Critique Droids

Over the course of my writing "career" - if you want to call it that - I've tried a couple of different writer's groups, because, after all, according to all the wonderful writing seminars and conferences I've been to, they all say that in order to improve your work, you MUST join a critique group.

So, I'm like, "Okay!"

I've tried a few.  Most of my problem was that very few, well none of them really, were writers of Young Adult.  Most of my writer friends are from my television days, so when I joined these groups, we mostly talked screen writing craft, story structure and plot, dialogue - which is ALL GOOD - but none of them could read my work and help with phrasing, tone, word-smithing, or the fine art of crafting a paragraph. Screen writers are visual by nature, as they should be - and they care little about specific word choice, the careful placement of starting a new paragraph, or the voice of the narrative.

Still, I persisted.
I'd finish a draft of my latest work, send them off to my screen writer friends, and get loads of notes I either couldn't use, or were completely besides the point.  Or, I got notes that were purely visceral, "I got so mad reading this! This character is acting so stupid, it made me mad!"

Yes, well, characters don't always behave as they should, and I made the terrible mistake of thinking that because the reader was MAD at a character, that it was a flaw in my writing, when in fact, it was a great compliment because the reader cared enough to get pissed off.  But what does it mean in regards to the writing?

Anyway, years passed.  I continued to go to writers seminars and classes and meet a myriad of different writers.  Most were not in my area, meaning they were geographically challenged.  We could email and call back and forth, but there would be no meeting for coffee, so drafts dropped off on front porches, nothing like that.  But with modern technology, it wasn't absolutely necessary.
Still, I didn't find anybody I particularly jived with.  Or, if I did, they'd already be in a writer's group and I felt like a total dork waiting for an invitation, which never came.

Perhaps there was something wrong with me?
(that's a loaded question)
Do I talk too much?
(Sometimes when I have too much caffeine, yes)
Do I not listen well enough?
(Sometimes when I have too much caffeine, no)
Do I give off a bad vibe?
(I've been accused of appearing "aloof" before, so I've been spending the last few years perfecting my "Open for Conversation" face.  It's an effort)

But low and behold, after years of waiting, I think I've found a writer's group.

Not only are they Young Adult writers like me, but we are all on the cusp of launching careers (some a bit closer than others) and we are all able to talk craft, talk life, talk kids, talk locally, talk books, and talk, and talk, and talk.

I have to admit...This feels like a big deal.
Could it be?
Could I finally have met a group who will read my work and give me usable notes?

Oh, the sheer joy.
An actual critique! Not an anonymous proof-read I have to pay $50 to get from a writer's seminar - but an actual analytical breakdown, telling me what's missing, telling me what's to be done, telling me how to make it better?

Let's hope so.
Keep your fingers crossed for me, because if this is true...It could change everything.