A lot of authors will say that to be a writer you need to do two things; read everything and write everyday. Pretty good advise, especially the reading part….and the writing part. I believe that reading critically is more important than just plain reading, that’s where giving a critique comes into play.
Here are a few steps that I follow when reading and critiquing a piece.
Reading: All of the submissions for review that I have read have come to me in electronic form; e-mail, PDF, MS Word Document, or as a post on a forum. Before I read them, I always print them out first. Having the words on a page helps me read more clearly, take notes as I read, and most importantly it allows me to read the piece when I have enough time to dedicate 100% of my attention to it. No tabbing over to The Drudge Report.
First, I like to read the story as a whole without taking any notes. This allows me get a feel for the styling, voice of the author, and the plot before I jump to any conclusions. After I have read it from start to finish, I will read it again with pen in hand. I make notes to myself in the margins and may highlight parts that I want to concentrate on. Here are a few things I always look for:
First Paragraph Strength, Voice and Structure, Pace, Showing vs Telling, Plot, and Character Development. I very rarely comment on styling unless it plays a major role in the structure.
The Critique: The first thing I like to do is make a little summery in the following format:
SPAG (Spelling Grammar And Punctuation):
Character Development:
Plot:
Pacing:
Overall Execution:
I will usually write a one or two sentence summery for each of these categories, and then move on to the main body of the critique. There are three things that I have always valued in a critique, so I try and keep those in mind while writing one myself; be specific, be honest, and offer suggestions.
In the main body of the critique I will copy and paste specific lines from the piece that I either had trouble with or I thought were really great, and then I will go into detail about what problems may be present or why I thought the part was so good. Be honest, but fair. Blowing smoke up someone’s behind does not help anyone. I will copy and paste as many lines or paragraphs as necessary along with my comments, then I will move onto the end summary.
In the “end summary” I give a break down of my overall impression of the piece, and try to offer any suggestions. In this area of the critique I feel that it is important to stay positive and point out things that could be better in a constructive way. At the end, I always offer to read a second draft.
What are some other things that you do to aid in the critiquing process? What has writing critiques taught you about your own writing?
-Leslie Johnson
The Long Downward Spiral
For more information about critiques I recommend reading Jo-Anne Vandermeulen's critique post. I hope you enjoyed and learned something from Leslie's article. I know I did.
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4 comments:
poetry- question: lets say that you read a sentence/phrase and for some reason it does not click for you. You point that out but have no suggestions as to how to make it work or even why it does not.
What to do?
Very good question Paige. Poetry can be difficult because it is meant to flow from one line to the next. It contains a heavy dose of feelings/emotions. When you critique a poem these two are prominent. If one sentence is worded awkwardly then the flow is lost and so can be the feeling/emotion the poem is meant to convey. In this case I would first look at the overall poem; how it made you feel, the flow, if what you felt is what the poem was meaning. Such as did you feel sad when the poem contained feelings of anger? From there you can break it down in which you point out the areas that read very well and the ones that did not.
Above all, be honest. Tell the author this particular sentence did not click for you. Trust your instincts on why it did not. Spend a moment thinking about why it didn't. If you still cannot identify the source share that with the author as while. If anything the author will go back and investigate this sentence.
I hope this helps.
Very good comments Brian, I think the other consideration is the rhythm of the poem, so the words themselves might give the impression the poet is looking for but if the rhythm is off slightly it can alter the feel. I often read a poem aloud when critiquing it (normally when I am home alone but who knows what the neighbors think) as this can help find the solution to a troublesome line.
Another very helpful comment Bernard. This very well could solve Paige's dilemma.
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