Write Up

Have you ever been in a critique group and, if so, what was most/least useful to you. Put together your dream critique group?

by Dietrich

Some years ago, I joined Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope, an online community for writers, filmmakers and artists. I workshopped a few screenplays in hopes of improving my writing, and I did receive valuable feedback from the many writers there, reading and commenting on each others’ work. Eventually one of the screenplays I workshopped was optioned for an animated film, and that sure had a way of boosting my confidence. Overall, it was an experience that proved to be very worthwhile. 

As well as support, constructive criticism and valuable insight offered by such a critique group, there’s the opportunity to network, interact and find like-minded camaraderie. And any budding writer might also luck out and find a mentor. And experienced (published) authors in the group may offer advice on finding an agent or a publisher, sharing their first-hand experience about the business side. One thing I’ve learned along the way, the writing community tends to be generous, and many writers are happy to help each other out. 

Writers who join critique groups may be eager to swap manuscripts, and whether the group meets physically or online, there’s likely to be the opportunity of reading one’s work aloud, something that can seem daunting at first. And learning to tame the nerves sure served me well after the first ms was accepted and found its way to print, and I was asked to read before an audience at a live event. 

I can see a downside if such a group is too large, then not everybody may get a chance to read during every session. And if the writers coming vary from session to session then any offered feedback could lack continuity. Varying opinions can be overwhelming for any new writer, leaving them to weed through the comments and to decide what will work and what won’t, but I figured it was best to stay open to any advice that could make my writing better. And receiving feedback and constructive criticism from other writers likely kept me from submitting that first ms before it was really ready and saved me from seeing a lot more rejection slips.  

Okay, now for the fun part of the question(s). A dream critique group that I would jump at joining would have to include any or all of the following: Elmore Leonard, Charles Willeford, George V. Higgins, James Crumley, James Lee Burke, Stephen King, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger and Harper Lee.

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Real-life gangsters Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis anchor Kalteis’s entertaining latest Depression-era crime saga (after Under an Outlaw Moon). Upon their release from prison, Fred and Alvin form the Barker-Karpis gang with Fred’s mother, Kate ”Ma” Barker, and embark on a multistate spree of audacious—and eventually, deadly—bank robberies. Meanwhile, J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI become alarmed when the public starts to view the Barker-Karpis gang and their contemporaries, John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde, as folk heroes. When Fred, Alvin, and Ma raise the stakes by turning to kidnapping, Hoover places them at the top of the nation’s most-wanted list. In the months that follow, the law starts closing in on the gang, driving them to increasingly extreme means of escape. Eventually, they end up in Minnesota, carrying out violent deeds for a crooked cop in exchange for his protection. Kalteis vividly evokes the spirit of the times, and paints multidimensional portraits of his central characters. Though readers well-versed in the era’s history will know how the story ends, the action is tightly coiled enough to keep them flipping pages and rooting for the rogues. It’s another winner from Kalteis. 

— Publishers Weekly

Release date: September 24th from ECW Press. More info and reorders here.