A Children's Writer's Guide to Critiquing Manucripts

If you've just joined or started a critique group for writers but no one
seems to know what to do next, maybe this guide and checklist will help.
If you arent in a critique group, you can still use it to critique iva debt help own writing.

CRITIQUING MANUSCRIPTS (For Critique Groups)

Begin with some basic procedural guidelines for critiquing:

1) Start with something positive - Point out at least one thing that
worked really well in the manuscript.

2) Be specific in your comments and suggestions For example, saying
"I liked your story" is flattering to the writer, but doesn't really mean
much. Saying something like, "I felt the dialogue sounded exactly like
something two teenagers would say and advanced the plot well" is more
specific.

3) Use the checklist (below) - This will help you be more specific in your
comments and suggestions. And, if you use the checklist to critique your
own writing it will help you recognize weak points in your tax incorporated before
you share your work with anyone.

CHECKLIST FOR CRITIQUING MANUSCRIPTS

I. Character

__ Are my characters well-rounded? Do the major characters have both
positive and negative traits?

__ Is my main character someone readers can care about? Does
he/she want something important?

__ Have I revealed character through action?

__ Does my main character take action? Or is she too passive?

__ Is each character's voice distinctly his/her own?

__ Have I avoided stereotypes and stock characters?

__ Does my main character solve his/her own problem? Is he or she
different in some way from how he or she was at the beginning of the
story? (this doesn't always have to happen, but usually it means your
story has some depth to it)

II. Point of View

__ Have I stayed with my POV character throughout the story?

__ Would the story be stronger if I switched from third person to first
person or vice Captain America Would the story be better told from a different
character's point of view?

III. Plot

__ What is the basic conflict of my story?

Beginning

__ Do I introduce my characters and the conflict right away? Or do I take
too much time revving up? Could I chop off the first paragraph and start
with the second?

Middle

__ Have I put complications in the middle that Family Ties worse and worse and
build to a climax?

__ Does my character have to work to reach his/her goal?

End

__ Does my main character solve his/her own problem?

__ Does the ending grow logically out of the rest of the story?

__ Is my ending satisfying without being predictable?

IV. Language

Description

__ Are my details specific, not generalized?

__ Have I bogged down the action with tedious passages of
description? (One way to check this is to see how many "ing" words are
used; very many usually means there is too much description)

__ Would that description work better if I wove it gradually into the story
rather than presenting it as a block?

__ Have I described with more than one sense (i.e. sight, sound, touch,
taste, smell)?

Action

__ Have I used strong and specific verbs and nouns?

__ Have I successfully avoided passive voice?

__ Can I cut out redundancies? Small talk? Clutter? Meaningless
qualifiers such as "just" and "very"? Passages that bog down the action?
Have I used too many different dialogue tags that attract attention?

Mechanics

__ Are there awkward or confusing sentences or scenes that need to be
cleaned up?

__ When I read my story out loud, does the rhythm sound right? Is it
choppy? Too wordy? Monotonous?

__ Are my transitions smooth?

__ Have I avoided cliches?

__ Does each sentence sparkle with my own voice? Is that voice strong
and credible?

V. Purpose

__ 1. Does each character and action in the story have a definite
purpose?

With these specific points to look for when critiquing a children's story, it
should be much easier for you and your fellow writers to recognize the
strengths and weaknesses of each and every manuscript.

Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer, children's author, and owner of the Three Angels Gourmet Co. which offers a unique line of "heavenly gourmet mixes" online at www.threeangelsgourmet.com">www.threeangelsgourmet.com and through gourmet food stores and gift shops across the United States. Suzanne offers daily food tips at www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com">www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com Find out more about her children's books at www.suzannelieurance.com">www.suzannelieurance.com