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.

Planned Parenthood - Profile

Planned Parenthood - Profile About Planned Parenthood: The term planned parenthood originally applied to practices to control the number of children born to a family. Nurse Margaret Sanger promoted information about birth control methods as a way of dealing with the poverty of families where parents could not provide financially for their growing families and were ignorant of sexual and medical knowledge that could limit the number of their children. About Planned Parenthood Organizations: Today, Planned Parenthood refers to the organizations at local, state, federal and international levels. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is the umbrella group at the national level in the United States, with umbrella affiliates, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) which is based in London unites groups around the world. The focus of Planned Parenthood Federation today is providing reproductive health care, sex education, counseling and information; abortion services, while the most controversial of their programs, is only a small part of the services provided in more than 800 health centers throughout the United States. Origin of Planned Parenthood Federation of America: In 1916, Margaret Sanger founded the first birth control clinic in the United States. In 1921, realizing that the needs for information and services were greater than her clinic could provide, she founded the American Birth Control League, and in 1923, the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau. Realizing that birth control was a means and not the goal family planning was the goal the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau was renamed Planned Parenthood Federation. Key Issues in Planned Parenthood History: Planned Parenthood has evolved to face different issues in womens reproductive services as the political and legal environment has changed. Margaret Sanger was jailed in her time for violation of the Comstock Law. Before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion, clinics were limited to providing contraceptives and information and even those services were limited depending on the states. The Hyde Amendment made it difficult for poor women to obtain abortion by excluding such services from federal health services, and Planned Parenthood looked for alternatives to help poor women the initial target audience of Sangers birth control work to get needed health services and to manage their family size. Reagan and Bush Years: During the Reagan years, increasing attacks on womens reproductive choices affected Planned Parenthood. The Gag Rule, preventing family planning professionals from giving medical information about abortion, made it more difficult to provide services to women internationally. The attacks both through violence by individuals, promoted by anti-abortion organizations, and through legislative limits on abortion and other reproductive services challenged clinics and the legislative and lobbying associated organizations. The Bush years (both presidents Bush) included pushes for abstinence-only sex education (despite evidence that such sex education does not significantly cut the rate of teenage or premarital pregnancy) and more limits on reproductive choice including abortion. President Clinton lifted the Gag Rule but President George W. Bush reinstated it. 2004 March on Washington: In 2004, Planned Parenthood played a key role in organizing a pro-choice march on Washington, the March for Womens Lives, held on April 25 of that year. More than one million gathered on the National Mall for that demonstration, with women being a large majority of those demonstrating. Associated Organizations: Planned Parenthood Federation is associated with: Alan Guttmacher Institute, focusing on research and developmentPlanned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), a separate organization focusing on legal action and lobbyingInternational Planned Parenthood Federation Planned Parenthood Direction: Planned Parenthood clinics continue to be challenged with threats and actual incidents of terror as well as by attempts to intimidate or physically block women from entering those clinics for any services. Planned Parenthood also works for comprehensive sex education, to help prevent pregnancy through information, opposing abstinence-only programs which do not effectively prevent pregnancy. Planned Parenthood advocates for availability of legal contraceptive drugs or devices, access to abortion services, and ending censorship requirements on medical professionals preventing them from giving medical information to their patients. Those who oppose the availability of abortion or contraceptive services continue to identify Planned Parenthood for defunding efforts, attempts to close clinics through zoning and through protests, and other means. Those who advocate violence as a means of opposing reproductive choice also continue to target Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood and Related Elsewhere on the Web Planned Parenthood HistoryPlanned Parenthood Action CenterJohn Salvi, Abortion Clinic Violence, and Catholic Right ConspiracismPlanned Parenthood Plays the Violence CardNARAL Pro-Choice AmericaReligious Coalition for Reproductive Choice