The Power of a Critique Group

Until recently I'd been sort of a lone wolf when it comes to sharing my writing during the beginning and middle stages of a draft. Of course, I have four beta readers in my corner that I rely on to read the book once I've completed the draft, but very rarely along the way. I send them my work and they check for content issues, holes in the storyline, misused or misspelled words... stuff like that. And I do have one writer friend that I've trusted for years to help me shape things as I go along in the draft phase, but he's not always available. That's really been the extent of it. That is... until recently. 

 A couple of months ago I was asked to join a new writing critique group that was forming. I'd never been a part of an organized critique group before. I'd considered looking into joining one through a local writer's group in Charlotte, but most of those were either mixed genre or genre specific groups that were not in my wheelhouse. Since I write mostly private investigator / mystery / crime fiction, I shied away from what was available locally, since I wasn't familiar with the writers or their level of expertise in my genre. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have been able to learn and grow as a writer in one of the local critique groups, but if I was going to join, I wanted it to be with writers that understood mystery and crime fiction and the tropes within the genre where I hung my hat. I wanted to learn from veteran writers that write what I write and would make me have to up my game. 

The other three writers in the group I was recently asked to join all had experience writing mysteries and crime fiction. I knew who all the participants were, and I was already familiar with their work. I respected their experience and talent and felt that joining the group would be a good move for me. I also felt good that there were only four of us in the group. It would give us the opportunity to spend more time per person really digging into each other’s work. More time equals more quality, in-depth feedback from each of us, for each of us.

We started meeting in November last year and through their suggestions, I've already learned to be better aware of where I might’ve been cutting corners without realizing it. And that is what's been most important to me—learning to be more mindful of how I put my story together. A better word or words to make a sentence read more fluently, what, where and when to add or subtract from a scene to make it more powerful, the concept of less is more when being descriptive--in other words, cut down on the needless fluff so you don't pull the reader out of the story, and much more. 

Being a part of a critique group with writers I consider better at their craft than I am, has been a very enlightening experience to say the least. I look forward to our sessions every month and leave the table feeling refreshed, excited, and ready to apply whatever suggestions came out of our time together to my story almost immediately. I’ve never felt better about a WIP than the ones I’ve been working on with the group. 

The experience I've had so far has been very positive. A writer's critique group should be just that--a critique group. I feel very fortunate to be part of a group with writers that are interested in helping each other grow and improve. No one joins one of these groups expecting it to become a writer's criticism group. That just defeats the entire purpose of why the group was formed in the first place. The POWER of a critique group is found in each participant's ability to offer positive feedback designed to help the writer whose work is being read and critiqued. If done right, everyone can discover and learn new ways to improve their writing even when simply listening to the feedback given by others to their peers in the group. 

I feel the power every time our group meets. The only thing I would change is that I wish I'd joined a critique group earlier in my writing journey. But better late than never. If you're a writer who is currently enjoying the fruits of a positive critique group experience, I hope you realize how lucky you are. If you're a writer that has yet to feel the power a critique group can bring to your writing, I highly recommend that you seek one out that suits your writing needs and give it a try. But don't compromise--hold out until you find the right mix of writing talent that you believe will provide the best outcome for you… then jump in and get ready to feel the power.

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I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

 

 

 Meet Vinnie

Vinnie Gabrianno is one of the on-going characters in my Razzman Mystery Crime Files series. He started out as somewhat of a minor character in the first book, Dead is Forever, and I thought when I wrote The End on the last page of that story, that Vinnie's involvement in my series would also come to an end. 

Boy was I wrong! 

Vinnie just couldn't stay away. He found himself making another appearance in book two, Deadly Passion. He was still somewhat of a side character, but with a bit more to say. He's a complicated guy with a questionable past. He was born in Brooklyn, NY in the eighties and, like all native Brooklynites, his love of good pizza runs deep. He had a tough upbringing and at times found himself on the wrong side of the law. His mom was a stay-at-home mother raising four boys while her husband had a hard time keeping a job. Vinnie, being the oldest, felt neglected while his mom raised his younger brothers. It forced him to grow up fast and out into a tough world while he was still a teenager. It's also the reason that even though as an adult, he's a man who likes to present a tough guy image to the world he has a soft spot for underprivileged kids.

His love of food started to really come through in Deadly Passion. He also began to add some comic relief, something that can help even out the tension in a murder mystery. My main character, Tony Razzolito, is usually the one egging Vinnie on, while Scott McHenry, Tony's partner in the PI business, plays the straight man. 

By the time book three, Dirty Air, was released, Vinnie had become a solid fixture in helping Tony and Scott solve the crime and mystery of that story. We get to see a little more of Vinnie's tougher side in this book, which keeps the question alive as to whether or not he has ties to the mob. 

One of the interesting discoveries for me as this series has evolved is that I tend to put the three crime fighting investigators into scenes that involve a lot of time eating and drinking. They're usually at a restaurant or in the office with plenty of grub while they go over their notes and theories on who the bad guys are. It's also when most of the shenanigans between them take place. When the book reviews started mentioning Vinnie as a character that stood out and that they liked, I knew I would have to expand his role in my upcoming book four in the series. Vinnie is introduced into the storyline sooner and with more scenes involving his unique way of investigating. I also decided that if his role is starting to expand, I needed to give a bit more of his backstory to the reader. I've included a sneak peak of the cover and an excerpt from the upcoming book four, Best Served Cold, that will give you a good idea of how Vinnie got to be, well, Vinnie.

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From Best Served Cold: A Tony Razzolito PI Story (Excerpt from chapter 12):

Vinnie Gabrianno enjoyed the finer things in life. Tailor-made suits, expensive jewelry, gourmet food, finely crafted imported beers, and Brooklyn pizza. He was born in 1980 and raised in the 80s and 90s as part of an Italian American family in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood on the southwest side of Brooklyn in New York City. His family didn’t have a lot of money—his dad always seemed to be involved in some get rich quick scheme that never worked out, and his mother had her hands full raising Vinnie and his three younger brothers. As the oldest, he felt forced into growing up fast, since his parents often left him on his own. This ultimately pushed him out into the harsh streets of the city. As a teen, he got caught up in the gang life. He was in and out of the juvy court system so often that it actually started to help his reputation for being someone that could keep his mouth shut. No matter the reason he was in front of the judge, he never ratted out his buddies, and that gave him street cred. He eventually caught the eye of Angelo “The Shark” DeLuca, who had ties to the Columbo crime family. DeLuca was mainly into bookmaking and loansharking, thus the nickname, and took young Vinnie under his wing. Seeing their son getting mixed up in a life of crime was hard on his parents. But the extra money he brought home helped keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, so they reluctantly looked the other way.

   When Vinnie was twenty-two years old, his friend and mentor, Angelo DeLuca, was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to life in prison. One week after they locked DeLuca up, they found him hanging in his cell. That was the wake-up call Vinnie needed to straighten himself out. He relocated to Florida to get away from the only life he’d known as an adult but moved to North Carolina after only a couple of years. He found the Florida weather a little too volatile for his liking and ended up settling in Charlotte, which he thought provided him with the best of everything he wanted out of his new life.

   He still dabbled a bit, taking a job here and there, but nothing close to what he had been involved in back in his Bensonhurst days. Nowadays, he divided his time between coaching youth baseball and soccer, along with occasionally helping McHenry Investigative Services.     

   He’d been offering his expertise to Scott ever since they’d met during one of Scott’s first PI cases. Of course, they were on opposite ends of the playing field on that investigation. But it had all worked out and Scott and Vinnie had been friends and part-time colleagues ever since.

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I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Vinnie Gabrianno. A tough guy with a warm heart. He's just one of the reasons to check out The Razzman Mystery Crime Files😎

You can find my books here: Razzman Mysteries

 

I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊