Critique Pointers ©
by Angi Platt

First rule of critiquing: Trust your CPs. They’re only trying to help you.

Writing is a very subjective business. Manuscripts need to connect with readers on a personal level, but don’t always. Critiquing is even harder since we are forced to be critical of a friend’s most inner thoughts and feelings. No matter how hard an author claims she can take it, there’s always a level of resentment when someone doesn’t love our work. Trusting your partners is an important part of the critiquing process. When something doesn’t work, a critique partner (CP) needs to feel free to express their true interpretation of the manuscript. And the author needs to be able to accept that opinion.

Probably the ONE MOST IMPORTANT thing to learn in publishing is that writing is subjective. Each written piece is interpreted by the readers’ personal life experiences.  So are the words you write for a critique.

SELECTING A CRITIQUE GROUP

Target lines are important. Contemporaries read much differently than historicals. Category romances read differently than single titles. And having the right critique group DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  Sometimes, mixed genres make great groups -- but this is rare and those involved usually have varied tastes in reading.

It’s my humble opinion that if you write historicals, you should critique historicals and if you write contemporaries, you should critique contemporaries.  Start with four or five authors that read what you write. It comes back to trust. If you write a category romantic suspense that has a fast pace, as soon as a historical CP states you need more description of your character’s clothes, you’ll doubt if that CP knows your market.

Different levels or expertise are necessary. A mixture of experience strengthens the group. Remember, a beginner always adds fresh insight.

And remember: Critique groups aren’t for everyone. Don’t be afraid to bow out if you discover this about yourself.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PARTNERS

It might sound like a very obvious thing to do, but before you critique someone’s work, try to get to know your partners.  I recommend a free YahooGroups email loop even for four critique partners. In order to trust someone’s opinion of your own work, getting to know them helps. Talk. Learn to trust your partners. Learn their background and experience. This is an important part of critiquing someone’s words.

HOPEFULLY, you’ll all settle into a routine and certain CPs will pick up particular problems.

ESTABLISHING A DIALOGUE

•    Face-to-Face -- works best when chapters are exchanged beforehand and critiques are completed to bring to the meeting. Disadvantage: If the group meets only once per week or month and you write more than can be critiqued.

•    Phone calls -- Don’t be afraid to call and ask what a CP specifically meant. Don’t let your interpretation prevent you from attending the group meeting or discourage you from critiquing again. Talk. Trust that each of your CPs means well.

•    Email -- YahooGroups is great. Make certain emails are without sarcasm or wit that may be misinterpreted.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR CRITIQUE PARTNER WANTS

Critique members need to make their needs clear.

•    Whenever you read, keep in mind if the author has specifically asked CPs to look for a specific problem.

o    If you’d like your CPs to look specifically for something--make a note at the beginning of your chapter so they can spot it.

o    If you’d like to know how your CPs interpret something--make a note at the end of your chapter asking for their opinion.

•    Whenever you submit a chapter for critique, are you ready for a line edit or just general comments?

•    Do you just need a general read because you want to see if the plot or characters are working?

•    Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification about comments.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR CRITIQUE PARTNER MEANS

Critique members need to make their thoughts clear.  I keep coming back to trust.

•    Talk.

•    Ask.

•    Question what comments mean.

•    Play nice.

•    Everyone plays better when you know the rules.

MARKING THE PAGE

•    It's easier to FIND comments if they are [ [ bracketed ] ]

•    RTF and DOC file extensions allow COLOR. Type your comments in blue or red to make them easily found.

•    Highlight repeated words or errors.

•    Use :-)  to mark passages you like.

•    Summarize at the end of the chapter.

•    If --as the author-- you are concerned about a particular passage, include questions at the end of a chapter.

ELECTRONIC EXCHANGES

Exchanging chapters electronically allows CPs to question and elaborate their answers. In the beginning of a critique relationship, writing full answers regarding confusing spots, plot or characterization allows CPs to understand WHY and WHAT you’re basing your opinion upon. In the beginning, let your CPs know what you look for. The nice thing about electronic exchanges is working on them at any time of day or night...whenever it’s convenient.

IN-PERSON CRITIQUE GROUPS

First things first, writers love to talk. Do your group a favor and appoint (perhaps alternate) a moderator. Someone needs to keep the discussion on target during the meeting. The moderator might send reminders, get attendance commitments, and encourage people to finish their chapter. Their most important job will be letting everyone know the discussion needs to move forward -- both for time consideration AND for the author whose work is being discussed.

•    Reserve in-person critique time for discussion. Critique PRIOR to the meeting.

•    Exchange your chapters electronically (or at the end of each session), allowing a week to critique.

•    Each CP can print out the corrected chapter and bring their comments to the next group meeting.

•    It’s important to have a printed copy for each person attending. When reading a chapter, each CP needs to add their own opinion and reaction. If we know how someone else reacted, then our reaction has been influenced.

•    Take turns critiquing the same chapter. Follow along and place a check mark by comments made prior to your turn. It’s not necessary to mention the same point six times.

•    OR critique by the page. Ask if anyone has a comment about page 1, discuss, then move to page 2, etc.

•    Pointing out typos isn’t necessary -- just hand the printed chapter back to the author.

•    Don’t argue how a character should feel. The author is the only one who knows. Your job as a CP is to let the author know if they’ve accomplished that feeling or not.

•    Make certain each member of the critique group knows they can cut off the discussion at any time. Remember... our writing makes us very vulnerable.

NO.  NO.  AND DID I MENTION NO?  :-D

A critique partner shouldn’t attempt to rewrite the story. We might make suggestions on how sentences should be re-written because of awkward sentence structure. Major plot suggestions or ideas should be in the form of commentary at the end of the chapter OR brainstormed directly with the author.

Should you ever discuss one critique partner’s work with another critique partner? No one can decide this for you. There are always mitigating circumstances or ways to justify or never justify this action. For instance: If you have trouble expressing yourself in a way one critique partner can understand, then perhaps another member of the group can help YOU state your opinions in a different way. (Another good reason to have a moderator.) But just keep in mind that critique groups are built on trust.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN YOU CRITIQUE

JUST GETTING STARTED? 

Discuss the plot and get a feel for the story.  Don’t forget where your CP is targeting their work. Be certain. Don’t guess. If after you read the chapter you have a different thought about the target line, discuss it. But remember...your job is to help get the work ready for the targeted line your CP wants. So if the chapter reads like a single title mystery and the target line is Silhouette Intimate Moments, ask to borrow some SIMs and see if you can understand the feel of that particular line. NOTE: by this time you should know if your CP is reading SIMs or Single Title Mystery. It’s very important to read the line you’re targeting.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW EACH OTHER...

You may want to divide specific things to look for among your group if everyone is reading every chapter. Or your group may naturally fall into specific niches. If you have a member outstanding at grammar, or another member that’s great finding plot holes... Dividing areas allows your partners to focus, freeing them to critique faster.

Is it necessary to always mark everything? Of course not.

MARK THE GOOD STUFF

•    Insert a :-) smiley face when you smiled, or ‘LOL’ when you laughed out loud.

•    GOOD points help an author as much as corrections. Not only to smooth our egos, but good points help an author recognize what’s working. Hopefully they can make it work again.

•    Note what you like about the characters, what makes them “real” for you.

•    Marking the good allows an author more confidence in the criticism if they know you didn’t hate everything.

WHAT TYPE OF CORRECTIONS?

•    Highlight spelling, grammar, punctuation errors, and repeated words

•    Highlight an overuse of a certain word, style, or sentence structure

•    Confusing passages

•    Repetitive information

•    Not enough information for clarity

•    When your reading “stumbles” or you re-read passages

•    Rapid POV shifts

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

•    Remember the Golden Rule: Critique others however you want to be critiqued.

•    Be nice. Even CPs who have been critiquing a long time can have a fall-out over brusque answers with no “nice” things pointed out.

•    If you were in a hurry, make certain your CPs know you were. Warn them at the beginning of the chapter. Take a moment to write a sentence about something you liked or even still liked if you’ve read the chapter before.

•    When you have a question, write it down on the page. It doesn’t mean the answer has to be there, but it alerts the author about what you were thinking.

•    When you do offer a suggestion -- that sentence, paragraph, or plot idea now belongs to your partner.

•    An example of a critiqued page is available in a separate file: Fog Scene by Patricia Vermiere, critiqued by Angi Platt.

GOAL, MOTIVATION AND CONFLICT

[ Buy the book by author Debra Dixon ]

•    No matter which scene you’re reading, be aware of the internal and external GMC of each character, especially the hero and heroine.

•    As a critique partner, you should know --or help determine if unknown to the author-- what the GMC for each character is.

o    Is the GMC...

  too coincidental?

  strong enough to maintain the word count?

  effective or determined for both internal and external?

•    Category romance establishes the GMC for both characters early and almost always within chapter one.

•    Single Titles should also establish the GMC within chapter one. Perhaps not for both characters if they aren’t both introduced and perhaps not all of the subplot GMC, but direction is needed.

o    Author Kathryn Sutcliffe stated GMC --even for single titles-- should be established by page 6. If not fully developed, then a clear direction of what’s at stake for the main character. Think about it, if you’re hooked from the beginning...you’re hooked.

CHARACTERIZATION

•    Can you easily “see” the character?

•    Are characters true to life?

[ Buy the book by author Tami Cowden ]

•    Do you want to know the characters’ story?

•    Is there more to the character than just the problem?

•    Do they have a unique POV that the reader can identify? A unique turn of phrase or thought pattern?

DIALOGUE & NARRATIVE

•    Does each character have a recognizable voice (speech pattern, turn of phrase or thought pattern)?

•    Is dialogue natural sounding for that character?

•    Does their thought pattern match their speech pattern?

•    Is the character’s speech appropriate for the targeted line?

•    Is there a good, smooth, seamless blend of dialogue and narrative?

•    Do the inner thoughts progress the story or do they represent an “info dump”?

DEEP POV

•    Are POV shifts seamless?

•    Is the author striving for Deep POV?

•    Is the scene shown best through this character? Does this character have the most to lose or gain?

•    For more in-depth discussion ... Deep POV Means...  by Angi Platt

SETTING & FLAVOR

•    Has the author captured the “feel” of the genre?

•    Has the author used the five senses?

•    Can you see the surroundings and feel the tone?

•    Don’t forget to give a general feel for the chapter as a whole. What did it accomplish for you as a reader? How did it progress the story?

A NOTE ESPECIALLY FOR FF&P CRITIQUES

     -- BUT IT ALSO APPLIES TO ALL WRITING

Keep in mind that the world building shouldn't overwhelm the reader, but that it is a necessary part of Fantasy and Futuristics.

•    Try to help your CP find the right balance.

•    Point out any confusing information that might not be thoroughly explained.

•    Verify that the author is being consistent in terminology. Example: if distance is referred to in meters, switching to feet might be confusing.

•    If the world is completely alien, does a reference to "heaven" and "hell" anchor the reader in the new world or draw the reader back to Earth?

•    If the POV is the life of a cop, they think in specific terminology...don’t let that terminology overwhelm the story. This can apply to any specific-career of the story’s protagonist.

A SAMPLE CRITIQUE

•    The Fog Scene...  by Angi Platt, available in a separate file or via email: AngiPlatt@aol.com

Copyright 2004 Angi Platt -- all rights reserved, please obtain written permission before use.

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