Find a writing community in your town. You can seek out communities online, but I have found the strongest critique partners are the ones I’ve met face-to-face. The Morgantown Writers Group meets at the local library (and virtually) bi-weekly. We published an anthology together, River and Stone, to honor George Lies two years ago.
The structure of the MWG meetings includes reviewing one to three pieces of work. The thirty-minute review includes interpreting the piece, describing what worked well, and what could be improved. Through this review, my revisions for brevity, clarity, and character depth have immensely improved my novel. It’s comforting to know that there are other writers out there and that they are willing to help you refine your story.
