The Critique Process

The Critique Process

Mary-Jac O’Daniel
December 13, 2013

1.     The critique process

1. Let the author know if this is not your favorite type of story.
2. Write down your impressions as a reader.
3. Try to give feedback on what could be changed.
4. Give examples of improvements.
5. Praise where praise is due.
6. Never criticize the author personally.
7. Critique as you would want to be critiqued.
   
   

2.     Check list

1. Opening
2. Conflict
3. Plot
4. Setting
5. Characterization
6. Dialogue
7. Point of View
8. Show versus tell
9. Format of the text

J.      Grammar and spelling

·  Conflict

1. Is it boring? Something needs to be happening. Conflict is "The mental or moral struggle caused by incompatible desires and aims. That is the kind of conflict that makes stories vitally alive." - Ben Bova in "The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells".
2. Is there emotional conflict WITHIN the main character? Between the main characters? Emotional conflict is part of what gets readers interested. For example: love vs. loyalty; greed vs. duty; fear vs. desire; revenge vs. self-doubt.
3. Are there too many or not enough conflicts?

4.     Is there enough conflict between the characters? Is it expressed through action, dialogue, attitudes, or values?

5.     Every scene needs to have a point!

 

·  Setting

1. Did the author paint an adequate picture of the setting. Could you see the red grape glistening in the sun?
2. Along those lines, was there too much description? Were there distracting cliches?

3.     If the story takes place in the south, does the dialogue and actions of characters fit the setting?

4.     Is the timing and order of events in the story consistent?

·  Characterization

1. Did the people seem real?
2. Were the facts about the characters accurate and consistent?

3.     Did you get a good picture of the culture, historical period, location, and occupation of the main character?

4. Backstory: Were you distracted by too much background information of a character at one time? Did the author seem to dump a lot of information on the background of a character in one or two long speeches, or did we learn about that character here and there in smaller pieces?

·  Dialogue

1. Did the words from the mouths of the people in the story seem consistent with their personalities?
2. Was there too much or not enough dialogue, in your opinion? Usually writers err on the side of not enough dialogue.
3. Did the dialogue seem easy to speak? Can you 'hear' it?
4. In an exchange of conversation, can you easily tell who is speaking if you didn't have their names or gender attached to their sentences?
5. Avoid talking heads.

·  Point of View

1. Did the story skip around between the first person or third person point of view (POV)? Were the changes in POV signaled clearly?
2. When the POV changed, were you able to quickly sense who the new viewpoint was from?

·  Show versus tell

1.     When in the POV of a character, did the author describe what his/her senses showed, e.g., sight, sound, smell, touch, taste? Or did the author just tell you the dinner was very good?

2.     Did the author describe exactly how the people acted?

3.     Were there many instances of words such as "very", "much", "really", "great", or "nice" when a more detailed description would have been more colorful?