Tampa Writers Critique Group

A Sanctioned Unit of the Florida Writers Association

 

Guidelines

 

 

Purpose:

 

          The Tampa Writers Critique Group provides dedicated writers (published and unpublished) a first audience for their work in progress.  All participants serve as “reflectors” of one another’s work for the purpose of pointing out problem areas and improving the author’s writing skills.

 

Membership:

 

·       Each participant in the Critique Group must be a member in good standing of the Florida Writers Association.

 

·       Each participant must be actively engaged in a writing project with the express intent of having it submitted for publication.  (See exception below.)

 

Forms of Writing Considered:

 

          Submissions to be considered at a single Critique Group meeting are limited to the following:  (No limitations on genre.)

 

·       Novel or novella excerpts (not exceeding twenty pages)

·       Short Stories (including Flash Fiction and Slice-of-Life stories)

·       Memoirs (not necessarily intended for publication)

·       Non-fiction articles (non-technical)

·       Non-fiction book excerpts (non-technical, and not exceeding twenty pages)

·       Query Letters meant for agents or publishers

·       Synopses required by agents or publishers

 

Submissions NOT considered by the Critique Group include:

 

·       Screenplays

·       Stage plays

·       Poetry

·       Letters of any kind (except Query letters)

·       Resumés

·       Technical reports

 

 

 

Submission Format

 

          All manuscripts submitted must be double-spaced with one-inch margins, and printed on one side of the page only.  The type font should be 12-pt Times New Roman or Courier, with Times New Roman preferred.  Page numbers should appear in the upper right corner of every page, with writer’s name in upper left corner of the first page.  All pages should be attached by a paper clip or staple in the upper left corner.

 

Critique Group Procedure

 

          The Critique Group is headed by a Facilitator, who is responsible for the procedural conduct of each meeting.

         

Critique Group meetings are scheduled 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at Carrollwood Barnes & Noble.

 

At the discretion of the facilitator, a non-FWA member may attend a Critique Group meeting as an observer.  No participation, however, will be permitted until FWA membership is secured.

 

By vote of the majority of the members present, the Critique Group has the right to refuse consideration of any manuscript.  For example, the Group is not obligated to read and comment on erotic fiction or any manuscript containing language or material deemed offensive by the majority of the members present.

 

Manuscripts are typically taken home for reading by the participants and brought back for discussion at the next meeting.  If time allows, and at the discretion of the facilitator, manuscripts of fewer than five pages may be read and discussed by the members during the meeting at which they are submitted.

 

Participants are not required to present a manuscript for review at every critique meeting.

 

Participants are urged to consider their submissions as early drafts on which improvements will be needed.  They should, however, be thoroughly self-edited to remove typos, grammatical misuse, and other errors prior to submission. 

 

Suggestions and observations made in good faith by the participants should be listened to and noted.  Arguing the opinions of other participants is not appropriate, even though there may be disagreement.  It should be remembered that the author remains the final arbiter of his or her work before it is submitted for publication.

 

Gene Cropsey,

Facilitator

Tampa Writers Critique Group