I think it’s very necessary as writers, as journalists, or even as novelists, that we have people who can honestly find fault in our arguments and push us to be a little bit better.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again because I think it’s very important: editors and fact-checkers play an extremely important role in your career. Without mine, I can’t count how many times I would have a made a fool of myself in print. The editors find flaws in my logic, the fact-checkers find flaws in my facts. And without these flaw-finders, you will inevitably make arguments that once printed, will sound hollow to your own ears.

But the economy is shit. Fact-checkers are quickly becoming extinct. Editors are over-burdened and don’t have the time to spend hours arguing with you over what is right and wrong. At a time when information spreads rapidly and it’s of utmost important that you get your stuff right, this is a problem.

Enter: writer’s groups. I belong to three on and off– a fiction list, a critique group, and a board for journalists. Of the three, the most important to me is the critique group.

A good critique group– mine is for my journalism work (and I’m currently inactive)– will help you with your language, your style, and your topic. As an Indian writing for American audiences, there are differences in language and culture that I would never have noticed if it weren’t for my beta readers asking the tough questions.

In the absence of a writer’s group, you need to find a beta reader, who will:

-> Analyze the content of your work. What works, what doesn’t?

-> Analyze the language, point out the spelling mistakes, the grammar flaws, and the inaccuracies in style.

-> Look at the piece from the position of a dispassionate observer.

I also highly recommend critiquing other people’s writing. A lot of what I have learned about good writing has been by evaluating what works and doesn’t work in other people’s prose.