Four Reasons Why You Need a Writing Critique Partner

By Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

Writers hear all the time that the life we’ve chosen (or the life that chose us) is a solitary one. After all, it’s hard to listen to the internal dialogue of our imaginary characters if the external dialogue of real-life characters drowns it out. The two-ears-one-brain thing has always made it impossible for me to write in noisy places filled with people – especially people who want to talk to me. So my best, most-productive writing usually happens when I’m alone.

For those of us who fit the typical introverted-writer profile, this self-imposed solitude is okay. If we wanted to be around people all day, we’d be serving lattes at the corner coffee shop, not sequestered in our homes pecking away on our keyboards.

But even my happily-introverted self that loves nothing better than an entire day of conversations with imaginary people has come to recognize the value of a critique partner. Keep in mind that a critique partner is different from a critique group. In a critique group (like mine, Lexington Word Weavers), you benefit from feedback from writers of all genres and writing abilities. Feedback from a critique partner is much more specialized.

Benefits of a Critique Partner

1. Accountability. Unlike the monthly expectation of most critique groups, a critique partner will expect much more from you. While you get to set the parameters, if they’re sending you 2,000 words a week to critique, you won’t want to waste the opportunity for them to critique a similar chunk of your work. Productivity naturally follows accountability.

2. Encouragement and Objectivity. Ever have one of those days/weeks/months when you think everything you’ve written is junk and you’ve deceived yourself into thinking you’ll ever be published (or published again)? A critique partner can provide kind, objective, encouraging feedback to help you see value in your work, even if it’s far from perfect. 

My critique partner and I believe in each other’s work so much we’ve committed to do everything we can to see it succeed. Some days she’s helped me snatch pages out of the fireplace. Other times, she’s stood beside me feeding the flames with work that needs to be scrapped to make room for something better. In both instances, an insightful second opinion (and moral support) is priceless.

3. Another pair of eyes, another brain, and another perspective. If you’re part of a critique group, you know how valuable additional pairs of eyes are when evaluating your work. It’s remarkable how much we miss. If you’re a more-experienced writer in a group of newer ones, however, your critique group may struggle to make suggestions for improvement.

Not so with critique partners. Because they’re as (or more) experienced than you, they typically have LOTS of suggestions. The longer you work together, the more familiar they’ll become with your writing style and your weaknesses. They’ll be able to suggest words, phrases, and rewrites that sound like you, not them, because they’ve read so much of your work they’re beginning to think like you. And like the high school English teacher who wrote, You can do better than this on the bottom of the essay you wrote at midnight the night before it was due, they won’t let you get away with lazy writing.

4. Friendship. I began this post by acknowledging that the writer’s life is lonely. Your family wants to be there for you, but they just don’t get it. Most of your friends think you’re anti-social and a little strange. But critique partners get it. 

They understand how excited you are when a piece comes together and you have to share it with someone. They rejoice with you over every acceptance and grieve with every rejection. When you succeed, they succeed, because they had a part in polishing your work and making it shine. They talk you off the ledge when necessary and always have chocolate. They endorse your books, share your memes, and sing the merits of your work (AFTER they’ve critiqued it, of course). They handle the deepest part of your writer’s heart with sensitivity and love. And they pray for you. At odd hours and in hard places. I’m so blessed that my critique partner has moved from professional associate to dear friend as we’ve worked together.

I hope by now you see the value of having a critique partner. Next month, I’ll share tips for selecting just the right one. Do you have a critique partner? How has this enhanced your writing?  Leave a comment and join the conversation.

TWEETABLES

4 Reasons Why You Need a #Writing Critique Partner - @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

There 4 benefits that come with having a #writing critique partner - @LoriHatcher2 shares them on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Don't Miss the Rest of this Series

Four Reasons You Need a Writing Critique Partner

Four Qualities to Look for in a Writing Critique Partner

I've Found My Writing Critique Partner - Now What?

This series comes from Lori Hatcher’s newest writing workshop, “Yes, You Need a Critique Partner – The Who, What, When, Were, and How’s of Writing in Partnership.” Lori is the editor of Reach Out, Columbiamagazine and the author of several devotional books. Hungry for God … Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Womenwon the 2016 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award. Her most recent book, Refresh Your Faith – Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible is due out in the spring of 2020.A blogger, writing instructor, and inspirational speaker, her goal is to help women connect with God in the craziness of life You’ll find her pondering the marvelous and the mundane on her blog, Hungry for God. . . Starving for Time. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter(@LoriHatcher2), or Pinterest(Hungry for God).