How To Critique Someone’s Writing

Some helpful tips on how to critique someone’s writing.

It’s a common thing for writers to give and get critiques. But how many of us really know how to give a good one?

Not very many. So here are some helpful tips that might help you give a better critique.

Lets get one thing cleared up. Critiquing is hard work. It’s not getting to read a book for free or an article. You have to actually take time, and put in some effort to make a good critique. If your not willing to do that, then please, do all writers a favor and don’t critique anything.

First off remember you are critiquing a work in progress, and it’s the writing, not the author you are judging. Avoid using the word YOU. When you say things like, “you should remove this” or “you need to fix this.” it makes it sound as if you are judging the writer not the writing. It makes the author feel like you are personally attacking them.

Take your time. Focus on each paragraph, each sentence. Ask yourself does it make sense to you? Does it fit into the story nicely? If you had to reread a sentence or paragraph, tell the author why. I have had people critique my work that have just glanced over it, and it’s really frustrating as a writer to have someone critique your work who doesn’t care. If your not interested in critiquing a certain…