I’m a member of Critique Circle. While it’s not my most frequent haunt, there are things that it offers that appeals to me. One is the payment/point scale. For every story you critique you’re awarded a certain number of points (increasing as the story gets longer.) In order to earn the minimum points, you have to write at least 300 words (which prevents people from simply popping in and saying, “I hated/loved it” and not elaborating). Works are not limited to PG-13 ratings (they’re simply required to have a warning and, I believe, younger authors/readers aren’t able to access them). They even have an erotica forum. Plus, they implement a tit-for-tat policy when it comes to critiques. Basically, if you crit someone’s work, they should crit yours. Tit-for-tat. Sounds reasonable to me. (Sometimes there’s nothing more frustrating than a writer who won’t return the favor.)
But there are things that make me not like that so much. One reason is that not the best critters are the best writers, and I feel like I’m cheating someone who gave me an excellent critique if their writing is less than promising. (Time to break out the red pen!)
Another problem that arises in the tit-for-tat is the Genre Snob. There are genres we just don’t like to read (admit it). I’m comfortable and content in my fantasy/romance niche, but I do sometimes stray into other genres. Often it’s an exercise in helping me stretch my own writerly muscles (can I look beyond the content and focus on the technical and vice versa?), but sometimes it can lead to a problem.
With tit-for-tat, if I critiqued, say, a hardcore thriller, that author might not be so thrilled (har har) to crit my romantic fantasy. And if they “don’t normally read this kind of stuff” it might befuddle their critting skills. So, instead of focusing on plot holes or stilted dialogue, they might instead focus on how it’s ridiculous for a unicorn to be a prince (or some such completely unbeneficial nonsense) and make suggestions instead to change my story.
Tsk. Tsk. Bad critter.
However, on the flip side of that is that they notice things that other readers familiar with the genre might overlook (i.e. if she discovers a magic sword that won’t break in scene one, then how come it breaks in scene three?) since they might be more skeptical and less forgiving. I like that.
I’ve had an equal number of good and bad critters, all of them attempting to be helpful. Surprisingly, I think I benefit from both the people who are fluent in my genre and those who aren’t, and I’ll gladly wade through the unhelpful sludge. But I’m curious, which side do you think gives the best crits: those familiar with your genre or those who aren’t?
I definitely prefer those who are familiar with the genre. For example, someone who thrives on sci-fi is not always the best critter for women's fic. But I think, in general, there are certain vital elements in ALL fiction, so you should be able to gain at least one helpful suggestion from any given critter, even if the remaining 99% doesn't make a lick of sense.
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