Giving Proper Criticism

Here are a few of my, personal, guidelines to giving proper constructive critiques.

1. Only be as subjective as necessary and take in that your opinion is not truth. Enjoyment is subjective, yes, but don't drift into certain things like telling the author what they can and cannot do. Never try to introduce your writing style to the author, and always acknowledge the narrative voice.

2. Know that everyone is different. If you see something as unnecessary within a story, such as a dialogue tag that seemed pointless, say the dialogue in a different tone and try to understand why that tag is there. If the sentence's meaning could be changed if it was said in a different tone, then that's why the tag was there. Words can be morphed greatly by the manner in which they are spoken, such as sarcasm, which is rather difficult - for some (like me), at least - to detect.

3. Don't insult or assume. Don't assume the author is ignorant towards a certain aspect of writing and don't insult them in some aspect of their writing. You want your critique to be delivered sternly, but not offensively.

4. Focus on more than just the negative. Though I love negative criticism, I'd prefer the critic not sit there, tear my story to shreds, paragraph-by-paragraph, with everything they consider wrong with it and walk away without one good comment. Does the author have a decent amount of description? Tell them that. Do they write dialogue well? Tell them. Your goal as a critic is to make the writer better, not to demoralize them as a whole.

5. Consider implications and what the author is thinking. Don't slam the writer for having an implied meaning, or thinking that the reader would get something. Speaking from experience, my storylines are quite complex and often times I find it would be awkward to come out and say something, so I imply it and hope the reader gets what I'm saying. (Basically like saying, "ya feel me?")

6. If you don't like a certain genre or type of literature, do not try and critique a piece in that section of literature. This is where bias and complete and total subjectiveness invades the critique. I don't like fanfiction, so I don't go around critiquing it and commenting on stories. I don't even go actively seeking it out to read it, but I don't mind if I have to read it, like for a contest. If you have to critique something in a genre you don't usually read, try to be as objective as possible.

okay that is all~~~