Meredith Mansfield, Author

I try to always have a critique or two going.  Not only to return the favor for people who critique my work.  It’s a fantastic learning experience.  A chance to analyze what worked and what didn’t in someone else’s work in a way you’d never be able to do with your own.  And then, if you’re smart, turn it around and ask yourself if you’ve done the same things. 

I’ve been doing more critiques than usual this month.  Partly because of the new writers’ group that I joined a little over a month ago. 

Well, something strange happened to the remainder of this post.  Half of it just seems to have disappeared.  Maybe I’ll try to reconstruct it later.

The short version is that, between critiques I’ve received and critiques I’ve given in the last week or so, I’ve come to a new realization of how annoying some of my writer’s tics, like double spacing after the period, can be to others.  I have to work harder to fix that before I send anything out.  There’s no point in aggravating a reader, whether it’s someone trying to help you with a critique or an agent or editor you’re trying to impress.