Makes perfect sense and confirms some things that I had been wondering about - essentially, that it's not cut-and-dry. I especially appreciate your comment about the groups that have writers all writing the same thing - there's always a danger of homogenization, isn't there?

And, I like the idea of posing questions - I do this sometimes, but I think I'll make great use of them in future critiques.

Thanks again for taking time to help me out with this! I know that several members of my critique group have read your post with great interest and as a result, we've got some very healthy discussions going on, rather that squabbling. It's always great to get the insight of someone inside the biz...:)