Critique Week Book Recommendation

Most of the recommendations I do here are for YA books that I love, but in keeping with the Critique Week theme, I decided to make today's recommendation something to do with editing.

Writers: do you have a favorite book on writing? Next to my desk I have a shelf of books that are specifically on the craft of writing. These range from Stephen King's On Writing to the wickedly hilarious Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones. But the most worn and re-read is The First Five Pages.

For me personally, this book is the most useful of them all for editing and critiquing. In it, literary agent Noah Lukeman address the most common pitfalls of the manuscripts he's seen over the years. Each chapter has both “aha!” moments and “yes, that's exactly how I wanted to put it” moments, so for that reason it's perfect both as a personal tool to use on your own book and as a resource for figuring out how to word a critique.

And one of the wonderful things about the book is that no matter where you are in your writing journey, you can learn from it. My writing has improved a lot since the first time I read The First Five Pages, but I get just as much out of it now as I did then.

But beware! This book also has a tendency to make a writer itch to get back to composition. Often I can only manage a few pages of it before I go racing off to work on my manuscript, inspired to write the very best words I can.

And how about you? Do you have a favorite book on the craft?

Getting the Most out of a Bad Critique

Reminder: the Critique Contest is open until tonight! We've had some very exciting entries so far... it's going to be a tough choice! In the meantime, back to Critique Week:

So yesterday I talked about good critiques, but unfortunately not all critiques are good. Today I want to talk a little bit about bad critiques, both how to receive them and how to avoid giving them.

Vague Critiques

These kinds of critiques are frustrating to receive. How can we know what we need to fix if we don't understand the comments? Critiques we can't follow aren't helpful. But the good news is that these critiques are often quite possible to resolve.

It's always okay to ask for clarity. Part of learning to give critiques is learning how to explain a concept in more than one way. If you ask for clarification, chances are you're doing your critique partner a favor in disguise! Be willing to dig around a bit and ask questions to uncover the root issue.

And if talking to your critique partner doesn't help, find another reader for a second opinion. Try explaining the comments you received and ask your second reader if he or she has any insight about what the original critique might have meant.

On the other side, if you're giving a critique, think hard about what isn't working for you. Saying “I don't like this character” is a lot less helpful than saying “this character's voice sounds flat to me.” If you tend to have trouble pointing out what is bothering you in a piece, consider reading up on editing books. (More on that tomorrow.) And keep practicing! Learning to give good critiques is a process.

Disparaging Critiques

Negative critiques can be very disheartening. I've had my share of them, and they certainly don't feel good. Nobody likes being told that their work is trash. But what do you do when you get one of these critiques?

First, take a deep breath and center yourself. Negativity happens to everybody. That's part of the process of developing that thick skin everyone always talks about. Your story isn't all bad—that's almost guaranteed. The person writing your critique may not have had the decency to bother pointing out the good parts, but that doesn't mean there weren't any or that you're doomed to failure.

But once you've dealt with the sting of negativity, look back at the comments and try to glean something from them. The critique may have been worded badly, but it might still have some good points. Can you learn anything from it? Can you make any positive changes to your writing. If so, focus on the positive aspects of learning from the critique.

And if you're the one writing the critique, remember that the person on the other end might have delicate feelings. Until you've developed a relationship of trust, brutally honest critiques might cause more harm than good. That doesn't mean you need to lie! But remember to word your comments carefully. And always sandwich your critiques with praise. Pointing out the good in a story gives the writer enthusiasm to keep working.

Conflicting Critiques

But what happens when a critique that gets everything else right also says something that feels completely wrong? These critiques can sometimes be the hardest of all. Once in a while our critique partners might have suggestions that we just don't agree with. They leave us with the feeling of “now what?”

Well, don't panic! It's not the end of the world. It's okay to disagree. What appeals to one person won't always appeal to another, and sometimes those differences in preference show up in critiques. But do ask yourself why you don't agree with the critique. Is it because the person giving the critique didn't understand the vision of the story? Or is it because you're afraid of “murdering your darlings”? Be honest with yourself—that's the only way to move forward.

And again, you are free to ask for another opinion! Give the story to another reader you trust and see where that person stands on the issue. Herein lies the value of a strong critique group. Trust among critique partners is priceless, and each person brings different strengths. Knowing your critique partners' strengths can help you determine the best course of action when you receive conflicting advice.

As the person putting together a critique, one of the most difficult things to accept is that the person receiving the critique won't always follow every suggestion. But remember, the story isn't yours. The dreams you have for it aren't necessarily the writer's dreams for it. Of ten we can get wrapped up in a story we're critiquing, particularly if we're putting a lot of effort into our critiques. But remember, even if our comments are ignored, we're becoming better critique partners with every critique we write. And our own books will improve in the process.

What challenging experiences have you faced in giving or receiving critiques?

Getting the Most out of a Good Critique

I've had the good fortune of being part of a fantastic critique group for about five years now. When we first started I had no idea how rare a thing I had found—a group that meshed well, had similar goals, and all genuinely wanted to help each other. Over time we've come to appreciate—and more than that, to trust—one another.

But the excellent critiques that my group gives me would be completely useless if I didn't know how to apply them. And that's something I'm still learning. With each critique I get better at putting the comments to work to elevate the story above what I could make it on my own. And for me, the biggest key to that is...

Attitude.

Checklist vs. Springboard

How do you view your critiques? When I first started, I thought of them as a checklist. I gave myself a gold star for every positive thing said, and I put all the negatives into a to-do list. Each point on the list got the minimum of attention necessary in order to satisfy me that it had been addressed, and then it got crossed out.

But that wasn't a good attitude. The critiques I received weren't meant to be tackled with the bare minimum of effort. Yes, there were typos and poorly worded sentences that were easy fixes, but the big picture critiques deserved more than a little airbrushing. They were meant to be treated as a springboard to catapult me into a new level of looking at my work.

Rewriting

Sometimes the springboard pushes us into a complete rewrite of some or all of the story. Facing a rewrite can be disheartening. All those words that we wrote took time and energy and passion. Knowing that all that effort has to be redone is sometimes heartbreaking.

So how can we have the right attitude? First, remember that the ideas that got you this far were good. A rewrite isn't a scrapping of the old to be replaced with the new; rather it's an acknowledgment that the new wouldn't be possible without the old. The old brought clarity in order to give the new excellence. Be grateful for the time taken to get this far, because without it you wouldn't be able to take the next step.

Finding the Pattern

While rewrites can be tricky, sometimes nitpicky critiques can be more of a challenge. Why? Because they often include suggestions that apply to the writing style as a whole. Sometimes what seems like a small problem at first may be part of a larger problem that will take concentrated focus to fix. In fact, we might even need to read through the entire draft with only this one type of edit in mind.

So what kind of attitude do we need? Keep in mind that what might seem like a “fix it and forget it” edit at first could be an indication of a larger problem. Look for similar nitpicky comments. If you see the same idea repeated a few times, take a deep breath and accept that you have a habit you need to break (or form). Then give the issue the full attention it needs.

Changing the Vision

Sometimes the hardest critiques of all are the ones that make us rethink the way we view the writing process. We all have areas we excel in and areas we prefer to avoid. Some people are great at snappy dialog but don't know how to ground a story. Others write powerful description but can't get the pacing right during the action scenes. Critiques are good for pointing out the aspects we need to work on, and usually they apply to our writing as a whole, not just to a particular passage.

But finding the attitude adjustment to deal with these critiques is tough. By nature we perfect the things we're good at and ignore the things we don't do well. In order to strengthen the areas that need work, we have to overcome our natural inclinations. And sometimes that means changing our vision for our writing. If we can inspire ourselves with a new vision to dig deep into the kinds of writing we used to dislike, we have a better chance of becoming more well-rounded and showing our critique partners that we know how to listen to their great advice.

So what's the hardest part of applying critiques for you?

Critique Week Contest!

Gooood morning and happy Monday!

What's that? Not a fan of Mondays? Well, I have something a bit different for today, so hopefully we can start this week off with a little more excitement than usual. The blog's birthday was last month, so to celebrate I've decided to make this week Critique Week. And to get the theme rolling, I'm opening today with... a contest!

That's right, YOU could win a critique of your first five pages!

Rules:

1. For the purposes of this contest, five pages means “five pages, double spaced in Times New Roman or Courier font.” Fiction of any length (so long as it is at least five pages) is eligible.

2. To enter, add your name in the comment section of this post along with one word from each of the first five pages of the work you want critiqued.

3. The entry with the five words I find most intriguing will win a full critique of the five pages represented by those words.

4. The contest will be open until 9pm EST on Wednesday, April 6^th. The winner will be announced on Friday, April 8^th.

No other requirements. Following the blog, following me on twitter, and tweeting about the contest are optional. Doing so won't sway the results; however, there might be other future rewards for those who do, so comment/show links to let me know if you do.

The contest is now open. Ready... GO!

Quick Announcement

Hey everyone!  No book recommendation for today, but I did want to come by and announce that I'll be doing a "Critique Week" starting on Monday, which will include a contest!  So come back next week to check it out.  In the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!