Peer Writing Critiques

Part I: The Process of Self Editing

There’s a point where you become blind to the rough spots in your writing. Even the passages of brilliant phrasing are lost on you. It’s time for feedback. And the best kind to get is from a fellow writer, who knows the craft and how to give a thoughtful response that appraises the words, not the writer. Resist the temptation to call for this help too soon. Your work must go through many revisions before it’s ready for another’s eyes.

Here’s the process most writers—no matter how experienced—will have followed before calling upon a fellow writer. There’s that first wild ride, where you dashed the words out, come as they may. (Hopefully you resisted the temptation to pass the manuscript on to someone else at this point! If you’re like most writers, it was a muddle of words and fragmented ideas that only vaguely resembled what was unfolding in your mind.)

You reread that first draft, took a deep breath and plunged in to wrestle the beast into a semblance of cohesion, followed by successive stages of polishing and adjusting. Many rewrites later you probably found yourself confused about what was saved and what was lost in the process. Your memory still holds chopped phrases and the nuances of important details from your research—that may, or may not, still remain in the latest draft. At this confusing stage you were probably desperate for a fellow writer’s opinion, but I hope you resisted because there’s a next step—and it’s very important. Set the narrative aside to let it brew for a week or two, or longer. Have your tried this? If so, you’ll agree that the fresh objectivity, clarity and perspective this brings is both surprising and energizing.

Even the Most Experienced Writers are Faced with Multiple Rewrites

So let’s imagine this is the point you’ve reached. You’re well past that first draft muddle and have revised, revised, revised, and set it aside. (Hopefully you knew before you got into this game that it’s a lot of work?) Next up is a read aloud to someone, or failing that, to yourself. (This forces you to read every word, and not skim. Whether you know it or not, you skim most of your reading, especially on a computer screen. There are added benefits to reading aloud. It lets you hear it through another’s ears—even if they say not a word in response—and the cadence and rhythm of your writing come alive.)

Your Family History or Memoir Draft is Finally Ready for Peer Feedback

Diana Shallard, Dionne LaPointe-Bakota and Clint Young review each other’s writing in a critique session in a Scribes class.

NOW you’re ready for informed feedback. And it’s here, when you think the piece is in its penultimate state, that you stand to gain from a peer’s response.

The best person for the job a fellow writer. Someone who knows the mechanics of a well-crafted narrative and how to give constructive feedback. Your lover, parent or best friend is biased, and may not know enough about writing to give you an informed view. And here’s another reason why you should choose a writer. Your beloved one may be an avid reader–as in my family–but that’s a very different perspective from that of a writer.

An Upcoming Post: How to Give and Get a Peer’s Perspective

The next post, by Annette Yourk, will describe the hows and whys of getting peer critiques, and the rules of engagement. Peer feedback is an illuminating experience that has been the most potent teacher for me over many years of writing.