What’s So Great About a Critique Group? Part Four: Quick Tips.

Posted by Lori Freeland on May 3, 2012 in Writing Tips | 2 comments

What’s So Great About a Critique Group?

Part Four in The Critique Group Series: Quick Tips

Part One  Part Two Part Three

Quick Tips:

Establish guidelines upfront—I’ve included a suggested list below.

Agree on a place and time that works for everyone.

Meet somewhere neutral—a restaurant, coffee shop, church, or library.

Start on time. End on time. Respect other people’s time.

Set a timer if you need to.

Elect a facilitator who will keep you on time and on task.

Treat other people with the same respect you crave.

Be an encourager, not a discourager.

Proper Formatting Etiquette

It doesn’t matter who is critiquing you, how short or long your document runs, or how experienced your critique partner becomes—proper format goes a long way to a lasting Edit Buddy relationship. You want to send out the cleanest, easiest to read version of your brilliance.

Here are some guidelines to follow.

1. 12 point Times New Roman font (other font tires the eyes)
2. Double space the document (gives room to make notes)
3. Indent each new paragraph
4. No space between paragraphs
5. Only one space after a period (hit period/enter/type first word of new sentence)
6. Chapter number/title centered top of page
7. Begin two spaces down

Example:

Chapter 7

Ella

It was official. (indent first line every paragraph) (double space all lines)

I had become that girl—the (your dash should look like this) girl who quieted a room just by entering. Instead of being the smart girl, or the pretty girl, or even the girl with the weird hair and mismatched eyes, I was the girl whose sister killed herself. Nobody knew what to say to me—so they quit talking.

And I quit caring.

Find the entire Critique Group Series Here:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four