The Art of Critique

Just like anything else, getting good at providing feedback to a fellow writer takes practice. To save you a little trial and error, here we offer some tips on how to go into the meeting prepared. (Note that our advice is specifically calibrated for fiction. Some parts of it may generalize well for other forms of writing, but use your own judgement about what to apply.)

1. Start by reading the submission straight through without marking anything. Don’t try to reverse-engineer it yet. Don’t look at it through your author goggles, just read it. Approach it as if you selected it as a pleasure read.

2. Then read it again, with a pen this time. Mark typos if you wish, but remember that critique is not proofreading. It’s more valuable to share what questions come into your mind as you read. Was there something that seemed confusing at first, but now that you’re on the second time through you get it? Tell the author that’s what happened. Your annotations should amount to you “thinking out loud” about what you’re reading.

3. Critique also isn’t all about finding problems. Positive feedback is important too! Mark turns of phrase that you particularly like. Call out good structural choices. The key to giving good notes well is to say not only “I like this” but also why you like it.

4. Write a summary of your impressions. This could be on the back of the last page if you’re working from hard copy, or it can be the body of an email if your group uses electronic formats. This is the place to answer any specific questions that the submitter posed. Offer suggestions, but don’t do a rewrite.

Now, about item #1. It’s not so easy sometimes! Becoming a writer can sort of ruin you as a reader, because your mind is on technique the whole time you’re consuming the text. Analyzing rather than appreciating. Learning how to turn down the volume on that voice is a useful skill. Another challenge is when the submission’s genre or subject matter is simply outside of your tastes. Except in the most extreme cases, you should be able to put yourself in the target reader’s shoes and provide valid feedback. But it’s a good idea to let the author know that their manuscript was something you wouldn’t ordinarily have chosen on your own.