I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but I was for a moment. While reading the comments over at Island Whispers I discovered three websites that are set up sort of like writers groups in that members post writing for (hopefully) peer review. In no particular order:
- Review Fuse, with a slogan of Igniting Creativity. Fairly new, devoted to fiction. They also have a blog, Free to register, but you’ve got to submit and review if you want to paritcipate. I may see if I can create a category for non-fiction since that’s what I do.
- CritiqueCircle.com has been around since 2003. Apparently free. I’ve submitted an application to join. Also appears to be mostly fiction.
- The Next Big Writer charges a small amount if you want to submit your writing for review, but if you only want to review other’s it’s free. Has some great testimonials. Also has non-fiction as well as all sorts of fiction (I don’t feel left out here) and a blog.
- Gather - devoted to conversation between people. Gather isn’t a review site as such, but apparently some have discovered they can use it that way. Free. Can be difficult to find the right group but it might very well be worth it.
It’s impossible to tell without trying how well these sites will really support you and your writing goals. Give it a try; I’m going to. But don’t get caught up so much you no longer trust your own judgement or end up spending hours reviewing other’s writing at the expense of getting your own done. A cautious endorsement from me, at least until I learn more.
If you’ve got expereince with these or other sites like them, please let us know.
You may also want to read: 9 Keys for a Successful Writer’s Group
Write well and often,
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Clark, I realized I could start a group and decided now just isn’t the time… I’m barely keeping up with the blog at the moment and I just moved and it’s Christmas! Life is good, and I registered, but that’s as far as I’m going at the moment… will keep an eye on it.
Anne,
I saw your comment over at Island Whispers, so I had to come check out your blog and was delighted to see that you wrote about us in this post. Although our writing frameworks are focused a little more on fiction at this point, it has more to do with being new and isn’t necessarily our long-term goal. We hope to be able to facilitate reviews for all types of writing. In fact, we’ll be adding a category for poetry very shortly.
Even now, we give writers the ability to create their own groups, so you could easily create a group for non-fiction. If you have any questions on how to do this, just let me know.