Dear Sweet Sisters ~

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer. We have had many sisters published recently and our congratulations go out to each of you. …I feel the need to discuss…how we utilize our wonderful and invaluable critique line. Let me try to explain.

I have been a member of ANWA for many years but it took me about a year after the critique line was instituted to sign up in May of 2000. We had just learned that our precious son, BJ, had less than a 5% chance of surviving his last relapse with the leukemia he had been battling for five years. As I sent in my first few timid submissions and tried my hand at critiquing a few others, I soon found that I had joined a group of wonderful and capable women who loved me, many sight unseen, and who would support me; not only in my writing, but also in the difficult days I faced for the next several months as BJ slowly slipped away and finally returned home to his Heavenly Father. This love and support has always been precious to me and I have loved seeing others enjoy this same comfort and help.

However, now I find myself wondering if somehow, we have become a little too comfortable. When I first signed onto the critique line several years ago, it was a place of support, helpful hints, grammatical corrections and positive suggestions. These days that is not always the case.… We have made a nice "course correction" in creating "ANWAChat," as there is no need to take up critique space with chapter info, book signings, personal news, and various other questions and threads of messages that our friendship creates. Thanks for trying to keep all of your "newsy" items on the chat line.

Perhaps we need to review exactly what a critique line is and how it is to be used. …it is important that when we submit something to the critique line that we have already expended our best efforts on it. A critique line is used to help you once you have done all that you can do. When we submit our work, we are basically asking the other sisters, "Do you see anything that I may have missed?"

In the past we have had submissions come in that seemed like they were almost a "rough draft" from the number of errors in them. Sisters, we are all busy. Everyone's time is precious. Let's submit our very best efforts, please. The only exception would be if you wanted to run an idea past the members that was still pretty sketchy. In that case, please preface your submission with that information and that you are just looking for feedback on the idea, not to have the entire piece critiqued before you have even gone through it with a fine-toothed comb yourself. Or to check out an idea, you might consider running it past the ANWA Chat line. This will help everyone.

Certainly, many wonderful and carefully crafted submissions have been offered. Yet, maybe, you too have noticed that we have had some problems. Not only do we need to send in our best work, but we also need to be grateful to those who have invested their time to critique it for us. …Let's receive our critiques graciously.

We all see things differently. The purpose of a critique is not to persuade someone to rewrite the piece to suit you. Nor is it to harshly criticize the work of any sister or to say that it would be better if they did this or did that. Let's [always] focus on the writing, not the writer. Your critique should address the text, not the person who wrote it.

Own your opinions. Write in the first person. Don't say, "This sentence is confusing," instead say, "I'm not sure what this sentence is about." It is more personal and sincere.

Be positive and encouraging, but try using a serious and professional tone. Our sisters place themselves in a very vulnerable situation when they submit their work for your perusal, and your feedback should be clear and helpful, not overtly critical or discouraging.

Be specific. Avoid offering general comments like "This is great!" I'm afraid that, in my excitement, I have been guilty of doing that in the past. It would be more helpful to also point out a specific passage that has touched you, and tell her why it impressed you so. Please note: if you are only sharing a comment or two, PLEASE indicate COMM: plus the name of the submission in your subject line. If you have critiqued it, then PLEASE type CRIT: plus the title in the subject line. And please, never, never type RE: before any message or submission you send.

Despite numerous gentle reminders, we still struggle in getting everyone to clip unneeded portions of the original message and to change the subject headers to reflect what is being sent. The efforts of those who are striving to do this are greatly appreciated. It makes for a smoother operation, and clipping saves storage space at our main critique site.

Occasionally, a sister might "piggy-back" her critique on top of a previous critique and sometimes inadvertently she ends up "critiquing" someone else's critique ~ that isn't helpful for either party. Please make all your comments off the original submission.

Sisters, I'm sorry to even mention this but please safeguard whatever another sister submits and respect it as her work. It is her idea, her creation. Whether an entire story has been submitted or just an idea in passing on "ANWA Chat," we are not to use, copy or "borrow" that sister's idea or her work in any way. Please be careful about this. If we don't feel safe sending in our work, then the critique line is of no value.

We should always conduct ourselves as daughters of God and members of His church. It really isn't appropriate to criticize church leaders or even other members of the church on our critique line or even on ANWA Chat. Surely we can find ways of discussing what is on our minds without involving ourselves in such dialogue.

The presidency chose to have our upcoming conference at Fiesta Inn because we are getting well known enough to "bump it up" a notch. We've come a long way since the early days of a handful of women meeting in the basement of the old Gilbert, Arizona Library. Professionalism and following the spirit should be our goal. One of the aims of ANWA is to educate interested LDS women in the craft of writing. All that ANWA offers by way of monthly meetings, an online critique forum, the annual writers conference, and other events are to help us become the best that we can be and to use our God-given talents in His service. Let's take the time to make an extra effort when it comes to our use of the critique line to the betterment of all concerned.

Please know of my love for each of you and for this wonderful organization. Your presidency spends countless hours planning and preparing for each event and to insure the smooth sailing of this organization. Never was it my intent to offend anyone in sharing these thoughts with you and I pray that you have received this in the spirit in which it was offered.

Love and Blessings,
Stephanie Abney
General VP of ANWA