How to Deal with Heartbreaking Critiques of Your Writing

You’ve worked hard on a piece of writing. You poured your blood, sweat, and tears into the prose. You bared your soul through the characters. You rewrote, revised, and polished it until you felt it was worthy of publication.

Then, you brought it to your beta readers and they tore it apart.

Getting critiques is never easy. After all, the critic’s job is to find ways for you to improve the writing. If they don’t point out weaknesses, they’re not doing their job properly. But it still hurts. Some writers react to harsh critiques with anger. Others cry. Only a lucky few escape unscathed.

Getting Critiques

Let’s assume you’ve taken the proper precautions in choosing who critiques your work. After all, you can’t hand it off to just anyone and expect to receive helpful feedback. Remember that a good critic is well read, honest, and understands the importance of emphasizing both the strengths and the weaknesses of your work.

But even the best critiques, the ones with the most tact, might take a red pen to your manuscript and cut it to shreds. They’ll tell you they hated the characters and this made them lose interest in the story. They’ll find plot holes and inconsistencies. And they’ll tell you that some of the scenes and passages that you thought represented your very best work should be cut.

Constructive critiques are hard to swallow. But they are essential to your development as a writer, especially if you’re just starting out. So here are some tips for how to deal with critiques that hurt.

Dealing with Critiques That Hurt

1. Tell Your Ego to Take a Nap

When you’re on the receiving end of critiques, your ego is your number one enemy. It will get defensive, angry, and offended by even the slightest suggestion that your work is less than perfect. Your ego wants to argue with your critic and defend your work. Diffuse it before you read or receive the critique and you’ll be able to deal with whole affair more objectively.

2. Get Emotionally Unattached

You poured your heart into your writing, and now someone’s going to attack it. That doesn’t feel good. In fact, even if the critic says a bunch of nice things about your work, the negative comments are going to sting. You have to emotionally detach yourself from your writing, even if only temporarily. That doesn’t mean you stop loving it, but you need to shift into the tough love phase.

3. You Are Not Your Writing

You are a person and your writing is something you made. It might be an extension of you. It might even represent you. But you are not your writing. Critiques are about your work, not about you. Yes, it’s hard not to take the feedback personally, but it’s not personal.

4. You’re Only Human

Nobody’s perfect. Not a single soul on this earth is perfect, including you. The sooner you accept that, the better your life will be, especially your writing life. Since you are flawed, your work will be flawed too. If you can not only accept but also embrace this fact, critiques won’t be painful. They’ll actually become enjoyable.

5. Put it Aside

When you first get feedback, it’s natural to have an emotional reaction. All the willpower in the world may not be enough to stop you from feeling a little angry or sad. This is not the time to respond to your critic (other than to say thank you) and it’s not the time to make any decisions about how you’ll apply the feedback to your next revision. Always put critiques aside for a few days before you start analyzing them and using them to improve your writing.

6. Look for the Good

Any decent critique will say something good about your writing. If this isn’t the case, get another group of beta readers or join some other writer’s group. Always look for the good in the critiques on your work. Even if it’s something small or minor, recognize it as a compliment and as an accomplishment.

7. Find the Subjective

Critics are human too. Often, they inject sheer opinion into their critiques. This is a good thing. Art is subjective and learning that some people just won’t like your work is a lesson best learned early. The trick is to figure out which parts of a critique are based on taste and which are objective assessments. For example, your critic might have a problem with the futuristic technology in your story, but then again, she does not like science fiction stories (your story is not to her taste). On the other hand, she might say that the gadgets 300 years in the future should be more evolved than what you’ve got, which is good, objective feedback that you can use.

8. Get a Second Opinion

If you’re struggling with a critique, feel free to get a second opinion. This can be particularly useful if you feel most of the negative feedback was based on taste or personal preference.

9. Devise a Plan

Once you’ve had time to truly sift through a critique with an open mind, you can start making decisions about how to apply the feedback to your work. Don’t just open your document and start revising. Instead, make a plan. Decide which bits of feedback you’ll use and which you’ll discard. It’s a good idea to keep track of feedback, so either store it in a folder or some other place in case you need to refer back to it later.

10. Improve Your Work

Here’s where all the pain and suffering of receiving critiques finally pays off. You get to sit down with your writing project and make it even better. After you apply the feedback to your revisions a few times, you’ll see how drastically critiques can help you improve your work, and it will become a rewarding experience.

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your writing, you can do no better than critiques, especially a professional quality critique that highlights the strengths in your writing while underscoring the weaknesses. Through this process, you’ll learn to see your own work more objectively, as a reader rather than as a writer, and you’ll acquire the skills to make meaningful revisions. In time, critiques get easier to bear, so stick it out the best you can, and keep on writing.

22 Quick and Dirty Tips for Critiques

If a writer doesn’t know what’s broken, how will he or she know how to fix it?

Critiques are essential during a writer’s early development.

A good critique will give a writer suggestions for how to build on strengths and minimize weaknesses.

And a good critic will relay this information in a tactful manner.

In essence, a critic’s job is to deliver a judgment, but don’t bring the gavel down too hard! We writers are sensitive creatures, with our self-esteem wrapped up in delicate sentences and fragile paragraphs. Best not to break a writer’s spirit by delivering the death sentence along with the verdict.

Today’s writing tips will help you become a better critic. You’ll learn how to deliver thoughtful critiques that will truly help your writer friends grow into better writers. Trust me, they’ll thank you for it.

Tips for Providing Critiques

1. Read the piece in its entirety before making any comments or taking any notes. Once you’ve gotten the initial reading out of your system, you’ll be prepared to revisit it with a critical eye.
2. Work your way through the piece carefully, taking notes about what’s good and what’s not so good.
3. Never work through a critique on the spot. You should be nowhere near your writer friend when you’re reading or evaluating a piece.
4. Mark up the copy with underlines and highlighting. Don’t forget to highlight the strong sections – appealing images, effective dialogue, and descriptive scenes. And don’t forget to pay attention to grammar.
5. Look for areas where the writing is consistently successful. Are all the characters realistic? Is the grammar tight? These are the writer’s overall strengths.
6. Also look for spots where the writer seems to have gotten lucky. Maybe most of the images are clichés, but there’s one really strong, original piece of imagery. Call this out, so the writer can build on it.
7. You have to look for weak spots too. Does the writer have lots of great descriptions with just one scene that doesn’t quite make sense? Point it out so they can fix it.
8. Likewise, look for consistencies in weaknesses. This is most essential since consistent problems indicate an area where a writer needs the most improvement. Is the punctuation all wrong? Does the plot go nowhere? Take note!
9. Once you’ve established the good, the bad, and the ugly, it’s time to prepare your critique. Organize your thoughts and your notes.
10. If you are going to give a live critique (in person), make sure you’ve listed all the points you want to make so you don’t forget anything. Go the extra mile, and give the writer a copy of your notes.
11. If you’re providing written critiques, make sure your feedback is clear and consistent. Provide a copy of the writer’s material with comments and markup, and also provide a separate document containing detailed feedback.
12. Always start with what’s good. First tell the writer what works, where the strengths are. Kick off the session on a positive note.
13. Ease gently into the negative feedback. It’s necessary, but you don’t have to slap a writer across the face with it.
14. Use positive (rather than negative) language to express areas that need work. Try phrases like the following: this would be even more interesting if… that character would be more realistic if… I like the image you’ve created, but it would be even stronger if…
15. Avoid using negative words like: don’t, never, terrible, weak, boring, doesn’t, etc. Instead use positive, action-oriented words.
16. In other words, instead of telling the writer what’s wrong with the piece, tell the writer what actions they can take to make it better.
17. If you’re working with a new writer, hold yourself back. Focus on problems that are consistent throughout the piece and only call out a few issues. You don’t have to address every single detail – the idea is to show a writer how to improve bit by bit. Never hand back a manuscript so marked up that it’s solid red.
18. As you deliver your feedback, pay attention to the writer’s reaction. Grateful? Annoyed? Shocked? Angry? Upset? Heartbroken? You may not be able to do anything about it, but you can always ask if there was anything offensive about your delivery.
19. Know that some writers want nothing more than praise.
20. After you’ve provided your critique, check back with your writer friend to see if your feedback was helpful. Find out which, if any, suggestions were used. Offer to take a look at the revision. Doing this will help you sharpen your skills as a critic.
21. Stick to your guns. Some writers will try to argue points that you’ve made. Maybe they just wanted praise or maybe they’re just emotionally attached to a particular passage. Don’t budge.
22. Even though you’re not budging, let the writer know that your critique is not law. Each writer is free to apply or discard suggestions within a critique.

Have you had any luck with critiques? Any bad luck? Do you have any tips to add to this list? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

How to Get Critiques on Your Writing (Bloggers’ Edition)

Alik Levin of Practice This and Rebecca Reid of Rebecca’s Writing Practices have both suggested a detailed post about how to use your blog to get feedback on your writing.

The Value of Critiques

Getting critiques on your writing is essential if you ever want to become a better writer.

You can read all the grammar guides and writing tips in the world and none of it will do you a bit of good if you don’t show people your work, ask for their feedback, and then take their advice to heart.

It’s not always easy. Some critics are harsh. Others are too easy going. The trick is to find someone who knows good writing. It should be someone who knows how to pinpoint the weaknesses in your work and provide suggestions that will help you grow as a writer. Your job is to accept the critique graciously, figure out what you can learn from the feedback, and apply it to your writing.

Critiques with Groups and Partners

Unless you hire someone who offers professional critiques, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll be reciprocating the critique. You can get involved in critique exchanges by hooking up with a group or by teaming up with a partner. So, make sure you can give a useful critique to fellow writers.

Buddy Up

Find a writing buddy and critique each others’ work on a regular basis. Look for someone who writes in the same genre or form and who has skills that complement your own. Set up a regular meeting time and place, and then get together regularly to exchange feedback. Online, you and your writing buddy can exchange work via email and use IM for discussions.

Join a Group

Writing groups often include critiques and there are plenty of online forums where members offer valuable feedback for one another. You can also look for in-person writing groups that meet locally. This is a great way to get feedback from a range of writers rather than from just one person.

Take a Class

Writing classes and workshops often include peer reviews and critiques as part of the curriculum. Check for adult community classes or visit a community college in your area to find suitable classes for your interests and skill level. Many colleges now offer online classes, so if your community doesn’t offer any, get online and connect with one that does.

Professional Critiques

If you’re in the market to hire an expert, then professional critiques could be a good solution for you. Hiring someone to critique your work can ensure honest and objective feedback. A professional should also be able to provide information about their education and experience, so you can feel confident that you’re working with a pro.

Get Feedback Through Your Blog

If you want to use your blog to get writing feedback, it helps to have a substantial amount of traffic. Loyal readers and subscribers who comment regularly will be more likely to offer feedback on your writing than fly-bys who are coming in through searches and links.

Additionally, you should visit other blogs, especially ones that are in your niche or related to your topic, and leave comments. This is how you build relationships with other bloggers. Reach out by sending emails and letting another blogger know you enjoyed a particular article, or give your friends’ blogs a boost by linking to their posts once in a while.

Once you’re getting regular readers, a decent amount of comments, and have become an active member of the blogging community, there are several ways you can get writing feedback:

1. Ask specifically for a writing critique. Include a brief note at the beginning of a post to let readers know that you invite feedback on your writing and that they are welcome to leave comments or contact you with their thoughts.
2. Open for feedback. Use an image or link to let readers know that you’re always open for feedback on your writing. This is a good approach if you want feedback all the time rather than just for specific pieces.
3. Team up. If you’ve built relationships with other bloggers, then you can email them to ask if they’d like to partner up as writing buddies. Then, you can start swapping material and providing feedback to one another on your blog posts.
4. Launch a forum of your own. You can add a forum to your blog and use it to build a writing group. Before you do this, be aware that forums need to moderated and it’s more difficult to get regular forum participants than it is to get subscribers for a blog. This is best if you have a large amount of traffic and subscribers or if you already have a group of writers who have agreed to swap critiques.
5. Run a clinic. You can add a category to your blog for writing clinics and use that to post your rough draft materials, including a message that these posts are still works in progress and feedback is welcome. You might even invite other writers to participate and take turns posting your own material and the work of others, which will help to promote and grow your community.

If you do decide to use your blog to get writing feedback, you’ll want to be careful you don’t overdo it by constantly posting unpolished pieces. Also, be reciprocal. Most bloggers appreciate reciprocation above all things, so if someone offers to do a critique, make sure you offer one in return. Show gratitude when people link to you, and try to return comments by visiting your readers’ blogs.

Also, make sure you have a clear grasp of your objectives before you start asking everyone what they think of your work. It might not be wise, for example, to run a business blog and declare that you welcome any feedback on your writing. A business blog should be professional and is not an appropriate place for workshopping (this includes a professional author’s website).

Harnessing the Internet Beyond

Beyond your blog is the greater Internet, and there are lots of ways to get feedback on your writing on the web. Here are few final tips for getting a writing critique beyond your blog:

• Find an established critique and feedback forum or look for online writing groups and mailing lists.
• Use social media sites like Facebook or Twitter to connect with other writers and find writing buddies.
• Hire a professional who offers critique services (this can get expensive so save it for your most polished or most important pieces).
• Take an online writing class or workshop, and make sure it is one in which students critique each others’ work.

Final Thoughts

Personally, I find the best way to get feedback is through a workshop or forum. I’ve tried a number of these methods for sharing critiques but found that in a group setting, you get a lot more feedback. Interestingly, sometimes the feedback you receive in this type of setting will be conflicting. One person loves your poem and says “don’t change a thing,” and someone else thinks it needs a complete makeover. The benefit to this is that you have a lot more to work with and there’s also plenty of good reading that you can critique too.

If you want to get feedback on your writing so you can grow and improve and produce better writing, then try these methods and see which one works best for you. Or, if you have any ideas to add, go ahead and leave a comment.

And remember to keep on writing.

Do you have any tips to add for getting and giving writing critiques online? Share your thoughts in the comments.

What to Expect from Professional Critiques of Your Writing (Q&A)

Getting feedback on your work is the fastest way to strengthen your skills and improve your writing.

But you can’t just take feedback from anyone (even though everyone will have an opinion about your writing once you get published).

And you have to be able to differentiate between the subjective feedback (which you may or may not want to use) and the objective feedback (which you should seriously consider using).

So, where do you find someone who can offer worthwhile critiques on your work? What traits and skills should your critic possess? And what should you look for in the critique itself? The Q&A below will answer these and other questions for writers who are ready to have their work critiqued.

Professional Critiques Q&A

What is a critique?

A critique is an evaluation of a piece of writing. A critique can be provided verbally but is more helpful if it’s written. A critique can address mechanical issues (grammar, spelling, and punctuation), but critiques usually focus on word choice, sentence structure, plot, characterization, transitions, themes, and just about every other aspect of writing (and storytelling). Most of all, a critique should point out the strengths and weaknesses in a piece of writing in an effort to help the writer understand what is and is not working. Its ultimate purpose is to provide feedback that the writer can implement to strengthen the piece and his or her writing in general.

Where can writers find people to critique their work?

Most writing workshops include critiques. Many writing courses also include critique sessions (check with the instructor if you’re not sure). You can find writing classes at community centers and colleges and online. Writer’s groups are another excellent venue for exchanging critiques (note that critiques are almost always an exchange). To find workshops, classes, and writers’ groups, check with your library, local bookstore, community publications, and search online.

What traits and skills should a critic have?

First and foremost, the critic should be well read. If you write in a genre, you’ll do better with a critic who is well read in your genre. Some writers like to get feedback from readers, not writers. However, writers can read objectively and have the added benefit of understanding writerly challenges and they should also be able to discuss the work in literary terms, so you may find that a fellow writer is your best bet. All critics should possess excellent writing skills, even if they are not writers. They need to be knowledgeable about language and grammar and if you’re working in fiction, storytelling.

What’s the difference between proofreading, editing, and critiques?

I’ve written an article outlining the differences between proofreading and editing. Editing deals with word choice and sentence structure. Proofreading focuses on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Critiques look at the piece in its entirety and focus on the content or what’s happening in the piece. Are there plot holes? Character inconsistencies? Is the action too fast or too slow? Is the story believable? Is the message clear? Critiques take editing and proofreading a step further with feedback that addresses the overall strengths and weaknesses in a piece and includes recommendations for making improvements.

Sounds like critiques are pretty subjective.

The most effective critiques are actually objective because they provide logical reasons for each assessment. For example if a critique says a particular word isn’t working, it should also say why. The word might be vague, superfluous, or used incorrectly. “I don’t like this word” is subjective. Many critiques will deal with subjective issues too (“this character is annoying,” for example). The most astute critics will acknowledge which portions of their own feedback are subjective, but ultimately, it’s up to the writer to determine which bits of feedback to apply during the next revision and which bits can be cast aside.

How will critiques help me?

If editing and proofreading are included in the critique, it will catch mistakes and typos that you may have missed (do note, however, that your piece should be well polished before you submit it for critique). The critique itself will provide information about any problems with consistency or issues that are repeated throughout your work (for example, weak transitions between scenes and paragraphs). This is to help you identify and eliminate any detrimental writing habits. Finally, the critique will include suggestions for improvements that you can make to the piece. This could include anything from ideas for making a character more realistic or making a scene easier for readers to visualize to suggestions for better word choices. The critique addresses a single piece of writing but the feedback you receive will be applicable to your future projects too. They will make you a better writer by showing you how to see your work from a different perspective.

Can I ask the critic to look closely at certain elements?

Absolutely. If you’re struggling with character development, by all means, ask the critic to focus on giving you feedback about your characters (or any other element that you want to address specifically). Most critiques will address the piece holistically and look at as many elements as possible, but focusing first and foremost on the basics. For example, when I do a critique, I address grammar, spelling, and punctuation first. If those elements are solid, I move on to word choice and sentence structure. Then, I get into the nitty gritty and look at character, plot, themes, imagery, setting, musicality, etc. If I’m critiquing a piece that has a lot of mechanical problems (spelling, punctuation, etc.), I may not get to the deeper stuff. My philosophy is that your critic should help you build basic writing skills first and foremost and venture into more complex areas progressively. So, your first critique may not make your piece of writing publishable. Remember, the primary purpose of any critique is to take your writing up to the next level.

Have you ever had your work critiqued in a group setting or by a professional? Did it help you improve your writing? Have you provided critiques to other writers? What was the experience like for you? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Why You Should Polish Your Writing Before Getting Critiques

Getting critiques on your work is one of the fastest and most effective ways to improve your writing and strengthen a particular project.

A second set of eyes can find problems in your writing that you simply cannot see, and another writer or editor may also contribute a fresh perspective and more extensive knowledge about the mechanics of writing.

Critiques are designed to improve the piece that is being critiqued as well as the writer’s skill set. Every writer should come away from a critique with new knowledge and understanding about the craft.

Improving Your Writing with Critiques

Good writing requires a vast skill set. In addition to the mechanics, there are countless aspects of writing that are subtle. The rules are not absolute or formulaic for creating believable characters, a gripping plot, sensible structure, clear organization, and smooth flow. A good critic can take these aspects of your work and break them down, explain what’s not working, and more importantly, explain why and provide solid suggestions for making improvements.

The most effective critiques will come back to you packed with insight. These critiques will help you see the strengths and weaknesses in your writing from a different angle. You will realize possibilities that you hadn’t considered before, and you will learn something about the craft.

It doesn’t matter if what you learn is how to use a comma properly or how to make one of your characters a little more realistic. The purpose of the critique is for you to gain knowledge and insight that you did not possess before.

Preparing Writing Projects for Critiques

An editor or proofreader goes through a piece of writing and fixes all the mistakes. The fixes are not explained or justified. The corrections are made, the writing is polished, and everybody’s happy. But the writer may not learn anything. The next piece he or she writes won’t be much better.

A critique, on the the other hand, includes explanations as to why different aspects of the piece are not working along with suggestions for how to make it work. If a bit of dialogue sounds unnatural, the editor just changes it. A critic explains what is unnatural about it and offers concrete suggestions for making it sound more natural. If a comma is misused, the proofreader makes a correction whereas a critique will include a brief instruction on proper comma usage. The writer can then apply that knowledge to future writing projects.

That’s what critiques are for: to teach and learn. Editing and proofreading improve a particular piece of writing whereas a critique improves the piece of writing and the writer’s overall skills. Yes, critiques may include fixing things, but their main purpose is to help develop the writer’s craft.

Getting the Most Out of Your Critiques

It is essential for writers to thoroughly polish their work before submitting it for critiques. If a writer composes a rough draft and only goes over it once to fix all the most obvious errors, most of the feedback will be useless. The critic may spend precious time and page space on problems that the writer already knows how to fix.

For example, in critiques, I tend to focus first on basic mechanics. If those are sound, then I address issues that are more complicated. A writer first needs to be able to compose a proper, comprehensive sentence before trying to master complexities like dialogue, themes, and sub-plots or even overall organization of a piece. One must crawl before learning how to walk.

Usually, a critic does not know what the writer knows. Unless the critic has been working with a writer for some time, it’s almost impossible to assess someone’s writing and determine which weaknesses in a piece are the result of laziness or insufficient proofreading and which are due to lack of knowledge about the craft. A good critic will focus first and foremost on helping a writer understand the basics. If the writer already knows the basics but hasn’t bothered to demonstrate that knowledge with a highly polished piece of writing, then the critic’s efforts are wasted reiterating information that the writer already possesses.

It’s unfortunate when a writer fails to polish a piece and receives critiques that cover aspects of the work that the writer could have fixed on his or her own while other areas of the piece go neglected. The result is that a piece of writing that could have been A-grade ends up as a C-grade.

Summary

I believe that the three best ways to improve one’s writing are to read, write, and get critiques. But those critiques will be of little benefit if the material is not first fully polished. When you submit a piece of writing to anyone, it should always be the best you can make it — proofread, edited, and as close to perfection as you feel you are capable of bringing it. Then, and only then, can a critic provide you with feedback that will truly help you grow as a writer. 

Getting Critiques from Online Forums

In a recent post about accepting critiques graciously, one commenter remarked about her experience with online forums, stating that she had received “extremely harsh and destructive feedback from anonymous critics on a short-story site.”

There are many great creative writing resources all over the Internet. However, in all my research, perusing, and surfing, I have only come across one worthwhile critique forum (and last time I checked, it wasn’t online anymore). There are certainly many forums out there, but every time I go check one out, I walk away shaking my head because they don’t offer any real benefit to serious writers.

The Purpose of Critiques

The purpose of getting someone to critique your work is neither to receive lavish praise nor to be the recipient of harsh, personal insults. Critiques are supposed to show you the strengths and weaknesses in your writing so you can make improvements. If you want wild praise, show your work to your mother. If you want to be victimized, there are plenty of online forums where people will happily abuse you and your work.

In most of the online forums that I’ve visited, participants received critiques that I consider extreme. The feedback was either entirely complimentary or completely destructive. Stories that were poorly written were called brilliant and fairly decent poetry evoked a string of personal attacks. Unfortunately, most of the critics on these forums came across as naive, immature, patronizing, or rude.

That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions. I haven’t been to every critique forum on the web, and even in the most disgraceful dives, I’ve caught a few insights that might have been helpful to a writer. There are probably forums out there where you can get feedback that will actually help you improve your writing. The trick is figuring out how to identify those forums and separate them from the rest.

Getting Beneficial Critiques

When I started Writing Forward, a critique forum was actually in the works. I wanted to create a space where writers could post their work and gain perspective on how to make their writing better. The idea was to build a community of writers who would support and encourage one other while exchanging honest and thoughtful critiques.

But I soon realized such an endeavor would be extremely time consuming. After visiting numerous critique forums, I knew that there would have to be an application and registration process. I didn’t want a forum packed with hacks or the types of writers who just want to hear how great they are. Nor did I want the forum open to people who had nothing to offer other than contempt.

In the end, I determined that I would either have to charge for membership or spend every minute of my free time managing and moderating the forums. In the end, I realized that what I really wanted to do was create a space online where writers could find useful tips and resources without having to pay or jump through hoops, so I scrapped the whole idea and instead focused on publishing helpful articles about writing.

Assessing The Critics

It would be a fine world indeed if we writers could just hand our work off to anyone and expect a response that would help us become better writers. But would you stroll into the New York subway, approach a total stranger, ask them to read and assess your work, and expect to receive helpful or insightful feedback? Of course not, so why would you expect the same from a random bunch of strangers on the Internet?

When you are looking for critiques on your work, there are a number of things to consider. Will the critique process require you to publish your work? Does the forum policy address copyright ownership? Who will be able to review and judge your work? What are the rules for critiquing? Are you under any obligation to reciprocate?

Publishing Problems

Most people don’t want to publish a piece of writing before it’s complete. If you want a critique on a piece of your writing, it’s probably a piece of writing you’d like to improve. Therefore, it’s not complete. When you post work in public forums, it may be viewable by anyone. In this sense, it’s published. This is an important consideration. If you’re working on a short story or novel that you’d like to submit to an editor, they may have restrictions on previously published works, and publicly viewable forums count as publishing venues.

Copyright Issues

You should also be aware of copyright rules on any website where you publish your work. Many sites take ownership of copyright the moment you post your work.

Who’s Critiquing

If you’re going to hand your work to someone in the hopes of receiving helpful feedback, and if you care about your work, then you should be choosy about who gets to critique it. There are surely qualified critics in online forums, folks who are well-read or who have extensive knowledge and experience with writing. But there can also be a bunch of random people who don’t read and have never written a word unless they were obligated to do so.

You should also choose critics who are sympathetic to your genre. In a forum, you might post a romance story and get pummeled by a literary snob or genre elitist.

Plenty of people boost their own confidence by putting others down. Forums attract those kinds of people the way honey attracts ants. These forum provide optimum grounds for people who have nothing better to do than criticize others. And yes, the point of a critique is to receive some criticism, but it should be structured in a manner that is supportive of the writer. In short, you don’t want your work reviewed by someone who’s looking for a personal punching bag on whom they can take out their own frustrations and personal shortcomings.

Rules of Engagement

A proper critique always includes positive and negative observations and the positive always comes first. A well-structured critique forum would stress this as part of their policy. The rules should also clearly define appropriate behavior and what constitutes as offensive (e.g. no name calling). Additionally, the policy should clearly instruct participants to critique the writing, not the writer.

Reciprocation

The only decent critique forum that I ever found had a rule that for every piece of writing you posted for others to critique, you had to give three critiques in return. Even if nobody commented on your piece, you were supposed to give three critiques. I think this rule is what made that particular forum so successful. You had to earn your critiques, and when you critique other people’s work, you learn a lot about writing in a very short amount of time.

Alternative Solutions

If anyone out there has found a truly helpful online critique forum, I’d love to hear about it. In the meantime, here are some alternative ways to get worthwhile critiques on your work:

• Join a writing group (online or off)
• Take a class or workshop
• Hire a professional editor or a writing coach

12 Tips for Accepting Critiques Graciously

It seems like every writer wants someone to read his or her work and provide feedback.

Trouble is, many writers want nothing more than praise. When they hear that their writing could actually use some work, some writers freeze up. Others go through the feedback and argue it point by point. A few will even launch into a tirade of sobbing or screaming.

Critiques are designed to help writers, not to offend them or make them feel unworthy. But the human ego is a fragile and funny thing. Some folks simply can’t handle the notion that despite all their hard work, the project they’ve written is less than perfect.

As a writer, you have to decide whether you truly want to excel at your craft. If you do, then you need to put your ego aside and learn how to accept critiques graciously. If you can’t do that, there’s a good chance that your writing will never improve and your work will always be mediocre.

The Importance of Critiques

Critiques are not tools of torture. They are meant to help writers. If the critique is put together in a thoughtful and meaningful way, it should lift the writer’s spirits by pointing out strengths in the piece, but it should also raise some red flags by marking areas that need improvement.

Usually, critiques sting a little. That’s okay. Sometimes, you’ll get lucky and your suspicions about what is weak in your writing will only be confirmed. Other times, you’ll be surprised that the critic found weaknesses in parts of the work that you thought were the strongest.

With practice and by following the tips below, you’ll learn how to overcome your own ego, how to obtain a beneficial critique and evaluate it objectively, apply it to your writing smartly, and for all that, you’ll be a better writer.

Tips for Accepting Writing Critiques

1. Find someone who is well-read, tactful, honest, and knowledgeable about writing. If you can find a critic who possesses all these traits, then you have overcome the first hurdle.
2. Polish your work as much as you can before handing it over. Do not send a rough draft to someone who will be critiquing your work, otherwise much of the feedback you get may address problems you could have found and addressed yourself. The point of a critique is to step beyond your own perspective and abilities.
3. Don’t harass the person who is critiquing your work by calling them every day, especially if they’re doing you a favor. If you are working under any kind of deadline, plan accordingly.
4. If possible, do not review the critique in the presence of the person who prepared it. The best way to first review a critique is to set aside some time alone.
5. You may have an emotional reaction. Some of the feedback may make you angry or despondent. Know that this is normal and it will pass.
6. After you review the critique, let it sit for a day or two. In time, your emotions will subside and your intellect will take over. The reasonable part of your brain will step in and you’ll be able to absorb the feedback objectively.
7. Revisit the critique with an open mind. Try to treat your own writing as if it were not yours at all. As you review it, ask yourself how the suggestions provided can be applied and envision how they will make your work better.
8. Figure out what is objective and what is personal in the critique. Critics are human. Some of their findings may be technical, mistakes that you should definitely fix. Other findings will be highly subjective (this character is unlikable, this dialogue is unclear, etc.). You may have to make judgment calls to determine where the critic is inserting his or her personal tastes.
9. Decide what you’ll use and what you’ll discard. Remember that the critic is not in your head and may not see the “big picture” of your project.
10. Thank the critic. After all, he or she took the time to help you and even if you didn’t like what they had to say or how they said it — even if the critique itself was weak — just be gracious, say thanks, and move on.
11. Revise. Now you can take the feedback you’ve received and apply it to your work. Edit and tweak the project based on the suggestions that you think will best benefit the piece.
12. Long-term application: you can apply the feedback to future projects too. Take what you learned from this critique and use it when you’re working on your next project. In this way, your writing (not just a single project) will consistently improve.

In some cases, you may not have any control over who critiques your work. If it’s published, then anyone can assess it. If you’re taking a class or workshop, then peer-to-peer critiques may be required. In cases like these, it’s essential that you keep a cool head. Even if someone is unnecessarily harsh or rude in their (uninvited) delivery, respond tactfully and diplomatically.

If you can obtain useful critiques and apply the feedback to your work, your writing will dramatically improve. Critiques are one of the most effective and fastest tracks to better writing. But they won’t help you one bit if you can’t accept them graciously.

Good luck with your critiques, and keep on writing.

How to Handle Critiques of Your Writing

If you want to be a better writer, you have to be able to handle criticism, even if it’s not constructive. There will be times when less-than-tactful or totally useless feedback falls into your lap, and you can either become defensive or you can read between the insults and find glittering gems of advice.

Everybody has an ego, and writers often find themselves in an usual position to receive reams of criticism. When your mom says she loves your short story, you feel special. When a literary agent tells you it’s garbage, you stifle a sob. When some bloke tells you you’re a hack, what you’d like to do is whip out your hacksaw. But should you use it on your critic or on your own writing?

The sad truth is that nine times out of ten, the negative feedback you receive will be far more accurate and beneficial than the positive.

The Writing Critique Scenario

You post a poem on a writing critique forum and hope for the best. Then, you sit there refreshing the window every thirty seconds as you wait for someone to come by and give you some valuable input – something you can use – something that makes you feel hopeful. Over the course of a week, you receive the following four comments:

1. Wow. Great rhymes.
2. You show great proficiency in the art of alliteration. The rhymes could be more sophisticated.
3. You’re a terrible poet.
4. The alliteration comes off as a means to distract the reader from the fact that this poem is suffering from adjective addiction. Less description, more action. You tell and poets must show. Plus, the subject matter is trite and trendy.

The first three commentators didn’t give you a whole lot. Number one stroked your ego. Number two was in a hurry, and number three was a flame-thrower. Number four took the time to read your piece but was nasty, haughty, and left you feeling defensive and offended. You work hard at alliteration, and you love adjectives. And what does everyone mean by show don’t tell?

The Five F’s: Friends & Family Find Few Faults

There are some people, and most of them are your friends and family, who will never find fault with your work. Maybe it’s because they love you. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the backbone to tell you your poem sucks. Or, maybe they know you’ve got a gnarly ego and might lash out at them if they honestly criticize your work. If you need a spiritual lift, go ahead and ask mom, but if you want to become a better writer, you’ll have to go outside of your inner circle.

You can get a writing critique in an online forum, in a writing workshop, or you can hire a professional to do a critique of your work. If you’re lucky, you might receive helpful feedback from an editor to whom you’ve submitted a piece of writing. But don’t count on loved ones for objective criticism because they are ill-equipped to be truly objective.

Avoid Fly-Bys

Some folks are just too busy. Sure, I’ll review your poem. Here, let me have a look. Great, good job, work on your rhymes. Have a nice day. You need a critic who’s going to tell you exactly what’s wrong with your writing. Otherwise, how are you going to fix it? Find someone who will take the time to work with you and elaborate on what you need to work on.

Ignore the Idiots

You know the type – never has anything nice to say about anyone or anything. The punk-ass who could use a few courses in anger management. These folks abound in forums and on message boards because they can spew their venom behind anonymity and disguise it as a writing critique. They’re not going to offer much other than you suck and so does your poem. Even if this is true, the feedback is useless because there’s nothing in it that you can use to make improvements, and therefore you cannot grow as an artist. Don’t get caught up in the drama! Ignore and move on.

Tolerating the Tactless

The tactless critic has valuable feedback but overlooks the positive aspects of your work. This individual will give you a thorough writing critique complete with grammar and punctuation advice. The drawback is that these people lack sensitivity and cannot see the good in others. They probably suffer from a severe case of insecurity coupled with a sense of entitlement or intellectual elitism. The good news is that they’re great at pinpointing problems in others, which is why you need to harness your ego, reign in your emotions, and accept what they say with tight lips and a thank you.

Embrace the Experts

Experts will take the time to really read your work. Their feedback will be a healthy mixture explaining both the good and bad qualities of your writing, and they’ll never criticize you – just your work, and that’s important. Adore them, bake them cookies, and buy them lots of gifts. Keep them close and write down everything they say. Then, incorporate their feedback into your writing. That’s when you’ll truly start to understand the value of constructive criticism.

Be Receptive to Critiques – Not Defensive

Ultimately, your job during the writing critique process is to listen and be receptive. If mom says it’s great, smile and say thank you. Don’t go trying to get her to find the flaws. Don’t even bother with the fly-bys, since they have better things to do anyway. Whatever you do, never get sucked into any type of flame war that involves personal insults. Better to ignore meanies and walk away with your head held high and the knowledge that they are total neanderthals.

Look instead to the people who actually have something negative but helpful to say. In other words, look for people who are constructive. These might be rude people who can’t find anything redeeming about your poem or they might be considerate individuals who know the glass is both half full and half empty. It is, however, the negative feedback that will help you hone your craft and give you the tools you need to target troubled areas of your writing, upon which you should focus and improve.

What About the All-Positive Writing Critique?

When it comes to a positive review, sit back and bask in the glory. Enjoy the moment and know that your writing shows promise and that someone out there enjoys it, at least some parts of it. Most importantly, whenever the negative feedback gets overwhelming or leaves you feeling like maybe you should seek a career in sales, remember the positive feedback you’ve received over the years. Let it keep your spirits high.

Have you ever given or received helpful writing critiques? Do you have any special techniques or strategies that you use when you receive harsh feedback? Share your thoughts, insights, and experiences in the comments.