Where would I find a Critique Partner or Group?
Programmers often collaborate over code by using pastebin. They drop sections of code for others to read and assist in improving or removing errors. Does anyone know if a similar app exists for writers? I have a Wattpad account but that focuses more on whole stories or serial chapters, not on portions of a story. Beta Readers prefer lengthy or competed manuscripts. Is there any app or service that reads only small sections of a novel to provide group feedback on readability, grammar or how interesting a concept is to readers?
Mark Baker was able to decipher my question despite its vagueness. He correctly pointed out Beta Readers read finalized or nearly finalized manuscripts, not snippets. Critique Partners will provide valuable insight into style, grammar and plots that I seek for drafts. My question is now revised to: Where would I find a good critique group or partner to provide critical analysis of drafts?
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I don't think it is wise to try to do this online. You have no idea who you is giving your the critique. Some people will just always be nice. Some will just always be nasty. You can't tell who are are dealing with if you don't meet them face to face.
If you want feedback, join a critique group or take a writing class.
BTW, at least as I have heard the term used, a beta reader is someone who reads the whole MS after it is finished and gives you feedback on the whole. At that point it should be polished enough that they are not stumbling over local details. Reading small pieces and giving feedback it generally called critiquing. That, at least, is how I have always heard the terms used.
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The good news is I found a great site on Goodreads that matches writers with people willing to be their critique partner:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18443955-searching-for-critique-partners
The bad news is my partner is spot on about my novel I have worked on for 4 years and says it is well written but not really one that would catch most peoples interest. The science is a turn off especially since the novel begins in a lab with a scientist describing his invention. It takes 6 chapters before the invention creates havoc which in her opinion is way too long. She recommended starting off with action which requires dumping science, therefore my experiment of fusing science with a novel failed, just as Mark Baker predicted.
But, all is not lost. I found a great link on bad reviews and plan to follow their advice. http://writerunboxed.com/2013/07/14/dealing-with-a-bad-review/
Fortunately I have a fresh bottle of wine at home and a couple days off to enjoy my great granddaughter before I return to a blank word processor screen. I imagine most of you have already been there, but thanks again for the help.
I also found WattPad may be useful if you don't mind posting your story in a serial format for others to read and provide their comments: https://www.wattpad.com/story/99444658-viral-some-things-are-best-left-dead
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26695. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Google Docs is an extremely helpful tool for Beta reading, and is used by several writers of my acquaintance.
- It allows commenting on individual selections of text, so it's easy to comment on a particular snippet or section. (It also allows replying to comments, so people can discuss the comments or expand on them.)
- Viewers can make suggested edits, which the document-owner can accept or reject.
- It is extremely helpful that Google Docs can be shared with anybody with an email account; they don't need to belong or sign up to a service.
- Google Docs is high quality, easy to work with, and free.
- You can easily create a Google Doc for the one specific section you want reviewed at the moment. (Merging multiple documents with different reviewers' comments is, alas, not really support in any way.)
This is all under the assumption that you already have, or can obtain on your own, a pool of beta readers.
You can ask friends of yours to beta-read for you. They don't need to be writers themselves - you need reactions, not writing advice. What is important is that you can trust them to be frank -- somebody saying nice things in order to be polite is no help at all.
Writing groups, online forums, critique circles, are all good places to find some friends willing to exchange critiques with you. Participate in the group structure for as long as you find it helpful, but also, stay in touch with people whose feedback you find truly helpful -- a hand-picked group will always be better than a random collection of people on the internet.
In general, both feedback from random internet people and feedback on individual snippets of text, rather than complete works are something you see much more with amateurs than with pros, or even more casual veterans. This isn't a knock on amateurs; it's simply the consequence of experience and ability:
A writer whose been active for a while has usually managed to build up a contact circle, including finding beta-readers they like and find helpful. That means the writer (and probably also the readers they're using) are likely to withdraw from the "public" pool of readers and critiquers. They've found a higher tier, where both the material and the feedback are on a higher level than the average you'll find on the "public" internet.
Critiques and feedback are usually most helpful in full context. It's much easier to see if a scene works, if you know the buildup that's gone into it. It's easier to answer "Does this story work" than "Is this a good premise" (usually: "It might be, if the execution is good"). And, experienced writers have already gotten in the habit of completing drafts -- one of the biggest obstacles for beginners. So, they have full drafts to share, and completing a draft before requesting feedback is easier for them. For all these reasons, veteran writers usually prefer feedback for a whole piece, than for one snippet -- and platforms aimed at snippets will generally have more of an amateur audience.
But the consequence of all this is that random feedback for random snippets of text is very likely to be of extremely low quality. Which is why I'd be leery of seeking such a platform, even if some do exist.
Once you do complete entire drafts, you can find some good online options for critiques. But without even the bar of completing a story, I'd be much more wary.
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