One for the archives

Back in 2008, when the Slushbusters blog was still new, Steph shared a post about how she started a critique group. If you read the whole thing, you can see that she mentioned posting fliers in the local libraries. That's how I found the group. I was browsing in the children's department of our Central Library and saw the flier.

That was over four years ago. I emailed the address on the flier, Steph wrote me back, and a few weeks later I attended my first critique group meeting. It was a good thing I emailed too, because by then the group was meeting at Panera. It didn't come out in the scan you see above, but Steph had written in pencil to "Please call before coming as we sometimes have to cancel."

The fun part now is that I had a meeting at the Central Library last week, and the flyer was still there. I took it down. It's funny for us for a few reasons. First, it's amazing that no one had removed it in all this time. Second, it's been years since we either met at the library or did any writing exercises. (Sorry, Steph!)

We used to do a five minute writing exercise at the end of every meeting. Back then, there were usually only two or three of us at a meeting instead of six. Critiques took a lot less time. Also, as we've gotten to know each other better, we usually have too much to say about each other's work and chat too much about other stuff to have any time left over. The other night I swear the staff at Panera were circling our table, trying to hint that we should wrap it up, but we were still offering comments to Joan on her latest chapter.

Anyway, I'm keeping the original sign. It's a great reminder of how and where we began, and how far we've come, even on the days it doesn't feel like that.

First Pages Critiques

I just entered the James River Writers conference First Pages Critiques. It's my favorite part of the whole 2 day conference. They have actors read a submission, then the panel, usually editors and agents, say whether they would keep reading past the first page or not and why. You get a green card or a red card from each person on the panel. They do about 20 submissions, but time really flies. The actors do a really great job bringing these pages to life.

I won't tell you which story I sent the first page of, since it is supposed to be anonymous. Of course, any Slushie who attends the conference with me (in October) will know and recognize it. Hopefully I will get at least one green card!

Who am I kidding?? What I am hoping is that an agent on the panel will say, "Not only would I keep reading, but whoever wrote this, please see me after the panel."

Let's not go too far though. Asking to read the whole manuscript may be too big of a dream, since I only have a few pages written.

Back to hoping for a green card....or two....

Come to think of it, they don't read every one they receive. Fingers crossed they even read it...

Re: Not For Lisa

This was the subject line on many, many emails between most of the Slushbusters over the past several months. Lisa is expecting her second child any time now, and we wanted to do something special for her. So we knit her a blanket.

It was a challenge. It's hard to coordinate getting together often outside our regular meetings. While Sarah and I had been knitting for years, Steph and Bridget were new to knitting, Joan knew how to crochet, but not knit, and Alison had never knit before. And of course, Lisa is on Skype with us during meetings, so she can see us. But those of us who had been knitting for a while taught those who were new, and sometimes one of us hid her knitting under the table during a meeting. If Lisa had been in town, it would have been even more difficult to keep the project secret. We managed a few knitting get-togethers and one night to sew the whole thing together. Here are the photos of our progress:

Alison concentrated hard on her work.
We laid the squares out on the coffee table.
Bridget and Steph chatted while sewing squares together.

The finished blanket, pinned out for shaping.

Lisa on Skype, opening her package.
It took months, but we did it. We worked together, each bringing something a little different to the project. Each color square represents a different person. Some were knit in simple garter stitch, some in lacy patterns. Some were knit loosely, others with tight stitches. But somehow it all came together in one project. I look at it as representative of what we can accomplish when we work together.

Lisa loved it. And fortunately, none of those "not for Lisa" emails were leaked, so it was a surprise.

How Slushbusters critique

All the posts about critiques have made me think about the art of evaluating another's work. My fellow Slushbusters possess superhuman manuscript analysis skills. I'm going to brag on them* a bit, and I hope you'll leave a comment about the kind of critiques you give and receive.

There are several types of Slushbuster critiques:

Wording. A Slushie (normally Michelle) will point out that I've used a word umpteen times in two paragraphs. Or perhaps I've only used one sort of sentence structure, or have sentences of only one length rather than a mixture of long and short sentences. All the Slushies will point out awkwardly worded parts. If they had to reread a section to figure out its meaning, they let me know. I'll stick grammar and spelling in this part as well. Every critique group needs a grammar Nazi specialist. Nothing says amateur to an editor or agent like someone who cant put they're sentences together rite.

Practical stuff. Alison and Joan are the queens of finding spacial or physical oddities. For instance, if my character is in the middle of the room in one sentence, she cannot be at a doorway a few sentences later- especially if I didn't mention her walking there. It's so important to have people who can visualize what you're writing and discover inconsistencies. These critiques ensure that the world you've created makes sense.

Characterization. Steph makes a lot of comments about whether a character's actions/emotions are consistent or believable. Everyone points out when a character seems unclear or when a character has become a caricature. Sometimes, I can imagine a character so clearly that I can't separate what's in my mind from what a reader would glean from the text. Yay for Slushies who report what the text communicates!

Structure and pacing. Lisa often helps with the bigger picture. She once pointed out that the character arc I'd created over 6 - 7 chapters just wasn't working. Other Slushies will highlight portions of the story that move too quickly or have become bogged down. Other Slushies (Steph!) might ask if you should change your POV. After you've written the entire MS. (We've discovered that once you recover from your head exploding, the question can be a good one.)

Some of my favorite miscellaneous critiques:

I stopped caring here. Critique members have to read my entire submission, so they do. However, a reader will put the story down when it stops working. So it's really helpful to know when a Slushie became confused, or stopped caring- or just didn't care to begin with. It's not the easiest critique to get, but it's one of the most helpful.

Have you thought about...? This is a hard critique to do well, because it's far too easy to interpose your own vision for the story. In it's best form though, (I'm thinking of Steph, Alison and Bridget) it's a way of prompting the writer to explore new avenues for her story. We've had lots of good conversations spring from this line of questioning.

And finally, the good stuff!

I liked this part. This is hugely helpful, because it lets me know what worked. And if I know what worked, I can do it again. The more specific the praise, the more helpful it is.

I loved it! This one happens rarely, but, boy is it nice when I get it. It's what keeps you writing- to get to that point where the story sings.

You can do this. The truth is, we all need to hear this every time, especially when we're in a slump. If you're in a critique group, you're not coasting through your writing. You need to have others cheering you on through the hard parts.

So there you have it! A not-so-brief guide to Slushie critiques. I'd love to hear what sort of critiques have helped you in the past.

Also, thanks to all of you who read or follow or comment on our blog! You add so much to our writing experience. It's lovely to have you join us on this adventure.

*I should point out that all the Slushies have given each sort of critique. I simply wanted to highlight areas that each member is especially good at.

Happy Birthday! Or Anniversary. Or something.

Today we are one year old. The Slushbusters blog, that is. The Slushbusters as the group we now have are roughly a year older than that, although some of us have been part of this critique group for even longer. And we came up with our name in April of 2008, immediately following our first group road trip to an SCBWI event.

Anyway, it's the birthday of the blog. And I wanted to acknowledge it. Imagine me typing this while wearing a party hat and blowing on one of those horn things that unroll the crazy paper tube. (What are those called anyway?)

I propose a toast. To our friends, both the ones we started this journey with, and the many of you we've met out here in the blogosphere. We've been lucky to find you. Thanks for coming to the party.

Help with Words

Hi All,

I need some words and so far the thesaurus has only given me the obvious. I need positive words to describe a 13 year old girl, words that could be used to describe a pretty photograph of her. Nothing too old for a 13 year old like stunning, sexy, etc.

So far I have words like appealing, refreshing and engaging. Bright, sparkling, even beguiling.

Come on all, whatcha got?

Thanks!

Alison