I’ve been thinking a lot about critiques, partly because my WIP is now in the hands of beta readers, but also because I’ll be leading a critique group at SCBWI WWA’s Great Critique in a couple of weeks. There is definitely an art to giving critiques, but I also think there is an art to receiving and responding to them. Here are my tips for getting the most out of a writing critique:

Listen: It might seem kind of obvious that you’d want to listen while someone is critiquing your manuscript, but I’ve found that many writers (myself included, when I’m being critiqued), are so busy defending their work or explaining what they were trying to do that they end up doing more talking than listening. Try, just for the length of your critique, to set your defenses aside. Be like a sponge, soaking up as much feedback as you can. You can disagree later, but for now, just take it in. I like the idea of listening for the gold nuggets: keeping your ears, mind, and heart open for the tidbits that could totally transform the way you approach your story.

Consider: You’ve truly listened to what the person critiquing you has to say, so now it’s time to consider their feedback. Some of it you’ll agree with, some you won’t. But be very careful before discarding a piece of feedback. First of all, ask yourself why you’re discarding it. If it’s because you’re positive that the person doing the critique just didn’t get what you were trying to do and their comment is totally off base, then of course you should go with your gut and ignore it. But if you’re choosing to ignore the comment because applying it to your work would change everything and require massive rewrites, think again. Sometimes what a story needs is a true “re-visioning” – and if you don’t do it now, you may well be doing it for an agent or editor somewhere down the line.

Another thing to ponder before discarding a comment is whether there’s some part of it that holds an element of truth. This goes back to listening for gold nuggets. Is there a gold nugget hidden in a comment that you otherwise disagree with? For example, if someone critiquing your story says, “It really didn’t work for me that this character was female – I think you should consider making the character male,” your initial instinct will probably be to close down and disregard the comment. But instead, try listening for the gold nugget. Would your story benefit if you gave this character a little more male energy, even if you choose to keep her a female?

Apply: Now that you’ve considered your feedback and decided to ignore any comments that really don’t fit for you, it’s time to apply the feedback that does ring true. The important thing here is to not just apply it to the short section being critiqued – often just the first few pages of a story or novel – but to ask yourself how the comments on this first section can reverberate throughout the manuscript.

Let’s  hope that I’m able to follow my own advice when the feedback on my WIP comes in!

Do you have any tips for receiving and responding to critiques? I’d love to hear them!