The Final Chapter

How to Give and Take Critique

Critique, or constructive criticism, is one of those things that nobody particularly likes, but is unfortunately essential if you want your story to ever be anything more than a file on your computer/pages in your notebook.

We are all attached to our writing and, because it always looks great in our head, can sometimes be blind to fairly obvious flaws, in both writing and plot. When these are pointed out to us, our first, honest response is usually defensive. It's easy to get protective about your work; writing is a very personal experience and we put a lot of ourselves into it. Hence any well-meant pointing out of flaws can be construed as a personal attack.

Lesson one; it's not. Your book is not you. Step back, and take a more objective look.

Below is a list of things to help you give and take critique, and to make the process as painless as possible.

Taking critique.

1. Listen to the person. They are taking the time to read and comment on your work; have the courtesy to consider what they are saying.
2. Don't immediately decide that they are wrong, and start writing explanations in your head. If you have to explain it after someone has read it, it is not clear.
3. Understand that each critiquer brings their own personal likes and dislikes to your story. They are not "right" or "wrong" (with the exception of grammar and spelling!), they are simply giving you their opinion. What is incredibly valuable about this, is that you are able to hear someone else's interpretation of your story. Whether their response is positive or negative, it helps you see the story as a potential reader might see it.
4. Never make excuses, or try to defend your story. Aggressive reactions are bad for two reasons; you stop listening, and you discourage the critiquer from commenting on your story again. You don't always have to agree with the critiquer; but you do need to think about their comments, rather than giving an immediate and defensive response.
5. Finally, ask questions! If a critiquer makes a comment which seems unclear to you, follow it up. Your critiquer may not have a definitive answer for you, but any leads can be helpful.

Remember though, not everyone is a good critiquer. How do you tell good critique from bad?

• Bad critique is personal. If a critiquer says "your ideas are stupid" or "you can't write", you can stop listening. Personal statemens have no place in critique.
• Bad critique is vague. "I didn't like it." "It wasn't well written." Why? If they don't know, then they can't help you.
• Bad critique is dictatorial. "You need to rewrite that sentence this way." Certainly there are times when a sentence needs a good cut and shape, but how you do it is up to you. The person telling you to "write it this way" is saying, "write how I write. That's the only way." Thank them, and then go home and rewrite it YOUR way.

Good critique is many things; but mostly, it is honest commentary on how a reader felt about your story. Saying things such as, "I found this paragraph to be confusing," "I found my attention wandering at this point," "I was surprised that character X acted that way," is all good critique. Why? Because it tells you things that stood out to the reader, without making judgement on those things. It's up to you as the writer to take a look at those areas. Highlight them, make notes, and come back later with your editor's hat on.

Commenting on grammar and spelling is not so much critique as editing; the assumption being, as a writer, you have a basic understanding of the rules. However in the heat of writing, badly placed adverbs and run-on sentences can slip by, and it's handy to have someone else point them out when you miss them.

Giving critique.

Giving critique requires tact; it helps if you are a writer yourself and know what it's like to be on the receiving end! To start with, avoid all of the responses from "bad critique". Never make a personal comment; never get angry or be dismissive of the writer's work. Before you comment, think about how you would feel if someone else was saying it to you.

Things to avoid saying:

• "That's great!"
• "I like it."
• "Wow."

Non-specific comments such as these, while great for the ego, are not helpful. If you honestly liked and it could not find one, single piece of criticism, then at least say why. "I liked it because you developed that character well", "I liked the way you set the mood in that scene." Be specific.

Try to preface your statements with either "I" or "The". Avoid "You"; this brings your response back to a more personal level. When we hear "you", we think about ourselves. It's only natural.

For example:

Good: "The description of the king was confusing."
Bad: "You described the king poorly."

Good "I was confused by the change of scene."
Bad: "You didn't make the scene change very clear."

If you think I'm splitting hairs, then let me just say, after the 6th person has said "you didn't-", no matter how much you tell yourself not to take it personally, you do.

How to listen for critique.

A lot of people say "I'm no good at giving critique." Rubbish. Critique at it's simplest level is opinion, and I defy anyone to go through life without developing opinions! What you need to know when critiquing is how to use those opinions to make comments useful to the writer. Next time you have to give a critique, try the steps below; these are not the definitive way to do things but will help to get you started.

1. Listen. I can't stress this enough. Don't just listen to the words; listen to what the writer is trying to tell you.
2. Make a note if you:
• get confused
• find your mind wandering
• hear something that makes you think, "no way!"
• hear something that you really like
• are confused by who is speaking, or who is performing an action.

By the end of the reading, you should have a few notes at least. The feedback you give to the writer tells them where you, as a reader, were jolted out of the story. This is the most important feedback you can give.

When you are giving critique, make a special effort to point out something you really liked about the piece. It may be a character action, a bit of dialogue or a scene description. This is especially important; you've just spent 5-10 minutes telling a writer what's wrong with their piece; don't forget to tell them what's right as well.

In the end, the most important thing to remember is to be honest. Saying you enjoyed something when you didn't is no help at all. Not commenting because you are embarassed, or don't want to "be picky", is also no help. What you are doing when you critique is helping the writer make their story the best it can be. Don't forget; what you say to others may in the end be applicable to your own writing; it's a learning experience for the critiquer as well.