The Writers' Lounge

Don't get me wrong...most people in the groups are genuinely trying to improve the writing of the other members. *shrugs* But to make them work, people have to review. And this can result in frustrated/grumpy/over worked people reviewing as they know they need to get one more in to be caught up or whatever. (And, to a certain extent, you get what you get. I've gotten everything from, "OMG, that's so helpful!" to "useless, delete" reviews. The nice thing is that most of the time you get 4-40, so even if you have to trash two, you've still got some advice.)

Also, some people suck at critiquing. It's a skill like most others. Someone at Critters said that 1/3 of the members were helpful, 1/3 were at least trying, and 1/3 were way out there. Sadly, that's true with any open writing group. (And the reason you see a lot which are invite/application only.)

In an ideal world, I definitely think that finding a few perfect critique partners is best. But finding them can be incredibly difficult. And it tends to only happen through interacting with others in a writing community. (Which, of course, include things like Critters, Critique Circle, Absolute Write Water Cooler, etc.)