FAQ |
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Who can join?
Membership is free and open to anyone who writes science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Our group includes experienced writers with decades of writing experience behind them, and newcomers who have yet to see anything in print.
When do you meet?
Please see the meeting schedule. Meetings start at 6:45 PM and end at 9:00 PM.
What exactly do you do?
We're writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and we gather together to share our work with each other and gain insight so we can all become better writers. We look for the good in your work and always strive to point out the good parts but understand, as a Critique Group we will also give you helpful criticism that will help you make your writing better. We look for mistakes and problems with your writing so that you can make it better . . . and we will not hesitate to tell you when we find them. This can be a painful process for some. If you can't take a professional review of your work by people trying to point out flaws for you to fix, then we may not be the right group for you.
So your group will teach me how to be a writer?
No. There are a number of writing programs at the local colleges and universities in the area that will do this for you. We expect you to already have a healthy grasp on writing and know something of the business and the craft of writing. We're not here to teach writing, and NO, we will NOT reveal to you the secret handshake that will get your work automatically yanked from the slushpile and published by editors who are currently ignoring your work. None of us got published because we knew someone, or went to the right schools, or made the secret "professional writer" identification mark in the upper left-hand corner on the back of the cover letter which let the editor know we were "real" writers. We got there by hard work, studying the craft, and slogging through untold form rejections and long, painful rewrites and then getting our work back out into the market again. In the end, writers get published because they work hard at it.
What if I don't write a lot?
WorD has no restrictions on its membership based on writing or lack thereof, so you can join whether you only write occasionally or if you write fairly often.
How long will the group work on my story?
How long we spend on your work depends on the length. If you are submitting a short story, we will spend only one meeting on it. If you are submitting an entire novel, we will most likely work on 1-3 chapters during a single meeting. Once you receive a group critique, it is up to you to act on the advice; taking or ignoring whatever you wish from what the critique's have to offer. We do not re-critique stories after they have passed through the group, in order to free up space for other stories (yours or someone else's). For this reason we will not look at 'works-in-progress', but rather only at completely finished, "I-want-to-send-this-to-an-editor-tomorrow" manuscripts.
Novel length MS's are required to be submitted with a one page synopsis with the first chapter of the story. The author may request that the group also critique the synopsis.
I want to submit my story to the group for a critique. Do I need to bring printed MS's for everyone in the group?
No. Our email group has a files section where members can upload their MS for critique. Members can print a copy of MS that they will bring to the meeting and give to the author after they have given their person critique. Members may also bring notes to the meetings to read from and provide an electronic document to the author that can be emailed after the meeting.
But I don't know how to critique! What do I do?
Not everyone who has joined our group knew how to critique; read over our procedure page and try this link for "How to Critique Fiction by Victory Crayne." Attend a couple of our meetings and observe how the rest of the group does it. Critiques don't necessarily have to be detailed; simply pointing out what areas you liked and what areas you didn't like or found confusing, can be a big help to an author.
I don't write at all, but I really want to hang out with writers!
If you don't actually write for publication in the professional market, you won't fit in with us. Others have tried this road with us before, and it always ends badly. We are serious writers and just don't have the time to spend chatting and socializing with someone who isn't serious about writing.
How do I Join the email group?
Once you have attended at least one meeting, you have the option of being added to our groups.io email group. You can then upload your MS to our document folder so it is accessible to everyone in the group. One of the moderators will ask for your information during the meeting and send you an invitation to join the email group.
This email list is an important part of being part of this group. Google groups is used to send out email reminders about upcoming meetings and events, reminder announcements about upcoming critiques and the files section is used to store the MS that us up for critique during the next meeting.
Members must attend at least one meeting every 12 months to remain on the WorD email list.
Join us on our Facebook Group
Our members use this group to send out announcements about upcoming events, recent publishes, open markets and other important writing related information. The FB group is open to the public. You do not need to attend meetings to join.
Anything else I should know before I join?
There are no specific age limits, but be forewarned, we do critique material classified as Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror) and some themes can be considered adult. If you find a manuscript that has been submitted for critique to be objectionable for any reason, please don't feel that you have to read it or critique it. You do not have to critique any work that makes you uncomfortable.
Membership is free and open to anyone who writes science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Our group includes experienced writers with decades of writing experience behind them, and newcomers who have yet to see anything in print.
When do you meet?
Please see the meeting schedule. Meetings start at 6:45 PM and end at 9:00 PM.
What exactly do you do?
We're writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and we gather together to share our work with each other and gain insight so we can all become better writers. We look for the good in your work and always strive to point out the good parts but understand, as a Critique Group we will also give you helpful criticism that will help you make your writing better. We look for mistakes and problems with your writing so that you can make it better . . . and we will not hesitate to tell you when we find them. This can be a painful process for some. If you can't take a professional review of your work by people trying to point out flaws for you to fix, then we may not be the right group for you.
So your group will teach me how to be a writer?
No. There are a number of writing programs at the local colleges and universities in the area that will do this for you. We expect you to already have a healthy grasp on writing and know something of the business and the craft of writing. We're not here to teach writing, and NO, we will NOT reveal to you the secret handshake that will get your work automatically yanked from the slushpile and published by editors who are currently ignoring your work. None of us got published because we knew someone, or went to the right schools, or made the secret "professional writer" identification mark in the upper left-hand corner on the back of the cover letter which let the editor know we were "real" writers. We got there by hard work, studying the craft, and slogging through untold form rejections and long, painful rewrites and then getting our work back out into the market again. In the end, writers get published because they work hard at it.
What if I don't write a lot?
WorD has no restrictions on its membership based on writing or lack thereof, so you can join whether you only write occasionally or if you write fairly often.
How long will the group work on my story?
How long we spend on your work depends on the length. If you are submitting a short story, we will spend only one meeting on it. If you are submitting an entire novel, we will most likely work on 1-3 chapters during a single meeting. Once you receive a group critique, it is up to you to act on the advice; taking or ignoring whatever you wish from what the critique's have to offer. We do not re-critique stories after they have passed through the group, in order to free up space for other stories (yours or someone else's). For this reason we will not look at 'works-in-progress', but rather only at completely finished, "I-want-to-send-this-to-an-editor-tomorrow" manuscripts.
Novel length MS's are required to be submitted with a one page synopsis with the first chapter of the story. The author may request that the group also critique the synopsis.
I want to submit my story to the group for a critique. Do I need to bring printed MS's for everyone in the group?
No. Our email group has a files section where members can upload their MS for critique. Members can print a copy of MS that they will bring to the meeting and give to the author after they have given their person critique. Members may also bring notes to the meetings to read from and provide an electronic document to the author that can be emailed after the meeting.
But I don't know how to critique! What do I do?
Not everyone who has joined our group knew how to critique; read over our procedure page and try this link for "How to Critique Fiction by Victory Crayne." Attend a couple of our meetings and observe how the rest of the group does it. Critiques don't necessarily have to be detailed; simply pointing out what areas you liked and what areas you didn't like or found confusing, can be a big help to an author.
I don't write at all, but I really want to hang out with writers!
If you don't actually write for publication in the professional market, you won't fit in with us. Others have tried this road with us before, and it always ends badly. We are serious writers and just don't have the time to spend chatting and socializing with someone who isn't serious about writing.
How do I Join the email group?
Once you have attended at least one meeting, you have the option of being added to our groups.io email group. You can then upload your MS to our document folder so it is accessible to everyone in the group. One of the moderators will ask for your information during the meeting and send you an invitation to join the email group.
This email list is an important part of being part of this group. Google groups is used to send out email reminders about upcoming meetings and events, reminder announcements about upcoming critiques and the files section is used to store the MS that us up for critique during the next meeting.
Members must attend at least one meeting every 12 months to remain on the WorD email list.
Join us on our Facebook Group
Our members use this group to send out announcements about upcoming events, recent publishes, open markets and other important writing related information. The FB group is open to the public. You do not need to attend meetings to join.
Anything else I should know before I join?
There are no specific age limits, but be forewarned, we do critique material classified as Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror) and some themes can be considered adult. If you find a manuscript that has been submitted for critique to be objectionable for any reason, please don't feel that you have to read it or critique it. You do not have to critique any work that makes you uncomfortable.
