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 Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:33 pm
I got this from someone who got this from someone who quite possibly gleaned it from the red-shift of receding galaxies. But it's still awesome.
#1) Be positive, even if you think the writing is garbage. Give an encouraging comment, or tell them something you liked about the piece.
#2) Keep criticisms constructive, not overtly critical, and no personal attacks. Make it a suggestion, not a demand. Be kind, writing is personal.
#3) Try not to say something that would cause the writer to go on the defensive. If you upset them, you've failed. They won't listen to what you've got to say, even if your comment has merit.
#4) If one person has given critique over a certain point, find something else to critique, unless you have something Earth-shatteringly new to add.
#5) Don't just critique, give think about and discuss an adequate way to fix the issue.
#6) If you notice any grammatical errors, misspellings, difficult sentences, go ahead and mention them. Makes the author's job a lot easier!
#7) Don't give unsolicited advice. No one will thank you for it.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:34 am
Let me be clear that I do agree with those rules. However:
To number three: Some authors simply cannot handle even the slightest, tiniest bit of criticism against their work (*cough*pre/teensandevensomeadultswhothinktheyarethegreatestgifttowritingsinceShakespeare*coughcough*). This is obviously a case-by-case thing, but getting the author on the defensive does not always necessarily mean that you failed; it just means you learn to recognize when people really want critique or if they are simply fishing for compliments. If they really wanted critique and you got on the defensive, yes, you failed, but if they were simply fishing, then the fault goes onto the author
To number four: I think a corollary to that would be if multiple people critique, and all or most of the critiques notice the same flaw, that flaw definitely needs to be worked on.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:11 am
Nightmare1 Let me be clear that I do agree with those rules. However: To number three: Some authors simply cannot handle even the slightest, tiniest bit of criticism against their work (*cough*pre/teensandevensomeadultswhothinktheyarethegreatestgifttowritingsinceShakespeare*coughcough*). This is obviously a case-by-case thing, but getting the author on the defensive does not always necessarily mean that you failed; it just means you learn to recognize when people really want critique or if they are simply fishing for compliments. If they really wanted critique and you got on the defensive, yes, you failed, but if they were simply fishing, then the fault goes onto the author To number four: I think a corollary to that would be if multiple people critique, and all or most of the critiques notice the same flaw, that flaw definitely needs to be worked on. I agree with this. Most people can't handle even form of criticism, even if they ask for it! I try to be nice whenever I say something about someone's writing. ^_^ It's important to think positive, when it comes to writing... Personally, I love it when people point out flaws in my writing to me. It makes me feel like they're paying attention. Not only that, but it really does help. Even if it IS mean I don't really mind, but I kind of wish some people would be a little nicer about it. Criticizing someone really does help them to write better, in most cases. It shouldn't be discouraging, but I agree, it's too abd most writers see it that way.
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