At Life the Universe and Everything symposium, there was a panel on workshopping your fiction. Any inaccuracies or confusion, it is the fault of the note taker.

• Create your own list of 5 to 6 questions of what you look for. (Melva: some of my list will be areas I already know I am weak.). Some commentators may just say they like the story. That is a very useful but you might ask why you like it? You might ask how you feel that the character. Point out potential weaknesses. (Melva: you can train beta readers of what to look for)
• Seek out critiques who are blunt.
• Brandon Sanderson had Latino readers read his Latino protagonist to see if she was illustrated correctly. Write romance scenes from scratch do not borrow from someone else
• Don’t be afraid to show your work to others. You need to be willing to rewrite.
• Be careful of a writing group becoming a social group. Set goals. Some people will meet one-on-one over lunch to get a critique.
• If multiple reviewers are saying the same thing then listen.
• Find readers to have a specialty in the area that you are writing about such as science or law.
• Live Journal online. As who wants to be a beta reader.
• Your group should have shared goals and shared interests.
• Tell your readers what you want to know.
• Different readers give different feedback.
• Beta readers, do electronic, and you can see if they want to continue if you submit items gradually. Then give them the option of the next chapter. This may help you determine if they at what point they lose interest.
• Your beta readers need to represent your audience

Do you have something to add? Please do so in the comment section of this blog.