Any interest in a critique group?

[eroticstoryspinner]

I am relatively new so this may be one of those posts that reinvents the wheel but a post by Coffeewithmonkeys got me to wondering about a LIT critique group? I know there have been story discussion groups, but they see to be for published stories and for whatever reason pretty moribund. I belong to a group for SF but would never consider submitting any of my erotica

Any thought and or interest?

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Hi, ESS! I think it's a great idea and I'd be interested.

 

[SimonDoom]

I may be interested but would like to hear more details about what your idea is. What would this group do?

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

I may be interested but would like to hear more details about what your idea is. What would this group do?

My thinking was along the lines of say one a week submit a WIP the rest of the group shares their thoughts, and then the next week someone else steps forward or passes if they don't have anything. That said I am certainly open to ideas as this won't work without everyone who participates buy in.

 

[lovecraft68]

My initial thought is this is a good idea.
But on the heels of that I think there is serious potential for butthurt and all the arguing that comes with it.

I've been here a long time and couldn't even begin to count how many times "I'm interested in thoughts about my work and open to critique" turns into "what the fuck do you know?" and goes downhill from there.

Good luck if you try it, and hope it works out for you, but the skin is thin more often than not.

 

[Jada59]

I might be interested.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

I've been here a long time and couldn't even begin to count how many times "I'm interested in thoughts about my work and open to critique" turns into "what the fuck do you know?" and goes downhill from there.

Good luck if you try it, and hope it works out for you, but the skin is thin more often than not.

All very true and insightful points, thanks LC.

 

[SimonDoom]

My initial thought is this is a good idea.
But on the heels of that I think there is serious potential for butthurt and all the arguing that comes with it.

I've been here a long time and couldn't even begin to count how many times "I'm interested in thoughts about my work and open to critique" turns into "what the fuck do you know?" and goes downhill from there.

Good luck if you try it, and hope it works out for you, but the skin is thin more often than not.

This is very true, and you're right that criticism often is not well received. But I'm pretty thick-skinned, and don't take offense easily, and I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for this and offer a draft for critiquing.

 

[SimonDoom]

Question about mechanics: how does one submit a work in progress for review? I assume it would have to be posted somewhere and the link provided to wherever it's posted, but where would that be?

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Question about mechanics: how does one submit a work in progress for review? I assume it would have to be posted somewhere and the link provided to wherever it's posted, but where would that be?

Can we post WIPs? I thought we could only post things posted to Lit. Wouldn’t we need to do this offline?

 

[lovecraft68]

Can we post WIPs? I thought we could only post things posted to Lit. Wouldn’t we need to do this offline?

If its short, you could paste it into a DM, but if its a full chapter or story it would have to be done through an e-mail exchange.

Of course there's the cloud or google docs, but despite claims that its private, I have doubts that it can't be accessed by others, especially google.

 

[SimonDoom]

If its short, you could paste it into a DM, but if its a full chapter or story it would have to be done through an e-mail exchange.

Of course there's the cloud or google docs, but despite claims that its private, I have doubts that it can't be accessed by others, especially google.

Email probably is the way to do it. I'd be reluctant to use something like Google Docs for a group critique.

 

[NotWise]

Any thought and or interest?

I'm not sure I see much added value in a group critique compared to the feedback channels available now. To me, it sounds a little like a cluster fuck.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

This is very true, and you're right that criticism often is not well received. But I'm pretty thick-skinned, and don't take offense easily, and I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for this and offer a draft for critiquing.

I think I would be too.

 

[yukonnights]

I'm not sure I see much added value in a group critique compared to the feedback channels available now. To me, it sounds a little like a cluster fuck.

I'm going to agree. (And I'm reading the OP as meaning a new story that is all done except for a 'beta-read' by someone other than the author.)

It's hard enough, for me at least, to deal with one person's feedback on a beta-reader basis. I can't really wrap my head around a committee critique. It sounds engaging, maybe even enlightening, but for a story virtually ready to publish it sounds confusing.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm not sure I see much added value in a group critique compared to the feedback channels available now. To me, it sounds a little like a cluster fuck.

I think the difference here is having someone take a look at a WIP, while here its a finished product in the feedback forums.

I imagine the concept is to maybe get some insight on whether whatever you're doing is working the way you want to and maybe point out some things that aren't working or inconsistent.

Also, a private feedback group would eliminate the biggest issue I see in the feedback forum which is a troll who didn't even read the story in question swooping in to start arguments with the people who did and are rendering opinions and the thread turns into it being all about said troll.

The Mod there allows this and I feel its kept that forum from growing and serving its true purpose and turns it into the aforementioned clusterfuck.

If people want to give this a go, I see no harm in it providing people can handle being critiqued, and the people critiquing can stay within polite and constructive and keep personal preference out of it, which is not always easy for some.

I haven't been involved with much here in a long time and also at this point have a little more free time, and would be willing to give this a go.

 

[NotWise]

I think the difference here is having someone take a look at a WIP, while here its a finished product in the feedback forums.

The Feedback forum is only good for finished stories, but you can get beta readers for stories in progress through the Editor's forum or through contacts on AH. We have informal story exchanges going on all the time.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I'm always hungry for more eyeballs on my works in progress. GoogleDocs is how I've been doing something similar in my group of author friends for years. By far, it's the most constructive medium for it.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Email probably is the way to do it. I'd be reluctant to use something like Google Docs for a group critique.

I'm always hungry for more eyeballs on my works in progress. GoogleDocs is how I've been doing something similar in my group of author friends for years. By far, it's the most constructive medium for it.

I’m amenable to different formatting but I agree with AMD that Google Docs and Hangouts is by far the best tool for making and tracking group reviews.

 

[SimonDoom]

I’m amenable to different formatting but I agree with AMD that Google Docs and Hangouts is by far the best tool for making and tracking group reviews.

I don't feel strongly about it. Seems OK to me if that's the method most would prefer. I've used it before.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I'll wait for the OP to take the first step, but if that doesn't happen by the weekend then people can feel free to PM me and we can see about setting something up.

 

[BrokenSpokes]

Google docs

Google Docs would be a way for a group like that to work. I write exclusively in Google Docs and I usually share my works with 1-3 beta readers. It would be an easy task to share it with a group for mass-critiquing.

Each users could make comments on the whole work, or leave specific comments pinned to the section you want to comment on.

 

[lovecraft68]

The Feedback forum is only good for finished stories, but you can get beta readers for stories in progress through the Editor's forum or through contacts on AH. We have informal story exchanges going on all the time.

Unfortunately the feedback troll has already decimated the editors forum and helped make it the low traffic forum it is.

So I guess a private critique group would at least not be subject to an in house troll and therefore capable-hopefully-of polite discussions about the WIP and WIP only.

 

[lovecraft68]

Google Docs would be a way for a group like that to work. I write exclusively in Google Docs and I usually share my works with 1-3 beta readers. It would be an easy task to share it with a group for mass-critiquing.

Each users could make comments on the whole work, or leave specific comments pinned to the section you want to comment on.

So I'm pretty old school...for google docs you just need a google account, right?

I think I was part of a hangout one time for an anthology project, but its all a blur at this point

 

[AwkwardMD]

So I'm pretty old school...for google docs you just need a google account, right?

I think I was part of a hangout one time for an anthology project, but its all a blur at this point

Yes. Any google account will do