How [not] to Deal With Critique Comments

Gary Daugherty  
How to/not to deal with critique comments: one author's opinion

1. When submitting your work, tell the reviewer what you want your story to be

It is the job of the reviewer to provide feedback that helps you make the story what you want it to be.

And, while not every story requires explanation, if you have specific goals, or concerns, or (better yet) a model story, similar in style, this can only help the reader understand where you want to take things.

Also, if there are ‘rules’ for the story, you should reveal them. For instance, ‘no real magic’ is a rule for my current novel, a book that contains magical elements that are later revealed to be either well founded in fact, or total lies. Other ‘rules’ may be important in a given genre, but unfamiliar to readers of other genres, or may be rules of the genre the author purposefully intends to break.

Everything helps.


2. Expect a variety of responses, some contradictory, and focus on what most people feel is a problem

Feedback can be good or bad, helpful or not, and can either just identify a problem or also offer a proposed solution.

It is like a poll, except you know the respondents well enough to weight their responses--some count more than others.

In general, however, you want to focus on those aspects of the story that most people identify as problematic, even if some of the comments define the problems differently, or contradict one another. Something is wrong here. That is the message.

How to fix the problems is a separate matter. Proposed edits at a paragraph level are usually easy enough to adopt, adapt, or reject.. Larger issues though require more thought, and it is often best to put the most difficult issues on the back burner while quietly working on something else.

In any case, whatever you do, don't go bland and paint over everything in beige. Often, the fact that something does not work means you were not brave enough to go take it far enough. So, be brave, and try harder to get to the heart of things. There needs to be real emotion in what you write. Stripping it out in response to comments is always a mistake.

Sometimes too, a complaint can be something your character can directly confront as a part of the story itself. For example, if your heroine seems not to fit the reader's idea of who such a person should be, you can make this something she must deal with as part of the story itself--"she never fit in with her family's expectations, her mother had wanted a girly girl, and her father had not wanted a girl at all."

You are the custodian of your story--it's protector. And it is no crime to ignore comments you feel are off the mark. Or to ignore comments for the moment, and revisit them in some later revision cycle. This is especially true for longer work, where it may be best to accumulate feedback over a number of chapters, or an entire section or more, before acting on it.


3. Depend on people’s first pass feedback to identify what is confusing or otherwise off the mark

Because you have the story in your head, in full, it is easy to fail to explain details that later baffle readers.

Is your protagonist young or old? Male or female? What are they thinking? Or feeling? And so on.

In particular, unless there is good reason to withhold details, it is best to provide enough information for the reader to 'see' and emotionally experience (with all the senses) what you describe.


4. Learn to slough off reviewers’ bad behavior and outrageous remarks by sharing your own worst experiences with others

Everyone, even the best of writers, has had to deal with bad reviews and stupid remarks. There are even collections of bad reviews for works later regarded as great or classic (Shakespeare got bad reviews on many of his most notable plays, and Nabokov could not get Lolita published except by a publisher who specialized in pornography, etc., etc.).

Even better though, are off-the-mark remarks taken from your own experience. Swap a few ‘war stories’ with fellow writers, laugh at a few of crazy things people have said in workshops or in written critiques, and you’ll lose all respect for reviews and reviewers--a generally healthy attitude, and one that helps you more easily ‘ignore those comments you strongly disagree with.’ At least until you, years later, finally understand what that misunderstood comment was all about. It cuts both ways.

19+ Comments

Billykazis

This is a really good blog post! My favourite thing you said was to not fall into the temptation of deleting something that people have criticised. Often, it’s been criticised because the critters are asking for something more, not less, to get further into a character’s emotions. Sometimes it can feel easier to think, “oh, I failed to describe that particular emotion, I’ll just delete it since that would be easier than expanding upon it”, but it’s better to not fall for that thought!

Jan-22 at 07:54

Glitterpen

Good blog post. I like the part about bravery. :slight_smile:

Because you have the story in your head, in full, it is easy to fail to explain details that later baffle readers.

Very true. Oddly, I find it hard to write enough about what the MC is feeling and doing. I focus on everyone around her and leave her out for some reason (probably because I know everything about her, and assume the reader does too).

Swap a few ‘war stories’ with fellow writers, laugh at a few of crazy things people have said in workshops or in written critiques, and you’ll lose all respect for reviews and reviewers–a generally healthy attitude, and one that helps you more easily ‘ignore those comments you strongly disagree with.’

I read an article about netiquette. It’s probably better not to bad-mouth anyone’s comments, because this just makes everyone else wonder if you’re making fun of them behind their backs too. I’m trying to stop doing it, though some comments make it hard!

Jan-22 at 10:25

Jacksavage

however because you have the full story in your head, critters may suggest to cull essential parts because they dont have the full picture in their head.

Jan-22 at 10:29

Johannam

I love your posts on approaching reading and responding to works in progress. I now let writers know that I react in real time as I read and then put a summary or - when they ask specific questions - try to answer the questions at the end. For my own work, I print out all critiques and do what you write: look for common denominators and weigh outliers against that particular reviewer’s experience and preferences. Off point: I wish we had more short stories on CC than novels.

Jan-22 at 13:03

Lmglomar

I liked your article! Good stuff throughout it, but one thing I’ve thought a lot about and don’t have a good conclusion to was your point-one: giving critters some idea of my objectives and a framework for the piece.

I basically agree with you; it’s really useful to give people my goals and context going in. On the other hand, whenever I sit down to write that section of a submission, I feel like it’s the sort of thing that could make crits less useful – using your example, if I know, as a critter, that magic isn’t real, then I’ll see all instances of magic through that lens.

A reader in the wild wouldn’t have that information, so their reaction might be way different than mine (they might feel cheated or misled or whatever when the truth was revealed–we had a thread about that). By giving critters the truth going in, I might miss critical feedback.

When I crit, I usually just read the piece cold with no author’s notes or anything else and note my reactions and then go back a second time, reading everything and marking it up in that context (and putting a summary of my overall reaction at the top).

It’s not a perfect system (labor-intensive, and I could forget certain reactions on my second pass), but it’s an attempt to balance both objectives.

Anyway, interesting article and good things to think about!

Jan-22 at 14:28

Gwyne

Thank you for this post! It’s a helpful guide, especially for those of us who are still learning how to interpret and apply critiques.

I also recommend reading critiques when you have no intention of revising that day and letting them sit for a bit. Sometimes an in the moment interpretation can seem “off the mark” on first read, but if you set it aside and come back to it the negative emotions you have will ease and you can see what the critter is really getting at.

Jan-22 at 17:45

Aventurist

My point is quite simple: If you don’t respond to a received crit, don’t expect any more from that person.

Jan-22 at 21:01

Jacksavage

no strangling the critters.

Jan-23 at 02:32

Derevna

And then again, everyone may have a point. It doesn’t quite work. Skip ahead and work on something else until you figure a better plan.
Describing emotions? That is impossible until you have your MOTIVATION down pat.
Describing WHY that character feels angry is more difficult than being red-faced.

Jan-23 at 02:44

Elliestorm

na just argue with them for days then eventually admit we were right :slight_smile:

This comes to mind with how to take a critique.

it comes to mind because a good critique should make a writer uncomfortable because it is pushing a writer to their limits. Its challenging them to think more. Think beyond stereotypes and cliches and what everyone else is doing.

bad critiques only lavish praise. There is no writer in the history of the world that has written a piece so spectacularly polished and amazing that they are completely free of criticism. Even greats have their critiques. Tolkien is often criticized for taking too long to get to the point (the section of the Fellowship of the Rings where the hobbits encounter Tom Bombadil is criticized for being great but not necessary for the plot for instance)

Good critiques make a writer think and those critiques will be tough to take.

I also like to think of it this way … if I have to read your story multiple times to get it … its a fail for me. Readers do not read a book multiple times to “get it”.

but anyway I get passionate about this subject so shall end it here

Jan-23 at 09:06

Writestuff

I think the trick is make your bread crumbs INVISIBLE.

But even top pros in critically acclaimed novels don’t always do this.

I often notice them. It bugs the hell out of me but I notice them. And I find it hard to know if I’m noticing them because I’m a weirdo student of story-telling form or because they aren’t invisible enough.

For example, A novel will be plodding along nicely enough then someone will as an apparently random aside say something like, “Of course I don’t remember things as well as I used to, not since the accident.”

And I just KNOW that is some sort of breadcrumb some sort of foreshadow. I will never think ‘this isn’t relevant.’ - the writer should cull it.

I will always think ‘this is OBVIOUSLY going to be relevant later.’

But maybe that is because with professional published/acclaimed novels I don’t expect there to be anything there that doesn’t have some sort of point or function, and if doesn’t have a point in a present context it inevitably MUST relate to something that is going to come later.

Jan-23 at 13:20

Jacksavage

Ye’re right sometimes. :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

I agree a good critique should make the writer feel uncomfy.

Tolkein wrote aeons ago. It still holds up. Enuff said. I read him, and I assume there wont be many here who didn’t. At the time I enjoyed it.
Styles change, core storytelling/structure remains. I can see the wood from the trees, and I expect every reader can as well. Maybe presumptuous on my part.

Sometimes critiques are tough to take. Sometimes they are also wrong because the critter doesnt see the full picture.
Knowing how to decipher tough crits is especially difficult. Cos something in them is right, otherwise the writer wouldnt be rocked, deciphering which bit has actually rocked them is the tricky part.

I had a wave of tricky ones last week. And it took a week to find the key element that needed altering.

Jan-23 at 16:46

Jacksavage

And I just KNOW that is some sort of breadcrumb some sort of foreshadow. I will never think ‘this isn’t relevant.’ - the writer should cull it.

I will always think ‘this is OBVIOUSLY going to be relevant later.’

That is the sign of a close reader, who is trying to understand the plot and story. Not sure so many non writer real life readers follow the narrative quite so closely. A lot seem to want it spoonfed to them.

But maybe that is because with professional published/acclaimed novels I don’t expect there to be anything there that doesn’t have some sort of point or function, and if doesn’t have a point in a present context it inevitably MUST relate to something that is going to come later.

This I agree with. And if it doesnt lead to anything immediately, a good critter should be looking for the conclusion of that thread later in the text. Not to mention pointing it out if it isnt resolved.

I leave a couple of unresolved elements dangling. Set ups for books 2, 3 ,4, in the series. These must be short and sweet and relate to both current character predicament as well as providing the hints.
All 4 antagonists are mentioned in book 1, several antagonist’s henchmen are highlighted for later books also, aling with book 4’s hidden antagonist. All four protagonists are present.
I hint at the series’ overall ending, and the plotline for book 3. I hint at the storyline for book 3 on page 1 of book 1. I set up book 2’s subplots rivalry by the end of Book 1’s prologue, and part of its plotline by chapter 20.

In book 2, I will leave more for books 3 and 4.

Jan-23 at 16:53

Magikchef

All writers say they want fair and honest critique–until they receive fair and honest critique! I have only submitted one piece on CC and I have learned that this is not the place for accolades and “pats on the back.” LOL. A lot of what a writer will receive in response to their work is an opinion and I think as the writer-- I am preaching to myself–it is necessary to not take it personal. Decide what parts of the review are constructive and which are not. Ultimately the work still belongs to the one that wrote it. I am still learning the ins and outs of this site, but so far it is a HUGE improvement over the other site I used to post work.

Jan-24 at 13:43

Eldurub

Your blog on how [not] to deal with critique comments was great, but failed to address the emotional benefits of engaging in drawn-out pissing matches with those submitting a review. I also found no good techniques for executing crippling ad-hominem attacks against a critiquer. Therefore your entire blog was off-topic and should have instead been titled “How [to] deal with critique comments”.

Just kidding! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:. I felt that such a well-written article should be followed by at least one example of a ridiculous critique. Keep up the good work.

Jan-25 at 12:58

Vanschiz

Thanks for your blog post. It’s interesting to have discussions about what others think about critting. I agree with most of your points but I question the first suggestion about explaining the intent of the story. This approach is like a painter who tells you what you should think about the artwork first and afterwards shows you the painting. This negates any unique perspective that arises from the viewer since they’ve already been guided. It’s very tempting to give an explanation but if you have to explain, the story may have failed to achieve your intended message.

Jan-28 at 16:56

Jacksavage

i am quite happy to receive fair and honest feedback once the feedback is clearly explained.

Good to remember though. Even fair and honest feedback can be wrong.

Jan-28 at 17:01

Vivienne

A good post. Yes, many times critiques have contradicted each other. Sometimes it’s because of a difference in language. All the different forms of English have their own idiosyncrasies.
One problem with only critiquing one chapter is that something that confuses you might have been explained in an earlier chapter. I try to critique a story beginning with chapter 1 and continue through the book as it’s posted.
One reviewer said, simply, ‘Why, oh why do they never kill all the enemies when they have the chance?’ In fact, there was no chance. Even at the end. It wasn’t about killing all the enemies, (The whole might of Rome?) but the growth of the protagonist.
Another said it was a ‘children’s book.’ It begins with the six year old protagonist being forced to watch the crucifixion of his father and several other members of his family. And there are brothels and other violence (where people do get killed.) What kind of book do his children read?
I give these quotations as examples of how some critiques and reviews can give the writer some strange ideas if they act on them.

Feb-08 at 12:17

Kafkafan

Yeah, there are people that assume because a story begins with the perspective of a child then it must be aimed at children. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver first hundred pages or so was told from the perspective of a pre-adolescent boy and that book is clearly not aimed at children.

Feb-08 at 18:49
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