Ronel Van Tonder
How to get Constructive, Unbiased Critiques
What's one thing
all authors have in common? We all want feedback. You wouldn't be an author if
you didn't want someone else to read your work and experience some form of an
emotional reaction.
That's why, whether
you're a new writer or an established author, having your work critiqued is a
crucial element in the writing process.
So what's
critiquing?
Critiquing is allowing someone else (be they a casual reader, another author, or an editor), to read your work and provide feedback on it. Critiquing, if done right, can provide a plethora of useful information about your writing to help to improve your craft.
Critiquing is allowing someone else (be they a casual reader, another author, or an editor), to read your work and provide feedback on it. Critiquing, if done right, can provide a plethora of useful information about your writing to help to improve your craft.
Critique & Improve
As an author, critiquing
can answer many pertinent questions for you, as critiquing can be both
constructive and unbiased.
Critiquing
answers important questions about your writing, such as:
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Does your plot make sense?
Is your writing coherent, and how can it be improved?
Are your characters captivating?
How realistic is your dialogue?
Does your novel begin/end in the right spots?
Are you formatting your novel correctly?
Are your funny bits actually funny?
And are your sad bits indeed sad?
Although there are several hundred critiquing groups in existence, here are two that I highly recommend:
Scribophile (http://www.scribophile.com/)
Scribophile is an online community that allows you to critique other writers’ works, as well as submitting your own for critiquing. It also contains forums with genre and topic specific groups. The feedback you receive is plentiful, concise, honest, and unbiased.
You get
"Karma" points for every critique you do, which allows you to then
post your work for critiquing. It's a "pay it forward" system that
really works.
The free version
limits the amount of "works" you can have at any one time, as well as
the amount of private messages you can store. But it still provides valuable
feedback, and can really help you understand both the weaknesses and strengths in
your writing.
Forums & Groups
Scribophile’s
forums make finding the right critique group very easy. There are all sorts of
critique groups, ranging from short stories to genre specific and even writing
prompts if you’re in need of creative inspiration. Joining a group helps you to
target your critiquing. This in turn provides niche-specific feedback which is
invaluable, especially to genre authors.
Very detailed, online critiques
The Scribophile
website comes with three different critique types: inline, template and
freeform. The inline version is fantastic, because you can highlight words or
sentences and make suggestions, corrections or notes. It makes figuring out the
critique a lot easier. |
| Here’s an example of a piece of my work that was critiqued by a fellow forum member |
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| Here’s an example of a detailed rating provided with a critique |
Message system
With Scribophile,
you can send personal messages to other members, or write on their Scratchpads
for the world to see. You can also send gifts to members, which use some Karma
points.
Profile
Authors can add
their social media links and a host of other information to their profile
pages.
Bookmark & Set Reminders
If you see a
chapter/work you'd like to critique, you can easily bookmark it and read it
later - great for when you're in a hurry and want to come back later to read a
piece.
Reputation Points
You also receive
reputation points for interacting with fellow community members by responding
their queries, liking their work and sharing critiques.
Contests
Scribophile also
runs competitions from time to time.
Conclusion
If you want an
online community that’s passionate about writing, improving their work and
providing honest and unbiased feedback, then Scribophile is for you.
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You’ll find
Wattpad members commenting on sentences they liked, what intrigued them about a
character, or specific points about your story they enjoyed. With a
sophisticated story structure that allows for chapters, covers, media and
votes, this is a great way to get feedback from a diverse community.
Although usually
not as concise as Scribophile, Wattpad is still a great way to collect unbiased
critiques that will help you polish your writing and pitch future novels to
potential readers.
Here are the
highlights:
Story Structures
Wattpad allows for
chapters or parts for every story along with basic formatting. It also provides
writers with the tools to add a cover and other media to the work.
Votes & Statistics
Statistics can
always shed a light on which demographics enjoy reading your work, along with a
host of other items.
Readers can also
vote if they enjoyed your writing, and leave comments. Published works can be
edited and published, giving you complete control over your writing.
Communities
Wattpad had a
thriving community that share a deep passion of the written word. There are
groups which can assist genre-specific authors with getting targeted feedback
from fellow group members.
Mobile App
Wattpad also
provides a mobile app, which makes it easy to check up on notifications, read
other authors’ work, and reply to comments.
Competitions
There are a few
regular competitions running on Wattpad such as short story competitions and
the like. Most aren’t for cash prizes, but every bit of exposure helps!
Conclusion
Wattpad is a
great place to get feedback on your story as it develops. It’s also a great
place to upload complete works and short stories to provide additional traction
for your priced titles.
In Conclusion
There are many
other critiquing groups and platforms out there, but these two work great and
are easy to use. With their large communities and host of functions and tools,
these two websites have become firm favourites when it comes to critiquing.
What critiquing
sites can you recommend?
Bio:
Ronel is a brand-spanking new
indie author. She loves creating fantastical worlds set in the future, the
mythical, and the horrific. Translate: She writes science-fiction, fantasy and
horror novels.
Her life story is not
particularly fascinating, but her love of technology, PC games and writing is.
Beside writing, she spends her time slaying rendered baddies in the form of
robots, gangsters and aliens - with any weapon that happens to be at hand.
When she's not writing, she's gaming, and when
she's not gaming she's either sleeping or eating, as these are prerequisites
for a continued life on planet Earth.
Website: http://ronelvantonder.co.za
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ronel1014/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ronelvantonder
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Ronel-van-Tonder/e/B00O8XAJVU
Thank you, Ronel, for providing us with plenty of food for thought. If you haven't read any of her sci-fi novels yet, check them out. I had the privelege of reading 'Compile: Quest' a few months ago and it's on a par with works from some of the classic sci-fi authors such as Asimov and Herbert whilst reflecting 21st Century writing styles. Don't miss them!
Eric @ www.ericjgates.com
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