User blog:Thantosiet/How To Criticize a Story and Not Get Eviscerated

I’ve been writing and reading fanfiction for about three years, and every once in a while, someone comes up to me and asks me to proofread their stuff, or read their story to make sure it’s good. It’s usually out of the blue, from someone I’ve never even heard of before. I’m not exactly a glowing reviewer—it’s a rare story that gets zero criticism from me—and though I’ve made some people mad, I've figured out how to say I have a problem with something in a story without getting flamed back most of the time.

Some of this stuff I’ve learned from reading other work, some I’ve learned by making mistakes and getting screamed at, some got borrowed from other places. One reason I’m writing this is to remind myself, because I forget these points sometimes.

1. Always, always, always be polite
Note that I’m only talking about constructive criticism, not sporkings or other instances where you’re trying to entertain with your review. In those cases, you can scream and rant and curse because anger is funny. If you’re trying to make someone listen to you and improve their work, however, insulting them will just turn them off. You’ll look like a troll—or at least someone so worked up emotionally that you’re not going to say anything useful.

2. Sandwich the complaint with compliments
I always try to begin and end with something positive, even if it’s tiny. The beginning and ending are the most memorable parts of any piece of writing, so it’s important to put the other guy in the right mindset, open them up to your opinion. It also demonstrates that you’re not a troll, because you looked for stuff to like. You are on their side, and you want to help.

3. Phrase it as a question, not an insult
This really highlights the point of constructive criticism: to make the work better. It’s much less aggressive than just saying “your plot makes no sense,” so the writer is less likely to get defensive. It’s also a good way to make the author think about why they’re doing what they’re doing, which can lead to them solving their own plot holes.

You can also make suggestions for fixes, if you want. That shows that you’ve thought about the problem and want to solve it, not just that you’re looking for something to hate.

4. Be specific
Once again, the point of constructive criticism is to improve the story. If you can say exactly what the problem was, then the author can fix it more easily. Which is easier to do? “Make your story less stupid,” or “explain why your character would make this decision”?

You should also try to explain why you feel the way you do about what you like or don’t like. It makes your points easier to understand for the author, and can point to a root problem or talent that’s shaping the rest of the story.

5. Know when to shut up
Ultimately, each person writes for him or herself, not for you. Once you’ve made your point, explained why you feel the way you do, let it go. Yeah, you might think it’s a horrible, horrible mistake, but whining isn’t going to change the author’s mind. It might just bias them against your opinion, make them think that you’re trying to control their story.

The thing is, if you’re a reviewer or a reader, you need to remember that an author does not have to create a story that matches your tastes perfectly. And you have to be okay with that. Just because you like or dislike something doesn’t mean it’s good or bad. If the author has a good reason for including it, then it’s fine. You are allowed to disagree, of course, and you ought to explain why to try to help, but you are not in charge, and if you try to control the story, you’ll just end up hurting it and tiring yourself out.

Believe me, I’ve fallen into this trap too often for my own liking. If someone gives me a beta’ing job, I can get very bossy, insist over and over on things being a certain way, and sometimes it kills the original author’s interest in the story entirely. It’s something I’m trying to stop doing, but I still slip up. Just keep reminding yourself that you are not the author. Your opinion is not law. It’s valid and important, and it can show the author something they’ve missed, but ultimately it’s their story, and their decision.