Critique Buddies

Say you're sitting in your comfy chair, typing away on the keyboard. You finish a page, then a chapter. You sit back, staring at all the words you've written. You feel good, because it's a nice accomplishment in the long series of events that will come before you can be done with the book in its entirety.

After scanning the pages long enough, a nervous knot settles in the pit of your stomach. What if people don't like it? What if I did that character all wrong?

Enter the critique buddy.

A critique buddy is the person who you go to with your pages in hand for them to read and see what can be done to change things, and what things can stay the same. If you don't have one, I highly, highly recommend you find someone who you can trust to be honest with you, but in such a way that it helps improve your writing, not just rip your manuscript to shreds.

A critique buddy is a fresh set of eyes for your pages. If you're feeling stuck, go ahead and talk to them, or talk to another friend. Often times that scene that's been giving you trouble will be solved if you talk it out. Other times they help to catch little phrases that don't make sense and find pesky typos.

The idea of a critique buddy is that they read your work, and you read theirs. They didn't have to spend their hours reading through your quokka's adventures with the sprinklers, but they did. Make sure you return the favor and offer to read their work. Be sure to thank them for reading yours!

Your critique buddy doesn't even have to be someone you know personally. I've made so many good friends and writers online. Don't be afraid to give one of them an email and ask if they'd be able to read your writing! More often than not, they'll be happy to, even if they can't get to it right away.

If you need a buddy, I'm here and I'd be glad to read any of your writing that you might have. I might not get back to you right away, what with school and homework and all, but I'll get back to you!

Cheers,
Seana