Being a writer is famously a solitary profession. And it is—for the most part. If you’re serious about improving your craft, you have to interact with your audience and other writers.
Feedback is an important element of the craft. Aside from beta readers and editors, a great way to get useful advice is through a critique partner. Learn their opinions, hear their thoughts, and incorporate them into your work.
What Is a Critique Partner?
A critique partner is someone who provides constructive feedback on your work. They do so on an ongoing basis, as you produce new drafts.
It’s meant to be a mutually beneficial relationship. They’re typically other writers who you agree to exchange critiques with on each other’s writing projects. You can decide to write a complete manuscript first before swapping or go by chapter.
They offer you an outside perspective of your work and can identify areas of improvement that you might miss or gloss over. These include developmental issues such as poor pacing, character inconsistencies, plot holes, awkward dialogue, and insufficient worldbuilding.
Working with a critique partner also keeps you accountable. You’re more motivated to achieve your writing goals and have access to valuable advice from someone developing the same craft as you.
Remember though, that you have full control over your work. You’re not required to follow all of their suggestions.
How to Find a Critique Partner
Writers at all levels can benefit from having a critique partner. However, finding a good one is going to be quite a trial and error.
Some places you can meet up with like-minded people are libraries, bookstores, book clubs, writer’s groups, forums, workshops, conferences, and social media. And before committing to a person, ask yourself these questions:
- Do they read/write in your genre?
- Do both of you share the same goals?
- Do both of you have the same expectations from each other?
- Do you have the same level of commitment?
- Do you like this person?
- Can you commit to regular meet-ups or online discussions?
- What is their level of experience?
- What habits do you share?
- Will this person be able to challenge you as a writer?
- Can this person deliver on what you agree upon?
A big part of finding a critique partner is putting yourself out there. Unless your critique partner is someone you’ve known for a long time, you’ll likely need to share unpolished versions of your story with strangers.
You’ll get rejected, unanswered, and sometimes made fun of. But you can also make meaningful connections, try new experiences, and find opportunities.
Qualities of a Good Critique Partner
These are the traits that you should look for in a critique partner and exhibit yourself.
1. Availability
The two of you should be able to agree on a mutual schedule. What’s the point of having a critique partner if you two can’t find time for a conversation? Trading notes are helpful, but a live discussion is best.
It’s much easier to explain what you mean in a face-to-face conversation. Frequent collaboration also helps to develop a strong bond between you two.
2. Familiarity
Your ideal critique partner needs to be familiar with your chosen genre. They should have an idea of its conventions, taboos, expectations, trends, and popular works. It’ll help them analyze your work better.
But they should also be different enough that they can bring in new ideas and perspectives. Find common ground, both as writers and as people. You don’t want your discussions to turn into an echo chamber.
3. Likability
Your critique partner should be someone you like being around, even if it’s not about writing. Working with someone you like just makes things easier and more enjoyable.
Sure, sometimes you need to put up with someone insufferable because the value they bring is worth the inconvenience. It’s not going to be the best relationship though. It’s hard to accept criticisms from someone you don’t like.
You’re going to spend a lot of time with this person. Ideally, this is someone you’d want to work with for a long time. Wouldn’t it be better if you were friends?
4. Responsibility
A critique partner needs to be professional and responsible. They should follow any established rules and expectations, meet deadlines, and communicate well.
This is an equal partnership. Your critique partner needs to be as committed as you in the craft. You don’t want to put in the work, send it to them, and never hear back or get lazy critiques.
Both of you should also decide on how to deliver your critiques and stick to them. You can annotate documents using apps like Word or Google Docs. Or you can go old school and swap written notes.
5. Provides actionable feedback
Good critiques are those that point out specific issues and provide clear, actionable suggestions. You don’t want to receive feedback that only says “I don’t like this. Please change.”
That’s not useful at all and can only create tension. How will you revise your work if the feedback you’re given is vague? What’s the point of having a critique partner if their critiques are useless?
Their feedback should give you “aha!” moments that reveal aspects of you’re writing that you’re not aware of.
They should also know how to set aside their bias and personal feelings. Just because they don’t like what they’re reading doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad. They also can’t be mean with their comments just because they’re having a bad day. This is a professional partnership, after all.
6. Open to feedback
You don’t want a critique partner who can’t accept feedback. This is a partnership where ideas flow both ways. If one can’t do that, then it’s not a partnership.
You don’t want to work with someone who refuses your thoughts and opinions outright. It is frustrating and insulting. You take time to provide helpful advice, only for it to be rejected without consideration.
Of course, they don’t need to follow your words; they’re just suggestions. However, there is a difference between dismissing feedback and mulling over it.
7. Level of experience
Remember, you want feedback because you want to improve your draft. Your critique partner should know what they’re talking about. Otherwise, it’s like the blind leading the blind.
You want someone who is at least at your level of experience. This is a person who has likely experienced the same things and is currently tackling the same challenges. It makes it easier for you to understand each other.
When searching for a critique partner, always take a look at their website or published works. Better yet, exchange drafts and do a test critique to find out each other’s skills in writing and giving feedback.
8. Encouragement
Your critique partner should be a positive influence on your writing. Aside from giving fair criticism, they should also know when to give praise.
Messages like “Dude, this scene is awesome!” or “I cried at this part” not only make you smile but also indicate how your writing affected the reader. You know that while your work’s not at its best yet, you’re going in the right direction.
Conclusion
Finding a critique partner is a lot like dating. It takes a lot of trial and error. You consider whether both of you are compatible, have the same goals and preferences, and are open to each other’s opinions. If not, you part ways and try again.
Ultimately, the perfect critique partner pushes you to write the best version of your story and not just the story they want to see.
Do you already have a critique partner? Share your thoughts below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Become a Book Reviewer: 10 Tips for Getting Paid to Read
- Complete Guide to Beta Readers: How to Find and Work with Early Reviewers to Improve Your Writing
- Sensitivity Readers: What They Are and How to Work With One
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
