Critique groups

Writers often lack objectivity about their own writing, and it’s always good to be aware of what areas other people think you need to improve in – as long as you understand that each critique is only one person’s opinion. And you can learn a surprising amount by picking apart other people’s drafts.

The following articles from the critters.org “Resources” section are worth a read:

• The Diplomatic Critiquer
• It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It
• Tiny Work Changes Make All the Difference
• How to Critique Fiction
• How to Succeed in an Online Writing Workshop
• How to Cope with Critiquing
• Hardcore Critique Advice

With that said, I’ll go over some websites worth having a look at:

Critters

For science fiction and fantasy only. Membership requires leaving one critique per week.

Yahoo groups

There are plenty to choose from if you go to the main Yahoo Groups site and do a few searches – but critical_writing is one of the larger ones. There’s also Fantasy_Writing if you’re looking for something genre-specific.

CritiqueCircle.com

Works on a point system – giving critiques gives you points, which you can “spend” to post your own writing. Unlike Critters, you don’t have to maintain a certain level of activity to remain a member.

The Internet Writing Workshop

A set of groups that communicate by email. Includes separate lists for short stories, romance fiction, non-fiction, novels and memoirs, poetry, writing exercises, brief fiction, and young adult fiction. Each has a minimum activity requirement.

Public fiction archives

Work posted to a public archive will be available to anyone with an internet connection; most let readers leave their comments or reviews, and your readership will be significantly larger than in a critique group. It’s a great way to gain experience and network with other aspiring authors, but don’t put up anything you might one day want to sell.

DeviantArt

When most people hear DeviantArt, they probably think, well, art. But there’s a large fiction category, a spiffy design and a great community.

FictionPress

Hosts more than 1.2 million original works in a variety of categories.

Booksie

WritersCafe

Has the option of making your writing viewable only to other WritersCafe members.

Places to post Fan Fiction

FanFiction.net (the sister site to FictionPress) is a popular option. LiveJournal has a number of communities devoted to various fandoms, if there’s something in particular you’re looking for (a google search beginning with site:community.livejournal.com might be a good place to start). FictionAlley is a well-known Harry Potter fanfic archive.

In conclusion…

I get asked about online archives and critique groups a surprising amount, and hopefully this will give a basic overview of the more popular options. It is by no means conclusive, though, and feel free to leave a comment if I’ve missed anything important.

I should also mention that Inkify has its own critique section, which is powered by the same system as our forums and is only viewable to logged in members.