Harness the Power of Your Critique Group

Harness the Power of Your Critique Group Ten years ago I went looking for writing advice in my community and joined a loose affiliation of novice writers. Over the years, weve grown into a dedicated group of eight authors with cumulative publishing credits that include ten books, 24 short stories and numerous awards. Along the way, weve helped each other learn the craft of writing, work toward publication and market our work. Thinking of starting your own critique group? Want to make your group run more effectively or work harder for everyone involved? Here are some tips: Numbers I recommend a closed group - one in which new members are only invited because someone leaves. Six to eight people is an ideal size. Leadership It helps to have one person in charge of organizing and chairing the meetings, at least until the group is well established. Timing There are various ways of running meetings. My group meets once a month, with three stories sent in advance Focus You know those book clubs that are more about the food and the wine than the books? Dont make your critique group a dinner club. Try 15 minutes of chat at the beginning of the session and then get down to business, or all business for two hours followed Commitment Our group really took off when we began setting a rotation for submissions a few months in advance. Everyone is expected to submit something when it is his/her turn, with a fixed upper word count (ours is 4000 words). If someone cant make a meeting, they email their critiques to the other writers. Other groups dont have these expectations, but we needed the added pressure to keep writing. If meeting in person doesnt work for you, check  www.inkedvoices.com  , a source for online critique groups.   Do your critique group members attend seminars and workshops or read articles online and in print? Probably. Everyone in the group can take advantage of that learning - both through explicit sharing of the knowledge acquired and Widen your contacts and leads through your group. Share: = Useful lists, websites and newsletters (I made sure to tell my whole group to sign up for FundsforWriters.) = Contests = Publishers (If I read a book similar to the writing of one of my group members, Ill mention it to them.) = Upcoming workshops Once you are published you can help each other increase sales: = Commit to promoting your work via email and social media. = Review each others work on Goodreads and Amazon. = Traveling? Visit local bookstores and talk up your book as well as those of your critique group members. = Consider holding group launches to reduce costs and increase attendance. If you write in different genres this is a great opportunity to widen your nets. = Contact local media about your group, or better yet, query them. Get paid to write an article about the success of writers in your area. = Apply to speak at a writers conference as a group. Critiquing other writers work takes time and commitment, but a well-run group can result in a return on investment that brings your writing career to the next level.

Free Essays on Feminism

FEMINIST MOVEMENT FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT IN USA Women traditionally had been regarded as inferior to men physically and intellectually. Both law and theology had ordered their subjection. Women could not possess property in their own names, engage in business, or control the disposal of their children. Historically they have been considered not only intellectually inferior to men but also a major source of temptation and evil. In Greek mythology, for example, it was a woman, Pandora, who opened the forbidden box and brought plagues and unhappiness to mankind. Early Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men. Early Christian theology perpetuated these views. St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of the Christian church, said: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the serpent, in a word a perilous object." But throughout centuries women began to understand that they were not inferior. From this moment they began to seek their equality in the name of Feminism. Feminism is a movement for the political, social, and educational equality of women with men; the movement has occurred mainly in Europe and the United States. It has its roots in the humanism of the 18th century and in the Industrial Revolution. We first see the Feminist Movement in French Revolution with Olympe de Gouges’ writings. In Europe there’re 2 important feminist writers that wrote classics in Feminist Literature. First one is English writer Virginia Woolf with her famous work ‘A Room of One’s Own’. The second writer is French Simone de Beauvoir with her work ‘Le Deuxieme Sexe’. Feminist issues range from access to employment, education, child care, contraception, and abortion, to equality in the workplace, changing family roles, redress for sexual harassment in the workplace, and the need for equal political representation. The history of American feminism - the self-conscious desire to achie... Free Essays on Feminism Free Essays on Feminism FEMINISM The woman’s position wasn’t always the same across the different cultures of the world. Either it was bad or good there was always something different. Some scientists believe that the first type of human society was the matriarchy. Women had more and greater rights than men. However, as time passed by the two categories of human sexes began wanting to command respect to each other. The result of this â€Å"battle† was that men managed finally to make women obey them. Undoubtedly, women made great efforts in order to overcome the disadvantages of the situation that they ended up facing, and in a way, they succeeded. Women who couldn’t stand this oppression any more decided to demand their rights by creating a movement called Feminism. Feminism can be considered as a philosophical and sociological theory, which supports that the two sexes are equal not only in a social and economical level but in an urban and political level as well. However, even though by this movement women managed many things, in none of the countries the roots of the woman’s eternal inferiority haven’t yet obliterated, we can still see sometimes that new types of super session and imbalances make their appearance. Women are no longer expected to stay at home, keep the house, take care of children, wait patiently their husband to return and bring some money. Unlike they work hard by leading two lives. In the morning we see many women going to their office, and then in the afternoon running in order to be at home early to prepare the food for the children and the husband. But neither in the workplace, nor in the house they are equal patterns with men. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, a number of factors contributed to the resurgence of Feminism. Young women who were active in this movement gained experience in the politics of protest, but found that movement leaders often viewed women’s issues as trivial and relegated them to gender- stereotype... Free Essays on Feminism FEMINIST MOVEMENT FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT IN USA Women traditionally had been regarded as inferior to men physically and intellectually. Both law and theology had ordered their subjection. Women could not possess property in their own names, engage in business, or control the disposal of their children. Historically they have been considered not only intellectually inferior to men but also a major source of temptation and evil. In Greek mythology, for example, it was a woman, Pandora, who opened the forbidden box and brought plagues and unhappiness to mankind. Early Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men. Early Christian theology perpetuated these views. St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of the Christian church, said: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the serpent, in a word a perilous object." But throughout centuries women began to understand that they were not inferior. From this moment they began to seek their equality in the name of Feminism. Feminism is a movement for the political, social, and educational equality of women with men; the movement has occurred mainly in Europe and the United States. It has its roots in the humanism of the 18th century and in the Industrial Revolution. We first see the Feminist Movement in French Revolution with Olympe de Gouges’ writings. In Europe there’re 2 important feminist writers that wrote classics in Feminist Literature. First one is English writer Virginia Woolf with her famous work ‘A Room of One’s Own’. The second writer is French Simone de Beauvoir with her work ‘Le Deuxieme Sexe’. Feminist issues range from access to employment, education, child care, contraception, and abortion, to equality in the workplace, changing family roles, redress for sexual harassment in the workplace, and the need for equal political representation. The history of American feminism - the self-conscious desire to achie...

Witchcraft in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Witchcraft in America - Research Paper Example The nature of witchcraft in America demonstrates very insignificant relationship with those of other countries if any and is consigned to perform more or less the same needs as those of other areas. This paper then discusses the various forms of witchcraft in America after the realization that they were caste to play different roles by different peoples. The origins of the forms are also discussed to give in depth analysis of the witchcraft trajectory path. This paper provides useful information for understanding how various communities in the world believe in the power of the unseen forces for values. Introduction In old days and the contemporary society, witchcrafts are not a new term. Witchcraft started long time and the writings about witchcrafts can be traced during Paleolithic period and in the bible and other religious writings like Koran. The fact the there are writings about witch crafty in the basic religious teachings and that they are highly condemned, it makes even the m ost doubtful believers about the power of witchcrafts to think about their position for the second time. Taking about witchcrafts bring into focus the issue of the sorcerers. To distinguish the two has been a problem to many people, and in very many circumstances, the two are interchangeably used. It is though not accurate to consider the two as the same thing. Witchcraft can be said to be an involuntary innate personality in a person that is associated with unique physical happenings. It should be noted the witchcrafts do not need spells, tools and any sort of ceremony to perform his /her business but use pure psychic (Mirecki, and Marvin, 133). On the other side, sorcerers can be defined as the use of spells, ceremonies, and accessories that are performed by a proficient person who understand the process of using them. One needs not to have the innate ability to perform sorcery though it is a physical process that can be witnessed. From the two definitions, the distinction between sorcery and witch crafty can be drawn; it is though important to note that the two uses spirits to achieve their aims. The extent of witch crafty has been found to take place all over the world from Africa to Asia and to America. Christians believe in the power of the witchcraft and that explains why in the early times, the Catholic Church is in record to have engaged in the killing of those who are suspected to be practicing witch crafty in the society (Mirecki, and Marvin, 98). The same applies to other religions such as the Islamic who in their Koran writings also recognizes and condemn the power of witchcrafts. A strong debate has always erupted as to whether the power of witchcrafts can harm or not, this is because from most witchcrafts, the assertion is that they do not harm while the conventional belief about it is that it is purely used to harm. The concrete response to this can be left to the individual experience or knowledge about witchcrafts. The persecution of the witc hcraft during the middle age period resulted into the witchcrafts taking low profile and issues related to witchcraft were done under ground. This explains why there are no writings and books to aid in referencing the account of witchcraft during the ancient times. Even though there are no records of witchcraft, there were found painting and sketchy writing by the archeologist, this painting and writings are believed to have been occasioned by the then witchcrafts. As a matter of public knowledge, witchcrafts have been billed to be possessing supernatural powers and that they can perform rituals that go against the laws of