Thursday, February 26, 2015

For Writers—Giving Criticism

by Henry McLaughlin @Riverbendsagas

A look at 5 areas to take into account when criticizing.
There have been a ton of articles and blog posts on how to receive criticism. Receiving criticism is hard for everyone. It’s difficult to not view criticism of our work as personal criticism of ourselves.

I don’t recall too many posts on how to give criticism, whether it’s in a critique group or one-on-one. Today, I’d like to look at five areas the person giving the criticism should take into account.

Source
Do I know the person well enough to make my criticism something they would listen to? If I’m reviewing their work for the first time, I may need to hold back until I get more of a feel for them and their writing. See how they respond to feedback from others. Are they defensive or open? At first, I may want to focus on giving positive feedback until our relationship is stronger. Seek ways to help them develop the necessary thick skin so they can assess and process criticism to make their writing better.

Consider knowledge.
Knowledge
Do I have enough knowledge about the industry and the writer’s genre to give meaningful feedback? If someone is writing a thriller—which I don’t write but I enjoy reading—I will point to thriller authors I like such as Steven James and Brandilyn Collins for examples of how to handle things like maintaining tension and suspense over several chapters. My knowledge of Amish is very limited because I don’t read it, so my criticism will be more generally craft related.

Content
Sometimes how I deliver my criticism will negate the good my actual words may contain, especially if I don’t know the writer that well. I try to listen as I give feedback in a group and I re-read comments if I’m doing an online or hard copy critique. I watch the writer for nonverbals that tell me how I’m being received it. Am I coming across arrogant, prideful, condescending? Are my attempts at humor falling flat? Can I see the writer closing down, pulling into a shell? If I see that, I’ll try to find out if it’s the content or the delivery that is causing them problems.

Consider your relationship
Relationship
This has been a theme through the previous three points. In many ways, it’s easier to give criticism to a friend because we know them, we know how they receive criticism, and we’ve learned, over time, how to phrase our feedback to be its most effective. When new writers enter our group or ask our help, take the time to get to know them. Ask what they write and why. Let them tell you about themselves, their experiences, their testimonies. Before you critique, explain your usual style and then modify that style as needed while you build the relationship.

An additional area we need to consider is Motivation.
Why am I giving this criticism? Am I speaking just to hear my voice? Do I have something different or unique to offer? Do I have this person’s best interests at heart? Or, am I trying to show how much better I am? Am I bragging or showing off?

What have you learned about giving criticism? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

TWEETABLES
For Writers, Giving Criticism is part of the job, we must do it right - via @RiverBendSagas (Click to Tweet)

Stop & consider before offering #criticism to other writers - @RiverBendSagas (Click to Tweet)


Henry’s debut novel, Journey to Riverbend, won the 2009 Operation First Novel contest. He serves as Associate Director of North Texas Christian Writers. Henry edits novels, leads critique groups, and teaches at conferences and workshops. He enjoys mentoring and coaching individual writers. Connect with Henry on his blogTwitter and Facebook.

17 comments:

  1. Great tips to remember. In critique groups I am sometimes unsure how to proceed. I am willing to participate, but need to know how to approach the task.

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    1. Prayer and listening to our heart is one of the best way to approach critiquing.

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  2. Great information! Some writers can't accept critiques or give them. You've offered excellent guidelines.

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    1. Thank you, DiAnn. Thankfully, I have an excellent mentor to guide me. along the way.

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  3. Great guidelines with grace and guts.
    Teach on!

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  4. Thank you for those guidelines, Henry! I think they can be applied beyond writing :).

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  5. This post is so timely. I just joined a new crit group and for the first time I find myself among YA, Sci Fi, and fantasy writers. I write general fiction. It's been a struggle for us to give feedback on each others work without unintentionally hurting feelings. Part of the difficulty arose from not knowing anything about the other. We came to that realization just the other day and it's allowing us to pause and pray about what direction to take the group.

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    1. Linda, I think that's an excellent strategy. Especially the praying. And making the time to get to know each other will only make the group stronger.

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  6. Great tips. A lot of times, it's the delivery that's most important. Do you sound instructive or destructive? Condescending or uplifting? To me, it's always best if I flank the criticism with positive remarks, and point out the flaw in such a way, that the person thinks it's something he knows but maybe forgot.

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    1. Great tips, Carole. Sounds like a very positive and constructive way to critique.

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    2. Carole, you're right on! I imagine that you are a valued member of any writer's group you're part of and are much appreciated as a beta reader.

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  7. Wonderful suggestions and tips! My rule: Honesty tempered with kindness. I always have a writer's best interests at heart--and I never say anything unless I know what I'm talking about. Sometimes, I'll include a link to a website I think an author might find helpful. This works well for grammar and punctuation issues. Then it's not "me" making an irrelevant criticism but rather an expert's point of view.

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    1. Linda Lee, I like the idea of including links. When I do a critique in a live group, I try to reference an author or resource that helps explain my point. I think doing so takes some of the sting out of a less-than-positive comment.

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  8. Thank you for this post! I'm going to print this advice out and give it to my critique group. We're learning how to do this along the way and it's daunting for sure. These will be a great help to us!

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    1. Thanks, Erika. I hope your critique group finds the blog helpful.

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