A core premise of the critique process is that we are making suggestions about the work, not evaluating the person who wrote it.
Critiquing is already quite personal, in that we are telling a creative person that their creation has flaws. No one is eager to hear that. Add to that some critical remarks about the writer as a person and it becomes painful.
It helps to avoid sentences that start with “you,” for two reasons. One, we aren’t supposed to be talking about “you,” the author, but rather about “it,” the writing. Two, saying “you” directs everything that comes after it onto the person, not the work, and makes it feel even more personal.
“The author” is just another way of saying “you.” What we’re really talking about is the sentence, the paragraph, the essay, the word choice, the character, the scene. A critique shouldn’t be directed at the author, but at the work we are examining.
Sometimes we go beyond carelessly saying, “You have too many commas” and overtly say criticize the author. “You use ‘and’ too much and it makes the kind of long sentences I hate.” “Your style is a type I don’t like.” “I can’t stand your stories because they are so dark.” Critiquing at its best is not about making sure other writers write the way we would or the way we prefer. It’s about helping them write their own best work.
Guessing at the writer’s motives is likely to feel like an attack. Trying to be too literary, trying to impress with big words, trying to be clever. Chances are we don’t really know what the person’s inner motivations are. Maybe literary is his or her natural style. Maybe he or she just knows a lot of words and can’t guess which ones other people are familiar with. Maybe he or she really is clever.
Deciding what personal defects a piece of writing reveals about the writer says more about the critic than the target.
I got through two divorces without being labeled with negative adjectives, but it has happened in what I might have supposed would be the more civilized environment of writers groups. Once I almost quit. I have copies of my books lined up in my room where I can admire them. After one personal attack, I took them down and put them away, and stopped writing. Time dulled the sting, and eventually I put the books back and started writing again.
- If you dislike someone personally and can’t hide it, just bow out of critiquing their work.
- If you dislike a genre and can’t step back enough to critique it on its merits, bow out.
- If you’re in such a bad mood you can’t help but attack, it’s okay not to hand in a critique that week.
- If someone’s critique of your work hurt your feelings, that is not an excuse to retaliate in kind.
- If you’re an amateur psychologist, fine, but leave those insights into the writer’s motives and psyche out of the critique process.
- If you’re tempted to start a sentence with “you,” try it with “it” or “the sentence,” or whatever aspect of the writing you’re referring to.
Ask yourself the classic trio of questions: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
Rod Sullivan
Thank you. Timely and well put.
Marie Brack
Thank you. It’s difficult to strike just the right note when talking about someone else’s work.
Renee Ebert
Excellent. Went to the heart of the matter.
Marie Brack
Thank you. I’ve thought about it a lot.
Christine Coward
Well said. Thank you.
Marie Brack
Thank you. I just encountered another example in an online critique forum. Instead of saying something like “the descriptions could use more detail,” the critiquer said, “You’ve got a lot to learn about describing vs. showing.” I think they meant have a lot, and telling vs. showing, but either way, it speaks to the person, not the work, and omits giving any helpful example or even a specific paragraph to improve.
WIlliam E. Dempsey
Great job, Marie, as always. Suggest adding it to the Yahoo folder on critique methods.
Marie Brack
Thanks. Can I do that?
Skip
Thank you for excellent notes on critiquing. Those who have been on the wrong side of good intentions gone bad know the sting. We try not to reply in kind.
Marie Brack
I think good intentions is a key phrase. The thing is to combine good manners with those good intentions. By using careful phrasing, we can get the point across without doing harm.
aliciaminor
Such a delicate subject to tackle but you brought out some good points somehow which is true and is happening. To be able to find a good critique group that do their job responsibly is a blessing and in the world of writing, we cannot do without a critique, good or bad. To those who were able to help their fellow writers to succeed with their critiques, our hats off to you. May your tribe increase…
Marie Brack
Yes. It never ceases to amaze me how other people see things I was looking right at and didn’t see.
June Gordon
THANKS FOR EMPHASIZING CRITIQUING POINTS. I AM ALWAYS GRATEFUL TO MY WRITERS’ GROUP FOR THEIR HONEST OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. THEY ARE THE BEST AND I BELIEVE I AM A BETTER WRITER BECAUSE OF THEIR PROBES AND POKES.
Robert Bellam
Thank you for this timely Post. Have recently had this issue in the group I facilitate…will copy and pass out, then discussion about the purpose of critiquing. After all, we all have the same purpose in sight…
Tanya C Tyler
Bravo for that thought! So many of us forget the purpose and responsibilities we carry especially when we invest with emotion. All of the distracting thoughts we generate inside our heads need to be filtered and set aside in order to do the best job we can to encourage another’s writing path. After all, none of us are perfect…
Diane Boilard
Took your book home and placed it on the table between our chairs. My husband picked it up, opened to no page in particular, and started to read. Then I saw him turn the pages. Finally he asked, “Who wrote this book?” I explained who you are. He kept reading and later said, “This is good. She’s smart.”
Good luck with this great book full of useful information.
Marie Brack
Wow, thank you for telling me that. I hoped the book would be interesting even to non-writers. Readers can be interested in what goes into writing, too.