Giving a good critique

What is a critique?

It is a detailed analysis of another's story. Basically, you are giving a person advice on the story they are writing. Unless you are an editor, this should be minus grammar. You are helping them improve the quality of their story, not their syntax.

There are good reasons and bad reasons to want to offer criticism to others. Let's look at some:

• To help others improve - Sometimes you are the kind of nice guy or gal that just wants to see others reach their goals. Kudos to you!
• To see things change for the better - At times, we just want to lead a writer to a way that is more appealing to ourselves. Maybe it is selfish but it isn't hurtful unless you get angry when your suggestions are refused.
• To make someone think - You want the author to stop and take a moment to examine what is going on behind his piece. Maybe the motives of a character are suspect. Maybe the story may or may not support the way someone is acting. You want the writer to stop and take a deeper look.
• To hurt someone - Now we are getting into the bad reasons! If this is the reason you're critiquing someone's story, I have one thing to say: STOP!
• As an outlet for our frustrations - A pot on the stove has to vent. So do we. Critiquing isn't a thing you should do to vent. You can hurt an otherwise good story with your suggestions.
• Inflation of ones ego - You just like to hear yourself talk. Many writers, myself included at times, fall into this trap.

Why is it important to know why you are critiquing? The reason you are critiquing will, more often than not, determine the value of your suggestions. The best critiquer with the worst reasons will end up giving the writer bad advice.

So, how do you critique? Well, there are a few things that you should do:

• Inform the writer whether this is your preferred genre - Seems crazy right? But knowing that you are giving a critique on a story outside of your preferred genre can give the writer perspective on your comments.
• Be a reader, not a writer - When giving a critique, be a reader and not a writer. Sometimes it is hard to take the writer's hat off, but if you are going to give a good critique that is something you can't be wearing. Write impressions of the story as you read.
• Offer suggestions - Don't only say something "sounds off". Offer a suggestion that would read better in your opinion.
• Praise - I am guilty of not doing this. Critiques are hard to take and, if you are focusing solely on the negative, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. It won't hurt to throw in a few, "This was a really good line/par/scene." Just be sincere.
• Read the story carefully - Don't just give it a sloppy skim. Everyone knows what this means.
• Honesty really is the best policy - You are helping no one if you lie. I know many out there shy away from confrontation, but the purpose of a critique is to improve the story, so you are not helping if you gloss over the bad bits. Buckle down. Writers will survive some criticism.

And some things to avoid when critiquing:

• Directing your remarks towards the author - This is all about the story and not the author, keep it that way.
• Reading other critiques before you've critiqued - You will be influenced subtly by what other people have said. Something that wouldn't have bothered you could be a glaring issue after you read someone else's critique.
• Avoid changing the author's voice - We all have our own voices. Don't try to change the author's voice to match yours. Maybe you would have made a different decision. That's your voice. Know the difference between giving suggestions that will improve the story, and being the Borg and trying to assimilate the story into your collective.

Now let's focus on the six parts of the story you should be looking at: Opening, Conflict, Characters, Plot, Setting, and Dialogue. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when giving a critique:

Opening: Did it leave you wanting to know more? Did it properly introduce the story's theme? Does the opening introduce you to the narrator's voice?

Conflict (Not action): What is/are the conflict(s) in the story? Is/are the conflict(s) resolved? Does the narrative do a good job bringing the conflict(s) to the fore? Is there enough conflict or too much?

Characters: Did the characters seem real? Or were they one dimensional? Did you get a sense that they had a backstory with family, friends, etc? Was there too much background info? Did the MC grow during the events of the story in some way? Did the motivations of the antagonist seem believable? Did they feel real in the same way as the protagonist, or were they a cardboard cut-out?

Plot: What is the plot of the story? Did the main character have a clearly defined problem? Did he resolve the problem? Were there scenes that didn't further the plot? Were there too many subplots? Did these get resolved? Did the story move along at a good pace? Did the story begin and end at the proper places in the plot?

Setting: Did you get a good sense of setting from the narrative and dialogue? Could you tell time and locale? If the setting was non-existant, did this hurt the story?

Dialogue: Is the dialogue believable? Is it dry? Are there too many repeated 'he said/she said'? Is the person using contractions? Does each character have a way of speaking or did they all mold to one voice? Did they dialogue give you a sense of conflict, attitude, and the intentions of the characters speaking? Was there enough dialogue in the story?

Next time you critique someone, I hope you use some of the tools provided here to produce a better critique. These are your fellow writers. I'm not going to say you owe them anything, but you should always consider critiquing them how you'd like to be critiqued.

How do you ask a question? Dissecting the question.

How do you ask a question? Is it really that hard?

If you’ve been in any writers’ groups, you know it is.

So, what happens? Where is the disconnect?

Personally, I think it comes from fear or the inability to properly define their question. If it is fear, it is because people don’t actually want the answer to their question. They are afraid of the answer. In response to that fear, they ask either the wrong question or a vague question. The other reason people ask vague questions is that they have an inability to properly define a question. Inability is a bad word. It is laziness. People ask vague questions the same reason they do incompetent Google searches. They can’t be bothered to take the time to do things correctly.

If you are asking bad questions out of fear, the first step to solving this is to recognizing your fear. Why are you afraid? Most writers’ fears stem from having their work criticized and mocked. Writers tend to treat the stories they write like their children. As well they should. These stories are our mind-babies. I’ll remind you of an old African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child. Don’t be an overprotective parent. Let your “child” experience the world! Asking questions and allowing people to critique your story is allowing other people to raise your “child”. Like any normal child, it will get its bumps and bruises. Like any normal parent, you have to let it happen and be there to bandage the wounds. Otherwise, your “child” will never grow and evolve.

The other reason I’m not going to waste a big paragraph on, I’m just going to sum it up in one sentence: Quit being lazy.

How do you properly ask for help? Here are a few easy things to make sure you are asking the right questions:

• Know what you want to know - This seems like a simple piece of advice but many times people don’t know what they are wanting to know. Figure out your motivation for asking for help before asking for help. If you are finding difficulty with your dialogue, realize that! When I answer your plea for help and give you pointers on plot development and you dismiss my answer because you really want to know about dialogue, more than likely I won’t answer another question from you. You just wasted my time and yours.
• Ask specific questions - Questions should be concise. Don’t ask questions like “How do I start writing?” or “How can I write erotica?”. Those questions are too broad and will never truly be answered. Instead of asking “How do I start writing?”, ask “I’m having trouble with my first line, I know the general story idea, which is <short story blurb> but how I should start it is alluding me. I don’t want you to write it for me but can I get some ideas to get the old creative juices flowing?”
• Avoid asking “poll” type questions - “Poll” questions are questions that are completely subjective. You aren’t asking for tips and tricks, you are merely asking for people’s opinions. Not only are these questions bad and more than a little boring, they have a tendency to start fights as people express differing opinions. Many begin with the words “Can I…”. It doesn’t matter what the question is if it begins with the words “Can I…” then my answer is always the same, “If you want!”.
• Be polite - Phrase your question (and any replies you make to people answering your question) politely. Avoid back-handed insults. “Well, I guess you people are as clueless as me, lol” That does not engender a need to answer your question within me.

To sum up, when you ask the right questions, you are more likely to get the correct type of responses to your query. Knowing what you are asking, being specific, being polite, and not taking polls will go a long way to people taking your questions seriously. If you don’t waste people’s times, they won’t waste your time in return.

G Dean Manuel is a writer/poet/blogger. If you wish to know more about him, go to his Facebook page. His newest story, "Dead Eyes Never Lie" on Amazon, here.