On this blog, we talk a lot about what constitutes a good critique and how to give one (well, what do you expect? We’re a site that facilitates critiques ). This week there was a great article over at Writer’s Digest titled “How To Choose a Critique Club.” The article brings up some great points we’ve touched on here at the Fuse Blog, but the author also brings up some great new thoughts about how to give a good critique and how to choose a positive and productive critique group.

Here’s a brief excerpt from my favorite part:

When the tables turn and I’m critiquing another writer’s work, especially a first draft, I ask myself: Where do I sense the most energy? If something stops me in my tracks, I note where I feel most engaged. I aim to give the writer my subjective experience of being in the world he created on the page. Where is this world unnecessarily blurry or bewildering? Where do I feel this world fully alive? When I’m bored, I foster my curious self and ask questions, assuming my boredom is where the writer may have been hiding.

Talking to others about their work can teach you the valuable skill of being able to talk to yourself about your own material.

I recommend giving the full version a read. If you do, come back and tell us how you think Review Fuse is doing as a Critique Club. Would you say our community provides a productive and positive experience as described in the article? If not, how we can improve? Many of our current features are a direct result of customer feedback emails, blog comments, or things we’ve read in the suggestion box.

- Clark