More than a notebook: Critique Circle

Technically, it is possible to write a novel with little more than pen, paper and ideas. In the nineteenth century, that (and maybe a writing bureau) would be the limits of an author's toolbox.

But, now, there is so much more.

Writing needs a reader. That is fundamental. But sometimes, a real flesh-and-blood reader can be a little... inconvenient. For one thing, its more than a little daunting. Having one's best friend as a beta-reader, I have first-hand experiencing of the nervous 'Are they judging me?' internal agony. I also know how you can't always find readers from the right genres, find a friend who- in spite of all appearance and impatient pestering- is actually willing to finish reading the first chapter. Which is another one of the reasons I am so glad I live in the twenty-first century:

Critique Circle

https://www.critiquecircle.com/ is an inspired website. It hosts a community of authors, allowing them to post their stories and novels, chapter by chapter, and receive feedback. You can tag your stories with genres, to ensure that people who know/ enjoy your genre are the ones who critique it.

There's incentive to crit too. For each critique, you get a token. In order to post your own story, you get three tokens.

If you're ever stuck for inspiration, you can head to the CC forum too, and post your question. It could be writing-related, or something you need to find out for research.

It's a wonderful opportunity to have several pairs of fresh eyes view your work, and I can personally attest to the fact that your writing will improve.

And you can also feel good about yourself, knowing that you've helped craft other wonderful books and helped shape other authors.

Of course, CC isn't all stardust and glory. It has some drawbacks; namely you can't publish a whole novel. Instead, you have to go chapter by chapter. And unless you can find ten tokens within the space of a week, you have to wait at least seven days before you publish each one. The 'CC effect' is where some of the threads that run throughout your novel, those wonderful subtleties and foreshadowing and delightful links, can get lost.

But better to have most of your work critiqued, then none at all, surely?

If you're worried about securing loyalty, don't be.

If you critique those who critique you, you'll come up on each other's tit-for-tat list. In other words, a CC-er has three choices:

Block another fellow author.

Endure constant harassment by the haggling CC algorithms

Crit the author.

You can imagine what happens most often.

And there's an added benefit for teen authors like me: CC has no age-limit. Of course, you can't read stories marked as adult content, and rightly so, but you do have the opportunity to further your writing skills, whatever your age. Especially at a time when it seems like you're either prohibited from living in the world online, or you're thrown head-first into the underworld online.

I simply cannot tout CC anymore. And this article isn't even sponsored.

It's also free. Did I mention that? Free, free, free, free, free.

Now, that's enough to rival the most elaborate Antique Georgian Mahogany writing desk (even if it does have ornate drawers).