Proper Etiquette When Requesting/Giving Critiques

Join a Critique Group: If you are serious about becoming a writer, then you should consider joining a critique group. These groups are great for helping you to work out problem areas in your writing and to offer advice, or suggestions on changes. Often, fellow writers will be willing to share information on agents and publishers. 

Rules: Obtain a copy of the critique group's rules. Most critique groups have at least a short list of what they expect from each person who is requesting or giving a critique.

Guidelines: If the guidelines say submit no more than 2500 words, then be sure you don't submit more than 2500 words. You need to remember that the other members of the group are human and have personal lives. Sometimes it may take them time to critique your work, so be patient.

Submissions: If you belong to an online critique group, space your submissions out over a period of time. This will give more people a chance to critique your work and will give other members a chance to get their work critiqued as well.

Proofread: Proofread your submission and spell-check it before you submit it for a critique.

Opinions: If you receive a bad or nasty critique, don't argue with the person who gave it to you. Take whatever good things you find in it and discard the rest. Remember that the person doing the critique is a human being and they are only giving you their personal opinion.

Appreciation: Remember to thank the people who were kind enough to take the time to critique your work.

If you ask for critiques on your work, then you should offer to critique other's work in return.

When doing a critique remember to treat the author and their work the way you want yourself and your work to be treated.

Let the author know if this is not the type of story you normally read.

Read the entire story at least once before beginning the critique.

Begin the critique by saying something good about the story.

Remember to critique the writing, not the writer.

Give praise where praise is due. If the author does something unique, unusual, interesting, or just does something extremely well, make sure you tell them.

Try to give feedback, and if possible, give examples of suggested improvements.

The following is an indepth critique questionaire, however, you can also use it as a guideline when editing your own work.

Characters

1) Y  N Does the author introduce a character at the beginning of the story, or keep you wondering who he/she is?

2) Y  N Does the author show how his/her characters think and feel?

3) Y  N Are the characters clear and well-defined?

4) Y  N Are the characters people you could care about?

5) Y  N Are any of the characters stilted and undeveloped?

6) Y  N Do minor characters support the main character, and the development of the story?

7) Y  N Is there a villain/antagonist?

8) Y  N Does the villain/antagonist take over the story?

9) Y  N Do you feel as though you know the characters by the end of the story?

10)Y  N Are there unnecessary characters who don't seem to have any purpose in the story?

11)Y  N Did you have a favorite character?

Plot

12)Y  N Are there gaps in the plot that leave the reader confused?

13)Y  N Does the dialogue move the plot forward?

14)Y  N Is the plot plodding along?

Setting

15)Y  N Do you know where and when the story takes place? Does it matter in this story?

16)Y  N Does the author show the setting through the actions and/or dialogue of his/her characters?

17)Y  N Is there enough description to allow you to picture the setting in your mind?

18)Y  N Is the setting appropriate for this type of story?

Conflict

19)Y  N Is there any type of conflict in the story? (physical, intellectual, moral, or emotional)

20)Y  N Does the author clearly show what the conflict is?

21)Y  N Can you define the conflict in a few words?

22)Y  N Does the author clearly show which character has a conflict?

23)Y  N Has the author shown when the story and conflict are taking place?

24)Y  N Has the author shown where the story and the conflict are taking place?

25)Y  N Has the author shown a good reason why the conflict is happening in this time and place?

26)Y  N Does the author use actions/dialogue to show the conflict?

27)Y  N Does the author use conflict to build the tension slowly?

28)Y  N Does the conflict come to a satisfactory conclusion?

29)Y  N Does the resolution to the conflict happen in a believable way?

Theme

30)Y  N Does the story have a definite theme?

31)Y  N Can you define the theme in one sentence?

Dialogue

32)Y  N Is there too much dialogue, or too little?

33)Y  N Did the author use dialogue tags other than said/asked?

34)Y  N Did the author use too many dialogue tags?

35)Y  N Did the author use unnecessary adverbs in dialogue tags?

36)Y  N Did the author use action and description in both narrative and dialogue?

37)Y  N Did the author include actions in place of dialogue tags?

38)Y  N Does the dialogue fit the actions and reactions?

39)Y  N Is the dialogue realistic/natural?

40)Y  N  Is the dialogue used at the appropriate language level for the age of the intended audience?

41)Y  N Did the author repeatedly use characters' names when the characters were being spoken to?

Point of View

42)Y  N  What Point of View is used?

43)Y  N  Was the correct Point of View used?

44)Y  N  Is the Point of View consistent?

45)Y  N  Would the story be better written from a different Point of View?

Sentences

46)Y  N Are sentences short and choppy?

47)Y  N Are there a lot of run on sentences?

48)Y  N Are all sentences complete, or do sentence fragments make sense?

49)Y  N Are sentences so confusing you must read them several times to understand them?

50)Y  N Do many sentences begin with the same word?

Errors

51)Y  N Has the work been proofread and made as error free as possible before submitting it for a critique?

52)Y  N Has the work at least been spell-checked?

53)Y  N Are there any major grammatical errors?

54)Y  N Are there any major punctuation errors?

55)Y  N Are there missing words?

56)Y  N Are paragraphs too long and hard to read?

57)Y  N Are there words that don't seem to belong in a sentence and are just sitting there for no apparent reason?

58)Y  N Has the author provided enough information to let you know why the characters are here at this particular time and place?

59)Y  N Has the author used a lot of vague nouns, such as: this, that, these, and those?

60)Y  N Did the author keep changing tense?

61)Y  N Are there places where the author seems to "dump" too much information?

62)Y  N Did the author continually tell more than the reader needed or wanted to know?

63)Y  N Did the author continually repeat things?

64)Y  N Did the author use any unusual or technical terms that many readers would not understand?

65)Y  N Did the author use language that will be easy for all readers to understand?

66)Y  N Does the author continually use he/she, or her/him instead of the characters' names?

67)Y  N Did the author telegraph the outcome of the story?

68)Y  N Did the narrator intrude in the story?

69)Y  N Does the story contain old, tired clichés? mad as a hatter, mad as a wet hen, drunk as a skunk, ferocious as a tiger, etc.

70)Y  N Did the author use passive wording, such as: there was, there is, there are, it was, it is, and (or he/she was, he/she is, etc.)?

Ending

71)Y  N Does the action lead up to the climax in a realistic and satisfactory manner?

72)Y  N Are loose ends tied up at the end of the story?

73)Y  N Does the main character bring the story to its conclusion?

74)Y  N Does the story come to a believable conclusion?

75)Y  N Does the ending leave you frustrated/confused?

76)Y  N Does the ending leave you wanting to read more?

Structure

77)Y  N Title, is it attention grabbing?

78)Y  N Does the first sentence contain a hook that will grab the reader's interest?

79)Y  N Does the first paragraph draw you into the story, or leave you wondering if there is a point to the story?

80)Y  N Is the first page interesting enough to make you want to read more?

81)Y  N Does the story begin where it should?

82)Y  N Do chapters begin and end where they should?

83)Y  N Does each scene move the story forward?

84)Y  N Is the reader drawn into the scene?

85)Y  N Does the story flow smoothly and logically? Is the pace too fast, too slow, just right?

86)Y  N Did the author choose suitable names for people, places, and things?

87)Y  N Did the author use imagery that was vivid enough to enliven all five senses?

88)Y  N Does every action have a corresponding reaction?

89)Y  N Does the story make use of symbols? What kinds (names, objects, actions) are they? If so, do they carry or merely reinforce the meaning of the story?

90)Y  N Are the images and symbols clear and consistent?

91)Y  N Are the metaphors and similes original?

92)Y  N Did the author use euphemisms in the story? Do they make sense?

93)Y  N Does the story contain similes?

94)Y  N Did the author use irony?

95)Y  N Does the story anywhere utilize irony of situation? Dramatic irony? Verbal irony? What functions do the ironies serve?

96)Y  N Did the author use oxymorons?

97)Y  N Does the author use foreshadowing to create tension?

98)Y  N Does the writer TELL or SHOW the story?

99)Y  N Has the writer provided just enough information for the reader to fill in the gaps?

100)Y  N Is what detail there is illuminating or distracting?

101)Y  N Is the story a dreary monologue, or is it new, exciting, and interesting?

102)Y  N Is there a consistent mood to the story, and is the mood appropriate to this type of story?

103)Y  N Is the subject appropriate to the age of the intended audience?

104)Y  N Does the story work? Was the story easy to read?

105)Y  N What parts didn't you like? Why?

106)Y  N Which parts did you find most enjoyable? Why?

107)Y  N Was there anything in the story that really stuck out and made an impression on you?