The College Market

We have found a new meeting place! You can find us at The College Market at 604 S 8th Ave, Pocatello, ID 83201 on the first and third Saturdays of each month. Our meetings take place from 1-3. We ask that you RSVP for both meetings. For the critique group, we need to know if you plan to read. It’s recommended that you let us know if you want to attend the general meeting so we can be properly prepared. If you do not RSVP you are encouraged to bring writing utensils and paper for notes or to provide critiques. Thank you.

Critique Group and How it Works

Walking into your first critique meeting can be daunting. You aren’t sure what to expect or the procedures we follow. We hope this post will help ease some of the anxiety you might be feeling.

The preferred method used to provide feedback is the sandwich method. Make sure to provide productive information regarding the author and their work. A good rule of thumb is to think about what you’re going to say and if it would hurt your feelings then it’ll probably hurt someone else’s, too. When providing feedback we ask that you follow the guidelines below.

SANDWICH METHOD

1. Mention something that you like about the work presented.
2. Provided constructive criticism and suggestions.
3. Talk about something else that you like about the item you just heard.

If this is your first meeting, you are not expected to read but we would greatly appreciate your feedback on each story, poem, movie script, etc. presented. If you forget to RSVP, it’s okay, remember to bring paper and a writing utensil. We ask for people to RSVP so we can have an accurate number of copies the reader will need.

Let us know if you have any questions. We are happy to help.

~ Charity K Samora ~

Critique Group

We’re implementing a small change that will help our readers in a big way.

1. Request for readers will go out on Monday of the week prior to the meeting and Responses must be in before the end of the Friday of the same week.
2. The number of readers has been cut down from 4-5 to 3-4.

Make sure to check out the Agenda for information regarding our meeting times and dates and whether we will be having a critique session and/or a lesson. Critique sessions are typically only on the first Saturday of the month but sometimes we do have them instead of a lesson.

Here’s how the invitation for November 2022 goes.

This is your friendly reminder that you can find us at the College Market located at 604 S. 8th Ave, Pocatello, Idaho 83201 on the 14th of Nov. We meet from 1-3. Please RSVP by the end of Oct. 27th. We need to get an accurate count and let the readers know how many copies to bring.

Your work may include up to 10 pages, double-spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font. We typically have room for 3-4 readers.

You are invited to join us even if you don’t plan to read. Please bring some paper and a writing utensil if you do not RSVP.

Thank you and happy writing.

May 6th Critique Group

In celebration of Idaho State University graduates, we decided to cancel this meeting. This is an exciting time for our group because we have one member graduating at 2 p.m. and the son of two other members graduating at 6 p.m.

We will meet again on 20 May 2023 at our regular time. Thank you for your understanding and look forward to seeing you next time.

1st in-person lesson 21 May 2022

Our first lesson group is today at the Bru House from 1 – 3 p.m. The focus is on Self or Traditional Publishing.

For those who will be joining us please make sure to bring pen and paper or laptop. The lesson is broken into 3 sections.

1. Compares Self vs Traditional
2. Closer look at Self-publishing
3. Closer look at Lulu and what’s offered

We are set to have another critique session on Saturday, 4 June 2022. Details to come soon.

1st in-person Critique Sat. May 7 from 1-3

Hi all! For Saturday’s critique group from 1-3 we have four readers for sure, with a fifth one as a possibility. Either way, readers will need to bring seven copies total for everyone who is attending the meeting.

If you would like to offer feedback and can’t make the meeting, please let us know! Some can share a Google Doc with comment features like Word to allow for feedback that way.

As a reminder, please format your critique selection into a double-spaced 12-point font with 1-inch margins up to 10 pages. That makes it easier to get through critiques and leave notes.

Don’t forget about our third Saturday meeting from 1-3 as well, where the discussion topic will be Self-Publishing on Lulu.com.

This will have three parts – self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, a closer look at 10 self-publishing companies, and what Lulu can do for you.

As always, you can email us or contact us on Facebook if you have any questions!

First 2022 In-Person Critique Scheduled

Hello, and greetings to all writers! We are excited to announce that we’re back! After taking some time to figure out how best to move forward with the pandemic, we have decided to begin holding critique sessions the first Saturday of every month from 1-3 p.m. at the Bru House Galilei, 502 N. Main St. in Pocatello. This may be temporary until we are able to get back on the library’s schedule.

However, we also know that Saturdays may not work for everybody. So, we will also be scheduling a once-monthly Zoom critique that will be dependent on who is available, and when.

With the critiques, we will also be trying to host themes, so our fantasy writers can all get together and discuss their works, our romance writers can do the same, and our nonfiction memoirists can get the support they need.

This first meeting, Saturday May 7th, from 1-3 p.m., will be a general critique session. If you have something you would like to share, please comment here, email pocatellowriters@gmail.com, or post to the Facebook group page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/pocatellowriters).

We have updated how we can provide feedback for each other as well. Normally, we bring printed copies and provide on-the-spot feedback. That’s still an option, and we wanted to add more convenience and options for everyone. You can share your work through email or Google Drive before the meeting on Saturday to gain feedback that way, which might provide options for some thought-out options in addition to the initial reaction feedback.

We’d like to know what virtual times would work best for everyone! Tuesday or Wednesday night at 7 p.m. is a suggestion, but we can always vary when we’re meeting based on the group who wants to meet digitally. Again, let us know on the Facebook group, through email, or commenting here.

As for feedback, we wanted to standardize the format of printing, so we’re going with size 12 font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins up to 10 pages in length. We can always be flexible depending on how many people will be asking for feedback at the meeting.

Any questions? Thoughts? Ideas on presentations for our third Wednesday meetings? Let us know!

Thanks everyone, and we look forward to getting back together and making these connections again in our community!

Future Meetings

The Marshall Public Library will reopen on Monday with several new restrictions for public and staff safety. Unfortunately the Public Meeting Room will be closed for the foreseeable future.

As such, we must continue to restrict Pocatello Writer meetings to online contacts and lessons. Please join our Facebook group forum at https://facebook.com/groups/pocatellowriters/ to keep in touch. Stay safe, and keep writing.

Saturday Meeting Cancelled

Marshall Public Library
March 21, 2020 3:30pm

Pocatello Writers meetings are postponed indefinitely due to a need for caution and the Library’s closure.

Charity is investigating ways to meet online, via Skype or some other method, and will keep us posted about April.

So if you can, stay home for 2 weeks and do your part to help break the chain of transmission and hope we can flatten that curve soon. Take care and get some writing done.

In the meantime, keep in touch via our Facebook forum at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pocatellowriters/.

March 7. 2020 – Critique workshop

Marshall Public Library
March 7, 2020 3:30pm-5:30pm

If you need constructive feedback on your work in progress, reserve a spot to read by replying to the email by noon Friday. If you are planning to attend and not read, also please respond so readers will know how many copies to make.

Maximum reading is 10 pages double spaced. You may need to make about 5 copies to hand out for people to follow along, but we’ll let you know by Friday if you need to make more. Listeners will write helpful notes and their own names on the handouts before returning them to you.

If you are looking for a specific type of feedback or help in a certain area, let us know what to listen for as you read your piece aloud to the group. After your reading, critiquing begins with the person on your left, then continues clockwise around the table giving each person a chance to speak.

In the meantime, keep in touch by joining our Facebook open forum at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pocatellowriters/.