How to Critique Another Writer's Work

These are the questions you can be asking yourself as you read another writer's work. I also recommend using these questions as a template for writing any serious critiques you feel compelled to share with a writer, especially if they ask you to look over a draft of a work they are trying to complete. I share these questions with my students when I teach college-level creative writing courses.

Multiple critiques from fellow writers attempting to answer the same questions can be extremely helpful. For example, if they get 20 reactions back saying they didn't understand when a story is taking place (the 60's or present day?) they can be sure that this is a detail that needs more work and clarity. If they get one random critique saying they thought it was a story taking place in the stone age, they can probably not worry about whether or not most readers will wonder the same thing.

The truth is, most people don't want to offer help to a fellow writer, especially not the more insecure writers who don't realize that there is truly room for everyone. While competition is healthy, it can also get out of hand, especially among writers on the internet as they take stabs at each other from a safe virtual distance. If you really want to make a difference in the life of a fellow writer, which can pay dividends when they help you with your work down the road, consider attempting to genuinely answer the following questions about their writing. By the same token, if you ask for criticism, be prepared to take it. Sometimes it's helpful if you're feeling prickly about someone's feedback to let it sit for a week or two and then revisit it when you don't feel so sensitive about it anymore.

1. What's this about? - Think about what you think the writing is about, what does it seem to want to be about? If you can't figure it out, what conclusions did you reach about after reading it once and then a second time?

2. What will you remember? - What is the most memorable part, phrase, moment, description, character, etc.? Talk about what struck you as you read, what you found disturbing, curious, entertaining, painful, and any other identifiable reaction. What is the heart and soul of the story?

3. What was unclear? - This is the magic question. Because as writers, we are often so close to our own material that we may not notice if we've left out a key detail, such as a time description, a relationship identification, and more. Remember, this is not about "bad" and "good". It's about, "I didn't understand..."

Who is the narrator? - Remember, the work in front of you as you read is not the person who wrote it. In order to help the writer identify how to move forward with their writing, it's good to tell them who you thought was telling the story on the page, who was the narrator? What do we know about them? What did we not know about them but wanted to know?

What's at stake? - What is driving the narrator or the characters, why are they telling this story here and now? What is at risk, who will lose or gain something important or necessary? Where is the danger?

Questions NOT to ask. (Or answer.)

How would I have done this? - Remember, this is not your work. This is their work, and it's our job to help them get it as close as possible to their desired end result. We do this by sharing what we understand about the work sitting in front of us. Not what we want it to be or what we would've done.

Do I like this or not? - It's not about whether or not you like this or don't like it, though it's kind to share positive sentiments when they are genuine. As a community of writers, we will all be attempting different genres and styles coming from different backgrounds and inspirations. As writers, if we tried to write to please everyone, we would fail every time. Remember, your job, when you choose to do it, as someone giving feedback is to tell the writer what is on the page and what is clear or unclear, not to make value judgments on the work, the narrator, or the characters within a story, script, poem, or essay. Remember, you are not a judge in a contest, you are a peer trying to help your fellow writer create the best version of the work they want to create.