The difference between good writers and great writers is simple. It’s the ability to take critique. The good news is that you can learn the art of taking critique, and become a great writer.
Yes, we writers spend a lot of time sitting in a room on our own putting words on page, but isolation can only take you so far. Writers who have “made it” are the ones who work with other writers to better their narrative voice, tweak storylines, and create compelling characters.
At this point in my career, I’ve been in many, many, many critique groups. And the thing that I’ve learned is that most people are terrible at it. Both at giving critique and receiving it. There’s an art to how you convey your message, clarify what you’re looking for, and learning which input to keep for your next draft. I decided I would put together a guide on how to give and receive critical feedback to improve your writing and, hopefully, your next critique group.
How to read this guide
I spent a while determining how best to layout this guide. Rather than break it out into receiver/giver of critique, I decided to instead outline the entire critique process from turning in manuscript to after the session has ended. Chances are good that in a critique setting you will be both receiving and giving critique at the same time, and even if you aren’t it’s good form to understand the entire process to avoid hurt feelings or being over zealous in your critique.
For this guide, we will start with the initial manuscript and discuss each step from there. I will mark who is involved in each element, with a “giving critique” or “receiving critique” in the title. That way if you’re checking these steps while knee deep in the process, you’ll be able to check which elements fit what you’re looking for. However, I do recommend reading the entire thing in order at least once. But, I mean, this is a guideline, I’m not a cop.
Step 1: Receiving critique- Delivering the manuscript
The first thing to remember when turning in your manuscript for critique is that everyone else has a life outside of your critique group. Whether it’s a job, family, other projects, illness…we don’t exist in a vacuum. So make sure that you turn your document in on time. If you haven’t set a time for when a manuscript is due, do that first as a group, with a reasonable lead time to the actual workshop day.
My rule of thumb for deadlines is a week for 3K+ prose stories. That gives everyone time to read the story multiple times and give thoughtful feedback, while keeping it fresh enough for the actual session. You can adjust the lead time depending on the length of text involved, and the quantity of reviewers.
If you turn your manuscript in late, don’t be surprised if people aren’t able to provide feedback. Personally, I prioritize people who submit on time, and if I get to a late work then great, but if I don’t get to it I don’t feel too bad. At the end of the day, turning things in late is rude and conveys to your group that you find your time more valuable than theirs. Don’t be that person. That person doesn’t get invited back.
Alright, so we’re all turning it in on time, right? Perfect, onto the next.
When you do turn it in, make sure to include input about what you’re looking for feedback on. Are you looking for line edits? Do you want to know if the characters work? Is the storyline realistic? Write 3-5 questions that address what you’re hoping to receive as part of the critique to get the most out of your time.
If you’re providing your manuscript via email, include that in the body of the email. If through a social media app, such as discord, you can include it in the thread right before or after your manuscript. Otherwise, include in your manuscript before the text starts. This will allow your readers to keep them in mind as they begin their review.
The last thing to mention is to make sure you’re turning in a polished draft. Obviously it doesn’t need to be a final product, but clean up basic grammar issues and restructure based on your initial edit. I’d recommend at least one round of edits before sending it in, if possible. If not, two. There’s nothing more disheartening during critique than having someone give a bunch of feedback and having someone say “oh yeah, that’s not how it will look when it’s done.” At that point you’re just wasting everyone’s time.
Step 2: Giving critique- Reading and giving space
This seems like it shouldn’t need to be said, but the first thing as the one giving critique is to read the manuscript, and to give yourself time to read and digest it. Don’t read it in the hall right outside the meeting room. Don’t rush it an hour ahead of time. Read it and digest to make sure you’re fair in your feedback.
Obviously, this is assuming that you receive the manuscript with enough time to do so. In some cases you may not be receiving it until the night before, but if possible, read it with at least a day between reading and critique session.
I recommend reading the manuscript fully before marking anything down. Sometimes your notes might be answered later in the text and if you make a note you may find it isn’t helpful. At worst, this way you will know if issues carry through an entire document, or if it’s just a one off issue.
Once you’ve read the manuscript all the way through, write a one sentence summary. This doesn’t need to be a professional summary, it’s not even something you need to share, but it helps to orient you around the story. If you can’t really determine what the root of the story is, that tells you something about the text. Conversely, if there are elements of the story which don’t end up in your summary, you may ask if it’s important to the overall narrative. If you’re reading an excerpt, that may not be the case, but a stand alone story shouldn’t have loose plot threads.
As an example, if you were to write a brief sentence summary of Lord of the Rings, you might write “A fantasy epic which tells the story of two hobbits that carry a ring of epic power to be destroyed, and the war which surrounds this item of power.” Of course, everyone may write a slightly different summary of the same source text, but it helps focus your feedback as a reader.
This sentence can also be helpful for the writer to know what readers are getting out of their reading. Maybe something you felt was really important was entirely missed. If you’re turning in any handwritten notes, I’d include this synopsis as part of those notes.
Once you’ve done this, review the questions that the one being critique asked and make sure you are answering them. Of course, you can include other feedback as part of your review, but since you know what the person is looking for you should do your best to address those concerns. At the end of the day, critique is for them, not for you.
On that note, unless someone has asked specifically for grammatical corrections, don’t do it. There’s nothing more annoying in critique than wanting information about the story and instead receiving a bunch of red ink. Leave that for the editor. At best, the person won’t go to you for critique anymore, at worst you’ll destroy their desire to write.
Step 3: Being critiqued- Setting the scene
Congratulations! Now you’re at the actual critique meeting!
Before anyone provides critique, remind everyone what you’re looking for. These should be what you shared when you turned the manuscript in, but maybe you got some other feedback you want to get more perspective on, or maybe when you reread the manuscript and a new question popped up. It’s fine to add new things here, but if you’re adding it last minute just know you may not receive an answer each time.
The role of the one being critiqued is to listen. Nothing being said is personal (in a healthy setting), and so arguing over feedback isn’t helpful for anyone. Rather listen to what is being said as a reader’s interpretation. Write it down in your notes for review later, even if in the moment you don’t like the feedback.
There are some people who believe that someone being critiqued should be quiet during the session. I agree with this with one caveat. Sometimes, there are questions which are important to providing constructive feedback. Some questions may be “what is the genre of this story,” as giving feedback that something is unrealistic may not be true in a fantasy story opposed to a historical non-fiction. If a question like that comes up, feel free to answer, but don’t use this time to answer “well, I was trying to do XYZ with this section.” If people aren’t getting that from the text itself, that is a good note.
Step 4: Giving critique- Giving the critique
The number one piece of advice I got for giving critique is “do no harm.” You don’t want anyone walking out of a session thinking “I should just give up writing.” That’s not the point of critique. I’ve been in groups like that where people just rip a story apart. That’s not helpful, and after one session I never worked with those people again.
That being said, I also caution against being too kind. At the end of the day, saying “this is great” is feedback I’d expect from my mom, not a colleague. I want someone to point out what isn’t working so that I can improve. That’s the point. So make sure you’re balancing constructive feedback with positive feedback.
The key to both sides is to answer the question “why.” If something doesn’t work, why doesn’t it work? If you loved it, why? If a character is unrealistic, why do you think that? Was it dialogue, action, name? Sometimes saying “I don’t like a character” is a good thing- think of those villains you love to hate, but if you say “I don’t like this character because I didn’t find them a realistic representation” then your critique is clear.
For example, if you were giving praise you may say “I loved the character of Avreal because of her strong characterization and the speech she gave.” Conversely, we may say “I didn’t like the character of Avalon because all his actions didn’t seem earned. I think we need to know more of his backstory if he’s going to burn an entire village, or maybe he can do something less violent.” Keep everything specific and actionable.
At the end of the day the critique is for the other person, so make sure the feedback is something they can use. Just saying “I don’t like it” doesn’t help. If it’s a genre you don’t like, maybe this isn’t a time for you to provide as much feedback, or to focus on the non-genre specifics of the piece.
Some swear by the compliment sandwich, where you say something you like, then something critical, then something you like. I’m not a fan of this format, because quite often the second “compliment” feels forced and like you’re talking down to the writer, and the critique itself gets buried in words. I prefer a round of “here’s what worked” and “here’s what can be improved.” That way they know what is being said and it doesn’t get buried in the feedback.
Lastly, and I may catch some flack from my MFA cohort, but I hate “this is a line I like” feedback. It goes into the above “why” question…knowing a line is good doesn’t give me any information about growth. I can’t use that feedback to write new good sentences, and I won’t be changing anything based on the feedback. Not to mention that “liking” a sentence is entirely subjective, and someone else may hate it. Plus, I also clearly like the sentence, or I wouldn’t have included it.
If you do feel a need to say a line you like, limit it to one or two max. If you like every line, then it’s even less helpful, because your liking no longer means anything. If everything is the best, then nothing is the best.
Step 5: Being Critiqued- Follow up questions
Once everyone has provided feedback (or after the time limit is hit/nearing), it’s your turn to ask questions.
Again, this isn’t time to argue feedback you received. But if someone said a part didn’t work, you may want to follow up by saying “I was trying to do X with that section, did that not come across?” This way you can get specific feedback that may not have come out in the session. If something isn’t working, you may even want to ask about options to improve it or align with your intention in the text.
If other questions come up in the session, this is also the time to answer them. Maybe it’s talking about something that will come after the section being read (especially true in novels and screenplay excerpts), or maybe it’s answering why a character is acting a certain way. Listen when people say it isn’t working here, as it will help outline areas of improvement needed to improve your intention, but maybe you have more information on the big picture and you can contextualize the feedback.
Once you’ve had all your questions answered, thank everyone for the feedback. Do this even if you’re thinking “fuck you and your feedback.” Everyone still took the time to help improve your story and give their perspectives. Don’t be rude.
Step 6: Giving critique- Ending
There isn’t much to include here, so I’ll use this space to say that once a critique is over, stop discussing it (unless a writer asks you to clarify something after and you’re open to discussing it). This means not to keep giving unrequested feedback when you’re hanging out afterward, not to gossip about it with others, and definitely not to post about it on social media. That includes vague posting…if it’s not your story, don’t discuss it outside of the critique circle unless given permission. Keep the vibes good.
Step 7: Being critiqued- Making feedback useful
So, you’ve received your critique. Now you just take all the suggestions and change your story, right?
No. Learning to parse through the feedback provided is the most critical step for being critiqued. At the end of the day, your story is your own, and you are not required to take any of the feedback provided. But you should still consider everything, and be critical of your own writing.
But before you do, take a little time away from the piece if you can. Unless you’re up against a tight deadline, don’t immediately review the feedback. Give yourself enough space of calm so that when you review the feedback, you are levelheaded and can review it subjectively. This is especially important if your kneejerk reaction was to disagree with everything everyone said (harsh truth time- if everyone says it’s not working, it’s not that you’re the only sane person in the group).
At this stage, you are going to go through the feedback provided and consider the following questions for each of them:
- Is the person giving the feedback your target reader?
- Sometimes, feedback is provided by people who don’t read the type of work you’re looking for. I’m a horror writer, for instance, and I’ve been critiqued by a lot of people who don’t read horror. I don’t automatically dismiss their input, but sometimes what they’re suggesting doesn’t fit the type of story you’re telling. In those instances, cut your losses and move on. However, don’t dismiss someone just because they don’t read the type of pieces that you write, sometimes an outsider’s perspective is exactly what you need!
- Does the input change the story you are trying to tell?
- Conversely, does the input improve the story you are trying to tell?
- If you make this change, what else in your story will need to change?
- Sometimes a change in character or narrative means you will need to go beyond the specific edit and rewrite other parts. That’s not a bad thing. But when making that change, go through and mark the other parts of the piece which will need to change because of it.
- Are the suggestions true to your characters?
- Are the suggestions in line with your theme and the story you are trying to tell?
- Are the changes compelling?
- Does it feel right?
- Don’t underestimate your own feelings. It’s okay to say no.
There may be other things you want to consider based on the specifics of the story…word count, tone, intended audience. Feel free to consider anything that makes sense for you.
After you’ve determined which feedback you want to take, go through and make the changes. Again, that may include rewriting other sections to fit feedback. Sometimes it means entirely rewriting everything, I’ve definitely had those before. That’s not a bad thing, that’s part of the process. Every writer has gone through that, from F Scott Fitzgerald famously cutting entire chapters based on Hemingway’s input, to Keith Rosson entirely changing character relationships to tell a more compelling story (highly recommend reviewing interviews of his Coffin Moon book where he discusses the rewriting process after feedback).
Once you’ve made those changes, reread the manuscript and identify any other changes you wish to make as part of your own editing process. From there, it’s either time to submit, or to workshop again to see if the updated manuscript has any changes which will strengthen the text.
And that’s it! That’s how to use critique to strengthen your writing and improve your finished product. As you move on to new projects, remember the changes that you made and why, so that your writing tightens up. Over time, those critiques that you were receiving originally will disappear as your writing improves. Then you get new critiques to go even further!
Most importantly, remember to keep writing. Like every skill, it’s all about muscle memory!
Erik Keevan 
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