Happy National Espresso Day to you!! If you are a tea drinker, your day will come ( April 21st , specifically), but no need to wait to celebrate. You are welcome here today as well. Whether coffee, tea, or something else, gathering together with people of like minds to hash through things over a cuppa is a wonderful way to connect. In the world of writing, such kaffeeklatsches can often be found in the form of critique groups. As for me, I'm a critique-group believer and an unrepentant consumer of triple-shot lattes. Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Right now, I belong to two face-to-face critique groups. One meets regularly every Friday at lunch. We share chapters by email beforehand (sometimes the chapters come flying in the night before), and gather for sandwiches, coffee, and critiquing a bit before noon on Fridays. We are fast and efficient. Our meetings usually last about an hour, occasionally stretching to an hour and a half, if there's a lot of material to g...

Photo by Cara Lopez Lee I feel sorry for the first writers who ever came to me for feedback. My initial writing experience was in news, where deadlines were brutal and so were the editors. We believed that was because nobody had time to waste, but I now believe it was because we were young and stressed out and didn’t know another way. I’ve discovered that providing feedback with the goal of serving both writer and story can be faster and easier, if you know how. I learned the hard way, the first time I judged a writing contest. I meant to be empathetic and constructive when I told a writer that her story about financial hardship was an opportunity to broaden readers’ minds. Unfortunately, I included this: “…take a moment to explain why you couldn’t get a better job.” She was outraged, believing I was judging her for not having a better job. Egads, that wasn’t what I meant at all! I was just suggesting she write more detail. I was a professional writer and I had failed to communic...