He Didn’t Like It...One Bit

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I went to my critique group this morning. There was a new person there. This was his third time being at the group and first time he had brought something to read. He handed out his manuscript. He wrote that this was the way he would have written one of my published articles–if he would have written it. We all prepared for a deep critique of my article. You know–this is what I would have changed–type of thing. He used the same title but started on a totally different subject. He wrote it as if it were for children. The article didn’t match the title in any way. As he read I kept thinking, “This is all wrong.” Then I realized he wasn’t rewriting what I wrote but writing his own version of what he would have wrote given the same subject. Except I didn’t know what subject he was writing about. When he was through I simply stated it would not have worked for what I wrote it for and picked out a few miner things. Then the novelist of the group ripped into him. She pointed out the article wasn’t what the title claimed it to be. That he was completely off the mark. He jumped around with too many subject matters for the reader to keep up. Many of the others in the group told him they were totally lost by the ending. They liked parts of it but it didn’t jive with the title. At the end of the meeting he made a remark about not agreeing with us then shot out of the room like his pants were on fire. I understand the guy used to write advertisement for radio. And he had also written a couple of plays for a local school. So he had a writing background but I doubt he had ever been to a critique group. I don’t think he has ever written an article, either. Anyway, I don’t think this guy liked what the group had to say about his writing. Not one bit. We’ll see if he comes back.