Why I Critique

"So, you offered to read someone's 300-page book?" he said skeptically.

My dad said this after I put out a call for critique partners in my last post. And yes, dad, I DID offer to read and comment on someone's 100,000 word book. I know you think it's crazy, but I have reasons, you know, and they might not make sense to you but they do to me.

So, why do writers go searching for CPs (critique partners) anyways?

Well, here are the reasons I do it...

1. I get a "free" critique of my own work. I mean, it's not completely free, since I have to critique their work too which takes effort and time, but I can afford to spend effort and time a lot more than I can afford to spend money.

2. A critique of my own work is ESSENTIAL. I am aware of problems to fix after I finish each draft, but the more times I read over my drafts the harder it is to look at it as a fresh pair of eyes (in fact, it borders on impossible). Fresh pairs of eyes are SO helpful. I've spent years on my book, so it's really hard to separate myself enough to see problems. It's so helpful to have someone completely new come in and take a look and point out things I just couldn't notice as I'm not a first-time reader.

3. By becoming CPs with someone, I am switching MSs with another writer, which is incredibly valuable. I do send drafts sometimes to readers that aren't writers, and while they do give good feedback (and quite a lot of encouragement), writers undeniably have more knowledge of what works and what doesn't in a story. As a writer, you're always analyzing books and thinking of what you like or don't like and incorporating those things into your own writing. Not everyone does that.

4. When I critique others' work, I learn so much about what works and what doesn't and just stories in general. You can analyze and break down a published book, but there's no denying that published books always come across as much more polished and complete than other writers' drafts (probably because they are). It's a lot easier to spot what doesn't work with a still in-progress work.

5. I can work on my writing skills. One of the hardest things I've found about critiquing is seeing that there's something wrong, and wanting to point out the problem, but not knowing quite how to put it into words. Or at least, a comment or statement that actually makes sense and will be helpful. You would think that putting things into words wouldn't be that hard for a writer, but it is! (At least for me). It definitely stretches my writing ability!

6. Also, I like helping people. :)

So, dear father, and anyone else who doubts my sanity in taking on other people's works in progress to critique, THAT is why I do it.

 

OK, so now that I've said how much I like critiquing... I guess I'll do a giveaway, which I haven't done in awhile. Two people who comment on this post will get a free first chapter critique from me. Just let me know in your comment if you want a critique, and leave your email address or some way of contacting you. :)

Changing Tastes & Critique Partners

Since I finished my third draft, I decided that I should really get... meet... whatever... some more critique partners. Unfortunately I just missed the Teens Can Write, Too! blog critique matching up at the beginning of June, because that would've been awesome! I like the idea of critique partners close to my age (even though I am more quickly than I'd like to admit leaving teenagerdom...) 

Anyway, if you're looking for someone to critique your manuscript or anything I'd be happy to be your CP. (or even if you're not!). As a teenager and avid reader of YA, I think I could be useful. (Especially if you write YA. But I looove MG too, and I just worked in an elementary library for a year and with tons of MG-obsessed kids!) :) 

My desk at the library I worked at.
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Another thing I wanted to talk about is how my tastes have changed. I started this blog three years ago, which is crazy. I feel like I've changed a lot and my blogging tastes have changed a lot (I am definitely not proud of everything I've posted). I haven't come as far as some people do in three years, as far as followers and such, but I have come a long way as far as writing and reading blogs.

I haven't really managed my subscriptions at all for three years, but now more than ever I notice I'm only reading a couple of posts when I used to devour everything like crazy. Laura's talked about this before, how you read the posts you need to read. (She is so cool, go follow her!) I've also noticed what posts and blogs I'm attracted to. I'm less attracted to the huge group blogs or really popular blogs by aspiring authors. I like the smaller blogs, and my favourite posts are just the ones that ramble on about life and what's new with their writing. I used to skip those kinds of posts. But now those are my favourite. Laura, Raven, and Rachel  all write blogs that I really like right now. Oh, and I also still read almost every WORD for Teens post.

So anyway, if you have any suggestions for critique partners or smaller, more personal-style blogs, let me know! (Or even just blogs you really really like).

What I Want From Readers of My Writing

I've sent a few stories and poems to various friends and family over the years. Sometimes I'll ask, er, plead with them to comment on it. Questions, comments, anything at all is welcome!! Yeah, I don't usually get that many comments back. Not what I'm looking for, anyway.

So what kinds of things do I want to hear about my writing from my readers ("readers" in my case means "family and friends")?

Compliments

First of all, I want to hear what the reader liked about that piece. Not only is this nice because it gives me a self-confidence boost, but it gives me an idea of what worked the best in my story. It's also fun to see if the reader's favourite lines are the same as mine. (As it turns out, usually they aren't).

Questions

I want to make sure what I wanted to come across in my story came across clearly enough. If the reader is confused and isn't getting it, I need to fix that.

Critiques

Obviously, this is really important. What isn't working? What do I need to fix? It's always good to get a second opinion. Sometimes I just can't tell whether something works or not, or if it's just in my head. That's where another person's perspective comes in handy.

Feelings

This is one thing I really love hearing - what the reader was feeling while reading my work. Whether they were sad when this happened to that character, or whether they were shocked when that happened. I want to know what's going on inside the reader's head. I feel like these are the kinds of things big authors hear from their fans sometimes. :)  I don't know, these things are just nice to hear. Also, again, it helps to figure out what works.

Nit-picking

Hmm... I kind of feel nervous putting that on this list. Do I really want people nit-picking my work? For those who don't what "nit-picking" is... it's when you get down right to the tiny little details. (It's a phrase used often in my choirs, right before concerts :D). What I mean by nit-picking as far as critiques go, is that I don't just want an overview of "this was good, this was bad". I want my work to be completely analyzed, and thoroughly. This would be ideal, anyway.

However, I don't always want my work to be read with critiquing it in mind. Sometimes I just want people to read my work. It's funny, actually. Depending on the work, I'll send them to different people. One of my friends is excellent for providing the reader insight, without the critiquing part. I can always count on her to tell me her feelings on the work. Another one of my friends is an excellent critique partner who knows more about writing than my other friend does. I'll send her stuff I want to be critiqued thoroughly. Then another one of my friends I find loves poems, so I'll send her the poems I write sometimes. Um... well, that was a rabbit trail if I ever saw one. There really was no point to that.

Anyway!

What do you want from the readers of your work?

Teen Writers Summer Blogfest: Blurbs!

So today for the blogfest, we're doing some blurb critiques. The point of this is to let some other people know what teen people look for when they are picking out books, specifically what they think about the "blurb" which is the little paragraph on a book jacket that tells you what the book is about.

Blurbs should tell what the book is about in an organized, interesting and slightly suspenseful manner. Right now I'm trying to think of what I, specifically, look for in a blurb.

I guess one thing that I really want to know is about the character. The characters in a book are an essential part of the book; they're what (who?) we connect to as readers. I also want reasons why I should stick around: is anything interesting going to happen? What's going to go wrong?, etcetera. There should always be conflict. And continuing with reasons why I should stick around, the blurb shouldn't give away the ending. It should end with something that should say (not  literally, though) read on to find out what happens!

But there's also the thing where usually I have to have some sort of connection to the book. For example, my sister has Down Syndrome, so I'm automatically drawn to books about people with disabilities. (It's like when I am automatically drawn to blogs by teens or Canadians, because I am a teen and a Canadian). But you can't really do anything about that.

ONTO THE CRITIQUE! :)

Working Title: TRIPP PARKER VS. THE WORLD: THE AFRICAN KIBOKO LEGEND

Genre: Upper Middle Grade Adventure
Blurb:

Eccentric debate club champ Tripplehorn Parker is certain he’ll be dead by next week, his body rolling around the stomach of an African beastie. He might be right. While his wildlife-researcher parents are thrilled to be entering the field again, Tripp can only mourn the inevitable loss of his limbs. Unfortunately, nobody will listen to reason from a friendless twelve-year-old, even one with a large vocabulary. The night before leaving home, Tripp receives a cryptic message ending with: Only you can stop them.

An eight-fingered woman and her eyepatched sidekick appear to follow the Parkers from America to the Ugandan bush. The guide is a suspicious meanie. The support workers are twitchy. Warnings and symbols continue to appear in Tripp’s backpack, finally prompting him to do a very scary thing. He teams up with a Ugandan girl to determine why hippo territory is so popular. Clues and village folklore point to a hidden hippo shrine containing power and gold galore. Unfortunately, ancient legend calls for a human sacrifice (or three) to access the treasure. If the shrine is found, the research trip may become a rather uncivilized hunting expedition, with the Parkers as prey. With no podium or moderator in sight, Tripp faces the toughest competitive duo he’s ever encountered: Mother Nature and a herd of really, really bad guys.

I think the biggest problem with this blurb is organization. I think it would honestly be really interesting, but it is kind of all over the place. It's like it follows several different stories: Tripp leaving for scary Africa, the mystery of the notes given to Tripp, and the hippo legend thing. And I don't get how they all connect. It seems like there are a whole bunch of random... balloons, or something, instead of a string that follows the main idea of the story. (That made no sense. I think I may need to work on my organization skills, haha!!)

I also don't understand the random bits of younger language. It just didn't seem to fit, in my opinion. "suspicious meanie", "herd of really, really bad guys". I realize Tripp is twelve, but I still think those things could be worded better (with better organization).

I would focus more on Tripp as a character, because from the first paragraph he sounded kind of funny and interesting. I like characters that dramaticize everything in a funny way, like Tripp did with the African beastie. ;)

I think with a little fixing up and a switch in focus with this blurb, I probably would read the book. As it is right now? No, I wouldn't.

What do you think? Do you agree with me? Why/why not?