What I Learn as a Writer from Critiquing Other’s Work

I finished my first draft of a contemporary romance novel.

It’s rough. It’s messy. It’s down on paper.

And it is an amazing feeling.

Now the editing begins.

I am part of a group, Monday Morning Manifestors, that meets each week, and we all submitted our polished first chapter for critique by our peers.

There are first time writers, middle grade book authors, and personal experience storytellers.

This was a great experience and a bumpier road than I imagined.

At first, I felt like an imposter but soon realized I can contribute based on what I have learned.

I could recognize things based on my own work and learned a lot from others in the group.

A few ground rules were set and all of us read other’s work based on the same criteria.

Ground Rules for Critiquing:

• Say something nice at the beginning to set the tone of the critique
• Provide constructive feedback without being harsh
• End with a positive comment to encourage the writer

Ground Rules for the person receiving feedback:

• Listen for insights and don’t interrupt the person performing the critique
• Write down what everyone says even if you don’t agree with it – you don’t have to use everything someone says but it might spark a new idea
• Don’t try to explain or defend what you wrote
• Step back and don’t revise immediately; wait a couple of days
• Look for patterns based on each person’s critique of your work (i.e., if more than one person says the same thing, you might need to think about using it)

Criteria:

• Does it hook the reader and make them want to keep reading?
• Is the main character and their world established?
• Is the conflict or question clear?
• Is the tone of changes consistent with the story you want to tell?
• Are there any flips?

Here are some of the comments we talked about during the critiques of each person’s chapter one that might be helpful to you.

• Look for repeated words (i.e., the word ‘home’ used three times in the same sentence or paragraph)
• Skipping – make sure you have included all steps before moving to the next scene
• Pay attention to details – too many can slow pacing
• Don’t start each paragraph with the same word
• Make sure each scene has a flip (character started out to make the best of things, but at the end decided none of it was okay)
• Show, don’t tell (i.e., bunch of buzzing bees; birds whirling in the air; etc.)
• Indent each paragraph and double-space the document for better readability
• You can show feelings with dialogue
• If there is just one character in a scene/chapter, use their thoughts, a phone call with another character, a pet, or something so they aren’t talking to themselves the entire time
• Be careful in a middle grade novel not to encourage a child to go somewhere that might be dangerous (getting off a trail in the woods in a new town)
• You should have basic computer skills:     
  • Microsoft Word (or other word processing) formatting (i.e., cut and paste; font, word and line spacing, etc.)
  • Zoom or Skype meetings
  • Follow directions (i.e., Kindle Direct Publishing, Editors, etc.)
  • Punctuation in dialog
• Include clear transitions from one scene to another
• Don’t use too many pronouns – the reader needs to understand who is talking/thinking/etc.
• Make your character distinctive (i.e., voices, descriptions, etc.)
• Don’t go back and forth in tenses
• For middle grade, keep adults out of the story or in the background
• Use ChatGPT as a tool – put in what you wrote and ask for things like an outline, names for characters in a certain place, scene ideas, etc.
• Read the story out loud – you’ll be amazed at what you find (i.e., flow issues, missing words, etc.)

Critiquing has been a powerful learning experience for me, and the constructive comments help make me a better writer. Remember to keep an open mind but stay true to your own voice and writing style.

For information on how to handle a critique, see How to Handle a Manuscript Critique Without Losing Your Spark at writebythesea.com.