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You see, while receiving critiques is essential to the learning process for writers, giving critiques is just as important, because giving critiques teaches you to pay attention to things that do and don't work in other people's writing. As a bonus, what you've learned from the critiquing experience you can then apply to your own writing, so in a way you're teaching yourself how to improve your craft.
Before you delve into the realm of giving critiques however, it's important that you remember a few things so that you give a fair and constructive critique.
- Establish the rules first. Not all critiques are created equal. Sometimes the writer is looking for more of a polish or copyedit—and in those cases you want to pay more attention to sentence structure, word choice, etc. Other times it's about the plot, or character development, or pacing, and in those cases it's more important to pay attention to the overall story rather than honing in on the misplaced commas. Before you start the critique, talk to your CP about what kind of critique they're looking for, so that you know how you can be the most helpful.
- Read carefully. Reading for a critique is different than reading for pleasure. That's not to say that you can't enjoy the writing while you critique (and in fact, I hope that you do enjoy it), but it's important that you pay attention to whatever the writer wanted feedback on.
- Search for the good and bad. A good critique is balanced—it's not helpful if all you do is tell the writer how wonderful their writing is, but neither is it constructive if all you do is rip their work apart without mentioning a single redeeming quality. Remember: they're critiquing your work, too (or at least, they probably will be in the future), and if you want this partnership to continue, both of you need to be fair in your critiques.
- Be kind. Don't misunderstand me—by "be kind" I don't mean "don't talk about the bad stuff." Your number one goal is to give a fair critique that talks about the beautiful and ugly bits of the writing. By "be nice" I'm referring less to what you say and more to how you say it. Regardless of whether or not you know your CP in person, there's a writer on the receiving end of your critique—an actual person with feelings who is probably just as anxious to see what you have to say as you are to read their critique of your writing. In short, what I'm saying is don't be a jerk. Talk about what needs improvement, but don't bash their work. There's a difference between a tough and constructive critique and a mean one.
So those are my tips on giving critiques—now it's your turn: what tips do you have on giving fair critiques?
19 comments:
I think this sums it up perfectly! Once again you hit the nail right on the head!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the post. :)
Really great post on the 'overall' crit process. Like your 'rules' a lot. :-D
Great tips. I especially noted the part about how critiques should be balanced. Even as a freelance editor, I find myself thinking, "Okay, be sure to compliment the work as well." Since I'm trying to help the author improve the piece, pointing out the good isn't in the fore of my mind, but it's courteous to do.
If I were to give a tip, I'd say to offer an *organized* critique.
(P.S. I found some typos under "Be Kind." ;)
Thank you, E.J.!
Great point about offering an organized critique--I hadn't thought of that, but I can imagine that a well organized critique would be an easier read than an unorganized one.
Also, thank you for pointing out the typo. I think I've fixed it...hopefully. :)
You caught the one that caused confusion. But there's another one: "You number one goal is..."
"You" should be "your."
Take care!
Ah! Got it. Thanks again, Lauren!
Is it wrong that I was hoping for one of those sarcastic posts of yours? "Be sure to tell them that their work is worse than Hitler, Stalin, the Trail of Tears and Jersey Shore combined."
If it makes you feel better, How (Not) to Give a Critique (or something of the like) is on my list of future posts. :)
Pacing I find very difficult to talk about because I always read in small chunks. It's hard to keep the flow in my head.
I could understand that. In that case, it can sometimes be easier to talk about the pacing per chapter, rather than pacing as a whole.
I wish my friend had read this >_< I gave her something to critique and edit, and while I'm thankful for all the comments, it's like there was absolutely nothing good in what I wrote. It's a bit discouraging to read through, especially because her comments grow harsher and more sarcastic/annoyed the more I read through it.
Finding a CP = best thing I ever did.
I think a lot of writers would agree with you. :)
I'll never forget the time I asked my mother to critique a letter I was sending to the president -- I never specified that I was looking for grammar and spelling errors, so she just told me it was great and I sent it. Neither of us noticed the glaring word omission that changed the meaning of a whole sentence... Something about "Seniors selling Americans". I felt so terrible :O
Oh no! That's pretty funny, even if a tad bit embarrassing. Those word omissions can be pretty tricky to try to catch.
I see; balance. Thank you, Ava!
You're very welcome, Robin! Good luck with your critique! :)
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