R. C. Beckett

R. C. Beckett  was given a collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazines as a teenager and read hundreds of the stories -- he was hooked and started writing fiction in 2013.   He loves to write hard science fiction, but can't help adding a bit of humor.  Publications:  "Exit Mars" and "Exit Earth" (available on Amazon).  "Exit Pluto", the third in the Exit series, should be published in the near future. He is finishing up a new novel, Legacy of Earth. He lives in Golden Colorado and is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.  Walking his dog is key to his writing since that's when he imagines plots for his stories.  He also volunteers as a webmaster for non-profit companies including SpecFicWriters.

Types of Critique Groups

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Critique groups fall into several broad categories: Neighborhood writing groups for all genres Urban writing groups in a specific genre Genre-specific groups sponsored by a larger writer’s association (like Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers located in Colorado). A membership fee is required. Ad hoc groups of genre-specific writers that expanded via …

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Elements of a Good Critique

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“There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting. ” — Robert Graves Like a pilot preparing for takeoff, the person conducting a critique reads the submitted material and “runs a checklist.” Except for grammar, spelling and word choice, the critiquer should not make definitive recommendations to avoid …

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Sharing Writer Resources with your Online Critique Group

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Group vs. Public Sharing Critique groups generally consist of writers with like interests. Positive friendships and bonds form between members. We help each other learn through information sharing. There are three basic levels of privacy for a critique group: Personal info — family, finances, politics and religion. These are best …

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The Online Session for Critique Groups

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What Happens Prior to Session Several days prior to the online meeting All stories are loaded in a dated folder Critique assignments loaded to same folder Link to Hangout copied to assignment document Members have finished critiques Just before start time all members Open Chrome Browser Open Google Drive SHARED …

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Hardware Requirements for Online Critique Groups

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Minimum equipment needed: Online critiquing is done over the Internet. Consequently, an Internet connection is required. The least expensive connection is a DSL (digital subscriber line) that is part of the wired telephone network (“land-line”). Video conferences with multiple people require a higher speed than commonly purchased. Try to obtain …

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Set Up an Online Critique Group

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Due to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, in-person critique groups are canceling their face-to-face meetings. Our online critique group is here to help yours go online. We hope our knowledge will encourage other groups to continue to meet. Once you go video, you might not go back! Our Online Experience The …

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Suspension of Disbelief

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Any fiction book relies on suspension of disbelief by the reader. They forgo belief in some aspect of the real world to believe in the story-world. Science fiction and fantasy stretch belief to the limits requiring genre authors to exert great care to avoid “breaking the spell”. At some point …

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Point Of View

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Trends In a list of the twenty most popular science fictions books of 2019, 60% were written in third-person point-of-view (POV), 40% in 1st person and none in second person. Although the story in each novel is very inventive, the authors adhere to the rules of point-of-view, much like punctuation …

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Deep Third Person Point-Of-View

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What if you want to write a story with a personal, emotional and introspective point of view? You would have two basic choices: First person: The heat of the dragon’s breath warmed my face, increasing the pounding in my chest. Deep 3rd person: The heat of the dragon’s breath warmed …

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