The Power of Critique Partners and Beta Readers
Over the past couple of months we've discussed extensively how to edit your work, questions you should ask during your first read-through, and how to decide whether to keep a scene. Today we'll discuss one of the scariest parts of writing: getting feedback. Specifically, we're going to talk about critique partners and beta readers. What are critique partners and beta readers? Critique partners are the first people to see your manuscript. They're other writers, usually in the
How to Decide Whether to Keep a Scene
One of the best pieces of advice you'll hear is this: to be an excellent writer, you must first learn to kill your darlings. Most writers refer to flowery turns of phrase when they say this, but this advice applies to larger chunks of writing as well. Sometimes the darling you must kill is an entire scene. But how do you know when to delete a scene altogether rather than rewriting it? The most surefire way to determine whether a scene is truly necessary is by asking a few key