DUP Official NaPo/GloPoWriMo 2018!
The Buttons & Bottle Caps of Critique, Honestly Crafted Critique, June 2018 Edition:
NO POEM OR CRITIQUE LEFT BEHIND
Greetings, HCC members and Deep Underground Lurkers! Welcome to our 100th HCC member! We have accumulated almost a hundred official critiques in the jar since the group's inception last summer! 200, here we come!
Now let's get down to serious business!
Don't you EVER throw any of your writings into the trash bin like that silly Stephen King did with his yet to be published Carrie. Always get a second opinion - prefferably from someone who is familiar with critiquing poetry. You are likely being way too harsh when examining your own work ( like King was ). It might not be the disasterpiece you perceive it as. And if it truly is a trainwreck, a few helpful suggestions is all it takes to get the worst of derailed trains of written thought back on track.
We are always beating the drum about how Honestly Critiquing the poetry of others can make you a better poet. We value critique as much as poetry itself - so much that HCC group members may only self delete their poems submitted, but not the critiques they received.
However, what is the point if you are only applying the knowledge you have gleaned towards the poems you are going to write? When your writing skills evolve, so to does your ability to breathe new life into previous attempts at poetry - especially your earliest when you were flying by the seat of your pants, without a clue as to what you were doing.
If you have compiled a portfolio of a hundred poems thus far, then you have a hundred opportunities to better yourself as a writer. Bored? Critique and Revise. Stuck in an airport because of a flight delay? CRITIQUE AND REVISE. Frustrated with not making it to the next level of Candy Crush? CRITIQUE AND REVISE.
Don't fool yourself into believing poems are ever finished or perfected. Do you know many writers like King had their novels made into movies, only to see deviations from their stories made by others that caused them to say, "Damn! I wish I had written it that way!" ...?
Unlike the The Shining, which Stanley Kubrick butchered.
But ... the Kubrick version inspired King to adapt and produce his own televised mini-series version of The Shining that was true to his book. This is the experience that illustrated to King his story already was great without Kubrick's "adjustments".
If you are serious about becoming well read and possibly published, ALWAYS have someone else review your poetry. Their suggestions may be improvements. Or their suggestions may worsen your poem, informing you that you were on the right track the entire time. Either way, you learn something in the process - what to do and what not to do.
And if you are serious about being a better poet, prove it by not giving up on that poem that seemingly is destined for the dumpster. Keep revising it for the exercise. Keep revising it until it is published.
Most importantly, keep revising it because you love the thrill of playing with your words.
Check out the Facebook feature here:
https://m.facebook.com/DUpoetry/photos/a.10154508509648665.1073741826.148635498664/10156381104008665/?type=3&theater
Until next time, Poets, Write On!
Ahavati & Johnny
The Buttons & Bottle Caps of Critique, Honestly Crafted Critique, July 2018 Edition:
Happy One Year Anniversary To HCC!
The Honestly Crafted Critique Group is a year older, wiser, and grown to 110 members!
And do you know why?
We've evolved along the journey, bettering ourselves as critiquers in the process while continuing to make helping other writers Priority Number One. And we are proud to say we've performed 100 critiques to date!
We've delivered those Honest Critiques in a timely fashion as promised, uniquely tailored to individual poems. No cookie cutter advice is ever handed out here, as we devote as much as ninety minutes crafting our analysis and suggestions into an easy to digest format.
We honored DUP's first group Steward, Mel44, for her outstanding commitment to the guidelines and principles of HCC. We look forward to initiating more Stewards in the year to come! If you're a member interested in becoming an HCC Steward, ask us how!
We've made the group accessible to EVERYONE, inviting DUP members across the board to participate in giving or receiving critiques. Unlike other groups here, no one is excluded based on personal preference.
We've created a DRAMA FREE ZONE where the focus is on improvement of poems and writing skills. Those who choose to remain ignorant of the group's Guidelines and attempt to disrupt the atmosphere with anything else are quietly dismissed.
Our goal is helping you make the best poem possible out of what it is you are struggling to convey, while providing you with useful tips on how to write better poetry in the process. If you aren't experiencing difficulty in communicating through a particular poem or poetry in general, then there is no reason to submit any here.
If you want to be deemed worthy of having your poetry critiqued by us, then follow through with revisions. We prefer to be writing in our free time, rather than having it squandered by the ego oriented who just wants to receive praise, while rejecting any notion his or her writing needs improvement.
If you want feedback in the form of compliments that can be somewhat useful at times in gauging the quality of your work, submit your poems through the standard DUP Submit Poem process and tag it desirous of "Friendly Feedback".
Choosing the option "Honest Critique" may attract the attention of a few other members who volunteer analysis outside this group on extremely rare occasions.
The Honestly Crafted Critique group was conceived to compensate for what both feedback options are lacking in: consistently indepth analysis from people who understand and Love poetry.
Here's to another 12 months of being DUP's leading edge group getting your poetry stepping stones closer to being read more often by a wider audience and publish ready.
Check out our facebook link:
https://m.facebook.com/DUpoetry/photos/a.10154508509648665.1073741826.148635498664/10156444259473665/?type=3&source=48
Join us in our DUP home:
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/groups/honestly-crafted-critique/discussion
Until next time, Poets, Write On!
Ahavati & Johnny
