This week at the Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss critiques from the red pen side of things. And what skills should a good critique partner have? No writer wants the “it’s good” critique. Or the “trashed my work” critique. What actually goes into becoming a quality critiquer of others’ work? We talk about both the etiquette and skills required to give fair and constructive feedback to your writing group friends.
VIDEO
AUDIO
SHOW NOTES
Writing groups, are they helpful? If you are a part of a writing group, how do you give helpful feedback to your writing partners? We cover etiquette, how to mark manuscripts, and the time and effort you should put into being a good critique partner. Even as you critique you are learning as a writer, so have fun and grow together!
What we talked about:
What makes for bad writing group etiquette? (0:55)
What are good suggestions to make? (3:43)
Don’t monopolize your groups time. (4:50)
The problem of taste. (5:38)
Be light with the red pen! (8:07)
Don’t preach writing rules. (9:30)
Be as specific as possible. (11:18)
Stick with what is on the page. (13:10)
Does giving critiques help you as a writer? (15:31)
How should you go about critiquing a manuscript? (16:34)
The importance of positive feedback. (21:02)
Keep your primary goal in mind! (23:42)
LINKS
Want more about these topics? Check out:
SWRT 2 Writing Groups
SWRT 054 Keeping a Community of Writing