5 Ways to Get Feedback on Your Writing

You’ve thought about your overall plan, where you want to go as a writer, and what you’d like to accomplish long term. You already know what you’re writing about and probably have a writing routine that works for you. You have identified your writing strengths and areas that need work – whether that be revising or editing skills.

Photo by Ivanneth, "The Writer" (Flickr)

But I have one question for you. 

After you have revised and edited your story so many times you can't really look at it one more time, how do you get critical feedback?  

First, consider what you want feedback on: A chapter or two? An entire rough draft? Are you looking for quick feedback or do you want ongoing relationships with other writers that will help you strengthen your writing? Consider these options:

You could take a creative writing class. This more structured approach with assignments, deadlines, and accountability will still push you to share your writing and polish your critiquing skills. Check out your local community college or community center to find out what’s available.  Online workshops, like those offered by Holly Lisle, are another fine option.  Downside: Cost? Weekly commitment?

If you are just getting started on outlining or drafting and don’t have a finished rough draft, you may be most comfortable joining a small face-to-face writers' group that meets routinely. Such writers’ groups can accommodate a range of skills, genres, and styles. It may take some time to find a good fit with a face-to-face writers’ group, but the rewards are many in being able to talk with other writers about the craft of writing and sharing your work. Downside: The shoe may not fit if other members are defensive or too critical. Don’t stay in a small group that makes you feel uncomfortable or doubt your writing.

If you’re not able to find a small group in your area, why not try an online critique group. I’m most familiar with the critique group called NOVELS_L, a part of The Internet Writers Workshop.  Here, writers need to submit and/or critique two chapters each month, posting their critiques to the entire list of some 85 writers who currently active members of the list. Other IWW groups exist for short fiction, poetry, nonfiction. Downside: The volume of e-mailed submissions and critiques can be intimidating, but you will gain wonderful feedback and learn from writers who care as much as you do about the quality of your writing.

If you are tearing your hair out and just want a workbook approach to critiquing your writing, two of my favorites are Elizabeth Lyon, Manuscript Makeover, and Donald Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel. Both books provide extensive checklists and worksheets as well as discussing the art of writing and revision by emphasizing positive actions to take. Downside: It may be easier to start than to finish, even when each chapter is helpful.  

A very helpful option once you have that rough draft finished is to find a writer you trust to be a beta reader. Your beta reader will read your entire mss and give you critical feedback at the micro and macro level. Downside: Many writers pay for such critiques. This could be expensive. Some writers worry that their precious mss may be stolen (it does happen). But if you know your beta reader, his or her comments can make all the difference as you polish your rough draft. 

How do you “know” your beta reader or find her? Perhaps through that face-to-face writers’ group, or that creative writing class, or that online writing group you’ve joined.

Photo by Nana B. Agyei, Flickr

One last question: What do you do consistently to improve your writing craft? 

Besides writing!

Beta, beta . . . boom!

Writers need readers. We all know that. Being a shy person, I've long cherished the role of writer, tapping away on the keyboard in sheer isolation, until those final words . . . 'the end'.

Readers can be exceptionally helpful throughout the writing process, though, and especially at 'the end'.

Whenever I've finished that fabulous-to-my-eyes first draft, I dive into NOVELS_L, an online critique group, part of The Internet Writing Workshop. Here writers can submit chapters, read and critique other chapters, and in a kind of 2-for-1 exchange (2 reviews for every sub), gain feedback from seasoned readers at the chapter level.

But when the whole book is nearly ready, then I'm hoping to find a good beta reader, someone I trust and someone I know will give me the deepest kind of feedback on how I can strengthen my story.

Here, risks abound. For if the beta reader is too critical, you might find yourself not editing or writing at all. That happened to me once. Oh, I'd rather not go there again.

Beta readers will tell you what works and what doesn't. They can function at least at two levels -- micro and macro.

At the micro level, a good beta reader can find typos, grammatical and punctuation errors you really should have caught at this stage, and even extra spaces (for those of us still struggling with one space after a period instead of two). She or he will also spot when you've suddenly reverted to calling a character by a previous name. Oh, those little proofreading and editing inconsistencies that plague us all.

At the macro level, a good beta reader will delve into the structure of the novel itself, the character arcs, the underlying meaning of the theme and how well it translates into shaping the conflict and action of the story.

Julie Glover, in her very useful article, "When the Book Isn't Working," says "Sometimes we've been over a book so many times, we can't see it fresh anymore." That's the moment to reach out to a beta reader. Julie suggests that we might keep the questions as simple as: "Where did your interest wane, even a bit? Which characters did you relate to? Did any characters feel one-dimensional or unnecessary? Where do you think the story could be strengthened?"

I've lost count truly of how many times I revise a novel before it's released into that wider world of readers. How I write requires patience for these seemingly endless rounds of editing and revision, for I want my stories to be good enough to move the reader with compassion for other lives and other times.

Writers: Have you used beta readers? What have you gained from this experience? Would you recommend it to others?

Read more about:
The Internet Writing Workshop
Julie Glover's "When the Book Isn't Working"

Wallabies, editing and ROW80

Research is absolutely critical to writing good fiction.

I've never seen a real, live wallaby. But I'd read about them, looked at pictures, thought they were very interesting looking with their small, inquisitive faces, busy hands with quite useful claws, and those massive haunches. So I included one that Deidre spotted on the way to the Cascades Female Factory, though I found these animals, about the size of a dog, are mostly nocturnal and hunt for food or graze about at night.

Wallabies don't scuttle, though that's what I wrote. Back came a critique, thank goodness, from Les Denham, a writer in NOVELS-L, of the Internet Writing Workshop fame, someone who has lived in Australia and seen hundreds of wallabies. So I found this four-minute video of a Black-footed Rock Wallaby (by Walkaboutlad) that shows a bit more of how a wallaby moves.

Can I find a video of a wallaby running in the wild? Not yet. Lots of zoo shots of tame wallabies. Lots of footballers. Several fascinating videos of wallabies with babies in their pouches and one wallaby that simply stares at the camera. He looks ferocious. But I did learn that wallabies hop or bound. and so my one sentence is now a bit more accurate.


I still hope to visit Tasmania, otherwise known as 19th Century Van Diemen's Land, before Years of Stone is complete. I'm on my fourth revision, with perhaps a year's more edits to go. The sentence that reverberates for me is mostly attributed to Voltaire, something like: Striving for perfection can be the enemy of the good. I'm also staring the law of diminishing returns in the face.

ROW80 CHECK-IN. Next week, we go on the road, netbook stuffed in purse, on a 1,400 mile jaunt from snowy eastern Washington to balmy Tucson. They say you can drive this in about 22 hours. We'll go more slowly. I'm scampering like a wallaby to organize the packing, finish my volunteer PR work, and yet write every morning.

WRITING/RESEARCH: I still hope to finish my read through of Years of Stone by the end of this Round of 80 Days. I feel pretty good about the editing just now. My revision builds on new research about the Cascades Women's Factory and efforts to rewrite Deidre's character so she's less passive. I'm subbing to NOVELS-L and have gotten insightful and positive responses from Francene Stanley, Don McCandless, Holly Michael, Bob Smith, and Les Denham.

Also got a lovely new book on The Victorian Underworld by Donald Thomas and started pulling library books on the Hudson's Bay Company for Rivers of Stone for the trip across Canada this summer. And the biggest find: this photo from Margaret Muir's research-oriented website on Matthew Brady. This Australian author lives in Tasmania and is currently working on a story about Matthew Brady (1823-1843), a few years before my novels are set, but Brady, a bushranger, hid out in the hills above the Tamar River in Tasmania, exactly the kind of site I was looking for, though I want to find a hideout with caves. Still researching this, but what a picture. Margaret Muir is now on my "to read" list.

MARKETING/PUBLISHING: My first book club discussion for The Mermaid Quilt occurs this Thursday. I'm ready with lots of props and notes. More about that later. Haven't made progress on either GoodReads or Smashwords now that The Mermaid Quilt is off KDP, but it's on my to-do list.

May your week go well. Write on!

October 7: Mermaids for free

ALERT: Just for today, October 7, my collection of short stories, The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales, is FREE on Amazon (KINDLE only) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090VHKBC   I'm hoping for a few reader reviews. Shameless self-promotion I know, but I'm trying to learn about marketing. Slowly!

Now for today's poem. The prompt comes from Octpowrimo (click to read other writers) and asks us to write a poem about friendship.

My Best Friend

Our daughters played together first.

Your slashing New York wit scared me, but

I found you work editing a hundred-page

horror of a manual on springs and coils.

It paid well. When a teaching job opened,

I spoke for you. You already had a reputation.

Our offices were next to each other. At coffee time,

one of us would thump the wall.

At department meetings, I kicked your shins

when it was time to be quiet.

You taught me how to argue.

Our daughters grew up, each finding haven in our houses.

We live in different states now, sisters still. 

One day we will sit on the porch

of a run-down retirement cottage facing the sea,

aging mermaids with ear buds tuned to Mick Jagger.

SUNDAY ROW80 UPDATE. Slow going this week, but the 40-page program for the Quilt Show is done! Only the proof on Monday, then 4,000 copies. Now to my 'real' goals:  

WRITING: So far, so good on writing a poem a day. Best is earlier in the day before reality intercedes. I feel a bit scrambled on my main wip, though. I circle what must be done. Am I ready for true revision, this being my third time through? I work on writing exercises and am seduced by research. I did find a new way to get into the imagery of places I have not visited. I make a table in Word with images on the left and my comments (and source) on the right. When I slow down and really look at the image, I learn about what my characters might see close up. Birds, kelp on rocks, the slant of a wave. I still need to diagnose what's missing -- plot holes, character flaws. But my progress here is nothing measurable.

READING: OK slow going here, but I did read one magazine. Not good enough. Finished a novel (JANE by Robin Maxwell) and another for review (SECRETS by Rick Bylina). Also pulled down several more books to review from Review Seekers on Facebook. Now to write Rick's review -- and at least two crits for writers on NOVELS-L on the Internet Writing Workshop.

MARKETING. I really don't like this part, but I will persevere. Some successes to report. I'm more comfortable on Twitter, following the mantra of reading and posting 2x a day. It's kind of exciting to find writing-related articles so easily. Most say limit the time (and I agree). 10 minutes. If the articles are really worthwhile, I return to them . . . later.  

I actually lost my draft marketing plan somewhere. Is that a joke? But I've started a new one AND because of what folks online have said about reviews being important, I took the plunge and signed up The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales for a free day, just for today, October 7. Already, by 8:30 am, I've "sold" 34 books. Maybe someone will post a review (that's my goal). I learned you can't be picked up by Kboards (a marketing goal of mine) unless you have at least 5 reviews. Aargh, what writers have to do!

May your week go well.

Sunday morning . . . early.

It's 4:30 am. A motorcycle revs up and burrs through the night, the sound irrevocably splitting my eyes open. And I begin think what to do -- meetings, public relations projects, deadlines, and the marketing plan (when all I want to do is stay home quietly and write).

I open up my e-mail to find Karen Huber's post about stillness. The Power of Pause. Emptying the mind. Lovely evocative photographs that remind me we can find quiet.

This week I subbed a new opening chapter for Years of Stone to the NOVELS group on the  Internet Writing Workshop and got some generous and helpful feedback. My book now opens at the moment people abandon ship. Cries and screams. Crashing waves. A tenuous rope holds ship to shore. Sailors carry children on their backs and pull their way to safety. Women cling to the rope. A few -- terrified and cold to the bone -- can't hang on and are pulled away in the sea. And the ship goes down.

I found this photograph online of women in 1860 at Scratching Sydney's Surface and am struck by how unique each woman's face is. Of course, they would be, just as we are today, but I have to work hard not to generalize the past, as if all women had that patina from Romantic painters. But they did not. These early suffragettes ultimately brought women the right to vote. Their determination can be seen in their faces, even as their clothing reveals adherence to Victorian codes of dress and decorum.

ROW80 Update: Sadly missed Weds check-in but I have made some progress in writing, reading, and research. Marketing? Less so. Our major quilt show comes up in October with about 5,000 attendees. Should I invest in bookmarks???

'Fire Sisters' is up at Fiction365 . . .

Today, my flash fiction, "Fire Sisters" is up at Fiction365.

The story began in response to a writing prompt from the "Practice" group at the online Internet Writing Workshop back in March. The prompt was fire. My first thought was of those women factory workers who walked up nine flights of stairs to be locked into a shirtwaist factory sweatshop in New York City. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 was an unforgettable tragedy and provoked changes in union and occupational safety laws.

You can read a summary of the fire at Wikipedia or my story at Fiction365.

Otherwise, I'm still drafting and researching Years of Stone, just now reading a lot about women in prison in 1840, most recently, Kay Daniels' Convict Women. Interestingly, not everything you read in a book is true, but more about that later.

Today, I'm just celebrating.

On subs and crits . . . and reading

I'm making the last round of changes on Standing Stones. By mid-June, I'll be finished and ready for a new writing project. I know I could keep working on this novel, adding layers of detail, nuances of setting or character, but, for now, it feels done, complete in itself, and I'm ready for the next phase. This next phase requires tenacity of a different order as I begin the agent search.

So the question before me is what is my next writing project? I have the proverbial folder with some ideas. Do I continue the saga of the MacDonnell's, following what's next for them, staying in the mid-19th Century in three different settings -- India, Australia, or Hawaii/the Pacific Northwest? I begin to feel that the "next" story that's closest to my understanding is here, in the Pacific Northwest. I've grown up with a sense of the wilderness and the history of early settlement right here. So maybe. But I have two other stories cooking -- one a quilting mystery and the other, Mothers Don't Die, a first draft novel of a serial killer's attempt to build family.

I sent off the first chapter of Mothers Don't Die to my critique group on the Internet Writing Workshop. I asked for the harshest criticism possible, figuring that would bring me a sense of whether this first novel had validity. Ouch! Within a week, seven faithful readers generously gave me their sharpest comments. And ouch again! I learned some new things about critiquing others' work, even as the harshest of the comments taught me humililty. I learned that even writers of very bad stuff want to hear something good. That whatever I've written, some readers will see what I intended. If I do pick up Mothers Don't Die, I have at least 6 months of revision ahead.

I'm reading Jeffery Deaver's Watchlist, a thriller written by a committee of 22 established writers (including Lisa Scottoline, Brett Battles, David Hewson). Found two typos so far, but the stylistic issues are fascinating as each author contributes a chapter to the story. And I'm reading Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures, a tale spun from the story of Mary Aning, an English woman who discovered fossils (and who is the woman behind the old tongue-twister, She sells sea shells . . . ). Here, I see shifting point of view as Chevalier changes the first person narrator chapter by chapter. Beautifully written. Interesting characters so sharply defined. This video on Amazon.com introduces Chevalier's book with a wonderful author interview (so much more here, writer's process, a look at a writer's workspace, and the setting itself in Lyme Regis). Very, very nice.

My last discovery comes from Ann Hite on Writer Woman Blog, who brought me to Natalie Goldberg's new book, Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. Goldberg's book of writing exercises promises another way to explore "between".

Ars Poetica

Each day begins with faith
that word will follow word.
This is my ars poetica,
my house I build
stick by stick
and stone by stone,
my soul space between my hands,
my dreams
as harmonious as a white moon
rising imperturbly
through the night.

Crack me open.
Seeds spill out
from heart and bone.
They float and dance,
a mystery, a joy.
As I write, the very pulse
of the mountain shimmers through me.
I can see into the eye of a spawning salmon.
For a moment, the shape of an aurancara tree
is fixed, its bristling branches spread out
in two directions, to the earth, sloping down,
and to the stars, curling up,
a poem.

This poem is posted in response to Poefusion 36, to explain what a poem should be, inspired by the magnificent Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish. Sunday Scribblings' prompt this week is simply ¨"follow." Some of you readers know that I'm traveling in South America. This last week has been a challenge for my laptop computer was stolen in a very small town in southern Peru, after a 17 hour busride. While I did have backups, I was shakey over the loss and very uncertain how I could write without a computer. I posted a query on Internet Writers Workshop, their Writing listserv, and cannot tell you how wonderful it was to hear from other writers and to have a solution that brought me back to the keyboard and writing in only 2 days. So part of this poem is a celebration simply of the ability to write.