 | How to Be a Good Critique Partner
by Lena Austin Lately, I've heard several complaints about critique partners in general. I'm not naming names because I don't see any sense in embarrassing someone for what could be a simple error in judgment, or perhaps just one of those times when critiques fell through the cracks of a too-busy schedule. No one is innocent of the mistake of over-committing at one point in his or her lives or another. |
Rule #1: The main rule in being a good critique partner is to choose someone who writes at the same speed or level you do. Partnering yourself with someone who writes twice as fast as you do means you will have the burden of critiquing twice as often and pretty soon resentment will build in your heart because you'll feel --quite rightly!-- that you're doing all the work. Critiquing should be 1:1. You give a critique, you get a critique.
Rule #2: Do it fast. Most critique partners are on a schedule of some kind. They need their work to be written, critiqued, and self-edited by a certain date. That date could be self-imposed, or it could be there's an editor or agent waiting. In any case, a critique should be returned in less than a week. Breaking this rule will cause you a lot of stress when you realize you're behind and your friend is resentfully tapping her proverbial foot waiting on you.
Now we come to Rule #3. Do it right. The rule that makes everyone hide under the sofa. From here, you can split off the critique into two different types: Content and Mechanics. Most people start out as Content Critiquers. They don't feel qualified to critique technique or grammar, but they know what they like. Here's how to be both.
I will assume that there are two people in this partnership, though more may apply. One is the Author (A) and one is the crit partner (C).
When A sends a chapter to C, the document should have already been run through a spell/grammar check. (F-7 in Word). Word is imperfect. It will not catch all spelling and grammar mistakes, and sometimes it's just dead wrong. However, it is the first line of defense against unprofessional work. Use it.
Are you scared of being a crit partner because your grammar and spelling suck? Grammar and spelling are the least things a crit partner should worry about. MS Word and the F7 key should catch 90% of all grammar and spelling. Those mistakes are the author's job, not yours.
Do not turn on Track Changes. Many publishers dislike the use of Track Changes, as Track Changes leaves encoded data in the file that often becomes corrupted. Any trace of Track Changes makes M go ballistic. Your final round edits, and even whole chapters have been known to disappear due to the use of Track Changes.
Someone asked me why I don't suggest the use of Comments. Here's my answer.
I hate Comments, and I have a very good reason. I'm aging and my eyesight is failing rapidly. Comments often are in a very tiny font. When colored text is used instead, I may use the Zoom feature to read what I need with no difficulties. The size of the font in Comments remains tiny, even when Zoom is above 150%. Zoom also works in reverse. Colored font show up even when I zoom down to 25% so I can scan several pages at once to locate a place in the text my editor or cp's say has a major issue.
Comments are also inefficient timewasters. For Goddess sake, if all that needs doing is a damn comma removed, then just tell me in red text instead of wasting time opening a Comment and typing. Comments force me to open the comment, read it, fix the error, and then delete the comment. Instead, can't I just highlight the comma and red text, then delete all at once?
The same goes for longer "suggestions" from the editor. My editor often will suggest a different turn of phrase I really like and see no reason to alter. Rather than re-type from a Comment, if it's already in red font, all I have to do is delete my old text, then change the color of her suggestion to black. Voila! Done. My editor may also move text to a different location, color it red, and I'll see where she moved something. If I have no issues (I rarely do) then all I have to do is change the font color to black.
What's more, when receiving multiple suggestions from different sources such as critique partners, different colors of font mean I can tell these are all suggestions from different people and I may choose which I like best accordingly. I assigned each of my crit partners a color code. Admittedly, some opinions have more weight than others. Those color codes I pay more attention to.
This compromise is the best I've found between the convenience of Track Changes and the inefficiency of Comments.
I will recommend the use of Edit/Replace with highlighting a lot. Here's how to use it:
1. Choose a Highlight Color. On my toolbar, the Highlight command looks like a pen with a colored line beneath it. When I click on the arrow beside that button, I get a choice of colors. Choose one.
2. To begin checking your ms, hit Ctrl+H. This puts you in the Edit/Replace window. Type in the word you wish to find.
Let's use the word "that" for an example. (Because M hates the word THAT and it's wise to kill it off before she does -- M) In the Find What box, type: that
3. In the Replace with box, type the same. Now it gets tricky. Using your mouse, highlight the "that" in the second box. Click on the More button. Click on the Format button. Click on the Highlight button. Check to make sure the lower box (Replace with) now has the word "highlight" beneath it. This is important.
4. Now, click Replace All. If you've done this correctly, all instances of the word "that" will now be highlighted.
5. Repeat with all words you wish to check for.
6. To remove a highlight that is not needed, click on the Highlight key arrow for the dropdown menu and choose "None." Now go to the incident you don't need highlight and use your mouse to erase.
Step One: Check for Content
The first thing any C should do is read through the chapter to get an overall "feel" for the work. I encourage the use of smiley faces, smart comments, and "kill that SOB!" comments. Let A know your gut reactions. Change your font color to red and let her know how you feel.
For true effectiveness, read the chapter aloud. This forces you, the reader, to slow down and read every word. Look for places where you stutter because of awkward phrasing, have to take a breath because the sentence is too long, and spelling errors the spell check did not catch. Note them in red font.
Step Two: Mechanics- keep your font red, and comment in the text.
1. Hooks- Look at the first paragraph. Were you immediately caught up in the action/emotions of the POV character? Look at the last paragraph. Were you intrigued and left wanting to go to the next chapter?
2. Senses- did A use the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste) in a well-balanced manner to create a vivid picture?
3. Passive/Active- check for conjugation of "be" combined with a helping verb. (Examples: was willing, be herded.) You may use the Edit/Replace command to easily find the words: is, am, was, were, be. Then use the same Edit/Replace to find all words ending with -ing and -ed. I use yellow highlight for this. Anywhere you see yellow with yellow, you have a possible use of passive voice. Turn your font red, and type in (Passive?) when you are sure you've spotted an incident of passive voice. You are welcome to suggest an alternative phrasing, also in red font.
4. Adverbs- While adverbs can sometimes be the only answer, they are often over-used. Again, use Edit/Replace, changing the highlight to pale pink. Look for all instances of -ly. (Quietly, softly, exceptionally, entirely are some examples.) Look for the over-use of adverbs. Use the red font to suggest alternatives, especially in cases where A is "telling" instead of "showing."
5. "Wussy phrases"- Turn the highlight to light blue. Look for phrases like sometimes, sort of, kind of, almost, something. (Example: "She felt something when he kissed her. " Something? What? What did she feel? Shivers? Revulsion? Uncontrollable lust? Nausea?) Ask for clarification.
6. It and That- This is tricky. Use Edit/Replace and highlight in pink. (Example: "She felt that." What? A breeze? A cold hand?) Use red font when you see a need for more clarification or description and ask.
7. Lazy dialogue tags- Use the light green highlight and find all instances of commonly over-used and unemotional dialogue tags. (Examples: said, murmured, asked, answered.) Use red font to suggest a more emotive word like shouted, hissed, chortled, or demanded. Better still, suggest the tag be removed and a more emotive way used.
Wrong:
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Better:
"Are you sure?" she gasped.
Best:
She sucked in her breath, her eyes wide. "Are you sure?"
8. Now erase all highlighting. Ctrl+A, highlight "none".
There is a faster way to do this called a macro. However, that will have to be handled in a separate posting. I'll also post a full list of "no-no's" separately.
Step Three: POV
Go through the chapter again. Start with the first paragraph. Whose POV is it? Hero? Heroine? Other? If it is the hero, manually highlight in any color you choose. Continue through the scene until the POV changes. When you feel you are no longer in the original POV, change the highlight color code.
Example:
| The pounding on the door forced her out of her bed. Since it was worse than the drumbeat in her skull, she vowed to murder whoever was beating on the wood like a jackhammer. She eased the door open an inch. |
| He lounged in the doorway, looking obscenely sexy for this hour of the morning. "You look like hell." |
| Cassie rubbed her aching head. "Thanks a lot. I vow never to drink tequila again." |
| She looked like temptation to him. He wanted to carry her back to bed and just hold her, but that wasn't the way to her heart. "I bring a peace offering." He hefted a styrofoam cup from her favorite coffee shop. |
| "Leave me alone and let me die in peace." She slammed the door in his face and crawled back to bed. |
Now erase all the highlighting again, except where you found head-hopping. Else, all your highlighting will distract the author from your red font.
Step Four: Conflict/Motivation
1. Is it clear why the characters are acting the way they are? Does this follow the previously established goals or is this a side trip into Never-Never Land? Does A give good, clear reasons for their behavior? Are they believable? Example: Hey! Why is she suddenly ready to jump his bones when she's a virgin?
2. Are the characters displaying flaws and virtues, or at least clear character traits? Are they interacting realistically? Example: Why is he acting like a certified jackass?
Step Five: Overall Comment
Give an overall comment at the bottom. Say something nice, if you must say something bad. Example: Loved the interaction between this supernatural being and the human. Made them both seem so realistic. Good job!
As a final note, I suggest you discuss with your editor her personal "pet peeves" in the editing process. Some editors have a special dislike such as using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences, or passive voice. Find out what your editor's peeves are. Many editors will work with you to correct your personal bad habits. "Okay, in this book you had a problem with X. I want you to be more diligent about that habit in your next book."
Lena