Friday will be critique day for this blog, at least for as many Fridays as I can manage. We’ll see how it goes.
There are two ways you can participate:
1. If you subscribe to or follow this blog, you may send in a writing sample to be critiqued by me as well as other readers. You need to be ready to receive input, both positive and negative, so bring your thick skin. Submissions must be fiction and 1000 words or fewer. No porn, obscene language, or gore allowed. Some blood is okay, but no splattered brains, disembowelment, and the like. If you include “mild” swearing and it seems appropriate for the story, I will consider allowing it. It is best to send the beginning of your story. Email submissions to blogcritique@daviscrossing.com. I cannot guarantee that I will post your submission for critique.
2. In order to be critiqued, you need to participate in critiquing others. If you have posted a critique comment on at least one existing post, you are eligible to have your own work critiqued.
3. Help me critique the submitted piece by posting a comment. It is best to give a positive comment before saying something negative. If you think something should be changed, then try to give a suggested alternative.
No personal criticisms are allowed. Always be kind and thoughtful. It is okay to make an attempt at humor, but remember tone is hard to communicate in text, so be careful. You might even post a video of your commentary. Don’t be scared to be creative.
To the person who is being critiqued, you may chime in as well, but it is best not to defend yourself or your work beyond explaining something that is unclear. Just acknowledge the critiques, accept what sounds right, and reject without comment those that are not helpful. Remember that the critiquing people are trying to help, so be grateful for their comments.
Before you submit something to be critiqued, please review this list of common mistakes and do your best to correct any you might find in your work. This will make critiquing easier.
I am no longer accepting stories written in present tense. I realize that present-tense stories are popular, but I cannot critique them. I am confident that other critiquing sites will allow present-tense submissions.
This critique group is not designed for beginning writers, that is, writers who are still learning basic concepts such as punctuation, grammar, and paragraph structure. Such writers are not ready to be critiqued in a public forum. This service is for writers who understand how narrative, dialogue, and interior monologue function. If someone sends in a piece to be critiqued, and the work shows that the writer is not ready for this step, I will not post it.
Please let me know if anything is unclear or if you have suggestions that might make these critique sessions really super.
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Categories: Announcements, Critique Group
Definitely considering this.
Quick question; when you say “Writing Sample”, do you mean only story format, or is poetry and the like allowed too?
Since my writing tips are focusing on stories right now, I will be focusing on stories. In the future, I plan to do a poetry emphasis at which time we can critique some poetry.
Ah, alright. Thank you for the reply, I look forward to that time, as poetry is my writing forte, so to speak.
Hmm. Perhaps I’ll submit some of my work.
Please do.
I hope to get some good insight. I’ve tried to amend my writing based on the tips/editing you did on my prologue a while back, and it would be nice to know if I’m applying good changes.
Approximately how long should our entries be? I kind of have a hard time knowing where to cut off the length. 🙂
One thousand words or fewer.
Do we need to put something specific in the subject line of the email?
No. I’ll be able to figure it out.
Okay. Thanks.
Quick question; if you receive numerous pieces of work, would you possibly start to post 2 or more pieces on Fridays?
Yes, I am already planning that, and maybe three, because the queue for posting is already backing up pretty far.
That will be fun, hopefully a lot of people get help from this. And I may or may not have just now backed it up more.
Can you submit short story’s?
Yes, the first 1000 words.
Thanks!
Where do you send/post something to be critiqued?
The information is in the post above.
Definitely planning on sending in a submission sometime soonish. 🙂
By the way, the link for “this list of common mistakes” doesn’t work.
If one’s story is refused once, can one edit it and try again some time later?
Yes, but yours has not been rejected.
It hasn’t? 😮
No, what gave you the impression that it had?
Well, I guess I let my imagination and my silly calculating get the best of me…. I had calculated that something was posted about once a week or so, and when something else was posted I guessed that mine had been put aside for unreadiness…
If I entered a submission once and got critiqued on it, and then I edited it, would I be able to re-submit it again?
Yes, you may send it again.
Thanks!
Can a manuscript sent be a continuation of one already sent? Like a part-one, part-two, so-on kind-of thing?
Yes.
How many parts may it go up to before it needs a different title? Because people are going to be weirded out if it’s, say, ‘The Rubber Duck part 22’….
I doubt that I will allow more than two parts of the same story.
Okay. So meaning no allowance of the same story at all, or simply of the same title?
I have been allowing two parts of the same story.
So, say I have a story, and I submit two parts of it already, then I submit another different bit of the same novel under a different title? Or not at all? Is one allowed to do so if one is not simply continuing? Or is continuing under a new title okay?
You are not allowed to submit more than two excerpts from the same novel.
You answered below that you wouldn’t allow more than two excerpts from the same story. Does that mean that we can only have two parts of the same story posted on the blog, but we can still send other parts of the story to you to be critiqued? Or does this mean that you will only critique/post two parts of the same story?
I have allowed more when I have nothing else to post.
I understand you want only 1000 words or less sent in, but I was hoping to send in a chapter (1500 words). I hate to cut off 500 of those words and have the section end abruptly. Could you make an exception?
You may send it in. I can’t guarantee that I will critique all of it, but at least the entire chapter will be there for others.
Okay, thank you!
I was hoping to send in some of my work, but I have a couple questions.
Would it be more convenient for you if I sent the submission in the body of the email or in an attachment? It is also possible for me to convert an attachment to PDF if that would be more helpful.
Secondly, the piece runs forty-four words over one-thousand. Is this unacceptable?
Thank you!
If you use Microsoft Word, an attachment is better. Forty-four words over is all right.
Thank you so much for your prompt reply!
I’m afraid I don’t even have Microsoft Word in my computer so I use Open Office. Will an attachment still be preferable?
Can you save it in Word or RTF format?
I have just saved the excerpt in RTF format and will email it to you. Please let me know if you have trouble opening it.
if our piece does get rejected for various reasons will you let the person know
Yes.
can i send it (like on paper) to you? -_- my parents say its too morbid and dark to share I mean I did write it when you know they had a rough patch. I write how I feel that’s how I don’t blow up.
If you send it on paper, I won’t have a way to post it on the blog.
Can Tyler then? Or one of my other friends? or you can use my blog it’s up on there
http://idaandcharlie.wixsite.com/lizziesblog
It’s under short stories ” A Hopeless Romantic”
Anyone can send in an excerpt to be critiqued as long as the criteria are followed.
okay. Thanks. I’ll ask Tyler then