Just a spoon full of sugar helps the critique go down
How do you balance constructive criticism and the honesty required to give a helpful critique?
I try to always start by telling the author something I liked about their piece. Even when it is horrific, I can generally find at least one good character name or other trivial point to give a positive comment about.
After I have stated at least one positive thing I let the critique flow. A writer can’t improve unless they know their weak spots. Don’t waste time giving a fluffy feel good critique, tell the author what stinks so they can sweeten it up.
In graduate school the professors always said to end a critique on a positive note, but I generally forget to do this and thus far no one seems to care.
How do you balance constructive criticism and the honesty required to give a helpful critique?
Jacob
Stumble it!
Tags: Critiquing, Improve Your Writing
January 12th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Honesty is key. An author can feel hurt, sure, but I think that author would feel much worse if she later found out she was lied to.