One of the most common things I have crossed lately has been comments on my critiquing style and how useful my critiques are to the writers who receive them. On account of this (and due to the pesterings of one lovely individual) I am writing this little guide on writing a useful critique.

Before I begin writing my guide to critiquing, I think there are a few critical things that need to be understood by both the writer of the critique and the person receiving the critique.

Rule #1: Honesty is the best policy.

Rule #2: Your opinion is yours and yours alone. Share it, but don't force it on others. Anything you state in a review is opinion, no matter how much you believe it is fact.

Rule #3: Facts are an open invitation to be proven wrong.

Rule #4: Kindness is worth more than your weight in gold.

Now, what do these four rules mean? (These are my rules of writing, I don't mean that you have to follow them, but this is what *I* do.) 

First, honesty is critical if you want a good review. If you don't like something be honest about it. Tell the writer why you didn't like it, but also be kind when you do so. Say, In my opinion... or... this bothered me as I read. Don't say 'This sucked' without explaining why you felt it sucked.

I don't like bandying about the word 'never', but I strongly, strongly recommend that you 'never' present your opinion as fact. If it is a grammar rule you are preaching about, the english language has so many exceptions to what are supposed to be 'hardcore' rules that there is almost no point in trying to be 100% accurate on grammar. Grammar is in place to make for CLEAR writing. If the writing isn't clear and the grammar is correct, then I'm still going to say that the sentence doesn't feel right, doesn't read right and might as well be incorrect. I'd rather have a sentence with broken grammar that reads well than one that has correct grammar and doesn't.

Finally, being kind will make a far bigger impression than a short and rude comment. Taking the time to express yourself and your views in a review is important. Take the time to write the few extra words on what you liked. This can provide a much needed place to cling to in the middle of their storm. Accepting a rough critique can be very difficult.

Writing that critique SHOULD be difficult.

Now, why is writing a good critique important?

First, you can improve your writing skills by taking the time to write a thorough critique. The more thorough you are about your review process, the more things you catch in other people's writing. The more things you look for, the easier it becomes to see those same errors in your own writing. Also, the more writing you critique, the more distance you put between you and your own writing. Reading and writing -- as far as I am concerned -- share similar types of memory and thought process. By focusing your writing creativity into a critique, you put data in your mind that separate you an extra step between your work when it was written and when you go to edit it. Not only that, you exercise your mind and your writing muscles. However, when you read for the purpose of reviewing, you NEED to think about plot, you need to consider how to improve sentences, you need to consider editing. This sounds factual but it is 100% opinion -- this is what I've learned from doing it. It may not work for everyone. It does work for me. I get the same benefit of critiquing one or two pieces seriously as I do letting a piece of writing sit for a day. I fill my brain with the story I am reading, and it pushes mine into the background. This lets me approach my story with a fresh look after every review.

Now that I have that out of the way, I want to blabber about the process I review a critique.

Step 1: The first reading.

This step varies, unfortunately, depending on the skill of the writer. Some writer's grab me by the strings of my heart from the first page, suck me into the writing, and do not let me go until the end. These people are few and far between, but they always surprise me when I find them and I'm trying to write a review. For these people, I REALLY have to exercise my writing brain trying to find ways to improve the story they have presented. (Honestly, these are the hardest reviews for me to write, and I always scold them that they should be submitting rather than asking for critiques.) For these people, Step 2 is reading the story a second time.

Step 2: Write all of my thoughts down after the end of a section break or a chapter. By breaking the review process into little bits, I am able to write a better review. I simply mark Chapter One :: in Overall and the other two fields and fill out my opinions there. So, lets say I have a story about a fish.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 until done all sections that I kept interested for. Once I get bored of the story or I can't force myself to read anymore (or I have to go somewhere or do something.) I clearly mark where I dropped out and why.

Step 4: I rate each section overall and assign stars -- and WHY I assigned those stars.

Now, here is an example crit full of nonsense, points I tend to talk about, etc.

Overall

Blah blah, notes I write down before I read, if I am outside of a genre I write, I mark it here... if I'm returning a critique, I may thank them for their reading of my story, etc etc.

Dive in after this is done.

Chapter One ::

Overall, I thought the story of the fish was blah, blah. This part worked well, didn't like this part. Fish as character I liked/hated. If I was hooked or not goes here. Did I drop out anywhere in the first chapter? Was the grammar ok? Was the general storycraft ok? Did I like the general concept?

Chapter Two ::

Was the voice maintained? I'm going to state I dropped out in this chapter. At this point, I just go 'I made it through this far in this chapter, but the actions of a fish swimming in the bowl didn't interest me any more. If I were reading this book as something I bought, I would stop reading here.

Overall, I am giving this story of a fish two stars. All the fish does is swim in a bowl. I'm sure this is interesting for the fish, but you need to find something -- like a conflict -- for your fish. Bring a cat into it, I think this will really help the tension and keep me interested. That said, your grammar and writing style are proactive -- if you take it to the next level and have your fish do something other than swim, you'll be onto something. I'll list a few things I liked here.

Plot (as example)

Chapter One ::

Could I find the plot in the first section or chapter? Was the characters strong, did they move forward? Did I see any plot holes? Did I like the direction the story was going in this chapter?

Chapter Two ::

By this point, the fish doesn't do  anything but swim in a circle. I mentioned this in the overall (I reinforce myself too much honestly) but I really think that the fish needs to have something happen. A cat, a ferret, an evil child trying to flush mr. fish down the toilet -- anything to add variety and keep me interested.

Overall, I felt the plot was the weakest part of this story, so I have to give it one star.

Pacing ::

Chapter One ::

I'll state things like whether or not it kept my attention, where it stopped holding my attention, did I feel it moved too quick or left too much out... I will mention anything about how my reading speed was altered by the writing style -- I might mention how the tension was and what kept me hooked.

Chapter Two :: 

Not much to say here that I didn't mention in the above categories (Or things relating to the section here.) Sometimes a comment on a scene will be very short. That is ok... but ONLY if it is justified.

Overall, I gave this *number* of stars & why.

Finally, I wrap up with whether or not I'm interested in the story for the long term, and relevant comments that don't fit in any other section.

Voila! That is how I write a critique.

Do NOT be afraid to speak your thoughts. Do NOT be afraid to critique even though you are inexperienced. If you are reading, you are experienced at reading. You've read the story. You're allowed to have opinions.

Don't be satisfied with a single line or two about a story, even if you love it. If you love it that much, you should love talking about what you loved to read about. If you're neutral on it, say why. If you hated it, be kind but say why.

Writing critiques that are worthwhile take time, I won't deny this -- this is the reason I'm so behind on my queue... but if you apply yourself to writing good critiques, you will have every tool you need to write good stories as well. Having the vision to help others improve their writing is having the vision to improve your own -- and this is something that CAN be learned if you apply yourself and try to learn it.

Now that I have stood on more soapboxes than I really care to count, good luck and happy critiquing. I hope this helps!