by Lazarus Black

What is a Critique?

From the creator's point of view, a critique is a careful analysis of a work of art for the purpose of improving it. One can certainly critique ones own work (although it's very difficult). 

Someone who critiques a work should be called a critiquer and NOT a critic. The fundamental difference is that a critic is analyzing a finished product, and stating an opinion—disguised as a summary judgement—on the work's ultimate value in the marketplace. It has no intention or value in improving the work. And in most cases, a critic's sole intention is to prove value in their opinion at the expense of critical accuracy.

How Does One Properly Critique?

Regardless of the art form — writing, art, music, performance, etc. — there is only one correct way to critique. Anyone who says otherwise is untrained, in experienced, and/or taking shortcuts at the expense of the artist and work. A proper critique praises, points out flaws, and may even offer suggestions intended to perfect the author's vision. 

Before reading:

1. Consider the audience. A work for a children can't be evaluated the same as a work for qualified Russian neurosurgeons over the age of 50.

2. Consider the intent. Is it pure entertainment? Is it educational? Themed? Political? Representational? Is it illustrating a scientific concept?

3. Consider yourself. Put aside one's own ego and expectations. A proper critique does not revolve around one's personal preference. And once you start reading, Are you finding it difficult to perform step 1? Are you qualified to understand the work? Are you qualified to address the issues you find? If the work becomes too challenging for you, politely decline to critique. A simple "I am not the best audience for this story." is the only explanation you should use.

"Crit unto others, as you would have crit unto you."

While reading:

1. Take thorough notes. Some people use built-in "comment" features in programs like Word. But be mindful of what you notate, and edit before sending to the author.

2. What do you personally like about the work? Both details and overall. Include both emotional and technical reasons. This is important because the author will respond more positively to comments made from some who enjoys their work.

3. What obstacles in the prose prevent clean reading? This can include issues like typos, poor grammar, purple prose, or even audience-alienating language. There are plenty of resources about all of the issues that can appear in prose. This blog is too brief to include them.

4. Aside from the obstacles in prose, how is the story structured? Does it have a clear beginning? Follow a rational course of plot-points? Clime to a powerful climax? Come to a satisfying conclusion?* 

5. Are there any plot holes or pacing issues? Did every scene have a purpose and progress the story?

6. Do the characters make sense? Does their dialogue fit? Do they affect the story or react to events appropriately?*

7. Did all their storytelling techniques "land"? Was every piece of foreshadowing revealed? Was every revelation foreshadowed? There are plenty of resources about all the techniques available. This blog is too brief to include them.

8. Do YOU, the reader, have appropriate suggestions* to resolve the issue? Why or why not?

Authors may request a critique focus on any number of issues, and you may choose to focus exclusively on those. But in any case, ALWAYS list out the positives (#1).

(* All according to the audience and author's intent, of course.)

Traps to Avoid

Before sending any comments to the author, triple check that you didn't fall into the following traps:

1. Differentiate between elements that may be well executed but not appeal to you personally. If the audience would appreciate it — you are not the intended audience — your personal preference does not apply. 

2. Did you read carefully enough? Were you distracted for some reason? Skimming words/phrase/passages prevents you from recognizing plot-structure, pacing, foreshadowing, and more.

3. Did you deleted your own in-line questions? A common practice is to comment on a story during the first read. If you asked a question about an element such as "Why a yellow flower?" and later in the story learned the yellow flower is a symbol of the MC's mother and foreshadows the emotional climax, make sure to delete that question. Better still, when the reveal occurs, praise the author with a comment like "Great foreshadowing. I noticed the yellow flower earlier." 

4. Does your suggestions consider everything the author considered? It's fine to simply mark an issue as "I don't understand this." But never suggest a change with massive repercussions without knowing acknowledging those massive repercussions.

5. Do the totality of your notes tell the same story as the author intended? Or is it now your story instead?**

(** I once sent a sci-fi lover story to a reader who then encouraged me to delete the entire romance out of the story. Not because the romance was not executed well, but because they personally don't enjoy romances. Don't be that asshat.)

Edit Your Critique

Your own comments can will have errors in them. Your critique's sole purpose is to help the author improve their work. Proofread and edit your own notes so you don't confuse an author further. 

Start Your Reply With Praise!

I cannot stress this enough, begin your critique with praise of something — anything — in the story. And this is for practical reasons. 

As the critique is meant to help the author, the author must feel confident that the comments and issues found in the story are going to make the story better. If the reader finds the story valuable in its current state, the author will trust the comments as helpful to make it better still.

Without such praise, the reader could have done everything wrong: They could have read while opinionated and distracted. They could have failed to consider the audience. They could have been unqualified to appreciate, let alone critique, the author's intent.

After praise, even if it's only a single item, one can begin commenting on whatever flaws and issues you find, because the author now appreciates how considerate and careful you are.

Don't be a Critic

Example of one of the worst critiques I ever received in an email:

"This didn't work for me. See attached."

"This didn't work for me. See attached."
Don't do this.

Don't do this.

Why should I, or any author, even bother to see the attached? They didn't appreciate anything in it. Not the plot, the characters, the theme... nothing. All of their comments will continue to be negative, likely intending to change the story to something I have no intention of writing. Even if any of their comments would help me, I'm pretty sure I could get the same comments from someone who appreciated the story, along with more accurate suggestions on how to improve the story I wrote.

Additionally, one who can only find flaws in a thing isn't doing anything special. Finding flaws is inherent in every animal's psyche. It's how they evaluate danger in the wild, from predators to poisonous foods. It doesn't take any brain power to see when something is wrong, so the exercise of poking holes in something is hardly intellectual. That is being a critic.

But identifying areas of improvement requires understanding of what a product could be and great suggestions require expertise.

"Crit unto others, as you would have crit unto you."