Critiquing Part One

As I search the internet for help and ways to improve learn my new craft I have run across a lot of articles and websites that give you list of things to do to become a good writer.  Among some if the items on the lists are:

·         Read

·         Write every day

·         Have an idea

·         Join a writers group

·         Critique others work

Read, I can do. Write, have no problem with that, have an idea, I have plenty of  those, but critique someone work?  .  I remember sitting in class and the teacher instructs us to read a poem.  After several minutes she stops us and then begins to ask questions on what the poem means to us.  Several people, mainly the smart kids, begin to answer her questions.

I try my hardest not to be noticed but for some reason the harder I try the more I stand out.  I begin to tell the class what the poem means to me.  Unlike the smart kids, I was told I was wrong.  She asked me what the poem means to me.  She was asking for my feeling on the poem.  How could that be wrong?  How are my feelings wrong? 

I soon began to hate that section of English class and was glad that it did not last long and we were on to short stories and writing our own.  I graduated high school and moved on to college.  I no longer had to worry about critiquing another poem or story.  I was happy.

That was until, I began searching the net and finding that if I wanted to be a good writer I should critique others work. Well crap.  I have taken all the other advice that I found, do I really have to do this one too?  I dreaded it and it was the last thing that I wanted to bring back into my life.    I did not what to do this.  I read for enjoyment, but I bit the bullet and began seeking things to critique.

I found that Bing Dictionary defines critique as:

1.      review of somebody's work: a written or broadcast assessment of something, usually a creative work, with comments on its good and bad qualities

2.      to discuss or comment on something such as a creative work, giving an assessment of its good and bad qualities.

After reading this I realized that there is a difference between critiquing and analyzing.  As I was beginning this new part of becoming a better writer, I was able to separate the two.  I was happy that they had nothing to do with each other, well in my mind anyway.

I began to seek out things to critique.  I found some great sites on the net.  I began to read stories by others, but the only critique that I could come up with was ‘good job.’  That was not a critique.

I had to figure out how to critique. I continued to search the net and found a site with hundreds of stories and I could read what others were saying.  I read the other critiques on the story that I was reading and kind of followed their critique, but that can be dangerous.  I was not learning, I was just going on planted ideas of what others thought of the piece.  Now this did help, I started to have my own feelings and thoughts on the writing.  The more that I read the better I get.  Do I have a good handle on critiquing someone’s work, no, not yet.

I have learned as I do critiques, I am seeing mistakes that I do in my own writing.  I found one writer and really liked her chapter that she submitted. As I read her story and began to make my own notes on the story, I was seeing things that I was doing wrong in my own writing. Reading others critiques on the same piece gave me ideas and things to watch in my own writing.   I was able to see what readers are wanting in a story.

You can learn a lot by doing critiques.  We will all take something different from them and learn something different.  Start a critique with an open mind and have some fun.  The one thing that I try to do is if I point something out that I think needs work or needs to be fixed, I always give my ideas on what to do to fix it or make it better.

 I am by far an expert on critiquing, but the more that I do the better I get and you will to. Here are few pointers for you to consider when doing critique.

1.      Remind the recipient the critique reflects one person’s opinion and they are free to accept or reject the suggestions.

2.      Try to concentrate on the positive.

3.      Does the opening chapter grab your attention and would you want to keep reading?

4.      Dialog – does it help move the story along or is it awkward?

5.      Note your reactions as you read.

6.      Underline passages you find confusing, passages that don’t seem important or are not relevant to the story.

7.      Give examples of improvements

8.      It is ok to point out spelling and grammar issues.

9.      Point of View – Did the writer remain consistent?  Was the story told in active or passive voice?  Was the writer consistent with verb tense throughout the story.

10.  Be honest, but kind and encouraging.

There are many many sites that have ideas and suggestions on giving a critique and this is just a short list to give you some ideas.