tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post2194213654291426790..comments2024-03-17T06:03:00.362-04:00Comments on Fiction University: You Know What Your Problem Is? How to CritiqueJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-88235839857308763022013-02-11T14:03:48.498-05:002013-02-11T14:03:48.498-05:00Rebecca, welcome to the blog! So cool that it can ...Rebecca, welcome to the blog! So cool that it can help you with your reviews. An unexpected bonus :)Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-82422563067438182702013-02-09T19:17:30.228-05:002013-02-09T19:17:30.228-05:00Hi Janice. I came upon your site from a Twitter me...Hi Janice. I came upon your site from a Twitter mention. This is a great post. I have a book review blog where I review debut authors. The tips here will help me in what to look for while I'm reading. Thank you!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04498341145835417627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-12153099231858572332011-05-16T13:35:15.892-04:002011-05-16T13:35:15.892-04:00Thanks!Thanks!Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-43333632440599875242011-05-07T09:12:12.288-04:002011-05-07T09:12:12.288-04:00Great and interesting article. Will tweet to our f...Great and interesting article. Will tweet to our followers, think they will find it useful. Best regards. AdamAdam iWriteReadRatehttp://www.iwritereadrate.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-14166431011478040132011-05-07T07:06:49.003-04:002011-05-07T07:06:49.003-04:00Michael: Thanks! If all I got was a list of typos,...Michael: Thanks! If all I got was a list of typos, yep, I'd be mad too. But if it came with real feedback I'd just chalk it up to extra :) Sometimes you can't help it and point out what you see.<br /><br />Kate: Absolutely. If someone asks me specifically for something I give it to them. It's my job to provide the feedback requested. I'll also mention the other things. Quite often, it's fixing those fundamental things that will help with the more advanced things. If they fix their POV and cut out the backstory that helps character development, etc. <br /><br />Carradee: Love the betas. We should make a Beta Appreciation Day.<br /><br />Michael: Plus, sometimes things just get missed. I've had stuff that made it past two crit groups, my agent and two rounds of editing by my editor and we catch it during galley proofs. We all shake our heads and wonder how we missed it, but we did. It's hard to get everything.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-30503673743776203112011-05-06T22:12:54.395-04:002011-05-06T22:12:54.395-04:00Kate,
Yea, as a critiquer, if somebody is asking ...Kate,<br /><br />Yea, as a critiquer, if somebody is asking me for a final draft reading of their work, and it lacks something that should have been taken care of earlier, I would contact the author and talk to them before moving forward. No sense in me telling them that they have a comma out of place when the whole scene should probably be deleted. But if they do like the scene, I'll keep going for them...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518183823230864763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-18924188266589257802011-05-06T20:20:12.233-04:002011-05-06T20:20:12.233-04:00Fantastic post! :D This is why I have multiple b...Fantastic post! :D This is why I have multiple beta readers.Carradeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05431561739001270522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-3395043568530843122011-05-06T19:25:13.316-04:002011-05-06T19:25:13.316-04:00I've been involved in critique groups and part...I've been involved in critique groups and partnerships for a while now and I agree it is important to recognise at what stage the MS you're critiquing is. There is little point in giving feedback on the voice or the flow if there are major flaws in the plot or the characters' motivations.<br /><br />On a smilar note: what do you do if the writer sepcifically asks you to provide feedback on 'more advanced' options (e.g. the voice, characters' development) and the piece has major problems with too much back story, description or POV? Would you still comment on the 'advanced options'?Kate Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03195669152468413093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-89906472405199831652011-05-06T19:00:29.645-04:002011-05-06T19:00:29.645-04:00These are fantastic lists! I'm saving this and...These are fantastic lists! I'm saving this and pinting out copies for my critpartners/betas.<br /><br />I hate how I'll give one of them a first draft to just check out the major elements like plot, characteraization, etc as you outlines. Then I get a list of all my typos...Grrr I know there are typos and awkward sentences but I don't care at this point!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518183823230864763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-13726597576594502492010-08-04T21:56:09.899-04:002010-08-04T21:56:09.899-04:00great entry. you summed this all up quite nicely....great entry. you summed this all up quite nicely.Tom M Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05168232678401202091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-38782890351238760832010-05-31T07:46:53.326-04:002010-05-31T07:46:53.326-04:00Thanks all!Thanks all!Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-49388696204964875752010-05-27T12:17:12.749-04:002010-05-27T12:17:12.749-04:00I've only got 1 crit group, and we do most of ...I've only got 1 crit group, and we do most of what you've described here. Sometimes we want brainstorm plot ideas, sometimes we need the nit-picking. The side effect is that our own writing improves as we focus on someone else's work.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-84803830352757614642010-05-27T12:14:31.534-04:002010-05-27T12:14:31.534-04:00Terrific list.Terrific list.Café Lopezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00356527115662788903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-88725991389519405602010-05-27T09:06:55.072-04:002010-05-27T09:06:55.072-04:00This is a great reference. Thanks very much.This is a great reference. Thanks very much.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01425418200940737247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-4784618853577306332010-05-26T09:29:55.656-04:002010-05-26T09:29:55.656-04:00Looking through your archives and found this. Grea...Looking through your archives and found this. Great post. Printed it out and will definitely use it as a reference. Thank you.S.A. Larsenッhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241633272588383935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-37370577252255847372009-06-06T18:56:21.168-04:002009-06-06T18:56:21.168-04:00Great post. These are also things we can look for ...Great post. These are also things we can look for in our OWN writing! Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-52094725644622881512009-06-05T13:16:05.683-04:002009-06-05T13:16:05.683-04:00A wonderful post and great points. You hit on eve...A wonderful post and great points. You hit on everything I look for and try to do, and it's an excellent reminder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-32049425258580730182009-06-03T16:54:42.581-04:002009-06-03T16:54:42.581-04:00Janice,
Thanks for this! It was perfect :) Also...Janice,<br /><br />Thanks for this! It was perfect :) Also helpful in terms of things to remember when reading my own work and published work. And I really loved how you broke down the crits for different phases. THANK YOU!shorty411https://www.blogger.com/profile/10682462733301561147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-69701210408291292262009-06-03T08:46:29.487-04:002009-06-03T08:46:29.487-04:00Thanks, and welcome :) Big grats on the full! I...Thanks, and welcome :) Big grats on the full! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-24207555541190618302009-06-02T18:40:39.074-04:002009-06-02T18:40:39.074-04:00Awesome post. A friend referred your post to me. I...Awesome post. A friend referred your post to me. I'm currently having my story beta read for the first time but I already have an agent waiting for the full, so the pressure is on! Thanks for the great tips. :)kahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10789825860272178765noreply@blogger.com