Writeshop has found that the reviewing processes designed for the Milford Writer’s Workshop works best for our members. Specifically:
- Prior to the meeting: Manuscripts are distributed beforehand. All drafts for review must be submitted to our shared Dropbox by midnight on the second Sunday of each calendar month.
- Everyone reads, critiques, and prepares before the formal workshop begins. Etiquette precludes participants from discussing the manuscripts beforehand either with the author or other members of the critique group.
- During the meeting: The participants sit round in a circle (or, since Covid, in front of their computers on a Zoom call). The author whose work is being critiqued has to sit in silence through the first part in which each participant in turn is allowed an uninterrupted five minutes (timed) to deliver their critique. Then the author gets an uninterrupted right to reply. Following that a general discussion ensues. Constructive criticism is strongly encouraged.
- In the last few years it has become accepted for the critiqued manuscripts to be given back to the author complete with notes. Writeshop members document their notes in an electronic copy of the manuscript, which is placed in the appropriate Dropbox folder for the author’s review.
