Ye Gods! Would you look at the state of this place. An inch of dust on everything, cobwebs that would make Lilly Munster jealous, and grease so thick in the kitchen you could write the first chapter of War and Peace in it. But I guess a few life set backs will do that. It’s going to take a Kirby, Rainbow, Rug Doctor, and a pressure washer to get this blog back in order.

Fortunately, I have help. My good friend, and fellow AQCer, Dean C. Rich.

Dean is a writer of Epic Fantasy, (Which is always a plus in my books.), and probably one of the best writer friends you should be lucky enough to meet. As his guest blog will prove, shortly. If you haven’t met a fellow wordsmith like Dean in your own particular writing community, you have my deepest sympathies. Keep looking.

So without further gilding the Lilly, (I’m betting I have him blushing right about now.), HEEEEER’S DEAN!

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It Is All in The Delivery

I met Peter over at AQC the first month I became a member. He has a really cool story. We were participating in posting and critiquing each other’s chapters. He sent me the first five of his book. I gave him feedback, and he liked the feedback. He has given me ideas for my own work.

In the forums, chats, on blogs, and in articles one theme comes up again and again, the need for good beta readers and critique partners. The authors sing praises to their critique partners and beta readers for making their stories that much stronger.

There is a fine line between a good critique and being mean and petty. Yes, the critique needs to be honest.

I remember being in a seminar, (Okay it was sales) and there was a nice cake up front and two people were selected to have a piece of cake. The first volunteer watched as the server took out a silver knife and cut a nice piece of cake and then transferred the slice to a china plate. He then got a napkin and a silver fork and gave the slice to the honored recipient.

The next piece of cake was cut with a plastic knife. Since it was a small knife the host’s fingers dug into the cake. The plastic knife was making a mess of the slice so the host gave up on cutting the cake and just reached in and grabbed a chunk of cake and slapped it on a napkin and all but slung the cake at the next recipient.

Both guests were served cake, but what was the difference in their cakes? The delivery. One was served with grace, the other with, well, less grace.

The same is true on how we give critiques. “That was the worst piece of trash I’ve ever read, you call yourself a writer?” vs, “The premise is fascinating, and I was absorbed with the story. However, you lost me with such and such. You may consider this or that.”

It is all delivery. If your crit group makes you feel like a low life, get out and find a better group. We all put a lot of ourselves into our writing. When you get your critique you should feel inspired to do better, not feel like a heal.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Look for partners that give different views, plot and grammar. Details and general view. There is a lot that goes into writing, but you need to find your voice, your style, and a group of people to help you shine.

Thanks for letting me come over Peter.

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Thanks for helping me clean the place up a bit, Dean. You can just set the couch down anywhere. 😉

Dean can be found as DC Rich at Agentquery Connect

@deancrich on twitter

And of course you can read his time management/motivation blog entries and author interviews and other things of interest to writers at The Write Time.

Have a good one, Gang!

Peter