CRITIQUES

How are six manuscripts chosen for the whole-novel critiques (Group A)?

A professional panel—primarily our faculty editor and agent—chooses manuscripts based on 30 to 50 sample pages, synopses, and the writer’s responses on our application form. Also, see Group B criteria immediately below. Manuscripts not chosen for Group A whole-novel critiques will be automatically considered for Group B, unless otherwise requested.

How are six manuscripts chosen for the masterclass critiques (Group B)?

A professional panel considers multiple factors—submission date, the writer’s skill, the manuscript’s educational value in an open clinic format, and more. Read a detailed list of factors.

I’d like to apply for a face-to-face Group B critique, but isn’t it intimidating to receive feedback in a master class among all those peers and faculty?

Less than you might imagine! We thrive on a spirit of collaboration, not competition. Through pre-workshop activities (a peer manuscript e-anthology and descriptive roster; optional discussions and early critiques), participants “meet” each other and develop camaraderie before the workshop begins.

Our masterclass format focuses on and depends on everyone’s commitment to learning. Enrollees read selected peer manuscripts, analyzing them with a user-friendly, professional tone, per our written guidelines. Participants share a passion for fiction that helps outweigh self-consciousness—especially since our faculty and peers are genuinely supportive. If this weren’t true, our workshop wouldn’t enjoy its current (and continuous) degree of success.

What if I get contradictory or inappropriate reactions to my manuscript?

Whether peers or pros critique a manuscript, each reader is an individual. Tastes and interpretations vary. Allow this fact to help, not hinder, your progress. Savor diversity! Weigh the merits of each critique based on the story you want to tell. If opinions are split 50-50, don’t despair—go with your gut. Considering these odds, some agent or editor is bound to agree with you!

If one viewpoint prevails, consider how you may address that concern—even if it initially offends or baffles you. With time and objectivity, you may discover a truth within (or triggered by) the original “inappropriate” feedback.

I’ve attended workshops in which critiquers either don’t like my genre/subject, or they try to re-write my story. Can I expect anything different this workshop?

YES! We take steps to avoid these kinds of mismatches.

• Our faculty is chosen not only for their “big names,” but for their likely and/or demonstrated receptivity to aspiring writers—our writers. Faculty must be specifically interested in and experienced with character-driven, upper-middle-grade and YA novels. Even then, the workshop director interviews potential editors, agents and faculty authors to determine their personal tastes. Each must also be an experienced teacher, and, of course, be friendly!
  
  
• For our masterclass clinics, writers choose peer manuscripts to critique from those in our pre-workshop anthology. We enjoy a wide range of character-driven genres and themes: family/peer relationships, animals, mysteries, sports, arts, travel-adventure, humor, multicultural (contemporary and historical), general historical, fictionalized biography, story-in-poems, myth and retold folktales, spiritual/supernatural/magical realism and, occasionally, fantasy.
  
  
• To critique manuscripts, peers and faculty use our workshop’s Tips-and-Guidelines Cover Sheet, which (a) targets strengths as well as areas needing improvement, and (b) reminds critics to use “I” messages, to look for strengths as well as flaws, and to avoid “fixing” or overanalyzing a problem. Specific questions are asked about dialogue, credibility, pacing, and more. Critiquers are also encouraged to make notes within the manuscripts.
  
  
• Peers are asked to provide sensitive, conscientious feedback, giving each manuscript the same consideration they’d want—not only as a courtesy to colleagues, but to maximize their own learning.

What else is involved in the workshop prep? Or, can I skip that prep—just attend the workshop and soak everything up?

Our seminar-style, interactive aspect distinguishes us from large conferences. For our format to be effective, writers must come prepared. Otherwise, there’s far less to “soak up.”

Pre-workshop materials include (a) novel-crafting exercises specific to our weekend theme, suggested by faculty; (b) a comprehensive e-anthology of articles with craft and submissions topics; and (c) a peer anthology of workshop submissions.

The more carefully you critique these peer manuscripts, the more you may benefit from our faculty reviews and discussions. Everyone should aim to critique one entire novel manuscript, plus all six masterclass manuscripts (each usually taking 60 to 90 minutes). In brief: The greater your investment, the greater the yield!