Rebecca

[justonevoice]

Because there is little to no activity in the crit groups; why don't you combine them and just make one private crit group for all those who have signed up. It would still be private and exclusive to those who are already involved. Just an idea since the groups seem to have dwindled.

Some of the folks are Pm-ing each other rather than using the groups anyway.

or maybe they'll pick up in the winter months.... who knows.

[AngelAzariah]

____Just my two cents: I could argue this openion both ways.

[Gumpngreen]

Most of the PMing is only personal stuff not related to writing... at least my PMs. Anyways, I was talking to Merry via MSN Messenger last night and we thought this might be a good idea:

- Keep the smaller critique groups as they are. This would be for feedback on subjects specific to a genre and topics certain members want to keep private to the already formed groups.
- Add a new password protected forum that ALL critique group members may access. This would be the main forum for getting critiques.

[wgjones3]

My $0.02:

Critique groups only work when the people involved participate. When that participation doesn't happen, it doesn't do any good to jump into another group.

People get busy, they have lives outside this place. Things get slow. But the real question is, is the group working or not? If not, just quit. Or hang in there in the hopes that someone new will join. A shot of new blood is sometimes great, so long as the balance within the group is maintained. If you feel that your gruop isn't working, then ask yourself how much material have you submitted to it and how much feedback have you given to others? If you've got one person who just posts their own work and never bothers giving advice on the others, then the group won't work.

I say leave the groups the same or disband them compltely. The thing I personally don't want to see is the feeble-minded high school mentality of "Ooooh, I'm in this private group and all these other people aren't." That's the one thing that truly bothers me about the groups. Plus, in the end, these groups are extra work for Rebecca, extra work I'd imagine she doesn't really need.

The fact that this has even come up here and all the confusion associated with the private critiques has made me wonder if they're even worth it in the first place.

[justonevoice]

My intention is not to make more work for Rebecca.

I have submitted material and critiqued the work of others. But you can't crit whats not there. Also who wants to post to a group where there is little or no activity. On top of that, I find that posting to the open forum is the same as being published! Thus my question about the groups!

I've been a member here for several years and for that reason I feel I have the right to make a suggestion like everyone else. No doubt it is the right of those who moderate this site to disregard my suggestion, but still I've made it.

I know that people have lives outside of this forum. I do as well. I'm raising :confused: a five year old grandson, which leaves me very little time.

So all that is not my point!

Rebecca went to the trouble of creating these private forums and they remain lifeless for the most part, while those who asked for them, either post to the open forums, where there is activity or they Pm thier posts to individuals. All of this is fine and everyone should be able to post where they please. My only suggestion was to combine them. Have only one private crit forum which would need less monitoring. We wouldn't have to figure out which group is best and everyone who is a part of it would be able to access it. I believe my idea would save Rebecca a lot of work in the future.

I don't know about the other forums, but the one for non-fiction articles has lain lifeless since shortly after it began. Of course the future of these forums will not make me or break me. I wouldn't be upset enough to leave under any circumstances. It was merely an idea, :eek: which can be taken or left as everyone pleases. Its no big deal. Just an idea! I hope it hasn't offended anyone. :(

:) love ya all!!!!!!!!!!!
Shirley

[wgjones3]

Critiquing other people's work is not the only reason to be in a critique group. It's supposed to be a place to post your own work too. The idea as I understood it was to get writers involved in projects of the same genre together who were in the same development process so they could bounce ideas off one another. I've talked with Gump about this before because I honestly don't feel comfortable critiquing sci-fi work. It's not a genre I read frequently and I don't know what's the norm for the genre. Same for romance. I can't contribute to someone writing a romance novel.

As I said above, I don't like the confusion that's growing around this.

And while I agree with the cliche about opinions, please don't type astericks to represent a vulgarity. I know you're not actually typing the word, but it looks like you did and the forum software caught it and edited out.

[justonevoice]

I do apolgize for that. It is out of the ordinary for me however it was only intended to make a point. We all have ideas. It's no big deal if our opinions differ. Whats important is how we handle the diffrences. Again Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way at all. My intention was only to bounce the idea around and get some positive feedback. It was never intended to spark a dispute. :eek:

God bless you
Shirley

[dublinheart]

Personally, I think the critique groups are doing quite well. I love it. Just my opinion. :D