When I first joined RWA in 1992, I started out by plunging in with both feet. I joined the Inland Valley Chapter, then the Orange County Chapter, and more recently, the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter. My move to Colorado in 1994 broadened my horizons further when I became an active member of the Colorado Romance Chapter. I share my experience with you in critiquing, based on what I've been fortunate to learn from my personal experiences over the years and as Critique group Coordinator for CRW.
    As Critique Group Coordinator, there's a question that I hear quite frequently: Should I enter a critique group?
    From my experience, under the best of circumstances, a critique group is a great source of support. You not only have an opportunity to bounce your ideas off someone else, the group motivates you by placing demands on you to bring fresh material to the meetings. They give you encouragement when you need it. They offer a shoulder to cry on when you get back contest results, and you develop friendships.
    When all elements of the groups are working and your expectations are being met, you have success. It can be a very productive and rewarding experience. So what are some of the elements needed to keep this a positive experience?
    Have the Right Attitude. First, it helps to be professional. Treat your writing like a career and you will find it easier to convince others you are serious about your writing.
    Treat others with respect, even if you don't always think that they deserve it. The key to remember is that others will be observing you and how you interact. Perhaps not consciously, but you can bet they are taking subconscious notes. You are an artist, you are selling your name every time you meet someone. You are being scrutinized by your public, be they readers, other writers, or editors. Your actions, you manner of professionalism, your skills as a writer are open for criticism like any other artist.
    Remember, critiquing is a bargain. You must do your part. You are committing yourself, and like all commitments, you must take them seriously and do the best you can with the abilities you have to offer. (This is not to say critique groups can't have fun.)
    Critiquing is also an exchange. Each member brings to the group their strengths, in order to help others correct weaknesses.
    Critiquing is a gradient. By this I mean we use it as the step before submission to bounce our work off a group of trustworthy, concerned comrades. Because our gut instinct (a phenomenon we learn to trust) tells us our manuscript is not yet the perfect masterpiece we want it to be, we seek input. We tend to look at editors as God-like creatures standing at the pearly gates of heaven where a handful of manuscripts are blessed with the magical wand of publication. The rest of us feel like contestants on the "Gong" show. Running things by your partners first, minimizes the risk of humiliation.
    Possible Pitfalls. Of course, there are pitfalls to watch out for with critiquing, too. To begin with, no matter how you look at it, critique groups force growth. In the writing industry, growth is positive. Growth means you are expanding. Growth can also be frightening and possibly even hurt.
    A simile would be to look at how we develop our characters and force them into growing by giving them little disasters to overcome. The experience is usually a negative experience or one that jars that character's core.
    In a critique group, however, we like to call negative being objective. Sometimes it's called positive criticism. Beware here. Delivery and technique by different critique personalities can vary from hostile to meek.
    Which brings me to another point: there's a difference between growing pains and a cancer. Serious problems need immediate attention. If a critique groups isn't working for you, get out. I can's stress this enough. The wrong group can keep you from writing. When things go bad, don't waste time pointing fingers--it serves no purpose other than bringing your creative momentum to a grinding halt. You get side-tracked on issues that are secondary to your goal. In short, you waste a lot of precious time that could be spent writing. If this happens, it helps to stay focused on what your needs are.
    Focus on your goal—writing. You shouldn't have to give excuses why you want out, just be honest about what your needs are. Follow your gut here. If something isn't working for you, don't stick with it hoping it will get better. At best, give the group a couple of weeks, then search elsewhere.
    Lastly, it has been my observation that the best critique groups are ones that form from scratch; meaning everyone is relatively new to the group or has joined within a three month span.
    On a few occasions a newcomer can enter an already established group successfully, but for the most part they have a more difficult time fitting into an established little niche.
    For newcomers to critiquing, I would also caution you to take your time in searching for a critique group. You may need to try out a few groups, get your feet wet, spend time sizing them us a potential partners. Be realistic about your expectations with them, study their critique methods. Remember, if you've chosen badly, you can always start searching elsewhere.
    Ultimately, joining the right critique group should help you hone your work of art and bolster you confidence. But only you can decide—to critique or not to critique?

Copyright © 1999, Desiree Lindsey.
All rights reserved.
You may reprint this chapter in whole or in part
provided credit is given to the author.
This article was originally printed by Desert Rose, Orange County and Colorado Romance Writers in 1997.

Living on the rugged plains of Colorado with her own real-life hero and two children—where her belief in the power of true, life-altering love is a part of her everyday life—Desiree Lindsey (aka Anita Moore) celebrates undying love in her debut, Enslaved. She admits her joy is giving readers a small window of time to let their imaginations soar.