinking outside of my head to do my editing for me.
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Critique groups, at least the kind I was talking about, don't do my editing for me. I, as the writer, do that. The value in a critique group comes exactly from what you said: a bunch of other people thinking outside my own head. When writing, it's easy to become "blind" to your own writing, to not recognize your own weaknesses or not realize that something that seems perfectly clear to you doesn't come across nearly as well to another reader.
This is where a critique group comes in. A group of people who can read over your work and give you their opinions on what works and what doesn't. The key word is "opinions." I, as the writer, have the freedom to listen to or disregard their advice as I see fit. I have the freedom to take their suggestions into account when I edit or not. The point is to have fresh ( ... )
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