Writers with the Right Words
A critique group beyond the fleeting feedback
My journey with critique groups started in 2008. Over the years, I tried every format I could find—from reading aloud for quick reactions to exchanging hard copies for immediate feedback. While these groups helped me improve my craft, I often felt a sense of professional loneliness. I rarely met the same writers in subsequent sessions.
For anyone working on an extended story or novel, that lack of continuity is a challenge. There is the exhausting work of explaining what had happened before in your story while submitting your new words and staying within the word count. And when you met different people each time, they would have no idea of your protagonist’s emotional arc or how far your plot had progressed.
“Writers have a unique way of observing the world.”
I started Writers with the Right Words (WRW) in June 2023 because I wanted to move away from fleeting, short-term feedback and create something lasting. I believe that writers find their truest voice by supporting and reading others.
Writers have a unique way of observing the world—an acute sensitivity to human behavior that enables us to design universes. Because of that, we treat the work with the respect it deserves. We critique the story, not the person, ensuring the excitement of the creative process stays alive even during the most tedious rewrites.
My goal in WRW is to provide rigorous yet supportive feedback. There is no room for bashing or browbeating. We distinguish the work from the person. Instead of copyediting, we focus on developmental edits, such as whether your characters are multidimensional, if your story arc is solid, and whether the core of your piece remains clear. Even though we primarily focus on literary fiction, we are open to exploring other genres.
Today, we are a close-knit group who have become friends. We have watched each other’s voices grow and evolve as we move collectively through the marathon of the long-form narrative. We are as committed to the evolution of each other’s words as we are to our own.
We meet virtually once a month. Our circle is intentionally small to maintain intimacy and trust, allowing us to provide deep, transformative insights. If you’re looking for a place where your work-in-progress will be seen, understood, and championed by the same writers, we’re looking for the right writers to join our circle.
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