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This guide is for anyone giving a writer a critique of their work, and writers receiving a critique. It is based on my experience leading monthly critique meetings for the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group since 2009, through my work as an editor, mentor and teacher of creative writing, and the millions of words of creative writing I have read and critiqued through those activities.
First and most importantly when it comes to giving writers feedback always bear in mind: it’s hard for ALL writers to share drafts of their work, let alone take criticism; and we ALL need to seek feedback to develop our skills with humility and gratitude.
HOW TO CRITIQUE
Initial Approach
There are many approaches to giving a critique.
Without doubt, systematic assessments are incredibly useful for writers, especially if they identify common writing pitfalls such as:
• Incorrect grammar, spelling, punctuation or attributions
• Passive versus active language, filter words
• Poor manuscript formatting
• Inconsistent ‘points-of-view’
• Inaccurate cross-referencing
• Lack of individual voice or characterisation
• Lack of tension, pace or scene development
• Waffle, awkward or ambiguous phraseology, over-descriptive passages
• Telling not showing
• Underdeveloped structure or unbelievable plot
However critiquing a fellow writer’s creative masterpiece can also be an evocative and sensory experience, because so is reading. We interpret what we read according to our own histories. We identify with characters according to the types of people we know and love. We favour certain subjects and themes according to our individual likes and dislikes. Thus we judge narratives based on our moral and philosophical preferences. And writers need to know how a range of readers will react to their writing, what feelings it evokes in them and how well it entertains them, just as they need to know if their writing contains inconsistent points of view or mistakes in grammar.
So you can give a good critique based on what you’ve read about the craft of creative writing (such as those pitfalls above), or you can base it on your years of reading others’ creative endeavours with passion and enjoyment. It can be systematic, or instinctive.
Critique Steps
Whatever your approach, the best critiques help the author reach their next potential level of skill. To do this, simply seek out the primary strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript, then communicate your views respectfully, in a way that enables the writer to make actionable improvements.
Indeed, whether you feel that the writer in question is further ahead of you in their own writing journey or further behind (see Step 2 below), communicating your views helpfully and with respect is imperative to the critiquing process. It’s so important, in fact, that the responsibility of achieving a delicate balance between offering an honest opinion and respectfully communicating it, can overwhelm some writers, disabling them from giving a proper critique at all. This is a great shame because in an ideal writing community we should all be able to give critiques in our stride. The following five steps are suggested with this in mind.
Step 1: settle in
Receiving a critique can be distressing for a writer, so start with a compliment. Tell the writer what they’ve done right, before you tell them where they’ve gone wrong. Not only will this put them at ease, it will settle their nerves and enable them to absorb your advice more objectively. You might not particularly like the story or genre in question, in which case you may struggle to think of anything positive to say. However, you’ve agreed to give the critique, so scan through the manuscript again and find something you liked about the piece, however small, before continuing.
Step 2: focus
Remember: every writer is on their own individual journey. Some writers might be further ahead in their writing journey than you, others further behind. But try not to judge in these terms. There’s a lot you can do to help, and a lot you can learn, either way.
- Focus (a) – if the writing is really good: don’t be intimidated out of having an opinion. You’re still a reader, an informed one. So if there’s nothing to say about the writer’s skill, help by identifying moments of questionable believability, engagement or entertainment value, worldbuilding, foreshadowing or character development. Also, don’t worry if others think differently – meaning and tone can be different for different readers. You’ll soon realise that every writer can always do better, even though they’re already very good, especially when they have the right people giving them feedback.
- Focus (b) – if the writing is really bad: don’t get overwhelmed by the number of mistakes. If the writer makes consistent grammar, punctuation or spelling mistakes throughout, simply point out the problem with the first instance, then suggest they revise throughout and move on. Prioritise. Perhaps their writing has major structural or inconsistency issues, maybe it’s all too wordy, or its pace too slow? Concentrate on the main over-reaching issues that bug you this time, and leave the nitty-gritty line-by-line critiquing until you see their writing again. That way you’ll give the writer plenty to work on, but they won’t feel besieged by your feedback, and you won’t feel overwhelmed by the volume of mistakes to report.
Step 3: illustrate to inspire
Sometimes you might be tempted to offer reactions such as ‘this word doesn’t work for me here’ or ‘would your character really do this?’. However, such comments are often too vague to be actionable by a writer. Emotive reactions such as ‘this is terrible’ or ‘I’m really struggling with this’ are also too vague to be useful, and could even be considered trolling. What is a writer supposed to do with such unsubstantiated comments, other than become dejected? To prevent this, please qualify your reactions with an explanation that identifies the issue at stake. If you can’t explain your reaction, then consider illustrating with a suggestion or a re-write of the passage to exemplify how the writer could improve their work. Suggestions can inspire writers to think out-of-the-box until they come up with their own solutions. However, it’s also important to remember that writers can have very different and innovative styles of writing, and critiquing isn’t about rewriting a piece until it sounds more like your own. If you find yourself rewriting passage after passage, stop and ask yourself if what you’re really doing is listening too much to your own writing voice, rather than reading and immersing yourself in somebody else’s.
Step 4: did they mean to do that?
Inevitably there will be passages you have to re-read to understand. The writing might be unclear, inconsistent with something written earlier in the piece, or too reliant on the reader retaining already-explained information. Writers can sometimes intend a passage to be deliberately ambiguous or purposely contradictory, but what if that wasn’t their intention at this point? If in doubt, highlight the relevant passage for the writer. Then it’s up to them to alter or keep it. A simple clarification, reordering or reintroduction of information might be all the writer needs to do. But they won’t know it’s a potential problem unless you tell them.
Step 5: support
In giving critiques, we attempt to help fellow writers improve their craft or story. If our critiqued writer feels dejected by our feedback we haven’t done our job properly. This role is a supportive one, and while it should leave the writer under no illusions, it shouldn’t leave them feeling unable to continue. They write because they love it. So tell them what they can do to improve, then leave them feeling that improvement is within reach. End with a compliment.
Verbal Critiques
Next, some advice for giving a verbal critique in a group setting. Please bear in mind that we attend group critiques to support and help each other – in this, it is our collective duty to be supportive and positivie. Therefore:
Duty 1: no ego
Please be polite and keep your manners. There is no need to be condescending, derogatory, frustrated or impassioned about what another writer is or isn’t writing. Treat others with the respect you would wish to be treated with yourself. To do otherwise risks appearing intolerant or superior, and there’s no place for either in a critique group. Leave your writing ego at the door – the critique is for the author, not for you. To that aim, once you have made your point, please allow discussion to move on so others can comment.
Duty 2: speak up
Equally, if you disagree with another person’s reported critique, please speak up – yours might be the very voice the author needs to hear, or you might highlight an issue that needs to be discussed by everyone. However, see (1).
Duty 3: listen
Pay attention. It is most helpful to authors if the same writing topic is discussed in full in a single instance. If we’ve already covered a topic, please don’t bring it up again ten minutes later when the discussion has moved on.
Duty 4: read
If you have not read a submission in total, please say so – as your interpretation or perception might be incorrect. However, please read the submissions before commenting – it’s why we’re here.
Duty 5: backup
Be aware that generalist comments risk confusing authors. If unsubstantiated, they also waste the group’s time. Please be prepared to back up what you’re saying with examples, or otherwise ensure your opinion is robust enough to withstand contradiction.
Duty 6: wordiness
Wordiness is best identified by line-edits marked up on the submission itself, then passed to the author. Group discussion time is exactly that – for elements that require discussion.
Duty 7: genre
If you don’t read the genre or subgenre in question, you can still assist with characterisation, clarity, setting, structure, plot, grammar, punctuation, pacing, tension, etc. Writing is writing. If you would like others to read your words, you should also read theirs. The author will mention any genre resonators that justify the way a piece has been written.
Duty 8: chitter chatter
Please refrain from chatting to those around you while discussions are in progress, as it makes it difficult for the author to hear and for others to learn from the discussion.
Duty 9: hehehe
Humour is welcome. Chuckles can defuse any tension that might arise from the critiquing process. Chuckles are good.
Duty 10: well done
The end of a verbal critique is a great time to offer the author your support with a compliment or encouragement. Please remember to do so.
Post-Critique Reflection: Could you do better yourself?
After you’ve shared your critique with your fellow writer, it’s time to think about your own writing. What mistakes did you spot in their writing that you make yourself?
If you are a member of a critiquing group, did someone in the group notice something you didn’t? What might the group say if they saw your own writing project? By listening to everyone’s comments, you’ll learn how readers read, how differently the same piece of writing can be interpreted, and what improvements you need to make to your own manuscript before you offer it up for a critique. Compare, contrast, and learn.
RECEIVING A CRITIQUE
When you submit work for critique, it should be the best you can make it by yourself. It should be formatted correctly with minimal errors, well plotted, with character and worldbuilding development. Therefore:
Tip 1: advance study
If you don’t know these basic creative writing techniques, first study them, then revise your submission; so you can offer up polished work.
Tip 2: defensive measures
Given you will have already performed substantial effort, it’s highly likely that when receiving your critique you will be disappointed to learn your work could still be better. A normal reaction to this is to feel defensive. You want to protect your creation, insist it has merit. It certainly will have merit, given all the work you’ve done; but if it were utterly perfect, you wouldn’t need a critique. So prepare yourself for disappointment, take a big breath, and…
Tip 3: process
The first thing to do when receiving a critique is to process it. Understand the points being made, think, then after a suitable period of time react – by reflecting, rewriting and maybe seeking feedback again. However, see (6).
Tip 4: time
If you’re receiving a verbal critique in a group setting, a ‘suitable period of time’ is not ‘immediately’. If you feel the urge to react by arguing against any critique given – resist! Instead, listen. Take notes. Thank the critiquer for their time, say you’ll think about it, and allow the discussion to move on. Allow yourself the gift of thinking about it over time. For example, you might truly believe you’ve already addressed a critique element, but perhaps you haven’t addressed it thoroughly enough? Creative writing is all about emphasis. A passing reference or subtle foreshadowing might not be enough for the reader. Writers are usually more able to sort through critique elements over a number of days (not minutes).
Tip 5: clarification
If needed, you can certainly seek clarification. Feel free to ask your critiquer: ‘how much do you think I need to add/cut’, ‘can you suggest a place to do that’, or if in a group ‘does everybody feel the same way’? Just don’t use this opportunity to sneakily persuade the critiquer to say what you want to hear – do that and you’ll waste the opportunity to develop and improve.
Tip 6: attribute weight
Your critiquer might not be the best person to give you feedback. Everyone has personal preferences in writing style and approach, character types and genre, and they might be overly influenced by their own taste. In that case, you’re welcome to give their critique less weight than others; but still remember to thank them. They took the time to offer up their different perspective, which is valuable in itself. It’s always good to hear different perspectives. That’s what critiquing is all about.
Good luck!
Thank you for reading and have fun sharing and receiving critiques!
Of course, if you would prefer any one-on-one assistance, I offer editing and mentorship services, and I’d love to help you further!