Is it more advantageous to have an excerpt or a plot summary critiqued?
I'm considering opening up my current work in progress to critique. In the past I haven't had very much luck with the local writer's group, but I'm willing to try again. Maybe not with them, but definitely with some writer's support forum, somewhere.
The writer's group I used to associate with would normally take an excerpt from another member's novel, short story or what have you and then promptly proceed to beat the living hell out of it.
I think that model might be flawed and what should be critiqued is not the individual excerpts but the overall cohesiveness of the plot. Almost anyone can make a bunch of pretty words, but that doesn't fix a broken story.
Then again, the best story in the world wouldn't be worth reading if it's full of bad writing and grammatical errors.
So, is it more important in a writer's group (or other similar writer's support forum) to focus on critiquing plots for problems and improvements or to continue to focus on critiquing excerpts in order to improve the quality of writing?
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I agree with Neil. It doesn't matter how pretty it sounds if the plot is weak. Present your plot first, in outline, bullets, summary, however it makes sense, and have them beat the crap out of that first. Once you have a solid plot, then you can worry about getting down on paper.
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I am not a great fan of Writer Groups. I don't think a story should be submitted for critique until it is completed. Otherwise just a single critism will cause the writer to lose heart to a degree. Of all the successful published writers I don't know any who show their developing works for critique.
If you have identified a problem and want a solution then that is a different matter. State the problem, and seek the solutions.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5638. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Critiquing specific text is important, but you can always improve the writing. If the book has structural problems, weak characters, or sections that don't mesh with each other, then these larger issues need to be addressed before you worry about the language.
It sounds like you don't have a clear idea where (or if) your manuscript is weak. That being the case, can you specifically ask your group to critique the structure only? Rightly or not, writers' groups have a rep for being overconcerned with language. However, groups that concern themselves with plot and structure do exist. I suggest you make certain the structure is sound either through such a group, or have a beta reader you trust (and who will be brutal) evaluate the manuscript/outline.
If you're really stuck, you can always hire an editor to go through the manuscript/outline and give you feedback. Look for someone who specializes in developmental editing.
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