Spring to Success with SpringMingle'19 and INFORMAL CRITIQUES!

Last year, T. K. Read, the Southern Breeze Critique Coordinator, came up with a great post all about the Informal Critique process. In fact, it was so nice, we thought we'd run it twice! Here's TK:

SO WHY DO THE INFORMAL CRITIQUES? CHECK IF THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO YOU.  

DO YOU:

____    Want 4-6 fresh eyes to give you feedback about your illustration or story’s opening pages?

____    Want to hear or see the latest and greatest works in progress from your peers? 

____    Want to be able to give your work one last polish before you send it off after the conference?!

If you answered “Yes” to even one of these questions, you need to participate in the Informal Critiques at SpringMingle'19. 

SO, for these “Yes” people, and those already sold on actively participating in Southern Breeze’s Informal Critiques, skip ahead and read way below for the nitty-gritty about the Informal Critiques.

FOR THE REST OF YOU: LET’S SEE IF WE CAN ADDRESS THE REASONS YOU ARE ON THE FENCE ABOUT PARTICIPATING. 

REASON ONE: THE COST.  Sorry, not valid. You can get feedback from 5-6 fellow writers or illustrators for FREE! All you need to do to participate is read and listen to their work, then give them feedback, too.

REASON TWO: I’M WORRIED SOMEONE WILL STEAL MY STORY/ILLUSTRATION IDEA. Again, not valid. It’s commonly said that there’s only one genuine story, and the rest is in the telling. For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is written about a fairly-common literary trope – a wizarding school for kids set in a castle with fantastical elements - however, J.K. Rawlings’ excellent telling of this story brought her characters to life and stole our hearts. If you are really worried about idea theft, you can register your work with the US Copyright Office for a nominal charge. Here’s the link to the FAQ page: https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-register.html. It’s been my experience that suggestions given to me by other writers have helped me impro­­ve my work so much, the benefits outweigh any real risk of idea theft.

This same logic applies to illustrators, where if you ask three illustrators to provide mock-ups of the same picture book page, they will come up with three very different samples emphasizing either different elements of the story or the same story elements differently.

REASON THREE: I’M WORRIED ABOUT RECEIVING CRITICISM: OK, we here at Southern Breeze strongly encourage the sandwich method for critiquing. It works like this: you say something you like about someone else’s work, then you make a constructive suggestion for improving it, then you end with another comment about what you liked. Our work are our babies after all, and so we need to treat them and each other gently. Another gauge with regards to criticism is that two people can disagree based on personal likes and dislikes, but if three people offer the same suggestion for improvement, you may want to give that suggestion some serious thought. What I frequently do with suggestions like these is rewrite my work using the suggestion, then take a week off from the writing. At the end of the week, I reread both versions and see which one is more appealing.  

I hope I’ve addressed your concerns, and that you will join me in making the most we can of every opportunity offered. See you soon!

Yours in Writing, T. K. Read, Critique Group Leader, Southern Breeze

REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Nitty Gritty:

WHERE:  HOTEL LOBBY

WHEN:    SATURDAY, 5:30-6:30 

WHAT:    5 COPIES OF YOUR WORK, LIMIT 5 PAGES OR 1250 WORDS

FORMAT: Group leaders will pick up a paddle with their group number and a copy of the updated sign-up sheet from the Critique Group display and find a spot where they can sit with 4-6 participants. They will hold up their paddle until their group members join them. They will also be responsible for moving the critiques along so that everyone has an opportunity to share. Each participant reads their work out loud as others follow along. When finished, the leader moves the discussion around the table, and stops it when time is up (15-20 minutes for reading and discussion depending on number present).