Getting critiqued can be scary. The idea of someone reading what you (heart and soul) wrote may give you nightmares of blood red ink scratched across each page with comments of how to fix this and that, along with what you need to learn in the margins. Embarrassment, hurt, saddness can take hold and a tear may fall. You open your eyes. It was a nightmare. A big sense of relief, but at some point, you have to share your work. Why? To grow. To strengthen. You need to know what is wrong to fix it.
For some, it's easy. For others, not so much. For me, I wanted lots of people to read my stuff and tell me what I needed to do. It doesn't mean I wasn't chewing my nails or eating a load of chocolate everytime I sent it, or I didn't fall hard when I got some of them back. I did and I still do. You learn how to deal and tolerate it in some way. But I realized the only way for me to learn is to 'see' what I'm doing wrong.
Where do you start? There are many places to begin.
1. Ask a fellow blogger or writer you trust. It's a start. Send something small if you want to test the waters.
2. If you are feeling brave try one of these ultra helpful sites. Both take only small snippits of your work and give some great feedback. Plus, you can remain anonymous. Easy peasy.
Christina Lee and Stina Lindenblatt's First Words Workshop
Dianne Salerni and Marcy's (Mainwords) First Impressions
3. If you're really brave try something more. There are forums where you can load more of your work for feedback.
YALitChat-For young adult
Figment
Authonomy
Miss Snarks's First Victim
It's not easy. No one said it was. Testing the waters is just another step in becoming a better writer.
Have you tested the waters?
If you want to share any other tips or sites, please share in the comments below.
Have a great day!
