I'm part of a group of writers - we've been writing a story every month this year, and we submit it each month, and critique each other's stories.
Critiquing others' stories is a great way of learning the craft of writing.
In the beginning, it seems difficult - how can you comment about others' writing when you are not so hot yourself? But once you start, it gets easier, and you realize - it doesn't matter if you are a better writer than the other person or not. What matters in critiquing is that unlike just reading a story and deciding whether you like it or not, critiquing forces you to recognize what you like and what you don't like in a story, and WHY.
And the recognition of this WHY is essential because the next time you write a story, you subconsciously bear that in mind, and your story turns out to be better.
So, if you're looking to improve your writing technique, I highly recommend a critique group.
Critiquing others' stories is a great way of learning the craft of writing.
In the beginning, it seems difficult - how can you comment about others' writing when you are not so hot yourself? But once you start, it gets easier, and you realize - it doesn't matter if you are a better writer than the other person or not. What matters in critiquing is that unlike just reading a story and deciding whether you like it or not, critiquing forces you to recognize what you like and what you don't like in a story, and WHY.
And the recognition of this WHY is essential because the next time you write a story, you subconsciously bear that in mind, and your story turns out to be better.
So, if you're looking to improve your writing technique, I highly recommend a critique group.
3 comments:
Please share your stories here :-)
Hi Shruthi,
How do I join this group of writers(I am simply a blogger not any professional writer)but still would be interested so as to better myself.
Radhika, I'll try and get it published in journals/magazines.
Desiherald, I'm sorry but that is a private group. However, I strongly recommend the "Practice-W" group in the Internet Writers Workshop. Google and see, and join. Helped me a lot.
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