In the last 7 Rules post – on Rule #3, choosing the right critique group for you – I talked about the etiquette for giving and receiving critiques. Before moving on to Rule #4 (about revising), I wanted to go into some detail about one of the guidelines for giving a critique: Be specific. Sounds terrific, right, but just how do you do that?

I heard a great comment from my editor’s mom about getting out her red teacher’s pencil. Here are some things to consider when you have your red pencil poised over a manuscript.

* What rivets you? Where does your attention flag?

* What engages you emotionally—scares you, makes you laugh, makes you give a damn what happens to these characters?

* What gives you a sense of urgency-a feeling that something important is at stake? If urgency is lacking, can you identify why?

* Does the pacing offer a satisfying balance between dramatic high points and quieter interludes? Are the high points pumped up, given enough space and volume?

* What details give you a vivid sense of character and setting? Where do you want more?

* Does the dialogue sound natural for these characters in this situation? Do the characters sound consistent in terms of the language they use and worldviews they express?

* Does dialogue convey emotion and relationship as well as information? Beware info dumps!

* Is the narrative logical and believable in terms of the story’s fictional reality? What jars you and pulls you out of that reality?

* Does the writer take you along when making a transition from one scene to another, or is it a bumpy ride? Do you ever get confused about where you are in place or in time?

* Does the narrative flow, sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph?

* How does each scene advance the overall story?

And remember, from Critique Etiquette, people learn from hearing where they’ve done their best writing, as well as hearing where they need to improve; we really get too close to know when we’ve done it well.

 

 

 

Recently my friend “Alice” told me about a writing workshop she’d joined. She was the only person who was writing memoir; everyone else was doing fiction. And she found the critiques of her work lacerating. “It’s good for me,” she said. She also said that since joining the group, she’d stopped writing.

I had three words of advice for her. “Get out now!”

Critique groups aren’t for everyone, so if you’re the kind of writer who needs to develop your work in solitude, go for it; and feel free to stop reading now. For me, critique groups have been invaluable, both as a source of feedback on my work and as an opportunity to learn about craft from having to say meaningful things about others’ work. But not all critique groups are created equal. That’s why the next of my 7 Rules to Write By is:

Rule 3. Choose the right critique group for you.

Part of finding the right group has to do with finding people at more of less your level of experience. If you’re a beginner, you may want to start by taking a class.  Not only will a class with a good teacher help you learn the ropes, but if you meet some fellow students with whom you click, that may be the core of a critique group.

Genre is another factor, though not a deal-breaker. If Alice had been getting helpful critiques, I wouldn’t have been concerned that she was the sole memoirist. The main thing is to have people who read and appreciate the genre in which you’re writing. My own group includes novelists of various stripes and a couple of memoirists.

What is a deal-breaker, for either a group or a class, is etiquette. Below are rules I’ve used as a teacher and group member.

And the ultimate deal-breaker is how you feel after your work is discussed. Ideally, you should leave a critique session feeling stirred up-your work was as polished as you could make it when you gave it to the group, and a meaningful critique should make you aware of where you need to do more. But … you should also feel energized and excited about sitting down to revise. If any critique group makes you stop writing, get out now!

Here are my rules for critique etiquette. Coming up in rule 4: how to use a critique.

Critique Etiquette

The purpose of a critique is to give the author information about how the fictional reality s/he has created is experienced by readers. Critiques are given in a spirit of respect and mutual support.

Giving a Critique

* Your goal is to help the author achieve optimal clarity and power.

* Don’t just look for the places that need improvement. Also notice where the author has done his/her best writing. We get so close to our own material, we really don’t know where we’ve succeeded.

* Be specific. Don’t just say, “I didn’t buy the character of Chuck,” but “When Chuck got furious on page 12, I didn’t understand where that came from.”

* A critique is not an argument. You do not have to convince the author or other people in the group that you are RIGHT.

* It’s most valuable to the author to find out if several people had the same response. Let the author know if you strongly agree or disagree with a comment someone else has made.

* Own your biases. You just may not like a particular genre.

* Be judicious about making suggestions. It can be enormously helpful to an author to hear a fresh idea about a character or scene, but, taken too far, it can feel invasive.

Receiving a Critique

* Breathe. Practice non-attachment. You are receiving information, some of which may be enormously useful.

* Listen. Jot notes on what people say, but don’t put a lot of energy at this point into deciding whether you agree. You may want to record feedback.

* It’s fine to ask someone to clarify or expand on a comment. But resist the urge to explain yourself! If readers didn’t get a key idea, the point isn’t to explain yourself during the critique session but to make the idea clearer when you revise.