The only reason I'm not asking for it at the moment is because I'm concentrating on my original fiction, so I'm turning to a different arena/group of people for critiques and am learning there are some definite adjustments that need to be made.
First, really admire you working on your original stuff. I wrote original stuff long before fanfic, but fanfic keeps tugging my strings and I'm having difficulty finding a balance.
I'm interested in the "adjustments" that need to be made in your crit groups for original fiction. I've taken a lot of creative writing classes, or been in workshops or club type scenarios, and the big difference for me is you are obliged to give con crit; you don't get to pick and choose whether you like the person or like the piece. However, I've also found that a lot of the same problems hold true--people go to a workshop purportedly to become better writers, but when people crit them, they don't want to hear it.
In fact, an early experience with that in a writing group is what really shaped how I view con crit and how I give it. I sliced up a fellow workshopper's story. I didn't say anything good about it, but nor was I impolite or at all cruel. I found out later she hated me for saying what I did...and I realized there'd never be a way to tell someone something's wrong with their writing without hitting a nerve. You just have to play nursemaid and soothe the nerve before and after you hit it.
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First, really admire you working on your original stuff. I wrote original stuff long before fanfic, but fanfic keeps tugging my strings and I'm having difficulty finding a balance.
I'm interested in the "adjustments" that need to be made in your crit groups for original fiction. I've taken a lot of creative writing classes, or been in workshops or club type scenarios, and the big difference for me is you are obliged to give con crit; you don't get to pick and choose whether you like the person or like the piece. However, I've also found that a lot of the same problems hold true--people go to a workshop purportedly to become better writers, but when people crit them, they don't want to hear it.
In fact, an early experience with that in a writing group is what really shaped how I view con crit and how I give it. I sliced up a fellow workshopper's story. I didn't say anything good about it, but nor was I impolite or at all cruel. I found out later she hated me for saying what I did...and I realized there'd never be a way to tell someone something's wrong with their writing without hitting a nerve. You just have to play nursemaid and soothe the nerve before and after you hit it.
omg, long rant, sorry. Thanks for joinin' in.