Critique Workshop 2.0 - Promotion

Now that the greeting is out of the way, I can tell you why you are here. Yes, I know why you are here...I'm clever like that you see. You are here to participate in the Prose Critique Workshop 2.0. Why 2.0 you ask? Simple - this is a follow on from the Workshop held in May by akrasiel and hosted by theWrittenRevolution . I am still waiting on tWR to let me know if I can host this through them, but in any event it needed a journal so here we are. You want more information you say? Read on grasshoppers and ladybugs, read on.



If this was you regarding the first Workshop...well, then you didn't read or were afk or possibly living in a hole in the ground without WiFi. akrasiel wrote a number of journals promoting this - from signup to round offs - and each week of the Workshop there was a new journal. Missed them? Now is your chance to join! What are you joining? Well, you are joining:



You may, or may not, be aware that there was a Critique Challenge/Workshop held in May (as mentioned above) and it was so much fun that myself and squanpie have decided to continue it for two weeks in June/July. Why then? It gives the original participants time to rework their stories based off the critiques they received during May's Workshop and then resubmit them for critique this time around. Clever, huh. Can't blame you if you're impressed...I would be We’ll be kicking things off on 19th June, running until 2nd July for the final (final!) wrap-up.



Don’t worry if you missed out on the first Workshop. We’re all busy people, and there’s several spaces left in the new pod groups! We all love giving and receiving critique, and this new round is open to all comers. And if you’re too busy to commit to the full two-weeks, don’t forget Zara-Arletis will be hosting a critique chat event in theWrittenRevolution ’s chat room on 11th June. (These are always fun to attend as they are critique but in a very relaxed setting where there is loads of discussions...I'm actually off on that day so depending on the time (and whether I'm awake) I might pop in).



The idea behind this is threefold:
We just love opportunities for critique! The more the merrier, really. Critique is fun to receive and even more fun to give. A good critique or constructive comment can really make someone's day.

We’ve had so much fun this past month, that we wanted to open this opportunity up and share it with more of you again! Seriously – sign-ups are right there in the comments section. We don’t bite… it’s just a sort of affectionate nibble…maybe a toe or three.

We wanted to give those who have received critique already in this past month a chance to respond to those critiques and make changes. That, and to allow for new sign-ups, is why we’re having a two week gap before this new round starts.



So, what do you need to do now?

First, comment below, or note either squanpie or MagicalJosie if you want to sign up. Anybody who has already expressed an interest on the Fiction Critique Workshop: Week 4 journal is in automatically (though feel free to re-iterate your enthusiasm by saying so again in the comments here!). Rest assured that we have enough for one big happy pod already, so the next round is happening regardless of the number of new sign-ups.

Second, upload a piece of your writing to DeviantART’s sta.sh site. If you’ve not used this before, just hover over the big green Submit button and select ‘Sta.sh’ then ‘Compose in StashWriter’ on the left. Submissions uploaded to Sta.sh won’t be searchable on the web, and won’t be visible to your watchers. Rules for submissions for this workshop are below.

Second (and a half), if you’re returning from the first workshop, you can either upload a new piece, re-work and upload one from the first workshop, or tell us which of your original links you want further feedback on.

Third, send us a link to your submission. It’s as simple as that! We won’t pass on the links to anywhere outside of the members of this critique workshop.

Fourth, watch your notes! We’ll send out a note to all participants at the start of the round, with the links to the works you’ll be critiquing for week 1.

Sign-ups list:
1. squanpie
2. MagicalJosie
3. Zara-Arletis
4. VincentVFF
5. akrasiel



Guidelines
You will be required to have the following:
Two prose fiction works, of maximum 3000 words each, that you want critique on.
The following is allowed/here are some rules:

Short stories, first chapters, prologues, and novella/novel excerpts.
Stories must be original, not fanfiction. (Please)
All genres are welcome, but keep the mature content toned down. (There might be young'uns involved in this and something explicit might just scar their little minds)
Stories must be in English. (Please and thank you)
You may pick work already in your main gallery – we just ask that you post it in sta.sh as well for this workshop.

We'll ask you to post your work-for-crit to sta.sh. You and your podmates will post critiques on each other's sta.sh files.
We'll distribute the sta.sh links privately to other podmates, basically like sending work out to a small group of beta readers, which doesn't count as publication.

Important to Notes
Posting literature to your dA gallery can count as first publication, which means if you ever decide to publish that work, you've already given up first pub rights. You should never post to dA something you intend to publish.

We’re also aiming to create a comfortable, welcoming, closed classroom environment. So if you’re new to critiquing and nervous about sharing opinions publicly, it’s a-OK. Only other workshop members will see your critiques.



Guidelines
1 Pick your two workshop submissions. Remember: max 3000 words each; must be original prose fiction in English.

2 Think of a few things you’d like feedback on. It could be general topics (dialogue, pacing, etc.), certain passages (e.g. “I’m unsure about this scene with characters X and Y…”), or specific questions (e.g. “Is the sci-fi jargon confusing or off-putting?”)

3 If your submissions are excerpts from a longer work, please prepare a brief (around 50 words) description of the story. It doesn’t have to be fancy or contain spoilers; it’s just to give fellow participants context. The description should include the genre and an idea of the concept and setting. An example akrasiel gave for the previous workshop was:

SAIL is a YA fantasy novel inspired by conflict between Canadian First Nations and European colonists during the Age of Sail (17th-18th century.) My protagonist, Kateiko Rin, is a 17-year-old indigenous fur trapper unhappy with her isolated life in the coastal rainforest.

So, if they submitted a passage where Kateiko is trying to locate someone, critters won’t waste time wondering why she doesn’t just call them on a cell phone.

4 Upload your submissions to sta.sh (NOT to your gallery.) In the author’s comment area on the sta.sh file, include the points you prepared in step 2, and the description from step 3 if applicable.

5 Then, NOTE me ( MagicalJosie ) the links to your two sta.sh files. Don’t post the link in a comment! These submissions are for workshoppers’ eyes only!



See you on 19th June everybody. Remember...have fun and play nice. Also, sign up and promote this. It only works with your participation so yeah. And you can also note squanpie if you want to. But remember - signups on this journal and sta.sh notes to one of the two of us.



So, you may or may not have noticed a 'change' in founder - this isn't really a change at all! I am still the same person ( MagicalJoey ) this is just an alternate account. I moved the group to this account's control because I needed to open up a gap for another group I joined as admin on my main account (I can only be an admin in 10 groups as a core member, three as a 'normal' member). So, that said, nothing has changed drastically at all.

This group is sadly silent, but I don't know if that means inactive. I am hoping that when I post these challenge pieces you look at them and maybe try them out. I also hope that if you get stuck or have a question that you will ask me (MagicalJoey / MagicalJosie )

Don't be afraid to participate. Try things you haven't. Give it a go. You never know what talents might emerge.

If you would like to be an admin and help teach people note MagicalJoey and we can see where things stand. This is just a case of passing along any skills or strengths you may have in critiquing pieces. So whether you are only 'good' at one thing or have many skills consider joining the team to teach whomever wishes to learn.

Encourage your friends to join. Encourage people who critique your work to join.


Your Current Challenge Pieces:



Please do make an effort to bring people in. This group could really help people if you, and they, give it a chance.

Group Promotion:
GrammarNaziCritiques is looking for several things and you can help out!
1) Poetry Critics:

Think you're up to the task of critiquing minimum two pieces per month?
Think you're up to the task of joining a dedicated, but small, team?
Want to help out your fellow deviants with poetry critiques?
_{Prose critics are welcome too, though they are not needed at this stage}
Send a note to MagicalJoey with GNC Critc (or something else appropriate) as the title.

Training can be provided, if you wish.
You will be asked to link some critiques you have already done, or to critique a piece of work to show your skill.
It's only two critiques a month minimum (more are welcome) and there is a simple system that will be explained to you.

2) Prose Works to Critique

Are you a writer of prose in the form of short stories or chapters?
Want someone to critique your work?
Place some questions for the critic in your artist's comments and submit to GrammarNaziCritiques and a critic will get to it asap.

And that's all folks.
Ciao,

J