One of the greatest rushes you may ever experience is seeing your fresh idea in print (monitor screen, note pad, or 8 by eleven bond). Like many other intoxicating moments, it can blind you to flaws.

QUICK FIX read the story aloud to yourself in a parade ground bellow, preferably in a small room. Do not exceed a rate of 100 words per minute. Errors, lapses, and other writing problems will jump out.

CRITIQUE CIRCLE FIX have your work read aloud to the group by someone who has never seen it (cold read). A decent speaking voice helps. But note where the reader stumbles over text. Also note where group members glance at each other.

After the read, let each circle member have his say. Of course every one of them is a jealous idiot. But listen, do not defend. The circle has six other offerings to analyze before the evening ends. [More on Critique Circle organization and etiquette another time.]

So let's hear the closed-room shouting.

Dick aka drace68

Message edited on: 11/08/2005 21:03

I agree with reading outloud, though I don't bellow, and see no advantage to shouting about when a speaking voice will do nicely. One thing you might try, if you would rather not expose yourself to criticism, is to record yourself and then play back the results. I would suggest speaking in a normal tone, and as you would like to think the reader will hear your language inside their heads (if that makes sense). After you get over the shock of what your voice sounds like, listen closely to how smooth (or rough) your writing reads. Your own ear will tell you what you need to know. (This is also a good way to identify places for punctuation...a natural pause calls for a comma, for exmaple). I'm not crazy about sharing stories with people I don't know well...especially if it is a story that you intend to get published some day. That's why I'm not strong on posting in the galleries and forums. But the advice to read outloud to catch problem areas with writing is a good one, and I have used it with both fiction and nonfiction, and will continue to do so in privacy. While my fiction writing will remain unpublished, I am a successful grant writer and so depend on that success to justify this habit. So those are my comments--in a whisper.

No, no, no. If you record in a normal voice, you'll subconsciously compensate modulation and inflection gloss over problems in the new piece. A "cold read" is necessary. Loud speech (don't injure yourself) is unfamiliar; which is why it works. The concept is not original with me. Dick

I think one of the important things for any writer is to find someone they can trust and feel comfortable with reading their writing. Every writer definitely needs to have someone else read their work to find those parts where the writing could be improved, glaring mistakes corrected, etc. Introverts like myself would definitely have a difficult time with that circle critique, but thankfully, I do have a few friends I have no problem with letting read my stories! :) David L. Writer's Coord.