In Praise of Critique Groups - Barbara Jean Hicks

Sometimes you don't appreciate something until you don't have access to it any more. Because of the contract I signed for my current work in progress, I can't share it with anyone. Maybe you're used to writing without the feedback of trusted critique partners. I've certainly "written blind" before--but it's been a long time.

Working on my own again has made me realize how much I've come to depend on my critique partners to see the things I don't see in my own writing because I'm just too close to it.

In this case, my editor has become my critique partner--which is lovely, but not the same. I haven't heard or read her writing. She hasn't made herself vulnerable by sharing her work with me in the way I'm sharing mine. She isn't opening herself up to bleed the way I am. We are not equals; she's my boss.

I miss Tina, who always sees the forest when I'm lost in the trees. Denise, who appreciates both the music and the message in my writing and lets me know when something in particular is working. Siri, who can visualize the illustrations and page turns for my picture book texts. Marjorie and Helen, who once sat through a marathon read-through of a novella to catch any inconsistencies. Patti, who started me on the path to publication and with whom I co-wrote my first published novels. Others in the four different critique groups I've belonged to over the years of my writing life. Each brought a unique perspective to my writing that helped me see my text with new eyes. I am who I am as a writer in part because of them.

Critique groups. Writing partners. Praise them!