This is a great time to get a manuscript of up to 2500 words looked at
ALL manuscripts must be emailed to the moderator, Steve Yates at writingsbysay@yahoo.com by MIDNIGHT on Wednesday, March 15th. (Note, this is ten days before the critique session.) Any submissions received after that will be handled as time permits, at the end of the critique session.
Please include your email address at the top of the page. Non-members are welcome to have one piece critiqued, without joining the group.
Critiques will be discussed in the order they are received.
You will be receiving a manuscript from each participant and are expected to print it out and have your critique of their work at the meeting.
Your manuscript must be formatted using: Times Roman, Courier, Tahoma, or Verdana font at 12 points. Margins should be to one inch. Double space.
Be sure to number your pages (Insert / Page Number). Also, it makes critiquing easier if you insert line numbers (Open the Page Layout ribbon / Click Line Numbers in the Page Setup section / Select your options from the popup menu.)
Save your document in: .doc, .docx, or .rtf formant. (All major word processing programs have this capability.) All manuscripts will be converted to .pdf by the facilitator, with line numbers inserted if you have not already done so.
Please limit your submission to about 2500 words. (You may send as many words as you like. The person critiquing may stop at any time after 2500 words.)
Starting time is 9:00 AM Saturday, July 24th. Please be ready to start then.
Please do not submit first drafts. Spend some time editing before you send it out. Also, it is requested you don’t send a modified copy of your manuscript after the original has been dispersed to the group.
· Everyone who submits a manuscript will be expected to critique all other entries and ensure they receive a copy of your comments. (You are not required to send your critique to the recipient before the critique, but it is useful.) In addition, we always have people who wish to share their knowledge of writing, yet not submit. Those wishing to only critique are always welcome.
The following information should be on the first page, before your story begins. (You may wish to copy/paste this to your manuscript and answer them.)
· Genre: (Fantasy, Romance, etc.)
· Demographic (target audience):
· How long is the final piece (short story, novel):
· Is there back story we need to know to understand what is going on:
· Where does this fit in your manuscript (i.e.: two-thirds of the way through):
· What questions do you want answered:
When critiquing, consider:
· Are the characters developed. (You may not get to this in a limited piece)
· Is there a strong sense of the setting/time.
· Is it original (Not a requirement. Some of the best stories are a retelling.)