We are currently accepting new members for Denver Fiction Writers.

We are a serious but social group that gives a critique on any fiction from flash to novel length. Critique meetings are held in-person weekly at 3pm on Sundays.

Members are asked to be active writers and critiquers. All critiques are delivered during the critique meeting, both orally and in written form. This allows for discussion and a face-to-face dynamic that lends itself to group progression in our chosen field. We do require that you participate by reading every submission and be prepared to discuss them at the meeting. We are mostly a group of aspiring writers working toward publication, though we do have present and past members with traditionally published pieces or self-published works.

Our group writes for commercial audiences in many genres, including but not limited to flash fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, YA fiction, romance, women’s fiction, fantasy, and horror. We are open to reading and critiquing any genre of fiction and ask that new members do the same. If you don’t care for a particular genre, as a member, you will still be asked to read it and provide critique. We do not critique poetry or screenplays.

When submitting your work, there is a limit of one document per week with a 6,000-word limit. Work for that week must be submitted by the Wednesday before the Sunday meeting. This is to ensure that everyone has time to read the submissions before the next meeting. We do not require anyone to read their work aloud or bring work to be read at meetings.

What We Expect

Read All Submissions: This means keeping up on weekly readings to give meaningful critique either verbally or in writing.

Read Outside Your Genre: Everyone can have a meaningful critique even on something you don’t normally read.

Attend Meetings: Life comes up, we understand, however, we are asking you to commit to us as we will to you. Missing a meeting happens but shouldn’t be the norm. Let the group know if you can’t make it, or need a hiatus. If you do miss it, you still need to read the submitted works. You won’t hurt our feelings if we are not for you. Just let us know if you will no longer attend.

Write and Read: We want you to be writing but we also want you to be reading on your own as well. Writers need to be readers.

What We Are Not

We do not teach writing. We do not review published work. Critiquing is that in-between step. We do not do line edits as that is not a critique. We may correct some words if we have time but a critique should be about story, structure, character, and plot.

If you need help with the basics: grammar, sentence structure, and word use you may need to take a creative writing class. Besides your local college or university, many groups in the Denver area teach writing.

Published work is considered finished. We do not provide reviews or warm fuzzies on your published work unless we have read it of our own volition. While we will gladly read and encourage a published author, we do not accept published work for critique. You’ve published it. Move on and write something new.

Finally

A critique group is a commitment. You could be reading up to 50,000 words on a busy week. The average is 10,000 words. You will be expected to participate in meetings. If you cannot commit for any length of time, this group may not be for you. Life certainly comes up and disrupts attendance, but you still must read submitted work.

Please fill out the form below to start the membership process.

Name *

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Email *

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Tell us about yourself. *

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Preferred Pronouns

What are you expecting to get from this critique group? *

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What are you currently reading? *

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What are 1 or 2 fiction books that influenced your writing? *

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Submit a 500 – 1000 word sample of your work. Do Not Post Anything Published. *

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What does Critique mean to you? *

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Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

The rules:

• Don’t be a dick.
• Assume good intentions.
• Critique the work, not the writer.
• Do not take critique personally.
• Do not treat a story as an opportunity or invitation for advice. A story about a homeless person does not mean an author needs a job.
• Adhere to the Submission Guidelines.
• Read everyone’s work, even if you cannot make the meeting.
• Give Critique, even if cannot make the meeting.

Not respecting these rules will put your membership under review. You may lose access to the website while under review.

Critique Submission Guidelines

Submissions are limited to 6,000 words in one document per week. Notify the list if you are breaking this rule, and why. We all have submissions just over from time to time. Longer pieces are more acceptable when there are fewer submissions.

Submissions must be uploaded to Critique Submissions no later than midnight on Wednesday. If they are not, members reserve the right not to read the piece until the following week. While most of us start reading on Sunday morning, if there are many subs that week, we will order them by the submission date.

Use .docx, .doc, or .rtf format for uploading submissions and critiques.

Include the name of the piece and the author’s name in the file.

Critiques may be given in written or verbal form. Written critiques may be given at a meeting and/or uploaded to the author’s folder on the website. You must attend a meeting to give a verbal critique. We all understand that life gets in the way, however, you will be expected to catch up on older submissions if you miss meetings.

By clicking Submit, you agree to these rules and guidelines.

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