Critique Groups

I found a very interesting post on Keith Snyder's blog about critique groups. It has really gotten me thinking. I'm starting to consider Stephen King's approach. Just finish the thing, put it in a drawer for a few months, while working on short stories or other projects. Then, pull it out and do your own rewrite now that you can have some perspective. Last, print out six copies for six people to read it and give you feedback before you do a final rewrite. The hard part, it seems, is finding those six people.

Here's the link to Keith's post.

I keep going back to the same thing. I need reader impressions on the basic story arc, plot, pace, you know, the big picture. That's hard to get when you submit it one chapter every two weeks. And getting help with editing before that's done is rather pointless when those paragraphs or even that chapter may not be in the next rewrite. >sigh<

And here I am, the coordinator of critique groups for my local writer's club. Go figure. I still find them helpful for shorter works. They're not unhelpful for the longer stuff, and I appreciate all their efforts. I think it's just my process that's to blame. And this novel is driving me nuts. It's been in rewrites way too long. I need to finish it or chuck it and move on.