Read and Critique guidelines for Writers’ Groups

What to do with Critique – as suggested by Judy Reeves

1. Let the critiqued manuscript sit for a few days to cool off.
2. Review comments on the pages and the notes you took during the session.
3. Transfer comments to a master copy of manuscript.
4. Select which comments to incorporate in the rewrite and which to let go.
5. Rewrite the piece now, or put away for rewriting later.
6. Save and store all the critiqued copies of the manuscripts, or
7. Recycle the paper by using the clean side for rough draft printing.

• Be honest, objective, and kind.  Tell how the piece affects you as a reader.
• Respond only to the work being read, not the writer’s previous work, the writer herself, her hairdo, or the company she keeps.
• Critique the elements of the craft, not the content.  The writer is the only one who can say what he wants to write about, and, ideally, he will write about what matters to him, what he is passionate about.
• Be specific in your comments.

Things to keep in mind:

Voice is the way a piece is written (language, diction, rhythm)

Tone is the attitude of a piece (friendly, colloquial, formal, distant)

Diction is the choice of words (how a writer says something)

Characters (Do you like them?  Are you interested, even if you don’t like them?)

Plot (Does something happen?)

Conflict (Does the story contain two or more opposing forces?)

Critique presentation – as suggested by Jackie Gamber

Remember the sandwich theory.  Compliment – criticism – compliment.

Be gentle.

Be honest.

But be gentle.

Keep a pencil in hand to jot notes as the presenter reads, so you can make specific comments.  Do this, also, as other critiquers are speaking, and mention them when it comes your turn to speak.