The Science of Critique, Part I: The Basics

Critique, by its very nature, is criticism. Many of us find criticism tough to handle. And when we're talking about something as precious as our story, criticism can be even more challenging.

But critique, like any other form of human communication, is ultimately a dialogue between individuals. If you're talking and I'm not listening, no communication is taking place.

Critique has two parts: the giver and the receiver. If both parties are mindful of some basic principles, the critique can be rewarding and constructive, with a minimum of hurt feelings and misunderstandings.

Giving good critique

Critique is about providing constructive feedback on a story, chapter, or scene which the author can use to improve the work. We all have the best intentions when we critique someone's work, but even the best intentions can be derailed by our presentation of our feedback.

Start with the good. Most of us benefit from hearing about the ways in which our work succeeds. There's something good in every effort, no matter how poorly executed. Even if you think the writing is awful, there's likely something about the premise, a character, or sheer imagination to praise. If you aren't finding something to praise, you aren't looking hard enough.

If you see several major problems with the work, concentrate your comments on only one or two. Most of us don't write brilliantly from the get-go and that's fine. But rather than produce a laundry list of significant problems and beat the writer into despair, focus on a single issue -- the one you consider to be the most important -- and let the others go.

A thoughtful critique around one problem serves two purposes: It helps the writer understand the craft issue more thoroughly, and it prevents defeating the writer.

Explain why. Saying things like, "This scene just doesn't work," isn't helpful unless you explain why it doesn't work. If you don't explain why, the critique is suddenly about tearing down rather than building up.

If you can't explain why, don't mention the problem -- there may, in fact, not be one.

Only make "I" statements. Comments such as, "You really lost the flow here," or "You need more tension in this scene," are almost designed to add anxiety and tension to a critique session. Why? Because it's suddenly personal: This isn't the text we're talking about -- it's now the writer. Using "you" statements is a recipe for defeating the writer.

Instead, try to keep the focus either on the work itself (e.g., "This scene lacks tension") or on describing the reader's experience (e.g., "I don't feel the tension in this scene").

Better yet, add the "I" statement to the explanation why: "I don't feel the tension in this action scene because the paragraph of introspection pulls me out of the action."

End with an overall comment, preferably positive. Here's where you can talk about how the writing has steadily improved, how the story is catching your interest, or what you really like about the hero or heroine. Leave the receiver with a reason to want to write again tomorrow, especially if you've just outlined a major problem.

Receiving a critique

In the beginning of our writing pursuits, we've likely felt some trepidation about being "ripped to shreds" by a critique partner. People will sometimes talk about how "you have to have a thick skin in this business," but that seems to me to miss the point.

We write commercial fiction. Our work is a product. The product has to go through an evaluation and revision process in order to improve. If this process of creating a product is intimidating to you right now, let me assure you that it does get easier -- but only with practice.

You are not your work. If you find yourself entering into a critique session with fear and trembling, you may be having an identity crisis. Criticism of the work isn't criticism of you. If someone doesn't like your scene or thinks the story won't work, that opinion is about the words on the page -- not about you, your potential, or your chances of being published.

Aspiring authors must get past this fear in order to function in an environment where everyone has an opinion: fellow writers, contest judges, editors, agents, marketing suits, booksellers, reviewers, and loudmouthed readers who leave a trail of negative comments in their wake, usually on Amazon.

As mentioned before, you're producing product, and all comments are about the product, not you.

Shut up and listen. We writers are an anxious bunch, so we're likely to apologize for our story before we hand it to our critique partner. Then as the actual critique progresses, our anxiety also leads us to justify why we wrote what we did.

Stop doing that.

You have nothing to be ashamed of, so no apologizing. And unless you plan on cloning yourself and shipping a clone to every reader who picks up your book, your justifications do no good whatsoever.

You do yourself a better favor by keeping quiet and listening hard to whatever your critique partner says. If she's pointed out a problem, consider it carefully. There's a good chance that what you think is on the page isn't there.

Listen, but don't swallow. Okay, so you've listened hard to critique feedback. Does that mean your critique partner is right about everything? Of course not.

The story, while it is not you, does belong to you. You can do whatever you want, including ignore what your critique partner said.

Is that wise? Probably not. But it sometimes helps to remind ourselves that we're not a slave to our critique partner's opinion. What works for his story may not work for ours, so we get to choose.

Yep, you heard me. You get to choose.

Ask questions. If you don't understand a comment, ask. This is really good practice for fielding editor revision comments on your manuscript. Also, if you can't think of a solution for the problem being raised, ask your partner how he would resolve it if this were his story. Some great spontaneous brainstorming can occur and help you walk away feeling energized rather than puzzled or defeated.

Hear the praise. Writers like to engage in selective hearing. We hear all the negative comments but can't seem to hear the positive. If your critique partner is opening and closing his critique with praise, do him the courtesy of a) hearing it, and b) believing it.

We work hard to improve our craft, and by hearing the praise, we honor not just our critique partner but ourselves.