We Do Write: Guest Post: The Search for a Critique Partner by DelSheree Gladden

Book Title: Wicked Hunger

Series: SomeOne Wicked This Way Comes

Author: DelSheree Gladden

Release Date: July 9th

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Length: 95,000 words/240 pages

Publisher: GMTA Publishing LLC

Presented by: As You Wish Tours

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The Search for a Critique Partner

One of the scariest things for a writer is showing their work to someone else, to another author especially. The fear of rejection and criticism can be overwhelming. Regardless, this is such an important step in polishing your writing. I’m sure most of us writers out there finish a first draft and think it is absolutely amazing. I know I’ve done that plenty of times. It’s only after someone else reads it and points out a plot hole, or a bizarre reaction, or even an unlikeable character that we can admit the book might still need a little work.

Finding a critique partner can be a challenge. You want someone who will be honest without being brutal. You have to be able to trust that person enough to show them a project that you know needs work, or call on them when you are stuck and can’t write yourself out of a plot problem. So, how do you find someone like that?

Local writer’s groups are a great place to start. You can meet up in person and have a face-to-face discussion about each other’s work. This is a great way to get to know the other writers well enough to know who you can trust with a first draft.

Unfortunately, many writers live in areas where there are no writer’s groups available. That’s when you need to start looking online. There are several great online writer’s groups like The Next Big Writer, Scribophile, Authonomy from Harper Collins, and many others. These types of sites allow you to post chapters of your work in exchange for reviewing other authors’ work. This can be a great experience because you get a wide variety of readers’ thoughts. Another benefit is that you end up making friends with other writers, which can be helpful on staying up to date on publishing news, contests, and which publishers/agents to avoid.

Another way to find a critique partner is simply to ask. Do you know someone who is also a published or aspiring author? If you don’t, ask around. Your friends and family might. I had no idea that a lady I went to church with was a writer until a friend at work mentioned it. Sometimes writers think they are the only ones struggling with a chapter, or unsure of what direction the story should go. You’re not. We all struggle with the same things, and most of us are happy to have someone to turn to for help. Writers may not have a lot of money to spend on writing services either, so working out a trade can be mutually beneficial as well. You need a beta reader, maybe another writer needs and editor or cover designer. Just ask who needs your help, and you’ll find plenty of writers willing to help you in return.

SYNOPSIS

Vanessa and Zander Roth are good at lying. They have to be when they are hiding a deadly secret. Day after day, they struggle to rein in their uncontrollable hunger for pain and suffering in order to live normal lives. Things only get worse when Ivy Guerra appears with her pink-striped hair and secrets. The vicious hunger Ivy inspires is frightening, not to mention suspicious.

Vanessa’s instincts are rarely wrong, so when they tell her that Ivy’s appearance is a sign of bad things to come, she listens. She becomes determined to expose Ivy’s secrets. Vanessa tries to warn her brother, but Zander is too enamored with Ivy to pay attention to her conspiracy theories.

One of them is right about Ivy … but if they lose control of their hunger, it won’t matter who is right and who is wrong. One little slip, and they’ll all be dead.

AUTHOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Delsheree Gladden's first book in her new YA series SomeOne Wicked This Way Comes is a riveting story of uncontrollable bloodlust that turns dealing with family, friendships, trust, devotion and love into a WICKED HUNGER~~~Susan Stec, author of Dead Girls Never Shut Up and The Grateful Undead Series.

AUTHOR BIO

DelSheree Gladden lives in New Mexico with her husband and two children. The Southwest is a big influence in her writing because of its culture, beauty, and mythology. Local folk lore is strongly rooted in her writing, particularly ideas of prophecy, destiny, and talents born from natural abilities. When she is not writing, DelSheree is usually teaching yoga, coaching gymnastics, reading, painting, sewing, or working as a Dental Hygienist. Her works include Escaping Fate, Twin Souls Saga, and The Destroyer Trilogy. DelSheree's newest series, The SomeOne Wicked This Way Come series, follows Vanessa and Zander Roth, siblings with an uncontrollable hunger for pain and suffering that will either gain them limitless power or lead them to their deaths.

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