I’ve been hearing a lot about online Critique groups for a while now, and have only been mildly interested. For one thing, I wasn’t completely sure how the whole process worked, with the ‘critique‘ and ‘be critiqued‘ mentality that goes into it.
Another part of it was plain old fear of other people, outside friends and family, reading my work. I mean, it’s one thing to get a flash fiction published, or to put something up on the blog; it’s another thing entirely when it’s a WIP of over 25,000 words which countless hours of researching, thinking, and typing have gone into. It’s much more precious, much more guarded, and much more sensitive.
But I think I’ve reach a point where I need that outside opinion. I need to hear what other people think; where I’m going wrong; how the pacing is, etc.
There are three main groups that I keep hearing about; Scribophile, Critique Circle, and Critters.
I like the look and feel of the first two, though the formatting of submission on Critique Circle seems a bit complicated with the html coding. I didn’t see whether or not Scribophile requires the same.
As for Critters, I don’t really like the look and feel of the site, but the only reason I would consider it is that the WIP I want critiqued is a Young Adult Fantasy, and Fantasy is one of the site’s listed specialties. And I want to target people knowledgeable about the genre who can really add value with their critiques.
And so, since I’m having such a hard time deciding, I’ll put it to a vote!
And if anyone has specific advice on how to go about this, pleeeeeeease drop it in a comment 
I have a free membership to Scribophile and I LOVE it. The Forums can get a little overbearing at times (as all forums do), but the site is great. I am a member of several groups within Scrib and they are all protected from public domain. You have to ask to be a member of many of the groups. You can set your privacy level so your work is not in public domain and the reviews are fantastic. It’s not hard to use at all. There is a paid membership to Scrib which gives you a lot of features but if money is tight, the free version will do you just fine. I’ve met many of my betas through Scrib, the formatting is easy, but you do have to give in order to receive.
With Scrib (and the others), you have to review other’s works to get points. You use those points to post your own works. Reviewing other people’s works is very important because seeing what’s wrong in someone else’s MS points out what is wrong in your own. It’s a beautiful thing.
You should definitely give it a whirl. There are groups that deal with nothing but fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adults, You name it, Scrib has it. Much, much easier to use than the other two.
Thanks so much for the detailed comment, I really appreciate your thoughts on this.
I think I’m going to give Scribophile a try, but I did hear good things about Critique Circle as well… :/
I have no objection to critiquing others’ works, but I do worry whether I’ll have the time and energy to commit to critiquing others…. :/
Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing the sites! I’ve seen critique forums on Absolute Write too, but have yet to post anything. I did a few critiques and it actually turned out to be fun and helpful (once I got over not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings).
Thanks!
I checked out Absolute Write, but it doesn’t seem dedicated to critiquing the way the others are…
I’d hate to hurt anyone’s feelings! but I guess us writers need to develop thick skin, eh?
I didn’t know about these online critique groups and I appreciate the links. I’m fortunate to have an in-person critique group that meets twice a month. It has helped me immensely. My only suggestion would be to make sure you are getting constructive criticism and not having your work belittled. I’ve had it happen to me before. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll find it helpful.
Good point. I like the idea of in-person critique groups, but unfortunately, it’s just not available in Kuwait
Thanks for the comment!
Oh my, I forgot you were in Kuwait. Thank God for the internet. Don’t know what we did without it.
I tried critiquing groups but without much success. instead I have several critiquer partners. The same few ladies that I share work with. We get to know each other, and they take the time to critique the work properly (in groups critiquing someone’s work can be a way of earning credits and so it can be a bit of a rush job), and get to know your strengths and weaknesses.
For romance I would recommend heading over to the eharlequin forum, there is a post there for critiquers, or write on the forum boards and make friendships that way. It’s worked very well for me, and while some of the ladies i exchange work with are intending on writing category romance, not all of them are. Just offer to exchange a couple of chapters and see if you like each other’s style.
Word to the wise though. It is addictive getting another person’s opinion and it can be distracting while you are writing. Having learnt the hard way i try and stay clear of exchanging work until I’m finished, or really stuck for ideas. I do have a little group though that exchange 100 words of our wips once a week for a bit of confidence boosting. Let me know if you want to join, you would be very welcome. ;o)
Thanks for your detailed comment; I appreciate all the help I can get.
I see your point about the online groups. I don’t want to just put stuff out there, you know? I want to work with a group that would understand the outline and flow of the story and would be able to offer concrete and valuable help.
Thanks for the tip about eharlequin, but the work isn’t in the romance genre at all so I’m not sure how much help it would be.
I appreciate the offer to join your little group; I’ll definitely keep that in mind.
I imagine there are similar groups for none romance. I think it depends on how outgoing you are. I prefer smaller groups and trust people I know well. And if I trust them I am more likely to trust their advice.
Please come visit us at Ladies Who Critique.com! We have CP listings on the blog every Friday and lots of writers looking for CPs on the forums. We’d love to have you over there! – Laura
Thanks so much! I will definitely check it out