I spent the last nine years of my life working with publishers, editors, and writing groups. Everyone touts their own writing process. I am no different. So, what follows is the process developed by myself and those I work with closely. 

Writers are notoriously introverts. The difficulty of leaving our creature comforts, the couch, the desk, the view, which allows inspiration to strike, is overwhelming. However, it is my desire for all writers to have a critique group, who can read over each other’s work and discuss issues which need to be addressed. Do not attach yourself to the first group you find. Attend a meeting. Listen to the pieces being read. Listen to the critiques.  

Things to listen for: 

• Is everyone telling the writer how great their writing is without giving feedback on what is wrong? Yes, writers. Your first draft is never going to be good. Better then some? Yes. However, is no one is giving feedback on what needs to be fixed in each other’s writing, they are a social group and not a critique group. Please look elsewhere for a group to meet your needs. 
• Not everyone is going to agree, nor should they. Everyone brings a different lens to the project being discussed and their opinions are valuable. As the writer, you do not have to side with everyone who gives their opinion, but there will always be something worth considering in their critique. 
• Are the writers being respectful in how they present their views?  
• Are the writers explaining what they like as well as what they don’t like? 
• Is there a line-editor in the group? This person will usually point out your overuse of words: “that,” “just,” and “to be” verbs. They will strengthen your sentence structure overall. 

• Is there a person who points out point of view issues? This person will understand who is telling the story and point out when the writer has slipped into another person’s thoughts or emotions. 
• Is there a person addressing character traits and issues? For example, “In a specific situation, would this character be angry? Up to this point, the character has been nonchalant about everything, why are they showing this emotion?” Character development and continuity throughout a piece is important and someone should be addressing this issue. 
• Is there a person asking abnormal questions that appear out of the blue? “Where there children’s car seats in the 1950s?” Historical accuracy can draw in a reader. Inaccuracies can repel readers. 

A single person can cover more than one of these traits, but they all must be present in a critique group to receive a complete review of one’s work. Unfortunately, this is only step one of a complete writing process, which will help walk you through first, second, and possibly a third draft.