How does this sound?

By Lacey Gunter

Online social networks have seeped their way into every part of our modern culture. No reputable writing conference these days would dare leave out a class or panel discussion on the importance and integration of social networks in the publishing process. But one could easily argue that they have become just as integrated into the writing process as well.

With a large portion of our ranks being introverts, it's no surprise that many writers prefer online social networks for finding and receiving feedback on their writing.  There are a lot of good reasons for this. You have much greater access to writers in your genre or even sub genre. Critiques can be done on a more flexible schedule, in the comfort of your own home or wherever else you prefer.  Comments can be made and received by monitor, so less confrontation and no game face needed.  Likewise, an author can collect their thoughts and calm down before any interacting, rather than suffer from knee jerk reactions.  Taken as a whole they are a great resource for writers seeking to improve their craft.

I frequently use this avenue for getting critiques on my writing. However, I am a strong believer that online and social networks should augment a writer's resources for writing feedback, rather than replace it. The biggest reason I suggest this is that there is great value in hearing your writing read aloud by someone else.

We know how things are supposed to sound in our head. But we are not the voice in our reader's head. Hearing your writing read aloud by someone else allows you to assess whether the reader can replicate your desired rhythm and pacing. It helps you understand if you are setting the right tone and whether your jokes sound as witty when someone who doesn't already know the punch line reads them. It gives you a sense of how events and dialogue might get interpreted and the overall emotion your writing leaves with the reader.

Some of the these things can and do get expressed in online critiques, but usually only when they are a significant issue.  Being in person and hearing the sounds and seeing the facial expressions and body language give you another level of feedback that no one will say to you.

This is just one reason, of course. There are many other good reasons as well. The best part is, your online social networks can also be used to find in person critique partners. You just have to put a little more effort into it.

Now, if I could just find someone to read this blog post aloud to me.

Happy critiquing.

I would make a terrible literary agent.

By Lacey Gunter

In my day job I teach statistics for a local university.  It didn't take me very long in my teaching to discover that I am a slow grader. Since statistics is the application of mathematical theory to discover natural law and science, you may question why it should be take me so long to grade.  Math is right or wrong, pretty black and white, you might say.  To which I would concede, yes it is. However, in my defense, and as I like to tell my students, math is like grammar, and statistics is like creative writing.

In statistics, the black and whites only take on meaningful shape when surrounded by gray. And the right or wrongs get replaced with things like elegant, clunky or problematic.  Thus, when I am grading,  I often have to get a sense of the range of responses submitted and then weigh out the nuances and subtleties of the issues, before making an assessment.

In my writing, I have had plenty of opportunities to participate in critique groups. At any given time I prefer to be an active member in at least two different groups. Here, I have discovered, I am also a very slow critiquer.

In a live critique group, I find I typically have to sit a little while and think about what I have read or heard. I have to evaluate what emotions I felt, when I felt them and why. This usually means I am often silent through the first part of the discussion before I have formulated an intelligible assessment of what I have read.

With online critique groups I am even worse. I typically have to read through a manuscript, sit on it and think about for at least a day or two, then read it again before I feel prepared to comment on it.

Despite my slowness, I don't think I am a bad critiquer. Lots of critique partners have expressed that they appreciate and value my feedback.

So when I watch agents and editors critique a piece on the fly, or talk about how they can tell whether they will like a manuscript after just a couple of paragraphs, I am always amazed by this. How do they do it so fast? Are they so in touch with their gut and their emotional core that they can interpret how they feel about it immediately? Are they acting on mostly instinct, or is there a complex process of thought going on which they have managed to breeze through because of practice or skill?

I could never be a literary agent. My slush pile would swallow me whole before I could ever start to make a dent all on the manuscripts I would have to review.  So for all you fast critiquers out there, I desperately need your pointers. How do you do it? What am I doing wrong? What is your secret? Please share, for all the poor slow schmucks like me.

Critique Groups

When I began writing  in 2010 I sat at my computer blissfully unaware of gerunds, queries, things to avoid on page one, and the whole publishing process. I wrote because it was a dream I'd had for a long time, one that I finally tackled when my best friend called me and told me she was writing a book. I'm grateful for the ignorance at the start of my writing life because it let me explore freely and focus on getting ideas and stories on the page.

That said, once I attended my first writing conference in 2011 (Writers and Illustrators for Young Readers WIFYR) I realized I had a ton to learn. I needed to hone my craft. I needed to learn grammar. And, I needed feedback from people who didn't already know (and love) me. What I needed was a critique group.

Five members of my WIFYR class created one. And my writing improved significantly. Over time though, we've gotten to be such good friends that we've become cheerleaders and beta readers, but not so much critique partners. So when I moved to North Carolina where SCBWI is strong, I joined Capital Eyes, a critique group that meets once a month just fifteen minutes from my house. Introverted me was nervous to meet new people, even kindred writer people like myself, but I didn't have anything to worry about.

No only have I made really good local writing friends, but I've also been able to pool from all of their knowledge and grow my craft even more. So if you're nervous about getting your writing out there, about others reading it and possibly NOT liking it, I would encourage you to still take that step and get outside feedback. Join a local or online group. Reach out and let yourself be vulnerable and watch your writing self develop. You just might make some great friends in the process. And you just might write the next big thing. Besides, you need someone to thank in your acknowledgments page.

Write On.