Rowena Cory Daniells

Critiquing is the backbone of your group.

It is hard to take a step away from your own writing and look at it with a critical eye. Even published authors find this hard. I belong to a published authors' group specifically to get feedback on my work. See www.ripping-ozzie-reads  ROR History.

Critiquing is really the beginning process of editing. When you sell your novel the publisher will assign an editor to go through your manuscript and you'll have to work with them.

There will be the Big Picture Edit -- this is where they look at the overall flow of the narrative. Is the plot logical, are characters consistent in their actions, is the pacing good? What needs to be tightened, or enlarged for explanation?

There will be Line by Line Edit -- this is the nitty gritty of editing. They look at narrative consistency. For example: if someone is standing by a window, then suddenly they are sitting in a chair, the writer has to get them from the window to the chair. The line editor will look for punctuation and consistency. For example, if you give something a capital in one chapter it should be capitalised all through the book. You don't want someone's eye colour to change between chapters unless there is a reason.
 
You need to be ready to work with an editor. You can't be precious about your work but, at the same time, you need to know what you want to get across. So if the editor suggests a change to a scene, you might ask yourself whether it changes the slant you wanted to give on your character. Maybe it makes them less sympathetic. How does this affect the reader's perception of them? Is this what you want? Be ready to give and take.

By belonging to a writing group which gives good critiques, you are preparing yourself to work with an editor.

A good edit/critique is like analysis. You come away from it with a deeper understanding of your work and the writing process. It isn't something to dread, it's worth seeking out.

I have learnt as much from listening to other people's work being critiqued and giving critique, as from having my own work critiqued. By giving critique you learn to hone your analytical skills. It is one of those things that you can only learn by doing.

It is much easier to critique work that you have in front of you, rather than listening to it being read aloud. Unlike poetry, most writing is intimate. It's meant to be read in our heads. Sometimes it helps to hear your work spoken aloud by someone else. For instance, the writer of a poem instinctively puts in the pauses and rhythms, but someone coming to it fresh might reveal a glitch in the rhythm, or a flaw in the dialogue of a narrative piece.

If your group is newly formed and everyone is a little nervous then the work to be critiqued can be handed out anonymously. When you have the work in front of you, you can write your name on the piece so that later, if the person wants to they can come back to you and ask, What did you mean by this?. You can correct any punctuation and so on. (Sometimes people make consistent mistakes and it's helpful to have them pointed out. Even published writers can make mistakes. One writer I knew was handing in her manuscripts with double spaces after each full stop, which meant her editor had to take them out). When your work is returned to you, take it home and go through it. Look at every comment people made and ask yourself: "What can I learn from this?"

Rules were made to be broken but if something works do it. You need to know the rules before you can break them. For instance, there is a rule that a short story should only have one viewpoint. But I have seen short stories with more than one VP and they work.

You don't want your group to be so critical that writers give up and never write again. You want your group to help you hone your analytical skills so that you can recognise a poor passage and have the tools to polish it. You'll need to learn how to critique another person's work and how to learn from having your own work critiqued.

When VISION started we had people who were completely new to writing as well as people with some experience, so we evolved a set of rules for critiquing.

Rules for Critiquing Session.

1. The point of the critique should be clear from the start. ie. If it is a specific exercise like View Point change, then the Spokesperson reminds the group. If it is a short story aimed at 11- 14 year olds then the person submitting the piece should put this under the title.
2. You critique the work not the person.
3. The person whose work is being critiqued says nothing. If they have to stop to explain what they meant by a passage then it didn't work. They won't be sitting there behind the reader/editor ready to explain obscure points in their stories. Besides, you can't listen and learn if you are defending yourself. Take notes, you will get a chance to speak at the end.
4. You critique to the point of the exercise first, then look at other aspects of the work.
5. When you start the critique find something positive to say about the work. Then move on to what didn't work, with suggestions as to how the piece could be improved. Finish up with a positive comment.
6. As you go around the group don't repeat what's been said. Say "I agree about X and I think …"
7. If you can think of a way to improve the work suggest this. It is up to the writer to decide if they want to try what you've suggested.

Here is a basic critiquing sheet. It is more useful for critiquing a longer passage or a short story because it looks at the whole work. (When you are critiquing an exercise you look at whether the writer succeeded with the exercise. That is why the Spokesperson needs to read out the point of the exercise first). Sample Critique Sheet