Need a Critique Group?

Dawn Young spent the last 2 weeks setting up critique groups for 72 people in the RhyPiBoMo Facebook Group.  We were very pleased with the amazing interest in joining a group!

Unfortunately, Dawn and I can not organize any more critique groups as we are focused on the event now but you can certainly contact each other through email and get organized.  Someone will need to step up and be the organizer of each group. Finding a critique partner may be easier to do at this point.

You MUST leave your name and an email address in the comment so other writers can contact you!

We will not have any interaction with this page.  I wish we could continue forming more groups but it is very time consuming and with the event starting now, it isn’t possible. I hope this helps!

Here is some information that may be helpful!

 

Sample Schedule

Here is a sample Critique Group Schedule for 8 people submitting one manuscript per month. You could certainly do it with less people and everyone submits more than once. Make it fit to your needs. In this scenario, you would submit once a month and critique two manuscripts per week during the entire schedule. Each person has one week to get the critique back to the author.

April 2nd. Manuscript Submissions

1)

2)

 

Critiques due back by April 9th.

 

April 9th. Manuscript Submissions

1)

2)

 

Critiques due back by April 16th.

 

April 16th. Manuscript Submissions

1)

2)

Critiques due back by April 23rd.

 

April 23rd. Manuscript Submissions

1)

2)

 

Critiques due back by April 30th

 

Critique Group Guidelines

Please be gracious and professional with your comments.
Always start with a positive comment.
When critiquing, make suggestions or ask questions. i. e. have you thought about this? Have you considered this?
Do not rewrite the story. Offer suggestions.
If something is unclear, state why and point to area(s) needing clarification.
If you see extensive, recurring grammatical issues, comment and move on – do need feel the need to correct each time, instead focus on the story.

Examine the story:
Look for all the key elements you would look for in a non-rhyming picture book – strong, relatable characters, plot, theme, voice,…
Does it read like a picture book, or more like a board book, a chapter book? Why?
Does the story have a hook?
Is the POV working?
Does the tense work?
Is the character well-developed? Why or why not?
Are there too many characters?
Is there a plot? Or is it a concept book? Or a slice of life story?
Is there conflict? Should there be conflict? Or is it a concept book? Or a slice of life story?
Does the character solve her/her own problem?
Does the story have an arc and a satisfying resolution?
Is the message unclear, too strong or just right?
Is there showing rather than telling?
Is the language kid friendly?
Is the writing active – with strong verbs?
How is the word count? Can you suggest cuts if too wordy?
Examine the rhyme:
How is the meter? Is it consistent?
Does it scan well? Is the rhyming pattern consistent?
Is there enjambment? Is it working?
Is the rhyme clever or predictable? Are there multi-syllabic rhyming words? Is the rhyme forced? Are there near- rhymes? Inverted sentences?
Does the story drive itself or does the rhyme drive the story?

Close with a positive comment
For more detailed instructions see Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul page199-202

Comment here with your name and email address and hopefully you will be able to

connect with other writers looking for a group too!

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30 thoughts on “Need a Critique Group?”

    • Rosi, I’d be happy to share/ critique…an e-mail partner will surely keep me honest! Let me know if you need a partner- I’m not quite sure how this works with Angie’s set up but I guess it’s a place to work on the daily assignments?

      Reply

      • Hi Laura,
        For this challenge, the critique group is for you to submit a rhyming picture book manuscript to… If you don’t have one ready then submit a poem for critique this month. If your group chooses to continue working together after this event, you can certainly decide how to tweak it to fit your needs.
        I hope that helps,
        Angie
        Good Luck and happy Rhyming!

  12. Jenifer and I already connected. Would love to connect with you other poets. I guess I don’t understand exactly how this works, either. Do we each write a poem a day and critique it, as opposed to other work of ours?
    ssalkin@cfl.rr.com

    Reply

    • Hi Stephanie,
      For this challenge, the critique group is for you to submit a rhyming picture book manuscript to… If you don’t have one ready then submit a poem for critique this month. If your group chooses to continue working together after this event, you can certainly decide how to tweak it to fit your needs.
      I hope that helps,
      Angie
      Good Luck and happy Rhyming!

      Reply

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