The Confabulator Cafe

Tag: critiquing

  • 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. (more…)

  • Detail Work

    My best friend Andy is rumored to have once said, “People always say, ‘I am my own worst critic.’ Well I’m not. August is my worst critic.”

    I take no small pride in my critiquing skills. When it comes to words, I have an eye for detail. Shifting through pages and pages of small type looking for mistakes is something I find enjoyable. Finding errors in writing is like getting a shot of dopamine. It probably says something negative about me that I enjoy finding other people’s mistakes, but I’ll take my pleasures where I can get them.

    When critiquing, it’s all too easy to be mean. There’s a certain satisfaction gained from being an asshole about other people’s mistakes. Often I find it necessary to reign that in. Not because I’m worried about hurt feelings, but because being a jerk isn’t the most effective way to edit. If the goal is improving the work, I find it best to be as neutral as possible.
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  • The Art of the Critique

    There is nothing more necessary, or more dangerous, in writing than critiquing. You will learn more by critiquing other people’s work than by just writing. You are removed from the piece. You can see it with virgin eyes and see all the cracks in the surface. Then you start seeing them in your own writing. With a little luck, you’ll be able to patch the ones that would bring the whole thing crumbling down.

    In addition, if you are a good critic, then people will want you to critique their work. That usually means that they will critique yours, as well. At the very least you will develop a support network of writers. While writers do compete with each other for work, there is always a market, anthology, or other project that someone might think is right for you. Small presses are generally run by writers. Anthologies are usually edited by writers. It’s always good to know people, in any business.

    If you are a bad critic, no one will want to deal with you. They will avoid you, if humanly possible, curse your name when they see it in the slush pile, and kill you in their horror novel. It is very important that you don’t suck at this. (more…)