Three Ways a Critique Group Makes You a Better Writer

When I started my writing journey, I kept my words to myself. I knew I wasn’t ready for prime time, and I feared what people would think. Yet my ultimate goal was to reach a wide audience of readers.

How to get from here (early efforts) to there (published author) … that’s the challenge.

One solution: Join a critique group.

A critique group brings like-minded writers together to read each other’s work and make helpful suggestions. They notice what works and what needs improvement. They look at the flow of ideas, the choice of words, missing information, what’s interesting and what’s boring. They catch errors in grammar and punctuation.

Here are three practical benefits of critique groups:

1. Your writing improves. The members of your group applaud your strengths and point out your weaknesses. Over time, they help you find your unique voice and overcome any tendencies to ramble, use weak verbs, forget important details or repeat words.
   
2. You become a better editor. Critiquing is an exercise in editing. You figure out what’s great: a new perspective, a catchy phrase, the logical flow of ideas. You notice what is good but not yet great, and you get better at picking out missteps, typos and errors. It’s often easier to see these things in someone else’s work than in your own.
   
3. You see the bigger picture. As writers, we get caught up in our own words. We know what we intend to say. It’s hard to step back and see how it will look to a reader. When you critique, you read someone else’s writing from your point of view (based on your own experiences, feelings and imagination). Reading what your critique partners say broadens your perspective. You notice how different people respond to the same message. You learn to look at your own work through the eyes of a variety of readers.

I am part of a COMPEL Pro Critique Group. Weekly, one group member posts and the rest of us comment. We call it praise and polish. It’s never a contest to see whose writing is best. It is a process that makes everyone a better writer.

There are spiritual benefits to joining a Christian group. Writing, we believe, is a calling from God. Our varied talents are gifts from Him. We consider the spiritual value of the words we share — be it fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry or devotion. We picture how God will use what’s being written for His glory.

My group is not only a critique group, it is also a prayer group. We pray for each other’s writing and for the ups and downs of our daily lives. We strive to follow Paul’s directive:

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NLT).

Participating in a Christian critique group is an investment in God’s Kingdom. As writers, we plant seeds. As a critique group, we till and water the plants. Together, we have a share in the harvest of every word. 

Joining a critique group isn’t something to take lightly. You don’t do it solely for yourself. You’re making a commitment to build up the body of Christ by encouraging other writers, by offering thoughtful and prayerful suggestions. Ultimately, you do it to serve future readers.

Bless your words … bless your calling!

Shirlee Abbott

Do you feel the Spirit’s nudge to join a critique group? Join COMPEL Pro Writers Training today, and apply to be a part of one of our wonderful community groups!