Critique Groups, Part 2: When It’s Time to Quit

As I discussed last month, a critique group is a wonderful thing. I owe much of my technical and professional development over the last few years—as well as countless friendships—to my crit groups. I encourage all new writers to find a group and start critiquing as soon as possible, because in my experience, a good group can jump-start your writing practice and accelerate your growth as a writer.

But there’s another side to every coin. In my years of critiquing, I’ve learned the importance of finding and cultivating a healthy crit group—and I’ve learned how to recognize when it’s time to say goodbye. Here are five reasons it may be time to find a new group.

1. The feedback isn’t helpful. There are many misguided writers who join critique groups but don’t really want to give or receive critiques. Some are too lazy to give thoughtful feedback, while others are downright toxic in their critiques. If this is the kind of feedback you’re getting, the group isn’t working.
2. You’re no longer on the same wavelength. Maybe your writing skills have grown faster than your partners’ or vice versa. Maybe you’re focused on science fiction while the rest of your group writes memoir. Maybe you’re ready to take your writing to the next level and pursue publication, but your partners are still hobbyist writers. There are many benefits to diversity within a group, but if you feel like a black sheep in terms of skill level, writing style, or long-term goals, the group may not be a good fit.
3. The group is bringing you down, not building you up. Some writers are Negative Nancies; they love complaining about rejection, moaning about writer’s block, and generally encouraging the woe-is-me writing mentality. This can be contagious, spreading to other members of the group until each meeting feels like a black hole of negativity. When you leave your group each week, you should feel invigorated and inspired to write. If instead you fall into a pit of despair, it’s time to move on.
4. The group has devolved into a social club. One of the many benefits of crit groups is the opportunity to get to know each other, make friends, and share our journeys as writers and as people. It’s perfectly fine, even encouraged, to spend a little time at each session catching up with each other. But the writing should come first. If no one is producing work anymore and the meetings are spent chit-chatting instead of critiquing, the group isn’t going to help you progress in your writing career.
5. Your own writing falls by the wayside. If your group has grown so large and so busy that you no longer have time to write, it’s not a good group. Period. The point of a crit group is to help your writing, not hinder it. If you find you’re spending too much time reading the work of others to work on your own projects, you have a few options. You can discuss the workload with your partners and consider changing the schedule, or you can cut back on how often you attend. Or you can simply take a break from the group. Either way, your writing will thank you for it.

We all grow and change as we progress along our writing journey, and so do our critique group needs. Sometimes the perfect crit group in November can become problematic by June. Every so often, take time to assess your group. Discuss with your fellow critters what everyone is hoping to get from the group, what’s currently working (or not), and what adjustments need to be made as you move forward. Also take time to assess your own needs—and if the group is no longer serving them, don’t be afraid to bow out of it and find a new one.