by Phil Lanuto

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

Finding a good online writing critique group

The image one has of a writer is of a solitary, lone person, tucked away in the basement of their house typing away on an IBM or an old manual typewriter. While the technology has changed so that writers no longer need to clack away, a writer's life is still in many ways a solitary one. It doesn't need to be and by joining others in an online writing workshop, writers can not only receive motivation and camaraderie in this most difficult of professions, but significantly improve their manuscript.

When looking for an online writing community, look for the following characteristics:

Diversity. A large, diverse site with readers in your genre but also some outside of it. Fresh perspectives outside of your regular genre can sometimes be the most helpful. And if you want your book to be a bestseller, it will have to appeal outside of just its genre.

Honesty. A site that provides writers with honest and substantive feedback. Simply providing a pat on the back and a "Good job" as a review does little to help a writer. Make sure the writers and readers on the site give deep feedback.

Blended Writer/Reader Perspective. A site consisting of both writers and readers. Writers provide the grammar and editorial feedback while readers will tell you if it kept their interest. Both viewpoints are helpful in perfecting your manuscript.

Privacy. Writers should only participate in online writing workshops that are password protected. Password protection ensures that a writers work retains its First Rights of Publication, which are crucial for selling a short story or a poem, and nice for a novel. Password protected sites also tend to attract a more serious group of writers.

Some sites that blend these features include TheNextBigWriter.com and Zeotrope.com. Sample each site, see if they are what you are looking for, then plunge in. Online writing workshops offer writers a better way of developing their stories. The speed of the feedback, the contact with other writers, and the motivation that others reading your work can provide mean that they will play an increasingly important role in a writer's bag of tricks.

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