Once I have finished writing something, it is as perfect as I can make it. But will you find it perfect? My research indicates that 99.27% of readers are able to suggest some improvement. They might (gasp) find a typo I have missed despite 1000 rereadings, point out a repeated word I didn’t know I have kept repeating, get bored between the exciting bits, forget who is who in between successive appearances some chapters apart, simply fail to believe aspects of the reality I thought I have created…
My writing, your writing, anyone’s writing will be improved through grateful reception of honest feedback.
This is also very useful during the development phase, while the child of my imagination is still growing. This is why getting regular critiques is great.
I have attended writers’ groups from time to time but have found them wanting. First, I have my preferences in writing I enjoy, and the other bunnies in the group typically have different ones. Second, while I get a glow of satisfaction from being a teacher and mentor, I typically get a lot less back than I give, which is not the basis for a good long-term relationship.
Online is better because there is a larger pool to draw from, so I can swap critiques about psychology books with other psychologists who are writers; speculative fiction projects with… hmm, I’ll have to speculate about this one; historical fiction writing with others who produce historical fiction.
My very best feedback providers, however, are not writers. One is a high school English, Geography and History teacher who is proud that behind her back her students call her the “School Dragon.” The other is a builder with a wicked sense of humour and a mind like a razor. They both happen to love the stuff I write, so I run everything past them.
Then there is an award-winning writer of historical fiction who also happens to be knowledgeable about psychology and science fiction and about a dozen other things. We have swapped beta reads for many years.
But, all of us are getting old. My builder friend is currently recovering from chemotherapy, the School Dragon has let me know she keeps forgetting things, the historical writer has survived multiple attacks of old age on her body.
So, I am currently seeking critique partners to add to my friendship bouquet.
Applicants, please form a double line outside my door.
After you have commented on my rave, please visit the far more sensible contributions of my fellow blog fleas:
Victoria Chatham
Sally Odgers
Anne Stenhouse
Diane Bator
Skye Taylor
Connie Vines
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Bobbing Around
Crit tickle! Oh, Bob, only you! Love it. And yes, those typos do have a way of rearing their ugly little heads, don’t they? An enjoyable post as always.
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Well, it is a phonetic typo, right? 🙂
I pick up typos in everyone else’s writing — just not in mine.
(I could go on about a mine being a dark place, but nowadays they are open-cut, with far more environmental damage.)
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Great post as always, Bob. What treasures your long-term crit people sound. Maybe I need to be more trusting and ask… Anne Stenhouse
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Happy to swap crits with you even if our genres are wildly different, give or take a little. When I was editing, I took on everything from PhD theses to “steamy romances.” I found the theses much more fun. 🙂
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Yes indeed!
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Well, I’m still here! The getting less than one gives can be a problem… Your piece, as usual, is short, sharp and to the point.
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Thank you, Sally, OBE (sorry, or is it OA?)
I’ll send you what I have when I have finished Plato’s and Alexander the Great’s chapters.
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Love this post. No matter how often I “think” I’ve polished something, alas, there is always a mistake. I think it’s a matter of once you’ve seen that error a few times, you cease to see it at all, but a fresh pair of eyes picks it up right off. Like you, I have a hand-picked group – my Sandy Scribblers. We are all writers, but we all write in different genres. And those differences are often how we come to see a new slant or aspect to what any one of us is working on. I like your “dragon.” My latest book that came out on Valentine’s Day was dedicated to my high school English teacher. I had Mr. Keyes for two years and he ALWAYS challenged me in ways that forced me to dig deeper, and my work was better for it.
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Alas, my beta group is ageing (so am I!) and tired (so am I) and need replacement (hmm… so am I?)
🙂
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I would, my friend, but I’m just returning from the hospital and out of sorts. Rough going. Anyway, take care and catch you on the rebound.
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Sorry to hear you needed a hospital stay. I’ll have to add you to my all too long healing energy list.
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You are very kind, Bob. One thing to remember when it comes to proofreading. I strongly recommend that you use the likes of ChatGPT or Grok on X (that’s the one I personally use on a low cost subscription) to get feedback and suggestions of stylistic or grammatical corrections for any text you may have. If the text is quite long, you may have to break it up or pay more for a more comprehensive subscription. Before deciding either way, try it with something like a page or two long. You simply start with a prompt (e.g., please provide feedback on both content and form about the following:), after which you paste the text you want to improve within the AI window, and click on the activation arrow.
You may very well be pleasantly surprised.
That’s it for now, my friend.
L
Laurent Grenier, philosophe/philosopher https://www.laurentgrenier.net https://www.laurentgrenierbooks.com
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I do my best to avoid using Moronic Regurgitation (misnamed artificial intelligence) for two reasons. First, they are environmentally terrible, using huge amounts of electricity, and water for cooling. I have read reports that they release toxins into their neighbourhood.
Second, the people who profit from them are the people who are hurrying us toward the extinction of all complex life on earth.
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I understand what you’re saying exactly, and you’re right on so many points. I use AI rarely and very selectively, knowing that it is both a blessing and a curse that is there to stay as yet another extension of the scientific and industrial revolution. Somehow, humanity is gonna have to learn to manage these dangerously paradoxical forms of progress that conceal an increasing risk of doom. For one thing, as part of the responsible management of AI, there’s gonna have to be some form of regulation that imposes limits on what it is used for and how often it is used. I’m sure there are many other ways to approach this intelligently, but I am at a loss to know what these other ways are in practice.
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Please add me to the queue! I like to be of service. Now I am allowed to drive again, a friend has described me as a free woman. I certainly am. I don’t charge! I have been declared cancer free and am fit and well again despite notching up 76 tears. Ha! I love the typo. That must mean I cry years! Looking forward to your next newsletter on 23 rd… F
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Fiona my dear, delighted there was no cancer.
Does this mean you want to read everything twice? You have already read most of this book.
Currently I am Plato, 410 BCE and about to go to war although he is determined not to kill or even harm anyone…
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There was cancer but the surgeon got it all. I can read text twice if required. I hope you get some new Beta readers who can make a better critique than I do. I look forward to the next batch of text. F
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