Critique partners and Beta-readers

October 7, 2015 by Roland Clarke

This post arose because I have just given my first critique for a fellow writer in the Insecure Writers Support Group’s Critique Circle on Facebook. And it is the first Wednesday of October, so this is my IWSG monthly post.

I felt that it was the perfect time to look at what the experts had to say about the critique process. So where better than starting with a useful post at IWSG on what to look for in a critique partner:

“The manuscript is polished – huzzah! Time for another set of eyes to look at it.

Beta readers/test readers are often those who are just readers of our genre. They’re great for spotting flaws in the story. But we also need skilled writers to go over the manuscript and examine the plot, the character arc, the grammar, the structure, etc. Enter–critique partners.

What should we look for in a good critique partner?”

So what should we be asking our critique partners? Well there various questions, and here are the ones that K.M Weiland suggests:

“1. Is anything confusing?

2. Are any scenes boring or repetitious?

3. Do you spot any general tics (repeated words, etc.)?

4. Do you spot any confusing plot points (let me know when and where I lose you and what needs to be clarified)?

5. Does the opening grab you?

6. Is there an appropriate balance of action with the other subplots?”

These are just the ones that she asks before the crit. partner reads the manuscript, but she has others.

There is an overlap in what one expects from beta readers and crit. partners, and Margaret Yang gives in an insight into her experiences at Jade Varden’s instructive website.

Of course we have to remember to treat our readers with respect. As Michael Kinn points out at Janice Hardy’s Fiction Workshop, there is etiquette involved:

“As beta readers we can all do with some critiquette to guide our feedback to the (hopefully) well-polished drafts writers send us. The seasoned beta reader will find out what type of critique the writer is looking for, shun infeasible turn-around promises and warn the writer of any delays. Of course, beta readers should always offer candid feedback and treat the writer with respect. These are sound rules for critiquing. But in guiding my own critiques, I try to let one piece of advice rule them all…”

‘How to Serve and Swallow Criticism’ is an art in itself, which Kristan Hoffman describes at Writers Unboxed. However, there may be reasons to ignore some of the advice from our critique groups, as Anne R. Allen explains, but with qualifications.

Those are some of the expert opinions, though not all by a long way. I have my own experiences, but, although I did belong to a writers group, I’m still near the beginning of my critique path. I tend to mix the praise with the constructive criticism. I also aim to not sit on manuscripts for ages, but realise that there are some busy readers out there.

UPDATE: Good guide to “How to Critique Fiction” by Victory Crayne at: http://www.crayne.com/howcrit.html

What is your advice?

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Some of you might have noticed that I missed yesterday’s post. Or you think this has combined the two posts? Well, I did think that I could count this one twice. Dang, I could have posted it yesterday, then tweaked it for today. What a missed opportunity. Would anyone have noticed?

In fact, there will be another post this week as I will be posting about the launch of One Stop For Writers, which launches tomorrow October 7^th

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The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. We post our thoughts on our own blogs. We talk about our doubts and the fears we have conquered. We discuss our struggles and triumphs. We offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

Please visit others in the group and connect with other writers – aim for a dozen new people each time.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

And be sure to check out our Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13/

We also have a t-shirt now! You can purchase it here – http://www.neatoshop.com/product/IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are TB Markinson,Tamara Narayan, Shannon Lawrence, Stephanie Faris, and Eva E. Solar!

Would YOU miss me?

September 29, 2015 by Roland Clarke

From DeviantArt. For if one link in nature’s chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.

Or rather would you miss my weekly blog posts? I was trying to think of something worthwhile to blog about, but kept rejecting the crass ideas.

Who wants to read about “A World without Shakespeare”?

Why pose the question “What sort of heroine rules your mind?” in any genre?

What is the point of musing about “Autumn Fruitfulness” if it’s not the “Colours of Fall”?

My inspirational “The Difference between Critique and Beta Readers” will be next Wednesday’s IWSG monthly post.

So I reached the conclusion that I wouldn’t write anything, and then see whether anyone noticed. Shtako! I’ve written something after all.

But what next?

What lines set you alight?

September 22, 2015 by Roland Clarke

I was going to blog about ‘A world without William Shakespeare’ but the prospect was too horrendous – even if Christopher Marlowe hadn’t been killed so young.

Did that line grab you, or turn you livid with anger?

How important to you is the first line of a book? I admit there have been some great ones. My favourites, and I read these decades ago, are:

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. — C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. – George Orwell, 1984 (1949)

But such lists are open to debate, and trying to pick favorites can be a challenge.

Getting that opening right, finding the right words, choosing the moment to start that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer – that’s wrong, although as writers we can suffer.

At the moment, my mind is on openings, partly as I have taken on some beta reading, but also as I am struggling with my own opening line:

“Their eyes stared at Twyla without emotion and followed every move that she made up or down the stairs.”

The real question is – what makes you read on? The opening line or paragraph? The cover and blurb? Reviews?

I can remember days past when I went into a bricks & mortar bookshop and flicked through real books. Aah that smell. I started with the cover and blurb, then sampled the opening, and even flicked further on. Harder of course with e-books, but sampling is an option so I read as far as I can. To me a novel is more than a memorable first line.

Do we stop at “Who’s there?” or tarry longer with the Groundlings?

So what hooks you? What is your favourite opening? Can you envisage no Shakespeare?

Midnight Hamlet at The Globe by TheFella on Flickr

Passage to America

September 15, 2015 by Roland Clarke

The USS Macon sails over lower Manhattan, on October 9, 1933. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

A short while ago we were attempting to get my US visa, buy a house, sell this one, and then fly ourselves and four pets to the US by Christmas.

That’s now a non-starter.

No prizes for guessing why we’ve had to postpone. Just accept that there was the lack of fraternal support over here, regardless of the excitement across the Atlantic.

So we have postponed my medical – the next stage in the visa process. We’ve also put a hold on the whole housing issue. Now we have to face months more of living in a difficult situation.

However, we have made a momentous decision, not least because flying the four fur babies was not only daunting, but also stressful for them – and expensive. It was going to cost us £4,000 to fly them, and then £16,000 to get us there, since it’s better to fly business with my disability problems.

Queen Mary 2 in New York Harbor

So our passage to the United States will now be on September 20^th 2016. And if you haven’t worked out the method, then you missed the visual clues.

Yes we are flying by airship.

Of course not. We are sailing for seven days on Cunard‘s Queen Mary 2, from Southampton, England to New York. Luxury yes, but cheaper than flying. Great accommodation, wonderful facilities and places to explore, delicious food,

Cunard, Queen Mary 2 – Stateroom

The jaw dropping Grand Lobby on the Cunard Queen Mary 2

Britannia restaurant by Carlo Mirante

AND most important of all: the liner has special kennels for dogs and cats.

They get to have their own area to move around and play in, with their own Kennel Master. It even has an outdoor ‘poop’ deck for the dogs. They may not want to leave the ship.

Queen Mary 2’s Kennel program

Scully by Catherine at Ancora Crafts

All very exciting, and it gives us something to aim for, even though it’s tinged with disappointment at not being with the family for Christmas. More time to learn Welsh, perhaps.

And leaving England behind this way means that one of my last views will be of the Isle of Wight, where I spent many happy summers as a child. Summers when we saw the great ocean liners arriving and leaving, like the Queen Mary.

The Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary at Southampton in 1960s – copyright Chris Howel at shipspotting.com.

Bring on the Revolution

September 8, 2015 by Roland Clarke

As there is no progress on the Idaho front, I am reverting to another aspect of my weekly Pick’N’Mix Theme – Books.

So we start with my review of the last book that I’ve read, T E Taylor’s Revolution Day.

Who can a revolutionary trust?

As an autocratic and repressive ruler hanging onto power after 37 years, Carlos Almanzor seems to have little choice as he tries to survive. The scenario that Tim Taylor paints so vividly echoes the real-life situations of so many abusers of power, and the downward spirals of many dictators. And the scheming of Carlos’ colleagues proves very Machiavellian – very appropriate since I won a copy of “The Prince” on the launch day of Tim’s engrossing novel.

In a way, I could relate being part-Chilean and having known both refugees from Pinochet and supporters of the Sandinista Revolution. The Latin flavour worked as well as the political elements, and through it all I had to root for Carlos’ estranged and imprisoned wife Juanita, as she reflected on the revolution and what could have been. In her character there were clever echoes of other imprisoned leaders that represent hope. Perhaps for liberty there is light at the end of the darkness.

Peering into the Unknown

Since reading “Revolution Day”, I’ve scanned the bookshelves in my office and in my Kindle. Too many books to read, and I can’t stop buying more. For everyone that I finish, I buy three more.

The dilemma was resolved when I had an idea for a short story and began looking into the Viking foothold in Vinland. Having read an interview with author Heather Day Gilbert when God’s Daughter (Vikings of the New World Saga Book 1) was published, I’ve chosen that as my next foray.

There are other books that I’m reading or rather have on the go, like “The Welsh Gypsies” by A.O.H. Jarman and “Four Years on the Great Lakes, 1813-1816: The Journal of Lieutenant David Wingfield, Royal Navy” by Don Bamford, & Paul Carroll. But they are non-fiction research, so I dip in and out of them for my own writing. They will be on my desk for a few more months.

Have you read any of these books, even Machiavelli’s “The Prince”?

Why the Delays? Is it the weather?

September 2, 2015 by Roland Clarke

I should put this off given the title of this post. But as the date is September 2^nd and the first Wednesday of the month, it’s officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day.

August has been a month of delays, but I can’t blame snow on the tracks, or leaves. But the weather or at least the distractions of summer might have played a part.

I admit that I didn’t give my beta readers a deadline for when their comments on “Storms Compass” were needed. And I forgot that the summer is filled with distractions, from holidays, tasty BBQs, and back-to-back horse shows. So a week ago I gave my readers until September 17^th, and even told those that I knew were tied up, the option of asking for longer. Now I just wait a few more weeks.

Not sure whether my brother has an excuse for moving the deadline over agreeing to help with my bridging loan to get to the USA. But that decision is being delayed as well, even though I now have the go-ahead for the next stage – the medical.

Any more delays?

Well I have to stick up my hand and admit the character profiles for “Fates Maelstrom” are delayed while I distract myself in some future world.

But isn’t that the fault of summer? Do you blame me?