Sword and Sorcery Critique Groups

Mission

Our mission is to provide a safe, productive critiquing environment for authors writing sword and sorcery, sword and planet, and swashbuckling historicals. For a greater understanding of what we mean by sword and sorcery, please see the explanations of the genre and its distinguishing characteristics that are contained in the Flashing Swords guidelines page. Swordandsorcery.org also contains several articles on the history of the sword and sorcery genre and some of its greatest authors and works that will be helpful if you have questions.

Structure

New 15-week critique groups will be started each quarter (January, April, July, and October). Each group will have 5 members submitting 3 manuscripts apiece to the group. “Manuscript” means a short story of 7,000 words or less, or two chapters of a novel. In keeping with our mission, manuscripts should be sword and sorcery, sword and planet, and swashbuckling historicals (as defined above) only.

Participants will be responsible for exchanging manuscripts on a rotating, weekly basis. Manuscripts should be sent to fellow group members via pasting into the body of an e-mail. This arrangement will eliminate the possibility of inadvertent publication of manuscripts and reduce the possibility of transmission of viruses. We will post the schedule for exchange.

Participants will post their critiques in appropriate folders that we will set up. Critiques are to be posted within one week of receipt of the manuscript. Please try to critique every manuscript. While we understand people go on vacation, etc., lack of participation may affect your ability to join another group.

Each critique group ends after 15 weeks. If you are submitting a novel and wish to continue in another critique group, then please provide the new group with a synopsis of the earlier chapters. Groups may wish to stay together or individuals may wish to continue reading a particular novel. If so, then please notify the moderator, S.C. Bryce, so that we may try to accommodate you.

Participants will be issued passwords to access the critique section of the website. Please also remember to respect copyrights; do not pass along any of the manuscripts without the written permission of the author. Please do not post the entire manuscript, but rather only relevant excerpts, which should be designated as follows: [[This is sample text that I am quoting from the text of the short story prior to commenting upon it]].

Eligibility of Participants

Because we would like to keep the critique groups intimate, eligibility for participation will be limited to authors who have published at least 3 short stories in semi-pro (paying) markets. Sales can be in any fiction genre. If you do not meet this criterion but would still like to join, then please send a sample manuscript to the moderator, pasted in the body of an e-mail.

How to Join

If you would like to join a critique group, then please send an e-mail to the moderator. The e-mail should include your real name, writing resume, and a short biography (including information that may be of particular interest to your fellow participants, such as any skill, knowledge, or expertise) pasted into the body of the e-mail. Prospective participants without 3 semi-pro sales should also include in their e-mail a sample manuscript. All these e-mails should be referenced as “Request to Join” to avoid being mistaken for spam. Please remember that by sending a request to join, you are indicating that you have read the terms of our critique group and agree to be bound by them.

We will also post calls for applications in the form and on SwordandSorcery.org six weeks before the start of the quarter.

Acceptance into a group is at our discretion. If accepted, we will assign you to a critique group. Your writing resume and short biography will be posted in your group’s folder to serve as an introduction. If you do not hear from us within a few weeks of sending your request to join, then please send a query e-mail to the moderator.

How to Critique

There have been so many thorough articles on critiquing that it seems superfluous to write a detailed section here. Let us simply say that, as authors, we participate in a writers’ group in order to receive constructive feedback from our peers that will improve our manuscripts and writing styles. “Constructive feedback” has two major components: one substantive and one procedural.

Substantively, simply stating whether you enjoyed the submission or believe that it has literary and creative merit is not helpful. What is helpful is taking the time to explain your positive and negative reactions. Keep in mind that reasoning through your reactions will also improve your own writing and that authors need to know what they are doing well in addition to what needs improvements. Areas critiquers should think about include: characterization, pace, description, writing style, grammar, punctuation, originality, feel, and dialog.

Procedurally, your critique should be a reflection of what we all aspire to be: professional. Both authors and critiquers should remember that critiquers are not required to give positive (or negative) critiques of every manuscript. However, critiquers are required to give professional, cordial, good-faith critiques of every manuscript. Please remember that this is not about the self-aggrandizement of critiquers; it is about helping each other improve.

If you receive an inappropriate critique, then please notify the moderator. In repeated or extreme circumstances, an offensive participant may be asked to leave the group.

For more about proper critiquing, please see any of the numerous articles on critiquing, diplomacy, and other issues from in the library of Critters, a well-respected group run by Andrew Burt. Also, Online Writing Workshop contains a lengthy section on how to review manuscripts.

Contact Information

You may post queries to the moderator, S.C. Bryce, via the Flashing Swords forum at SFReader.com. If you wish to contact the moderator privately, then send an e-mail to s and s critique group Please put "Critique Query" in the reference line of your e-mail to avoid being confused with spam.