I’m a Reader Not a Critiquer

I have a confession to make: I am a terrible critique partner. In the last year, I’ve offered to read manuscripts for five of my writing group members. I’ve gotten through one and a half of them. I had one for so long that it went through two new drafts and was submitted to a publisher before I had gotten more than a few chapters in.

I’m slow. I take critiques pretty seriously, so I like to be meticulous and pay very close attention to what I’m reading. That makes critiquing very time-consuming for me, and time has been my enemy lately; I do not have enough of it. Or rather, I have the same amount of time, but too many other things I have to do with it, so reading the manuscripts of my friends has taken a back burner.

I also lack confidence in my ability to give good feedback. I am a voracious reader, and a decent writer, but those are the only qualifications I have to be a critique partner. I’m currently taking classes for a copyediting certificate, so I’m hoping my copyediting skills will be honed by the end of this year, but I’m still not sure that helps me with the fundamental edits.

All I can offer people is my opinion: what I feel works and doesn’t work for me. I can tell you if I feel like a scene needs more development, clarification, or elimination. I can tell you if I feel like your characters are acting out of character. I can tell you at what point, if any, I was pulled out of the story, for whatever reason, or when my suspension of disbelief failed.

Basically I give writers my reactions as a reader. I tend to give a broad “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it” and why. I’m not as good at suggesting ways to fix what I feel is lacking, but I do try to throw out ideas to at least help brainstorm.

I’m much better at collaboration than critique. I thrive in a group or partner setting, throwing ideas back and forth, rather than sitting alone with a manuscript.

But I still love to read, and I really do enjoy reading what comes from the minds of my fellow writers. They never cease to amaze me with what they are able to put out there.