Critiques & Critique Groups

You've done your search, you found someone who's interested. You talk, they respond, and now you've done it -- you've decided you want a partner in critiquing. Where to start? How to start?

Some people do it face-to-face; others prefer doing it online. Let's talk critiques.

I'm not a fan of critique groups. I've been in two. One was controlling and the other damaging. Members showed up without material to share. Members showed up not prepared. Members showed up having rewritten each other's chapters.

It was weird. It was ugly. It was like being thirteen and in junior high again.