Labotomy of a Writer

I want to talk today about Crit Partners. Every writer should have at least one. I'm lucky enough to have found two!

Now, it took me a long time to find the two that I have. There were certain standards I was looking for in a partner and sadly, not everyone measured up.

First thing, I need a person that would not blow smoke up my butt. That is very important to me. Yes, getting those reviews that don't have any red marks and say "This is great!" do make me feel good. But, I'd rather have a review riddled with red marks. Why? So I can improve. I don't want to become stagnant as a writer - ever. My crit partner needed to be brutally honest with me in order for me to keep moving forward.

Second, I also needed a person that while brutal, would not be down right cruel. There is a fine line here and I hate to say that I have had some people not know this. I told them to be brutal and they were cruel instead. I simply can't work with people like that. While I am still friends with a few of these people, I don't ask them to read my work anymore.

Last, I had to have a partner who was on the same level as I am. Not in skill, but at the same point in their career. Sure, I would learn a lot from an already published author. At this point in my life however, I wanted a crit partner who was struggling with the same things I was. This way we could be encouraging to each other.

These things were important to me, but for you to find a crit partner, you have to figure out what you need or want. My two crit authors do not write the same genre that I do, but I think that works out to my benefit. You might want someone who writes the same genre as you. That's fine. Just figure out what you want in a partner then search for someone.

My two partners are different from each other but give me everything I need. C.J. Ellisson (author of Vampire Vacation) catches the nitty gritty stuff that I forget or don't pay attention to. She is really great at catching those paragraphs that are telly or sentences where the wording is confusing to the actual meaning.

J.D. Brown (author of Dark Heirloom) is great at finding those plot holes and suggesting new ways to present certain information. J.D. knows my characters almost as well as I do, so she also catches those instances where a character might do or say something they normally wouldn't. She provides me with a lot of inspiration how to show my characters' personalities the right way.

Both these wonderful people give me the perfect insights I need to polish my WIP! The three of us work well together I think. You need to find these same qualities in a crit partner. Do you get along? Can you understand each other clearly? Can you still be friends after the red marks start showing up? That last one is KEY to any crit relationship. Friendship is important to a crit partners relationship I think. Some might say that to have a crit partner, you can't be friends. I can agree with that as it is difficult to be friends AND crit partners with C.J. and J.D. But for me, it works. I love being able to hash out scenes with them and have them not be afraid to tell me I've got an idea that simply won't work. I guess I'm lucky that I found two people that I can still be friends with after the crits. Do what you think is best for you.

Find what works for you and your crit partner. Whichever way you decide, just remember that your partner is there to help you. You don't have to agree on everything. They are merely giving their own ideas and suggestions. In the end, it's your work and you don't have to change anything unless you want to. I can tell you from experience that I don't disagree with anything my crit partners say, athought it might take me a second to realize they're right.