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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all!
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you all had a great
weekend.
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mary rosenblum
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I thought I'd talk a bit about
critiquing today.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a subject that I've
talked about before, but it bears repeating.
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mary rosenblum
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Because critiquing is really a
double edged sword, and it cuts both ways.
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mary rosenblum
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While it can be incredibly
useful in terms of knowing when you are actually walking one of those many
'fine lines' we have to walk in our prose...
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mary rosenblum
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between too much and too
little information, and so forth...
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mary rosenblum
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it can also be very dangerous
if any type of criticism stops you from writing for a week or so, or if
your citiquers are simply pointing out problems without offering solutions.
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mary rosenblum
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On the other side of the
coin...how do you tell the author something useful about the work? Where do
you begin? What makes a critique good versus bad?
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mary rosenblum
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And when you listen to a
critique, how do you know if the information is valid or not? What should
you listen to and what should you discount?
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mary rosenblum
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Let's start with why ask for a
critique.
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mary rosenblum
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A good critiquer does for you
want fans will later do for you...they can tell you if a story works.
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mary rosenblum
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But a good critiquer may also
be able to tell you where and why a story does not work as well as it
could.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that you know your
story WAY too well. You will not be able to look at it objectively and see
weak spots in the plot, logic gaps that are too wide to get over, or
confusing scenes. You KNOW all that stuff.
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mary rosenblum
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It's there. You see it, even
if it's not on the page.
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mary rosenblum
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You can see those weaknesses
yourself, but usually it requires that you put your ms aside and let it
'cool off' until you can read it with new eyes.
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mary rosenblum
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That can take a few days, a
few weeks, months, or even a year or more.
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mary rosenblum
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A critiquer can shortcut the
process.
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mary rosenblum
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Now your spouse or parent,
sibling, or child do not usually make a good critiquer, even if they know
how to do it.
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mary rosenblum
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All too often, the personal
baggage between you is going to effect how the critique is delivered...
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mary rosenblum
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or how it's received.
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deb1234
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Wouldn't your child be a good
person to ask if it were about a child's dialogue?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, as long as your child is
comfortable doing that, deb.
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mary rosenblum
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Right now, my 23 year old son
likes to look over work where I have young adult characters to make sure
they sound right.
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mary rosenblum
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It depends on your kid and
whether that kid feels comfortable making comments or whether they can be
objective.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm not saying you can NEVER
get a good critique from a spouse or a parent...
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mary rosenblum
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but more often than not, there
are problems.
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speckledorf
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That personal baggage you speak
of often is there between friends too.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes, indeed, speck. And
'no' is a valid response when asked for a critique.
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coway
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I never thought of wrting for
children, both my grandkids love me to write them stories and ask me if I'm
going to get them published, say they sound like a real book. Wonder if
they may be right that I might be pretty decent at the kiddie ones?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, they're your audience,
coway. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe you should listen to
'em.
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roe
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So it's actually better to get
another writer to read your work? Someone from a chat room for example?
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mary rosenblum
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A writer does tend to be the
best choice as critiquer, simply because he/she is likely to be better at
speaking in specifics.
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mary rosenblum
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While one reader may say,
"The character Jill didn't really work for me." A writer may be
able to tell you...
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mary rosenblum
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"Jill seemed inconstent
as a character. She was really timid at first and all of a sudden she's
ordering strangers around'.
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mary rosenblum
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However, a good reader makes a
good critiquer, too. I give my mysteries to a woman who owns a mystery
bookstore. She's not a writer, but she reads a LOT of mysteries...
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mary rosenblum
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and if I can keep her mislead
until the end, I'll mislead nearly every reader.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me
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deb1234
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So perhaps get a writer to
critique and when you think it's done then ask someone else if they like
the story/afticle?
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mary rosenblum
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That's a good way to do it. And
if you need to use a non-writer critiquer, make yourself a list of specific
questions that you'd like answers to.
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mary rosenblum
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Does Jack's decision to take
the train home make sense?
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mary rosenblum
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Did you understand why Uncle
Jeff was angry?
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mary rosenblum
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Then seal those questions up
in an envelope and ask your reader to answer them AFTER he/she reads the
story.
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mary rosenblum
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For an article, you want to
know...If you picked this up in the dentist's office would you have kept
reading? Where did you yawn?
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mary rosenblum
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What is the article saying
(without looking!)
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mary rosenblum
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A little quiz is a GREAT way
to tell if your article is tight and engaging.
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mary rosenblum
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If your reader can't tell you
without looking what your article was about, you're in trouble.
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mary rosenblum
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And if that reader only
remembers two of the three points you made, maybe you need to sharpen that
third point!
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bravo6
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I came in late so this may have
already been asked (Eating ANOTHER Reece's Sticks - M Roe -they're good!
}-P) but, if you have critiquers but they QUIT critiquing but they keep
saying they want to critique (These are friends) - how do you say No
easily?
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bravo6
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I have about 20 critiqers and I
have already told the majority of them that they will NOT be able to
critique anymore due to lack of action. But others, who have given GREAT
critiques are just dwindling and they keep saying "I'll get right on
it"
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mary rosenblum
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Well, if they want to read it,
do you care if you never hear from them again? I'm assuming you're not
worried that they're going to steal your scenes.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm usually happy to let
anyone who asks read my work, but I don't particularly care if they
critique or not, unless they're someone I WANT a critique from.
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mary rosenblum
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But generally, if you give a
critique you expect to receive one from that person...
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mary rosenblum
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which is why most pro authors
really have to limit the number of critiques they ask for and give..
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mary rosenblum
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to a small number. There are
only so many hours in the day.
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bravo6
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clarification - These people
asked specifically to critique my work - all of them. And no, i am not
concerned about them stealing it.. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I would shrug it off if
you don't hear back....OR...that may be a critique in itself if your work
is not engaging them. You might want to sort of clarify that point for
yourself.
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mary rosenblum
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But a lot of folks say, 'Oh,
I'd love to critique' not realizing how much time is involved.
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mary rosenblum
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It takes me a full week of ALL
my spare time to critique a novel, which is why I exchange critiques very
sparingly.
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red
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What about for hire critique
services?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, red, if I get three
critiques on a story or novel, one of 'em for sure is going to be pretty
far off base.
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mary rosenblum
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The author has their own
agenda and it colors their 'take' on my story....they just don't get this
kind of story....whatever.
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mary rosenblum
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So I just brush it off. But I
don't have to pay for that.
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mary rosenblum
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If you want to use a for-pay
service I would make sure that they critque the type of story you are
writing WELL.
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mary rosenblum
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Catching your grammatical
errors...unless your English is VERY bad...is not worth paying for.
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mary rosenblum
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Copy editors do that for you
and YOU get paid.
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dbamarsha
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Do you usually ask for more than
one person to critique the same piece?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, yes, and as you exchange
critiques, you'll begin to discover your regular critquers' shortcomings
and strengths.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, this current
project: It will go to one person who is very strong on science and won't
have a word to say about my characters or plot.
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mary rosenblum
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It will go to another person
who will find plot twists to add that I never thought of, and see the
slightest plot weakness. Characters are not her thing, so she'll leave 'em
alone.
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mary rosenblum
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It will go to a reader who is
a SF reader first and loves characters. She'll find the character flaws. And
it will go to a non SF reader who will notice things the SF readers won't.
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mary rosenblum
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I might use three or four
different readers for the next novel...depending on what I want.
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mary rosenblum
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My YA went to kids the age I
was writing for.
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mary rosenblum
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No one critiquer will see
every problem.
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mary rosenblum
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Every critiquer is better at
something.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me
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t green
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where do you find all these
people???
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mary rosenblum
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You meet people. Three of
these are other writers I know. One is working in the same universe I am,
only about 500 years later.
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jackie7777
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How do you recover from a harsh
critique?
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mary rosenblum
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That is where you need to work
on growing armor, jackie.
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mary rosenblum
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A critique should never be
negative. Ever. Pros know this, and except for the rare **shole, pros are
nearly always tough but positive.
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mary rosenblum
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But you CAN get a negative
critique, and it's more common when you and the critiquer are both novices.
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mary rosenblum
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What you need to remember is
a: That critique is an opinion, and it doesn't matter what the credentials
of the critiquer are!
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mary rosenblum
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And b: You don't know the
subtext.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, say you write a
story about an abusive dad, and you don't realize your critiquer has abuse
issues in his background.
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mary rosenblum
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You may inadvertantly push
some personal buttons that simply prevent that critquer from being
objective...
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mary rosenblum
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and really evoke a negative
response.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a good idea, if you have
received several critiques, to simply discard that glowing one and that
negative one.
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mary rosenblum
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Both are most likely equally
off base (although we'd love to think the author of the glowing critique is
an undiscovered genius!)
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coway
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in a waiting room, it was a long
wait, lady and I started talking as I edited my short, I asked her if shed
mind reading only the fiirst page and tell me honest if it made her want to
read more, She said, defintely, and I dont' usually like SF. So are
strangers good to ask sometimes?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure coway. I will hand my
story to a stranger any day. Just remember it's ONE opinion. Now she didn't
read SF, but if she did, then she is your potential fan, so listen up!
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jackie7777
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Critiquers don't necessarily
know or see what an editor sees
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mary rosenblum
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That is a VERY important fact,
jackie. Critiquers are NOT your editor. And there is a very good rule of
thumb to remember.
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mary rosenblum
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If one person tells you
something and you don't think it fits...it may well not be important.
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mary rosenblum
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If three people tell you the
same thing...better pay attention!
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bravo6
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I never take any critique
personally. It will either help my work or not. Once i decide if the
critique will help, it goes into a folder. If it is just someone smashing
it, I file it in the round file cabinet. :-D
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mary rosenblum
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You're in a good space, bravo.
It is nearly impossible NOT to take critiques personally when you first
begin writing.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's face it, when we're
writing, not yet selling, WE don't know if we're good or not! And that critique
takes on a LOT of importance.
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mary rosenblum
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The more you sell, the more
you know that you DO write well, the more you can distance yourself from
the critique, use what you need, and shrug off the rest.
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mary rosenblum
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I routinely give my work to a
fellow writer who NEVER sees the story from the perspective I do. We have
very different world views.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT he's great at catching
detail inconsistancies, plot flaws, and military mistakes. I just ignore
all the misreading of character motivations and behavior!
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bravo6
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And I usually try to thank
everyone who critiqued my work, whether I liked it or not.
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mary rosenblum
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Always so that if you EVER
want another critique! I list my critiquers in my aknowlegements page in my
novels and thank them there.
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patchworkcat
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I'm in several critique groups
and also do critiques for various individuals outside of those groups. I'm
always nervous about hurting the writer's feelings. I try to point out
places that I got lost and make suggestions, but also try to show those
areas I thought were very good and right on the mark. Still, you have to be
careful because some people are extremely sensitive about every word they
write. a
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mary rosenblum
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It is extremely difficult to
critique for someone you don't know, since you have no idea of how 'thick'
their skin is.
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mary rosenblum
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Every writer brings their own
expectations to a critique. I tend to focus on strengths and major
problems, until I know a writer well enough (or if that writer is a pro),
to really deliver a complete and thorough critique.
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mary rosenblum
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Picking on EVERY problem in a
ms that has a lot of problems can be devastating to the writer.
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mary rosenblum
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Writers workshops at
conferences make me sweat with anxiety, since I critique for new writers
I've never met.
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realityczech
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As the person GIVING the
critique, what do you do when the writing is (sorry to use a judging word
here) bad? How do you sandwich the negative response between positive
comments when you can't find anything enjoyable about the piece?
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that you are not
responsible for making this story perfect, reality.
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mary rosenblum
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If there are a LOT of
problems, pointing out each and every one is likely to do more harm than
good, unless the writer has an extremely resilient ego.
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mary rosenblum
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Generally, what I do in a case
like that is find one problem that is big enough to keep the writer from
publishing...say poor dialogue...and focus on that.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll praise the strengths I
see, so that the writer knows what is working, pick out one or maybe two
problems that he/she really needs to address, and leave the rest of the
troubles alone.
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mary rosenblum
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You can't do it all, and
trying to can really hurt a new writer with a tender ego.
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mary rosenblum
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And DO remember that it is as
important to point out what works as to point out what does NOT work.
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mary rosenblum
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If nobody tells a writer that
dialogue is her strength, she may not use it much.
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mary rosenblum
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She may really improve her
stories if she does more dialogue, so if a writer does something well,
mention it.
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curseofthe44
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What if you have several
critiquers (including some you pay) who all say that your work is good, but
you feel that the piece(s) still need a lot of work?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, curse, that's a touchy
issue, and one for which there is no general answer. You have to ask
yourself if perhaps you have raised the bar too high. What is your goal?
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mary rosenblum
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Is it to win the Pulitzer? Or
is it to connect to readers in general?
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mary rosenblum
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If you are connecting with
readers, then maybe you're doing just fine. If your goal is literary
perfection, then you may be right and your readers wrong.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of our 'this isn't any
good' sense comes from internal problems that we may not be able to
aknowlege.
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margieh
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Mary, does a critique group have
a life span? Is it more common that folks get over familiar with each
other's work (like family) or is it more likely that the group will grow
together with the advantages of long term interaction?
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mary rosenblum
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It depends on the group,
margieh. Yes, after awhile you'll know exactly what everybody is going to
say.
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mary rosenblum
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But sometimes the synergy of
the group is such that what you get is greater than those individual
critques.
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mary rosenblum
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The one danger to beware of is
writing for the group.
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mary rosenblum
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I know of a couple locally
whose members happily read for each other and applaud each other. I don't
think they're that driven to publish anymore. They have a positive audience
right there.
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sailor
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I hesitate to critique a genre I
do not read. What sort of feedback do you get from your non SF reader?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, I look for comments on
character or plot or where they got confused. Yes, a non SF reader is going
to be confused by things that won't confuse an SF reader...
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mary rosenblum
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but sometimes the questions
are illuminating.
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realityczech
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So what exactly are the
responsibilities of a good critiquer?
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mary rosenblum
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Your responsibility as a
critiquer is a simple one, reality. It is to make THIS story as good as it
can be. Doesn't matter if you like it or not, but how can you improve it?
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mary rosenblum
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It is a GREAT way to improve
your own writing, by the way.
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mary rosenblum
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You will be able to see
weaknesses in others' prose long before you'll be able to identify them in
yours.
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mary rosenblum
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I have learned more from
critiquing and then teaching writing than I have learned in all other ways
combined.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't ask them to tell the
story YOU want to see. Ask yourself how this story can be made better.
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dbamarsha
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A critiquer should never
re-write any part of the piece they've been asked to critique, right?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, rewriting a paragraph in
order to demonstrate a technique...say, action tags, or show,don't tell, is
fine, marsha.
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mary rosenblum
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What is not so useful is
saying, 'oh, but this would make such a cool romance!'. Your writer is
writing a mystery and if she wanted to write a romance she'd have called it
a romance!
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...it's fine, after you've
delivered your critique, to say...'you know, it occurred to me that this
would make a dynamite romance. Are you interested in that?"
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mary rosenblum
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If they're interested, then by
all means tell 'em how to do it as a Romance.
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mary rosenblum
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But make that sort of 'why
don't you write THIS story' an option, not part of your critique.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me
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coway
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Have you ever thought a story so
good, that you seemed to get carried away critigueing it, and wondered if
you went too far?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, yes and no. I'm not sure
what you mean by 'too far'...
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mary rosenblum
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although rewriting the story
to be what you think it should be could be called too far!
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mary rosenblum
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I have put a lot of work into
stories occasionally, when I thought they had a lot of power and were very
publishable, only to find that the author simply wasn't capable of making
those kinds of changes well.
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mary rosenblum
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Your author's skill level is
where it is right now. Yes, they'll hopefully grow and get better, but they
can't always do the things you suggest...at least not well.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why it is so important
not to feel you have to point out EVERY last tiny problem.
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patchworkcat
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Do you find it difficult to make
suggestions about wording that won't change the writer's voice? Sometimes
the way they turn a phrase is awkward to read, but it suits the writer. I'm
never sure how to handle that.s
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mary rosenblum
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Well, if their 'voice' is
awkward to read, they'd better change their voice!
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mary rosenblum
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Don't confuse 'voice' with
craft.
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mary rosenblum
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Your voice is a combination of
a lot of things, and poor word choices, convoluted sentence structure, run
ons, and a host of craft issues can...
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mary rosenblum
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muddy that voice. You are not
born with that voice. It is something that evolves with your writing and
changes subtly and slowly as you mature as a writer.
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deb1234
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So then it's okay to suggest,
"I would do it this way..."
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mary rosenblum
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Always, deb. What good is it
to say, 'don't do it this way', if you don't suggest a better way to do it?
Most writers did it that way because they didn't know how else to do it.
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mary rosenblum
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I try particularly hard to be
suggestive rather than dictatorial. "You might try adding action tags
here, so that we can see the scene..
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mary rosenblum
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Rather than 'Use action tags.
You've used 'said' forty seven times in a row!'
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mary rosenblum
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Although a few of my students
get the dictatorial voice eventually...LOL. :-)
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patchworkcat
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I usually just say: Consider
using or considering writing it this way.
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mary rosenblum
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That's a good way of putting
it. I'm particularly careful when critiquing new writers because they're
likely to take what I say as gospel...
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mary rosenblum
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I'm published after all...and
it is not.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that...in the end,
only YOU know what you want to accomplish with your story.
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mary rosenblum
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If your critiquers tell you
you can't do that, and you just know you can....then listen to yourself and
not to them.
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mary rosenblum
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It's YOUR story.
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pook
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My instructor told me twice that
my story was an incident. But I'm stuck at how to change it. It's based on
real life.
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mary rosenblum
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pook that is a common problem
when writers try to base fiction on reality. You know it happened that way,
you want to tell it the way it happened.
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mary rosenblum
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That's fine, but often life is
not story!
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mary rosenblum
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Reality is no excuse for
fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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That is an important rule to
keep in mind. 'It really happened that way' does not mean it should happen
that way in your story!
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realityczech
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When multiple critiquers have
pointed out the same problem "nicely" multiple times (say an
offensively stereotyped character that is not written that way
intentionally), is it better to go "point blank" on the critique,
or just drop it altogether?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I'm not sure what you
mean by point blank... Do you mean beat the author over the head until
he/she listens?
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mary rosenblum
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YOu will have writers who will
not listen or use your critiques. I've had them in groups I belonged to.
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mary rosenblum
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You know what? Once I realized
I had nothing to offer they wanted to hear, I sure didn't waste any time
working on their stories.
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pook
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so what do I do? Make spomething
up?
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mary rosenblum
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Pook if you're writing
fiction, make it up.
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mary rosenblum
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Personal narrative is an
account of an actual event and it's nonfiction and it is not a story.
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mary rosenblum
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If it's a story then it needs
to be a story, and it sounds as if you'll have to make something up.
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speckledorf
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LOL...I know some I'd like to
beat over the head!
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mary rosenblum
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Too much effort
involved...never mind the assault charges, LOL. Just save yourself the time
and aggravation and 'pass'.
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ahsitan
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I've just had two people
describe my story as plotless without tension since the story was not about
an internal struggle of the main character. Must there always be an
internal struggle for the story to be a story? you need internal and
external?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, there are almost no
'absolute' rules in fiction except that the story must work. No, you don't
have to have internal conflict at all, but your external conflict may not
be enough to make your story...
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mary rosenblum
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work as you've written it. It
may be that you could bring the story to life by either increasing the
strenght of your external plot so that internal conflict was of little
importance...
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mary rosenblum
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or adding an internal
conflict.
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mary rosenblum
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You don't HAVE to have both,
but the story DOES have to engage the readers.
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mary rosenblum
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And this brings me to
listening to critiques.
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mary rosenblum
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Beware of allowing yourself to
become adversarial...or at least limit it to a day or two. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Critiques can really annoy us.
What do you mean you didn't get it? It's OBVIOUS. What do you mean you
didn't know she was lying? I made it CLEAR!
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mary rosenblum
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And that's perfectly normal.
It is often a bad idea to deal with the story for a day or two after you
get the critique.
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mary rosenblum
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Throw it into a drawer or file
it. Slam the drawer hard if you need to. Stomp off muttering and do
something else.
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mary rosenblum
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Later on, after you stop
smarting from what that idiot said, you might find that some of what that
idiot said trickles back.
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mary rosenblum
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Well....maybe it wasn't that
obvious she was lying. All she did was roll her eyes when Carwyn mentioned
the necklace...
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mary rosenblum
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maybe one more hint would
help...
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coway
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How would you word it when you
read a story that bores you? Too much stuff and find yourself skipping over
to see if something happens soon?
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mary rosenblum
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The not so helpful version
is...'the story bored me, I kept skipping ahead'.
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mary rosenblum
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A more useful way to
critique...and one I use with all that I do...is to read with pen in hand.
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mary rosenblum
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Write your thoughts in the
margin as you think them...edit them to be tactful, but be truthful...
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mary rosenblum
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Huh? How did he get here?
Maybe two paragraphs later we find out, but you wanted to know how he got
here THERE.
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mary rosenblum
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Nothing's going on...everybody
is just talking about the trip. Boring.
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mary rosenblum
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Aha...now we're moving.
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mary rosenblum
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These two comments tell the
author where it got slow and where the action picked up again.
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mary rosenblum
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These first read comments are
what your reader is likely to be thinking at this point in the ms.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, maybe you figure that
your readers can just tough it out for one more paragraph for pete's sake
before they find out where the MC is...
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mary rosenblum
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and maybe you realize that
yep, everybody is standing around talking for an entire page and maybe you
should cut to the chase!
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mary rosenblum
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Those 'first read' comments
are something I read in every ms I get back from a critiquer.
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mary rosenblum
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There is a critiquing style
used in live or online critque groups that is a very good method of
working.
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mary rosenblum
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It is called Clarion Style,
after the Clarion Writers Workshops.
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mary rosenblum
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In it, every critiquer gives
his or her critique and their time is limited...usually to 2 minutes per
person, or more if you have a small group and lots of time.
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mary rosenblum
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Ditto what so and so said
about whatever is highly appreciated.
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mary rosenblum
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During this time, the writer
is NOT allowed to SAY A WORD>
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mary rosenblum
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No 'But I meant... But in the
next section.... But that's not who she's talking about... NOT ONE WORD>
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mary rosenblum
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At the end of the session, the
writer is allowed a few minutes to explain, rebutt, or argue, but a 'Thank
you very much' is the best response.
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realityczech
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So you actually write the word
"boring" in the margin? What was the comment BEFORE it was edited
for tact? LOL
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mary rosenblum
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Well, if I don't know my
writer or it's a new writer whose ego is tender, I'd probably put 'slow'
rather than boring. For other pros, it would be boring. Boring is very
important and precise information. :-)
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gail
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Do you know where I could find
more info on the Clarion Style?
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mary rosenblum
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Probably on the Clarion West
website, gail.
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mary rosenblum
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Clarion West homepage
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mary rosenblum
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But that's essentially the
format...limited time to critique by each person...use a timer...
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mary rosenblum
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and the writer cannot comment
until the last critiquer finishes.
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mary rosenblum
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It prevents people from taking
20 minutes to point out every missedk comma and repeat everybody else's
comments...
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mary rosenblum
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and it prevents the author
from arguing each point imterminable. Makes for much more polite sessions!
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realityczech
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Tact is not my strong suit. Do
you have a list of comments coded for tact somewhere...I could really use
it!
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mary rosenblum
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Well, ask yourself what would
make you wince and then don't use it.
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mary rosenblum
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Of if you've grown a tough
skin, ask yourself what would make your senstive new writer friend wince,
or what made you wince when you were a new writer.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember 'bad' is not a useful
piece of information.
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mary rosenblum
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And when you start throwing
negative words...your character is really shallow, you couldn't pay me to
read past page one...
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mary rosenblum
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your writer turns off. You
don't do any good. You don't help this writer make this story better.
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mary rosenblum
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It's like punching someone.
What do they learn? Stay away from you...that's about it.
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mary rosenblum
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I think you probably should
try for a stronger hook here....maybe start with that great fight scene on
page two.
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mary rosenblum
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You can fill in the back story
as your MC runs out of the tavern.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the useful version of
'you couldn't pay me to read past page one'.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, you probably couldn't
pay me to read farther either, but what good is it to say that?
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mary rosenblum
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There's this great fight scene
that WOULD make me read past page one, so why not call attention to it.
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mary rosenblum
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Another thing to think about.
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mary rosenblum
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If all you can focus on is the
negatives...what are YOU learning? Not much.
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mary rosenblum
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If you find the solutions to
those problems for that writer, you are also teaching yourself and your
writing will improve quickly.
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mary rosenblum
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I've seen that happen with
writers I"ve known for a long time.
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mary rosenblum
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The writers who give positive
critiques and suggest solutions are mostly well established pros.
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mary rosenblum
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The ones who could only tear
down or point out the shortcomings...well, only a few of them have
published.
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mary rosenblum
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I do not think that's a
coincidence folks.
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mary rosenblum
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Critiquing, to be honest, is
probably more of a benefit for the critiquer than the writer, if you really
try to see how to make that story better.
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mary rosenblum
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It is the best way to improve
your craft.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, we've come to the end or
our Oregon hour. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Don't forget that Thursday
we'll be visiting with Dave Manning, well published poet.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm looking forward to talking
about poetry and prose with him, since he's a poet only and not a prose
writer.
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mary rosenblum
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And this week, instead of our
Friday After Hours, I'm going to do a daytime Forum on Saturday.
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mary rosenblum
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That way the folk who can't
make weekday forums can have a chance to join us.
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mary rosenblum
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It'll be at the same time as
the Tuesday Form, but on Saturday.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll send out an email
reminder to everyone on Friday morning.
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mary rosenblum
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Have a good week, all! And
remember, when you write your next critique...try to help the writer make
THIS story as good as it can be...
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mary rosenblum
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and don't forget to tell those
writers what they did well!
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mary rosenblum
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See you all here tomorrow
morning for our usual casual chat!
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mary rosenblum
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Same time, same place.
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mary rosenblum
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See you then! Bye!
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes...I'll post this with
all the other transcripts:
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mary rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts.
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