Catherine Dilts
I’ve been in critique groups large and small over the years.
Currently, one writer and I exchange manuscripts once a month. Beth lives way
up the pass, and I’m in the middle of the "big city". She and I meet via Zoom
calls. I am happy with the arrangement.
During a recent meeting, Beth advised me to do a very
specific search. She suggested I check how many times I used the word “so” at
the beginning of a sentence. Mostly in dialogue.
I found that an amusing request, but Beth is typically
correct in her assessments of my writing. I did the search. I was horrified to
realize my characters use “so” like other people have nervous tics. Remember
the old Valley Girl stereotype of young women using the word “like” as a filler
word, similar to a speaker repeating “um” in ridiculous quantities? Yes, like it was
totally like that.
On one page, I used “so” at the beginning of sentences five times. I did believe “so” was justified at the beginning of a few sentences in the manuscript. I left those. But most were trimmed off with no ill effect to the meaning of the sentence.
Once Beth pointed that out to me, I became hyper aware of
“so.” Hopefully not to the exclusion of the overuse of other words.
What should writers watch for in their work? “Really” and “very”
are typically mentioned. Here’s a longer list: https://www.writeacademy.com/blog/how-to-identify-and-cut-your-crutch-words/
Whether it’s on an overused word list or not, if you notice
a particular word repeated on a page, or worse, in a paragraph, it might be
time to do a word search of your manuscript.
We don’t rely solely on each other’s evaluations. I also
have Beta readers who review my work, and so does Beth. Fresh eyes are always
welcome. Even the best critiquers can miss typos, choreography errors, or
inconsistencies.
I have heard tales about other critique groups that continue
unbroken for decades. My own experience has been that situations change. People
move, or lose interest in writing. Feathers get ruffled. Personalities clash.
Writers may simply find better feedback in genre-specific groups.
Beth and I have stuck together on this writing journey for well
over a decade now, but in different critiquing iterations every few years. We
share not-so-fond reminisces of some former critique partners. Others I learned
a lot from, through their kind instruction.
Can you call a two-person critique group a “group”? I do,
out of habit. Will we ever admit new members? Doubtful at this time.
Critiquing, and being critiqued, requires trust. When you have hit upon good
chemistry with another writer, it’s best to stay the course.
And if your critique buddy suggests you do a search for a particular word choice or phrase, do it!
