Critiquing Guidelines for Suspense Workshop

Nothing, not love, not greed, not passion or hatred, is stronger than a writer's need to change another writer's copy.
--Arthur Evans

I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.
--Mark Twain

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
--Groucho Marx

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The words “good” and “bad” do not exist during a critique. The issue is what elements of these early drafts are successful.

For the critique:

• Be honest, not mean. Focus on the manuscript and its technique, not its content.
• Do point out inconsistencies, especially in character attitude (character “intention”).
• Do point out spelling, minor factual, or grammatical errors, but do not waste group time unless they are so major as to affect the piece ¾ note them on the writer’s manuscript and give it to the writer.
• Ask yourself: Will my critique be useful to the writer or am I showing off?
• USE THE CRITIQUING CHECKLIST.

For the person being critiqued:

• Focus on whether the criticism you receive will help you to revise the work. If you think your piece is already perfect, don’t submit it to the group. Ignore and do not respond to negative criticism that is not useful (e.g., someone who doesn’t understand the market you are aiming at, or didn’t read it carefully).
• Don’t argue, defend, or explain what you have done. When you submit to an editor or agent, you won’t be able to explain anything ¾ the work must stand on its own. The critiquing group will allow you to focus on things that don’t work.
• Don’t apologize for your piece before people read it. We know the piece has faults and you just want some feedback.
• If the group seems to miss your subtle points, perhaps you’ve been too subtle.
• If you feel someone has been mean-spirited in their criticism of your work, when their work is under discussion, be generous.
• If you have specific questions about your manuscript, ask them.

Checklist for Critiques

Macro Technique

ü What happened in the manuscript? Is it clear?

ü Suspenseful? Holds reader interest?

ü Are there crises?

ü Are the characters strong?

ü What elements of the story are most effective?

ü What elements are not as effective as they might be?

Micro Technique

ü Character “Intention”

ü Economy of Words

ü POV effectiveness

ü Dialogue and dialogue tags

ü Descriptions and scene development

ü Telling, not showing