How to receive and give critique

(Some rambling from me, you can ignore.)

So, critique, or mayhap we should call constructive criticism, or how about...

You suck, die!

Okay, not the last one, but it feels that way sometimes when you receive critique. Giving critique is hard as well, we often forget what it feels to receive it, and thus we can cut too deep.

Critique should be the first step your book takes before being offered up to the gods for sacrifice, err, for review by an editor. It plays an important role. A lot of bestselling authors use critique groups as they move their novel along, they call them beta readers. What they set out to do is help find plot issues, dialogue problems, and other such snags. All in the name of building up the book for publication. But there are rules!

Namely, duels are only one on one, no fighting on holy ground, and there can be only one.

Wait, no, um, the rules are of Critique:

1. Be positive.

2. Be specific.

3. Give suggestions.

These rules can be summed up thus, Don't be a Douche!

This holds whether you be the Critique giver or the receiver.

This is great...

The real goal should be growth and progress. Critique or constrictive criticism is just that, constructive. It is meant to build up, not tear down.

However, being nothing but positive is dangerous, it doesn't not allow for growth. Being told you are awesome and amazing may be true about some of your work, but hearing nothing but that can cause an inflated sense of skill and worth. In time, you could blunder badly, and in way that sears into the minds of your readers in a way that is irreversible. Star Wars Prequels anyone?

There will be problems, accept it. We are human and prone to issue of translating words within the brain to paper. They can get screwed up in their travel. Often that translation, ever so slightly off, will still make sense to you, but others don't use your brain and won't get it.

Their will be typos.

This is great, but...

When people say, "but" they aren't eviscerating your work, or shouldn't be. This is the point of critique, you are asking for help to find problems, don't be surprised when they exhume and expose issues.

So, besides catching typos and helping with simple editing, the far reaching goal should be helping you shape your story. Your character might not be moving along in the story the way you think, he could even be unlikable, unless you want that. Your dialogue could be stilted or monotone. Your sentences might just run along to much and use to many unnecessary words that are redundant with their expressed thoughts or improper references to weirdness with a strange flow of verbs that convey improper emotions of the protagonists and his underlining motivations... okay, running dry here, I hope the point is taken.

The goal of critique is to aid you in rounding the edges and deburring the sharp bits. All in an effort to prepare your manuscript for an editor, or the 6th draft.

Bestselling authors use critique groups for a reason, they work.

This looks off to me...

While I am not an editor, I can help catch missing words, typos, repeated words, and sentences that are wonky.

I do think you should be specific in your critique; however, it should be in the form of suggestions, not "rewrite the sentence exactly like this." This is a problem I see this too often with critique, people will out right rewrite whole swaths of another's work, and expect them to follow their rewrite in the guise of aiding them stop their bad writing. But that is not critique, that is editing, they want critique. Helping with the small stuff is fine, repeated word or phrases, excessive passive, weirdly worded sentences, repeated word or phrases, these can be distracting to the flow. Excise them. Fix them. Nudge them into proper prose befitting your style. Critique should help with that.

Try this...

I suck, I use too much passive voice, it grinds into my work. I try to beat it out. Rehash and rework sentences, poke and prod the words. But I still leave some passive behind in the wake of editing. I like passive, I don't like too much active voice. The short clip sentences can feel mechanical to me. They seem to lack flow and flair.

That is me, that is how I feel. I want to write like me-- you should write like you.

So when I give critique I try to let this guide me. I try to do my best to give suggestions on sentences; I may just put the sentence in (your words here) and put "rework" after. I may also give a quick reason for my issues, but I leave it to you to decide. I want it to stay in your own words and let you fix the issues.

Because I look at them as suggestions I therefore accept that you may disregard what I have said, and you have every right to.

Many years ago I was part of a writing group and after reading one of my stories I was giving this advice about my two main characters who are brothers. "One should be way dumber than the other."

Bad suggestion, maybe, maybe not. But for me it was, I threw it in the trash. I didn't argue with the person, or attack the suggestion. Okay, I am kind of doing that now, I just didn't go on the defense and disregard it immediately. I understood why the suggestion was made; she wanted a clear cut distinction between my characters because she felt they were too much alike. I decided that the suggestion didn't work for my story. The understanding helps guide me, dumber, no, though I could make some differences with them clearer.

Don’t be a douche…

This is the most important, for all parties involved. Sound critique given kindly, will help, but if you attack the critique or the one who gave it, you may find yourself unable to find helpful critique later. If you as the one giving the critique attack or disembowel the author, then why should they listen? Remember, rewriting sentences the way you would write them, or how you like to see them written is attacking their work. You are taking their voice. Give suggestions on how they could fix them, but don’t insist they change them out right.

They are asking for critique not editing.

We are doing creative writing here, there is a lot of leeway when it comes to what rules are followed. Most of us are not writing a scientific paper being published for peer review or an essay for school in the MLA format. A good number of "proper" English rules can be thrown out. 

Creative writing allows for imagination, individualism, and most importantly, creativity. It is right there in the name.

Final thought... 

I tend to give my critique on Prose in private messages. I am not saying everyone should do so, but I feel in doesn’t put a public spotlight on problems. Plus, it is easier to ignore me if you wish.

So here is my suggestion.

1. Don’t be a douche canoe.