Criticism vs. Critique

Yesterday when I posted a tongue-in-cheek version of what my critique group was like the night before, I had some interesting emails directed toward me.  I am always fine with my blog readers emailing me and I have made some great friends from this blog, but I wanted to clarify something.  Yesterday's post was an exaggeration.  I was trying to be funny.  I love my critique group and they have made my writing stronger, there's no doubt about that.

Today I'd like to talk to you about the difference between criticism and critique.  These two are very different things and sometimes I think that there aren't enough discussions on what a critique really is.

I think in our world today criticism (of pretty much everything) is prevalent.  To me, criticism is negative evaluation without offering solutions.  I can criticize my own work pretty well.  Those negative voices are only too eager to tell me everything that's wrong, not only with my manuscript, but with me as a writer.  And I think that some writers/reviewers/people in general criticize others easily under the guise of giving feedback, when in truth, it is not helpful to receive only criticism.

For me, critique is evaluation that can stay objective and constructive.  It can be positive as well as negative in letting the writer know what isn't working in the manuscript as well as what is working.  It doesn't get personal, but it is supportive of the  writer.  A good critique is still encouraging for the writer.

I have some wonderful people in my life who are very willing to evaluate my manuscripts and tell me what's wrong with it, but we also laugh a lot along the way.  When our critique group was over that night, one of the group said how much her abs would ache the next day from laughing so hard.  And it's true.  We laugh a lot when we're together.  And when they're critiquing my work, or when I get an evaluation back, I sit there feeling very grateful to have these amazing people take time out of their busy lives to help me.  After a critique, I usually feel completely ready to dive in again and put their suggestions to use or fix what didn't work.  It's a good feeling.

So, in the choice between criticism and critique, I hope you know that for our editors on First Page Friday and for me personally as a writer, we want you to find solid critiques and helpful advice on this blog to make you feel encouraged as a writer and eager to make your work stronger.  Because, for example, I think we all learn from one another on First Page Fridays and when one writer is strengthened through critique, I think everyone in the writing community can be inspired.  We're all on a journey with struggles and triumphs and there are opportunities all around us to help others along the way.  I know I'm sure glad for the people around me who reach out for my hand.

My mother-in-law had a saying on her fridge years ago that went something like this, "Be a contributor not a criticizer."  I think that is a true statement.  Critiquing contributes something to the writer---it helps them.  That's the bottom line.

So, let's all be contributors.  Your writer friends will thank you.  And so will I.  (Especially if you're critiquing my work!)

Word Count Wednesday

So this is how critique group went last night.

My critique partners sat across from me so I was alone on one side of the table.  And then one of them said, "Oh good, we're on teams."

Not a great way to start when it's *my* manuscript chapters being critiqued.  It's quite scary actually.  They even looked at me meanly.  Narrowed eyes, red pens tapping on the table.  A little shiver of fear went through me.

I read the first paragraph and got a smiley face, so that put me at ease.  Maybe it won't be so bad, I thought to myself.  No.  They were just luring me in so they could SMACK ME DOWN.  See all these 'ing' words, Julie?  BAD.  "ING ING ING Say it.  ING is bad."  And look at this here.  INFO-DUMPY.  All I read is wahwahwahwhawahwah, like on Charlie Brown when the teacher is speaking.  FIX THAT.  Say it with me, Julie.  INFO DUMPS ARE BAD.  And then they made bad faces and pointed their red pens at me.  That's when I cried while they laughed---horrible evil laughs.

And when I stopped crying, they gave me some banana bread and told me to go home and don't ever bring crap like that again.

Oh all right, it wasn't quite like that.  They tried to be all nice with the, "don't hate me when I say this, but it was a little info dumpy here.  I think you need more tension.  But it's good.  I really like it!"

They couldn't trick me though, I knew what they were really thinking.  (Although the part about the banana bread was true and it was really good even though I knew it was just a treat to assuage their guilty consciences for being mean to me.)

(All right they weren't mean to me, except when they threw chocolate chips at me and called me a baby.)

(Okay, they didn't call me a baby, but they did throw chocolate chips at me.)

(It was one of those nights where you just had to be there, you know?  Maybe I'll just leave it at that.)

So here I am trying to fix all the bad spots they found.  My word count will be high because I am motivated and awesome.  Maybe I'll even flip my hair and say I'm worth it today just to affirm that to myself.

How did your word count go this week?

So I Was Taking the Day Off and Then . . .

I wasn't going to do any writing today.  I have my critique group tonight and I knew if I started editing, I would edit what they're going to rake me over the coals for at our meeting so I was going to wait.

I started surfing the net.  I went to all the time-sucking places.  Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube.  There is one Youtube video I saw that seriously made me laugh.  Have y'all seen this one?

So. Funny.  (I've been saying, "Nope, just Chuck Testa" all day.  My kids are getting annoyed.  Haha!)

Anyway, I thought I'd go do my daily exercise (I'm up to 2.04 miles every day now.  It's amazing for me!)  And while I was walking and listening to my music the most amazing thing happened . . .

The final edit came to me.  My winding up scene, which I thought was pretty good, will now be amazing because my mind was clear and open and totally had room for the idea that waltzed in all innocent-like.  So, here I am, with my kids challenging me to a Pokemon Puzzle League family tournament and I have to get this new final scene down.  (Maybe I'll hurry and get it down, then go show those kids who's the boss at Pokemon Puzzle League.  Just sayin')

So much for taking the day off.

When was the last time a story idea came to you like a bolt of lightning?

Book Review: The Taming of Lady Kate

There is nothing more relaxing than reading a good book on a Sunday afternoon.  I was so surprised at how quickly I was able to read this book and how engaged I was with it.  It really was a fun afternoon read.

We meet Lady Kate Derramore who is being sent away by her uncle to have her season in London.  But the worst part of it is that he is sending her younger brother, Joey, to Eton because he's too coddled.  Kate is so worried about Joey being sent there because he struggles with stuttering and she is sure he will be ridiculed and bullied at Eton.  So she comes up with a plan.

She will go to London and find someone who will marry her in a marriage of convenience.  Her father's will states that when she marries, she will come into her inheritance and her and her husband will receive guardianship of Joey.  All she has to do is find a suitable gentleman who will go along with her plan.  Oh, and forget her love for an Italian man whom her father has forbidden her to marry.  Easy, right?

Enter the Marquis of Northbrooke, Jack, who needs to find a wife so he can have access to his own inheritance.  He falls for Lady Kate from their first meeting, but his "double life" has put him at odds with Kate since he has to break their dates and he reacts badly when an earl seems to have set his sights on her.  The plot thickens as Jack's hidden identity bleeds into the careful front he's put forward---literally, and Kate is caught in the crossfire.  With rogues, ruffians, ruined reputations, and more than a little romance, The Taming of Lady Kate is a regency that has all the best of the time period.

Here is the back copy:  (It's currently $2.99 on Kindle)

Kate Derramore and the Marquis of Northbrooke have one thing in common: In order to receive their inheritances, they must marry. Lady Kate, prevented from marrying the man she loves by her father’s will, determines to marry for convenience. With the forthrightness for which she is noted, she sets her sights on Jack—aforesaid Marquis. Jack, meanwhile, has tumbled into love with Kate at their first meeting. All might have gone swimmingly, were it not for his “other life,” the mysterious job that calls him out of town at the most inopportune moments. Unwittingly, he puts Lady Kate’s life in danger, and while attempting to rescue her comes up against her “reins-grabbing” nature. Will he ever be able to master Lady Kate? Will he ever be able to oust another man from her heart? And, despite Kate’s penchant for disaster, will he be able to save her life and his own?

If you liked The Duke's Undoing, you'll love The Taming of Lady Kate

First Page Friday

Hey, remember that fundraiser I did a few days ago?  Well, I got interviewed by The Daily Herald during it (along with several other authors who were there) and my quotes were in the paper today!  Click here if you want to read the article.

On to First Page Friday, an entry by our own Debra Erfert.  After last week I can truly say it takes guts to submit, so I thank everyone who does it.  And, as always, thank you to our wonderful Ms. Shreditor who takes time out of her very busy schedule to critique for us.  See you next week!




The Entry
The Silk Strangler
by Debra Erfert

“He has a gun!” a man shouted.

A woman screamed—loudly.

“Don’t move—or—or I, I’ll shoot you!”

Now that wasn’t something I wanted to hear while standing in line at the bank. I still had my left forearm in a silly pink cast, and just an hour earlier the doctor had removed the metal staples in my scalp needed to close a gash placed there by a corrupt police detective. The concussion he gave me while trying to kill me still produced a slight headache behind my eyes—nothing serious, just annoying.

When the woman standing in line in front of me moved backward, I dropped my checkbook to the floor and held her away from stepping on my toes with my good hand. The flip-flops I wore didn’t cover much of my toes. Who knew my day would go from dull to exciting in a matter of moments.

I scanned the banker’s counter looking for the armed robber.

Gil Roscoe, private investigator, my mentor, nudged my shoulder and whispered, “There he is, Candy.”

He still must’ve thought of me as his intern, but I’d had my PI license for three months already, and I’d actually solved two cases—one even paid me in cash money to do it, too.

 “I see him,” I whispered impatiently. Like everybody in the bank wasn’t staring at him? The young man with a Cubs ball cap pulled down low over his forehead pointed a revolver pistol at the neck of an older woman he had pressed up against his body.

“He’s holding a woman.”

I let out a quiet sigh. “I can see that, too.” 

Ms. Shreditor's Comments

The first line of this page is an attention grabber, but having three consecutive one-line paragraphs gives the story a choppy feel. Also, is it necessary to specify that the woman screams loudly? A scream by its very nature is loud, so I think this goes without saying.

The dialogue needs some reworking, too. The story opens with an unnamed crowd-scener announcing that “he” he has a gun. We’re not sure who “he” is, and we don’t learn that he’s an armed bank robber until the sixth paragraph. Then, the woman screams. Then, someone threatens the crowd, and we can only assume it’s the gunman because he’s not identified with a dialogue tag. The absence of a dialogue tag might confused the reader into thinking that the same man is speaking in the first and third paragraphs.

In the fourth paragraph, we learn about the “gash placed [on Candy’s scalp] by a corrupt police detective.” According to Candy, “the concussion he gave me while trying to kill me still produced a slight headache behind my eyes.” This reads like a sequel, as if the reader is picking up where a previous story has left off. Who is this corrupt police detective? How did Candy land in his crosshairs? How have she and Gil ended up undercover in a bank where there just happens to be an armed robber? As a reader, I’m missing vital information.

I’m also confused about the nature of Candy’s injuries. In one sentence, she mentions an arm cast and a nasty scalp gash that required staples; in the next, she mentions a concussion. What exactly did the detective do to her? Also (and this may sound nitpicky), why would she choose a pink cast if she finds it silly?

Watch for places to trim excess words. Example: “...I’d actually solved two cases—one even paid me in cash money to do it, too.” You could lose “actually” without sapping your sentence of its essence. You could also lose “money” (“cash money” is redundant) and “to do it.” Readers can deduce meaning from remarkably few words, so resist the urge to bulk up your narrative with unnecessary phrases.

Watch also for awkward transitions. For instance, the narrative shifts abruptly from a description of Candy’s flip-flops to an observation that her dull day has become exciting. And consider whether or not Candy’s response to the situation is realistic. Would a protagonist really consider a life-or-death situation exciting? She seems oddly detached from the situation, which makes it difficult to connect with her. Consider what first impression you want the reader to have of Candy, because I’m not sure the intention was for her to seem so glib.

The bones for a good opening are here. You’ve done well to open with a crisis situation. Some elements need reworking so that the first page presents the most compelling bits and leaves behind some of the extraneous details. Consider also how to forge a stronger connection between the reader and Candy. If she’s going to drive the narrative bus for the duration, the reader needs to identify with her from the outset.

A Whole Different World On Pinterest. Advice?

Last night's fundraiser/booksigning was so much fun and I even got to meet one of my bloggy family.  Thanks so much to everyone who came!

I bet you can guess from the title why I'm late posting today.  I've joined Pinterest!  And boy is it easy to get lost there.

I've been pinning my favorite music, fave TV shows, places I've been and loved, my books, and crafts I'd like to learn someday.  It's been sort of fun to browse around and see what's out there.  Although being a newbie makes me feel just a tiny bit overwhelmed.  I hope I don't do anything wrong right up front.

Any of you on Pinterest?  Have any advice for me as a new member?

Word Count Wednesday

Don't forget I'm at the Pleasant Grove Library Fundraiser tonight from 7-9.  I hope to see you there!

I'm sort of at a strange and sad, but wonderful and exciting place in the publishing process.  The editing is almost done, the acknowledgments page has been written and my book will be going to press soon.  My baby won't be my baby anymore, she'll be launched onto society---I mean my readers, to be told how amazing she is (or horrible, but I prefer the former).

I've been putting all the finishing touches on things, getting last minute changes made as I enter the final phase.  I think I'm feeling a little verklempt at the imminent goodbye to this book because there's something wonderful about having it all to yourself.  On the other hand, there's no point in writing if you're not going to share it, I think, so I'm totally excited to have you guys read this one.

Like I said, it's a strange time for me.

I got all my editing goals accomplished this week and I've been working hard as deadlines are looming and I don't want anyone mad at me for not meeting them.  There's something so motivating about deadlines, aren't there?

How did you do this week?