Post-Crit Review

by | Apr 27, 2011 | Fiction Book Reviews | 4 comments

So…

the contest entries are back in hand, or you’ve received your crit partners response to your newest chapter.

What you have before you is your precious manuscript covered in red remarks.

What happens now?

Well, besides the usual initial response of throwing the paper across the room, blurting out something unkind, screaming into a pillow, or devouring large quantities of chocolate- after the storm has subsided there are a few things to consider.

The first thing I do (after the initial shock has worn off) is PRAY.

I believe that God has called me into the world of writing fiction, therefore these words/stories are important to him. If I’m receiving valuable feedback for those stories, I want Him to guide the critiquers comments and my reaction.

Next – I reread the comments and sort them into categories:

– comments made by one judge (or only made once) versus comments made by more than one judge (or repeated several times by the critiquer)

– Categorize comments: grammatical, plot, characterization, dialogue, other

Usually at this point I need to pray again. Prayer for my reaction, for how I interpret those comments, AND for the story God wants me to write in view of those comments. Sometimes it’s okay to step outside the box, but other times we need to be aware that people with more experience are trying to help us along the writing journey.

Then I will start taking some of those comments and modify my work.

What do you do with those critiques?

4 Comments

  1. Carol M

    The chocolate thing.

    Lots of it.

    Then ponder them in a better frame of mind.

    And praying all the while…

    Reply
    • pepperbasham

      Ah yes, Carol.
      A world without chocolate is chaos.

      Reply
  2. Julia

    Pepper,

    I like your approach very much. I always need to approach with lots of prayer because in my flesh I am not prepared to deal with critiques.

    I like your thoughts about seeing if the comments are repeated. Although it can be painful it seems so helpful for identifying your strengths and weaknesses.

    I’m still praying for your family :). Blessings

    Reply
  3. Susan Mason

    Hi Pepper,

    Where was this post last week!?? LOL. I have been struggling with this problem for my Genesis entry. When I added in a lot of the detail the judges suggested, my entry was too long! So I had to go back and cut out unnecessary dialogue, etc. I have been back and forth a million times it seems.

    Thanks for the advice. I might give it one more go over tonight!

    Reply

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