Monday Madness: Honest Crit

Good Monday, everyone! I'm going to have a "Monday Madness" feature every Monday starting this week, featuring things that I have learned/hope to learn about the writing world. This will include every stage of writing, from the sentence to submission. I don't pretend to be an expert on anything, but I hope my insights will help some of my fellow writers out.

And, now, to the first installment of Monday Madness: Honest Crit!

In one of my critique groups, there is a tit-for-tat policy. So much so, in fact, that it even highlights people's stories who have critted yours. Pretty neat if you're like me and like to return favors, but not so much if you're (also like me) and a bit limited on time.

I believe in honesty. Not the cruel "haha, you're writing sucks" kind but in the kind that is constructive and well-placed. But sometimes I will come across a work that demands not so much my input on the story itself, but on how the story is delivered, i.e, technique.

I believe that everyone has a story in them, but not everyone has the ability to tell it. What is ability? Sound grammar, correct spelling, and varied sentence structure, in my opinion. When I come across a story that does not have these things, I get a bit exasperated. Even if the story itself is intriguing, I'm so distracted by its delivery that I can't enjoy it. And then the grammar monster comes out flashing its red quill of death and I start telling them everything that they need to fix before I could read this story for the story itself. I've even gone so far as to rewrite a sentence to show them what I mean (which, I will admit, is pretty pathetic of me). And, in case you're wondering, I don't do this to show my superiority or whatever, I do it because I honestly want to help the writer improve.

But correcting grammar and syntax shouldn't be a critter's job. AT ALL. Now, nobody is perfect. Occasionally there will be errors that slip under our editor-radar, but the majority of the work that you have submitted for critique should be free from error. WHY? Because if you're serious about writing, you need to have the technique down. I think of every submission for critique as a professional piece of writing, even those that I want just an opinion on. So I try to make it as legible and readable as possible, because I DON'T want people to be hung up on my technical errors. I want them to focus on the story.

Critters are not grammar teachers (though I sometimes forget that). They are there to offer their opinion on your STORY. So do them a favor and make sure it's as polished as possible. Not only will your critique group thank you for it, but you will also receive the feedback you're REALLY looking for.