July 3rd, 2024

 It was a damp evening on our nation’s birthday eve, but seven stalwart writers met at the firehouse. Because there were only seven attendees, we had time to discuss what and how we do things in our writing lives. Rod brought up a situation in which a person with whom he’s had correspondence asked him for a critique of a story recently written.

How do you critique writing?

1. When you know the writer?

2. When the person writing the piece is unknown to you?

3. When the writer is a member of your Writer’s Group?

As we pondered these questions, one word emerged as the cornerstone of our critique process: HONESTY. It's the key to our approach, whether we're critiquing a friend, a stranger, or a fellow writer in our group.

Whether the writer is a friend, stranger, or business acquaintance, critique should be honest but tactful. Don’t be rude. Always consider the purpose of the piece and what the writer is attempting to do with it. Each of us has our writing style and must be considerate of others in forming a critique. Peter Frickel once said, “No matter how you say it, a critique is critical.”  It is best to point out apparent errors of any ilk, grammar, spelling, and the like, but challenging the expressed ideas is unnecessary. Sure, if the ideas are not transparent or factually incorrect, note that and suggest a change. But, before recommending a change, ensure what you are suggesting is factually correct and not simply an opinion expressed by yourself or even an expert in the field. Make sure it is a proven fact! Remember, you are making suggestions, not rewriting another’s work. The writer may ignore your suggestions; they are the author.

As we navigate the challenging terrain of critique, we approach the reading portion of our evening. Here, we listen and critique, recognizing that each critique is a chance to learn and grow in our craft.

Starting the evening, Dennis Cathcart read us an appropriate piece entitled The Cone of Uncertainty. This time of year, along the coast of the United States, we live with the possibility of experiencing a hurricane. Predicting the path of these storms has improved over the years, but it’s still not an exact science. With each storm, an area in advance of the swirling winds widens from the point precisely positioning the storm’s center, or eye as it’s known, to where the eye will pass. The further out, the wider the predicted path becomes. It forms a cone-shaped area depicting the eye’s path, the cone of uncertainty. We live in that area much of the time during the storm season. As the storm nears and the cone contracts, we prepare. Often, storms move, and our preparations prove unneeded as in Dennis’ case on several occasions, but it was still expensive. Dennis expresses his feelings well in the last two sentences, “Maybe it’s from spending my life in Florida, in and out of the danger zone of hurricanes, or perhaps from a lifetime of travels and adventures to places few have known? No, I’ll take living ‘in the cone’ any day.

 

Gnomes is the title of Danny Spurlock’s youth-oriented story. Searching for anyone who has experience or knows about gnomes, our young gardener speaks to people in the neighborhood who might help him rid, or at least make peace, with a pair of gnomes who mess with his garden and gardening tools. He’s directed to speak with a girl who often hangs out behind the pump house in the park, an area known to harbor tough teens usually looking for trouble. Passing through an opening in the surrounding fence, a feeling of dread envelopes him.

 

It’s WWII, and Don Westerfield’s story of two young Americans stationed in England continues. Able to wangle a weekend off, the pilot and a beautiful nurse, both married to others still back in the States, set off exploring the countryside of England outside London. They spend a night in an inn. She is reluctant to enter into an affair, but nothing happens. But, the next day, they visit the surrounding area and return to the inn, planning on consummating their relationship. However, the innkeeper delivers a message to the pilot. It's an order to return to base at once.

 

Returning to the Dan Marin series of mysteries, Bruce Haedrich brings us a new tale. Bruce struggles with the opening chapter as he introduces a terrible moment in Dan Marin’s life. The Fugitive tells of Marin’s quest to find out who caused the death of his wife and children and bring them to justice. How will he finally get the opening paragraph to set the stage and provide a reason to keep reading?

 

Well, that sets the stage for our next meeting, which will be held on July 17th at the fire hall, as usual. Until you join us again, Keep On Writing.