The contest deadline is April 15, so head over and enter. Class starts May 3 and runs for six weeks. What are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose and plenty of information, support and guidance to gain.

Consider Form

While in some ways a writer is a writer, form and genre can make a huge difference when it comes to the effectiveness of critique groups. Expecting a poet to provide plot criticism or a novelist to critique poetry may not be helpful. Instead, try to build a group of like-minded writers. If you write essays, find other essayists or at least other nonfiction writers. If you’re a poet, look for other poets. Writing a sci-fi thriller? Build a group with other novelists. Joining a group of writers familiar with your form will mean everyone in the group has a common purpose and understands the elements necessary for quality writing within that form.

Personality

No matter what type of group you join, personality is going to play a huge part in how effective your group will be. Look for writers who are open to feedback from others. You’ll also want fellow writers who are kind in their critiques but are honest at the same time.

Mix Things Up a Little

While it’s important to build a group of writers who write in the same form as you, having a group that varies in style (and maybe even genre) can be helpful in teaching each of you new skills and techniques that you might not have considered before.  For example, if you write personal essays, but someone else in your creative nonfiction group writes narrative journalism pieces you could pick up tips on interviewing and incorporating facts into your essays, while the journalist might learn how to inject humor or personal observation into her pieces.

Size Matters

Your group can be as small as two or three people or as big as twenty, but what you get out of a critique group will likely vary based on its size. Members of smaller groups will generally be able to submit and receive critiques on their pieces more often. Larger groups will either require more commitment from members to read several pieces before each meeting or will mean fewer people get their work critiqued less frequently. Depending on the level of support you need, you’ll want to find or create a group that will be able to meet those needs.

Timing is Everything

Some groups meet regularly and submit pieces for critique at every meeting, while others meet when the need strikes. Depending on the how many people are in your group and how much the members are writing, you might choose to meet monthly, weekly or just a few times a year. Whatever works for your group is fine, as long as everyone involved is committed to the schedule (or lack thereof) that you’ve set up.

Location, Location, Location

If you’re lucky enough to find a group of writers in your area, in person meetings may work best for you. But online or email groups can work well, too, for those people who can’t find local groups, can’t find room in their schedules for meetings or who have writer friends in far-away places.

It All Comes Down to Commitment

No matter how many people are in your group, who they are, what they write, wherever or however you decide to meet, it’s the commitment to the group that will make or break it. Busy schedules are the norm for everyone, and finding dedicated members may be the biggest challenge you have. But once you find a group that works for you, your writing will improve. No doubt about it.

Now that you know the importance of joining a critique group and how to make one work once you’ve created one, you may still be wondering how to find writers interested in being part of your group. Well, you’re in luck. Alexis Grant at The Traveling Writer and I are collaborating today, and she’s offering you some tips on finding the people to form your group.

It turns out that there are plenty of reasons why a client might not get back to you, and most of them have nothing to do with their lack of interest.

1. They’re busy. It’s very possible that they just might not have found time to answer your email or return your call. After a reasonable amount of time has gone by (no more than a week) a follow-up email or phone call can be the perfect prompt to get the ball rolling.

2. They didn’t get (or forgot about) your message. Even the most organized people can overlook emails, forget items on their to-do lists, or misplace messages. A follow-up on your part can put you back on their radar. Even if the client doesn’t have work for you right away, the follow-up indicates you’re still interested and available if and when work comes up.

3. They’re overwhelmed with other responsibilities or deadlines. Again, this comes down to busy-ness, but we all have long lists of things to do. When several items on that list are urgent or coming due, things like answering emails or reading queries may fall to the wayside. A check-in via phone call or email to make sure you’re still in the client’s queue is totally acceptable. Express understanding for their delay in responding and then ask when you should follow up again.

4. The budget is tight. Clients may be uncomfortable letting you know that the money to pay you just isn’t available, so they may fail to get back to you. A quick follow-up call will let you express your continued interest in completing the work and may even provide the opportunity for you to discuss a payment plan or other options that the client hadn’t considered previously.

These are only a few reasons why a potential client might not respond to a query or quote, so follow up really is imperative to landing that business or assignment. While it takes a little extra time on your part, it really is worth the effort. Take my own recent experience as an example:

A potential client contacted me and requested a quote for some work. The client responded to the quote within 24 hours, requesting some clips and contact information for a reference, which I immediately provided. Then I waited. And waited. After several weeks with no response, I decided she must not have been interested and wrote it off as a lost opportunity.

But then my coach encouraged me to follow up anyway. After a little hemming and hawing, I finally picked up the phone and made the call. And do you know what happened? After a month of no news, that potential client became an actual client in the span of about 15 minutes.

The lesson here? Don’t let business opportunities fall through the cracks. Follow up on every query or client lead. Some of them won’t pan out, but some of them will. And that means more money in your pocket.

Critique groups have plenty of benefits:

1. Creativity loves company. I’m a firm believer that where two or more creative spirits gather, creativity will flow. Conversations, suggestions and even criticisms can spark ideas for new pieces. As your work (or that of fellow members) is discussed, excitement can build for writing or other creative pursuits.

2. It’s like school, only more fun. As part of a critique group you’ll find yourself learning more than you might have imagined. Some people in your group may be grammar Nazis. Some may have an eye for plot inconsistency. Others may be able to pull the real story out of you by asking the perfect questions. Not only that, but each member will bring unique experiences and individual belief systems to their writing that might expand your own ideas, thoughts and beliefs. If open to the topics, comments and suggestions of others, group members can learn and grow as writers (and maybe as people, too).

3. Group members are more honest than your mom. Sure, it’s nice to hear “It’s wonderful!” and “This is the best thing I’ve ever read!” from the friends and family you share your work with. But those comments, as true as they may be on some level, are not going to improve your writing. Being part of a critique group gives members permission to provide you with honest, constructive feedback that will help everyone in the group improve their work. And being open to receive and apply this feedback will make your work stronger and make you a better writer. Take those comments from your Mom and let them bolster you when you’re feeling like a hack, but make sure you have a group of readers who will give you an honest and helpful critique so that you can hear “It’s wonderful!” from editors and publishers some day.

4. Deadlines work wonders. I’ve found that having to regularly produce work to share  is one of the most useful side-effects of joining a critique group. Instead of being able to put off working on your next essay or chapter or short story, you have a built-in responsibility to be regularly producing and editing pieces.

5. Fellow writers know what you’re going through. Becoming a critique group member is like joining a support group. We build each other up and encourage one another when we need it. When necessary, we also challenge each other to change and improve, to grow and stretch ourselves as writers.

With the help of a small group of dedicated writers, I’ve become a better writer myself, plain and simple. But being part of the group isn’t always easy. Membership requires commitment, dedication, time, and energy that I sometimes don’t have, but I stick it out and am better for it.

I challenge you, if you’re not already a member of a critique group, find one or start one. Now. Don’t wait. The quality of your writing may depend on it.

The essay writing class, which was only six weeks long, is now over and while I’m relieved to have that time back, I’m sad to see it end. Not only was the class material helpful, but I received extremely useful feedback from fellow classmates, as well as the instructor. I’m looking forward to making some final edits on the pieces I submitted for the course and then sending them off to markets over the next couple of weeks.

Some of the lesson material in the class was refresher information, but I did take away some new strategies for approaching essay writing in the future (Example: Write or edit essays with specific markets in mind.), as well as tips for getting those essays published. But more than learning about the general and technical ins and outs of essay writing, I learned about my own essay writing style, some common mistakes I make, and some strategies for improving my essays (and my writing in general).

Here are a few strategies I learned and applied to create more effective essays:

Keep digging. When I first start writing an essay, I generally have only a vague idea of what it will be about in the end. I usually go through several edits before I get to what I think is the real meat of the story. This class taught me that even when I think I’ve gotten there, I might want to keep digging. It’s likely I’ve held back emotion, didn’t provide enough reflection or skirted around the real story entirely.

Be open. Sometimes I avoid including information or experiences in pieces because they’re embarrassing, uncomfortable or unpleasant — not for the reader, necessarily, but most definitely for me. Glossing over or excluding these vulnerable moments leaves an essay feeling flat and impersonal. But including them, as difficult as it may be initially, makes me easier to relate to and brings the story to life.

Be honest. I’ve never blatantly lied in an essay, but I always want my essays to have a perfect ending, to be tied neatly in a bow of resolution. To get it there, I might massage my reflections, pick and choose my reactions, convince myself of conclusions in order to make them fit the mold of the “perfect story” I have in my head. It turns out that my essays are much more effective when I’m honest — about my flaws, my rationale, my thoughts — shaping the story around my own truth rather than shaping my truth to create a story.

They may seem like simple points, but writing personal stories so that they illustrate a universal theme is a lot more difficult than you might imagine. My goal is to make it look easy to the reader. If I can do that, if I can lead a reader through my own experience and have her come away with a message or emotion or connection to my experience, then I’ll have done my job well. I’m looking forward to getting more practice.

Then, right around the third load of laundry, something happened.

I realized that I had no reason not to spend this found time reading and writing and enjoying my own company. I had no place to go. No appointments to keep. No responsibilities to meet. So I settled in and the creativity started to flow.

Instead of turning on the TV, I listened to the radio. I journaled. I worked on essays that I’ve been trying to finish, but haven’t had time and energy to work on. I wrote blog posts and a newsletter for a client. I read short stories and essays and blogs I haven’t visited in ages. I slept in and practiced yoga every day. I cuddled with my cat and ate satisfying meals that I prepared with pleasure.

In short, I relaxed. I focused. I centered myself on the things I love. And from that place, I produced. I learned that sometimes shutting out the world is the only way to connect with the things that mean most to you. Being snowed in for the last three days has been the best retreat I’ve ever had, despite the fact that it was forced on me by Mother Nature.

I’ve gotten used to the solitude and freedom to do the things I love whenever I choose. But with the streets clearing and the forecast looking brighter (after another foot or so of snow by tonight), it appears I’ll be heading back to work in the next couple of days. I’m not looking forward to readjusting my routine to office life again. What I am looking forward to is my next retreat–even if I have to manufacture it myself.

While I regularly read essays, particularly those by Anne Lamott and David Sedaris, I’m discovering that, until recently, I wasn’t reading them from the perspective of a writer. Instead, I was enjoying them only as a reader, failing to ask myself the questions that would help me write powerful essays of my own. So, in the hope of becoming a better writer, I spent several hours this weekend at the bookstore poring over the essay section and dissecting what I found there. I picked up collections from Nora Ephron, Marion Winik, Anna Quindlen and Sarah Vowell, to name a few, took over a table in the cafe and got to reading.

The first collection I opened was Marion Winik’s Above Us Only Sky and I immediately found confirmation of the paradox I’d been noticing. In the “Introduction” to Above Us Only Sky, Winik says:

…the personal essayist looks for the truths that connect us all in the details of her own history, her experience of gender or loss or travel. The further paradox is that the more idiosyncratic these experiences seem, and the more specific the details of the telling, the more clearly they seem to strike the universal chord.

As I randomly read through essays in each collection, I found that Winik’s quote and my previous observations held true. Those essays that most resonated with me were the ones that shared the intimate, specific details of often everyday–but always personal–experiences.

The take-away lesson here: essays (or memoirs) won’t reach an audience if they only float on the surface of experience. If you want people to read and relate to your memoir, you will need to tunnel into the center of your experience and excavate the tiny details that made it real to you. By doing so, you’ll also make that experience real (and relate-able) for the reader.

Can you say no? Do you say yes to yield to social pressure and supposed-tos and then suffer for it? Are you catering to too many other people’s needs but burning out in the process? Do you listen to and trust your instincts about what is and isn’t the best way to proceed?

Let’s just say that my honest answers to these questions aren’t the ones I’d like to give.

The good news is I’ve been naturally improving my self-respect as I begin actively pursuing more freelance business. I’m learning how setting my rates, recognizing the value of my time and choosing projects that excite me all contribute to and/or flow out of what I believe about myself as a writer.

Christina’s advice for those of us struggling to respect ourselves as writers is to:

take yourself and your writing career seriously and expect others to take you seriously as well. And when they don’t, hold yourself accountable. Because if you are not receiving the respect you were hoping for, perhaps you aren’t asking for it.

I think this is an excellent point. Often, we (especially the women among us) don’t ask for what we need or deserve. We either expect others to know our needs and meet them automatically or we hope our needs will be met and judge ourselves according to others’ abilities or desires to meet them.

But here’s the thing. We can ASK for what we need. We can set our rates according to our own values and choose to take on only those clients who can afford our services. We can set a regular writing schedule and stick to it, saying “no” to other things that may come up. We can pursue projects that energize and excite us rather than taking the first thing that comes our way. We can believe in our own abilities and trust our own instincts.

We can choose to do whatever it is we need to do to reach our writing goals. And we can expect that others will respect those choices. We deserve that respect — from our families and friends, from our clients, and most of all, from ourselves.

The problem with learning new things is that there’s only so much time for classes and assignments when I’m working full time and freelancing in the evenings and on weekends. Keeping that in mind, about a month ago, I signed up for an essay writing class through The Renegade Writer Blog. I really enjoy writing essays, but I’ve had some trouble figuring out how and where to get them published. Since one of my goals for 2010 is to send out and publish more articles and essays, I thought taking a class on essay writing and publication would be a great investment of both time and money. It would be a challenge to fit the assignments into my schedule, but I was willing and ready to make whatever sacrifices I needed to make for the six weeks I’d be taking the class.

Then, a week or so ago, I entered a contest to win free access to a class on writing for trade magazines, also offered through The Renegade Writer Blog. I don’t normally win contests—I’m just not very lucky that way—so I wasn’t particularly worried that the class started on the same day as the essay writing class. In fact, I didn’t think about the contest again until I received a call from the instructor, Pat Curry, checking to make sure I was, in fact, interested in taking the class and letting me know I’d won the contest. Me! I had WON!

And now I had a dilemma.

Did I accept the prize knowing I’d benefit from learning about writing for trade magazines, a market I’ve been wanting to take a stab at, but would being stretching my time and energy thin? Or did I pass on the opportunity and let someone with more time take the prize?

It didn’t take much convincing from Pat for me to decide to give it a go. So starting today, I’m taking two classes on very different topics. I’ll be busy, so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for blogging, but I do plan to blog about the experience as much as I can. I’m sure that I’ll be learning plenty, not only about essay writing and writing for trade magazines, but also about my habits, strengths and weaknesses; how to manage my time more effectively; and ways to put new knowledge to work in my writing business.

Here’s to learning something new!

Since 2009 is quickly coming to a close, I thought I’d take some time to pull together a Year in Review of sorts. If you’re new around here, consider this an introduction to Write Out Loud. If you’re a regular reader, I hope you don’t mind this indulgence. You may want to take some time to check out posts that passed under your radar or re-read a few of your favorites.

For Inspiration

• 7 Places to Find New Story Ideas and 7 More Places to Find New Story Ideas – Here are 14 suggestions for places that will inspire more stories than you’ll know what to do with.
• {Creativity Corner} – A series of weekly writing prompts that I recently started, you can use {Creativity Corner} prompts to develop stories you’re already working, flesh out characters, start something new or prime the pump for a day of writing. You can also share the results by leaving an excerpt or link in the comments for each post.

On Technique

• 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Clicking Publish – Make sure your work is top-notch before you send it out into the world.
• 4 Reasons to Read Your Work Out Loud – If you don’t regularly read your work (in private or in public) here are some reasons why you should start.
• What the Agents Had to Say – One of my Writing Conference follow-up posts, this one includes a round-up of what writers wanted to know and how agents responded.
• 3 Tips from the Pros for Reconstructing Scenes – In this Writing Conference follow-up, I share some strategies for developing scenes in non-fiction writing, particularly when you weren’t at the scene of the crime, so to speak.

On the Writing Life

• Making the Most Out of a Writing Conference – Use these strategies to make sure you get your money’s worth when you attend writing events.
• On Writer’s Block, Distractions and Motivation – I shared my personal strategies for dealing with typical challenges of the writing life. If you have your own strategies, feel free to add them in the comments.
• Are Your Writing Goals SMART? Part 1 and Part 2 – Make sure your writing goals aren’t the same year after year and you’re actually achieving the ones you set by developing SMART goals for 2010.
• Using Deadlines to Your Advantage – Read about some strategies I employ to make sure the work gets done.
• Lessons from the Networking Trenches – I’ve discovered that networking isn’t just about me and my own success and I share some strategies for networking the right way.
• Approaching Other Writers – Another Writing Conference follow-up, this post discusses easy and effective ways you can reach out to fellow writers at conferences or other writing events.

Miscellaneous

• Guest Posts – Harmful or Helpful? – This post might be particularly interesting to the bloggers out there who offer or solicit guest posts for your blogs.
• The Value of the Little Guy – Jennifer Mattern’s guest post where she discusses why you shouldn’t underestimate the value of smaller bloggers.
• VIP Interviews – I love learning about other writers and their processes. That’s why I stared this series and, since then, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some amazing writers and share their writing lives with you at the same time.

I’d like to believe that I’ve grown as a writer, blogger and all-around person in the last 12 months and I hope you’ve grown along with me. Here’s to a successful, writing-filled 2010!