Guest Post by C.C. Dowling: Everyone's a Critic

C.C. Dowling delighted me when she agreed to do another guest post for me. She's a fantastic writer, and she uses the word "amazeballs" a lot. Oh, and I'm probably outing her by saying this, but I've finally managed to turn her into a Doctor Who fan too. Thanks C.C. Sorry, I lost your paypal account. Again.

Everyone’s A Critic
by C.C. Dowling

@CCDowling

Ever realize how finding the right critique partner (A.K.A. CP) is kinda like dating?

No? Well, if you’re a writer, you should try it. Finding a CP, that is. I’ll leave the dating advice to another blog.

Finding a CP that is congruent with your style, personality, and craft level is crucial to being a successful writer. I don’t care who you are. Every single one of us has craft issues that we can’t see in our own writing. Why? Because we’re too close to it.

Sorta like how your partner can’t see that the last argument they had with you was completely their fault.

But I digress.

When you’re in a relationship like a writer is with their work, it’s difficult to take a step back and see it for what it really is. Whatever that “really is” may be. That’s where CPs come in. But where to find one?

When you’re dating, there are a TON of sites available to you, depending on what type of relationship you’re looking for. But where to find a CP is less clear.

Side note: Someone really should develop a website called CPMatch.Com. And hey, if this exists, or anything like it, please leave the website in the comments!

I can tell you what worked for me. That might work for you, and it might not. And, it might lead to an even better idea you come up with. If that happens, again, there’s a comment section for a reason. You can thank me there.

If you read the last guest post I wrote, you probably know what I’m going to say. If you haven’t read it, then you can find it here: Three Lessons To Keep Your Readers Up At Night.

Yeah, you guessed it. Twitter. I found almost all of my CPs through Twitter. The writing community on there is amazeballs. Aside from straight up hashtags like #critiquepartner, there are tons of contests. And when you enter them, and you stalk lurk keep up with the threads, you’ll see that people are offering to read your first 250 or your query, if you read theirs.

Heck, you can even offer it first. It’s your writing career. Grab it where it counts.

By doing it this way, you’ll get to:

A.) See what else is out there.  

B.) Test out someone’s material and critiquing style before making a major commitment.            

C.) Meet other writers.

This is the picture Jerry uses for
The Ubergroup. Don't worry. I
don't know what it is either.

The meeting other writers is important. In doing so, I met fellow author Jerry Quinn (@bewarethejabb) who runs a fantastic group on Scribophile (http://www.scribophile.com/) called Ubergroup, where I met the fabulous, and awesomesauce talent of Scott Hughey.

Side note: Scott, payments can be made via PayPal.

It’s also fair that I point out I met my very first CP, and just an all-around great writer, @ABSevan, through a Writer’s Digest first ten pages bootcamp. WD offers all kinds of online resources and classes where you can meet other writers in your genre, and at your level. Check them out (@WritersDigest  www.writersdigest.com.)

Okay, I think I’m done plugging everyone.

Bottom line is, as writers, we need someone who will tell it like it is, matches our talent, and provides useful feedback. Personally, I like my CPs to be straight up honest. Scratch through my crap with a red sharpie, and pat me on the back when I deserve it.

Everyone’s CP needs are different. Just like in a relationship, you want someone who pushes you to grow, meets you where you need them to, compliments your strengths and weaknesses, and wants to see you succeed.

How do you CP? Leave a comment to let us know.

---

C.C. Dowling lives in America’s finest city, San Diego, with her toddler (who plays in the yard with Faeries), her husband (the financial shaman), her Aussie (with mesmerizing blue eyes), and a pet dragon (who is the real reason the neighbor’s dog barks incessantly at night). 

When she’s not working in the field of neuroscience, she’s writing fantastical short stories and novels about blood-drinkers, shape-shifters, soul reapers, and demons hell-bent on redemption. You can find her on Twitter at @CCDowling.

Writer's Digest April Fool's Headline Contest

Hope I'm doing this right. Here's my entry for the April Fool's Contest by Brian Klems.

"A Third Person Arrested in the Dangling Modifier Case." #AprilFools4Writers @BrianKlems http://bit.ly/1jUbnq1 

Yep. That's three puns in 140 characters, making up one headline. Enjoy.

The Danger of My Obsession

You know the one thing I love more than writing fiction? Well, truth be told, there's more than one. But do you know the particular thing I'm thinking about right now, that I love more than writing fiction?

No you don't. Otherwise, you'd probably be reading something else about now.

Even more than writing, I love thinking about writing. Like several writers with a day job, I imagine what it will be like to have writing be the only work, but that's not what I mean.

I love thinking about the craft.  You know, imagining the characters I want to create, the feelings I want to bring out, the types of stories I want to tell.

Used to be I'd by every Writer's Digest magazine when it came out, along with the occasional Writer Magazine based on the content. And I'd devour them, learning more and more along the way.

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's trivial geek references.  If there's two things I'm good at, you can add obsessing about interests to the list.  Somewhere on the list, if you add enough things that I'm good at, you get to writing.

I adore it. Which means I obsess about it. And there's the danger.

All the things listed that I enjoy doing, from reading the magazines to daydreaming about the craft, they're all good things. The catch is, when I'm thinking about writing, it feels like I'm actually going through the process.  But if all I'm doing is thinking, reading, or talking about it, then no new words actually make it to the page.

Every single day, I have to remind myself to sit down in the seat and do the real work.  This is true whether it's the day after writing 2000 words, or a week after writing 100.

Obsessing about the craft will ultimately benefit me, but only if I turn it into the right kind of action.  Otherwise it becomes a hindrance and a danger to the writing.

You live and learn. At any rate, you live.

(That last line was one of those geeky references I mentioned. Just so you know that I know that I didn't come up with the line.)

5 differences between amateurs and pros

I don't usually post links, but this needs sharing:

THE 5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEUR NOVELISTS

By Brian Klems
The Writer's Digest
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists

Excerpt:

"There’s no magical change you feel when your first book finally sells – the same doubts are still there, and definitely the same feeling that you’re a kind of crazy charlatan, trying to trade words out of your brain for money.

But for all that that’s true, the more writers I meet, the more I notice that there are some crucial differences between the professional ones and the ones who want to be professional. I hope that doesn’t sound condescending – every professional writer used to be an amateur writer, after all, and often the distinctions I
I’m talking about don’t have anything to do with talent as much as with attitude. These are the five that I’ve noticed."

To read the full blog, go here:
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists