Constructive Criticism

Okay, aspiring writers, you've all written your rough drafts. Is your rough draft a perfect, shining gem of the English Language? Gosh I hope so, but more likely, it has some flaws. Probably, you can already see some of those flaws and are itching to fix them. Good for you!

On the other hand, it's not easy to be totally objective about your own writing. You think you have said exactly what you meant. Your examples seem persuasive to you, but you don't yet see your work as others will see it.

So you've got to find somebody to read your rough draft and give you a "Reader Response" which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Somebody reads your rough draft and tells you what he or she thinks in as much detail as possible.

In order for this to work, you need to find someone who will tell you the truth. A reader who says, "It's perfect, don't change a word!" is wonderful for your ego, but he or she is no use to you as a writer. Look for somebody who can say, "Wow, I'm impressed by how hard you worked."

On the other hand, there's no point in choosing a reader who will tell you to give up; your writing is terrible; you will never write a book. If he or she can't suggest how you could make your rough draft better, then he or she probably isn't any better at writing than you are.

This is where we get into Constructive Criticism.

Constructive Criticism is about helping a writer to CONSTRUCT a better book.

Let's say someone asked you to offer constructive criticism on a piece of writing. How do you help that person improve her work?

Well, first you read carefully all the way through the piece.

Then you read through it again. This time, you underline, circle or highlight everything that catches your attention either good or...well...not quite so good.

Every time you note something you think works well, put a check-mark (or a smiley face or a plus-sign or a star) by that line and make a note of why you think it works or what you like about it.

Whenever you come across something that doesn't make sense or isn't clear or you're not sure if the author's point is correct etc., make a check mark (or a minus sign or a frowny face or cross it out with a fat red pen) and explain why it didn't work for you.

It is important when noting problems that you don't use emotional words like stupid, careless, bad, etc. Use "I" statements. "I didn't understand this." "I'm confused by this." "I wondered if this was true. Do you have support for this statement?"

You can find critical readers in writing groups, workshops and classrooms. You tend to get more thoughtful readers there because they aren't so afraid of hurting your feelings. Family members can help as long as you make sure they understand what you need. You might find a friend or a co-worker who is interested in the topic of your book and enjoys helping out a "real writer." Or another writer who has time to give you feedback in exchange for your opinion on his own writing.

If you don't have a critical reader yet, no need to panic. Set your rough draft aside overnight and come back to it in the morning. Or even set it aside for a week and get to work on the next section of your book. When you come back to it, you will see it more objectively. Then read your own work as a critical reader and make the same kind of notes you would if it had been written by someone else.

Once you've made your editing notes, you'll be ready to write the final draft of this tiny piece of your book.