Hang around enough writers groups and creative writing classes, and you’ll come across history’s most emetic sandwich: the compliment sandwich. That overly prescriptive, insincere way of giving feedback in a praise-criticism-praise formula that leaked out of the corporate jargon vanity management book world and into the real world where it could come for the rest of us.
Dear people who push the compliment sandwich,
I like how you use black ink on white paper, very legible!
I struggle with the content of your ideas, though, because it’s a bad and ineffective strategy.
Your ideas have impressive staying power in the face of empirical evidence! (is that enough of a compliment?)
All things considered, it’s no wonder people have trouble giving feedback in writing critiques when they’re taught such useless techniques.
So, let’s correct with five critique strategies that will make you a highly sought after guest at any table!
1) FULLY engage, regardless of how you feel about your level or qualifications.
I’ve seen it happen at too many writers’ tables (both creative writing classes and writing groups) where a “talented” and “intimidating” in smarts, output, raw talent, what-have-you writer ends up getting useless, floppy fish critiques because other people at the table feel unqualified to critique.
That’s not fair to them, that they aren’t getting a real critique, and it’s not fair to the people not giving a real critique because you grow and learn through the *thinking* that a critique takes.
I’ll give a personal example of how I handle this very issue. In one of my regular writers groups, one of the members is a poet, and a good one. I am very much…not. Never clicked with it, never grokked it. But do I use that to hand-wave an excuse and not give feedback? NO.
I read and fully engage with his work, and focus on my *reactions* to it. Because you don’t need expertise or training or anything fancy to be able to give an honest audience reaction, which can be very useful to an author. It lets them know if the vibe and ideas they’re trying for are getting across!
Now, this reaction should be more specific than “I liked it.” You’ll want to dive deep into it—for me, I zero in on which phrases I reacted to positively or negatively (e.g., which phrases make me stop and think and make connections to other things, vs phrases where I stop and think too much because I’m unclear on something and so take me out of the flow of the poem).
2) Ask the writer, “What are you looking for in this critique?”
A mystery writer might ask for you to tear their plot to shreds.
Someone with a first chapter might be wanting a vibe check.
A thriller writer might want extra feedback on characterization to make sure the plot isn’t overshadowing the people.
Or, writers may have more vague wants—“I know something is missing from this chapter, but I’m just not sure what.”
Asking the writer what they’re looking for helps make your feedback more efficient and useful to them! And it also gives the critiquers a starting point—because you’re not limited to *just* what they’re asking for, after all, and free to react to other things in the story.
But be strategic! Do you really want to spend time doing nitty-gritty line edits when a writer is still grappling with a big picture and likely will be rewriting every last sentence? That’s a waste of your energy and their time!
Additionally, there will be some times when a strict (but honest) critique will actually be a *bad* thing. Sometimes, a writer will come to your group and say, “I’m having a hard time fitting writing into my life, but this group is helping me prioritize it. I’m not looking for a heavy critique, but more for encouragement.” And that’s okay, because you can still give valuable critique while staying encouraging! Especially if you follow my tip #3!
3) Ask yourself, “What do I want to see more of from this piece?”
One way to interpret this question is “What is working in the story?” but that’s not the whole picture. What’s working is very based in the now, whereas “what do I want more of” is forward and future looking. It provides workable guidance and direction.
Even if you really dislike the piece in front of you, you can use this question to turnout a respectful critique by thinking to figure out what it is you don’t like, and what would fix it for you.
For example, if a story feels too formulaic, find some kind of a character detail or moment that hints at a break from the predictable. You don’t have to *like* it to point to it and say, “I was reading Tucker Van Dinglehorn as a cardboard meathead jock until this moment when he closed the locker softly—that implies a level of care I didn’t expect from him, and that surprise made him more interesting. I’d like to see more moments like that to deepen the characterization of the whole Van Dinglehorn clan.”
Yeah, you’re still not going to like Tucker or the whole stupid Van Dinglehorn family (I don’t like them either), but this way you are encouraging something that will enrichen the story, and doing so in a way that is kind and useful.
And this guidance is *also* useful if you really, really like a piece. Tell the writer what aspects of the story you’re clicking with the most, and that you hope these pieces won’t be dropped in the future chapters. Done, helpful advice given!
More than that, this tip is even useful in its inverse. Say the writer has brought something really funny, so gutbustingly funny that it’s your new favorite thing ever. The humor is your favorite part of it. BUT they’ve already hit the perfect blend of fart-jokes-to-social-commentary, and you don’t want to disturb the balance. “I love the humor in this piece; you have just as much as you can get away with before you start undermining the characters/conflict/themes/etc” is useful feedback because it lets the author know to be careful not to veer too far from what’s working.
4) Set aside times for the writer being critiqued to ask questions, both while the critique is being delivered and as a discussion after the feedback has been given.
I can see some teachers out there glaring at me here, because I’m telling people to ~*~break a big critique rule~*~!!! Ever since 1956, when the dark coven of the Milford Writing Conference cast a curse upon us all, writers have received the *terrible* advice that the writer should not speak during their critique.
(Some groups and classes even have this as an actual *rule*!)
I understand *why* the rule exists—to encourage people to listen to understand (instead of listening just enough to rebut), and as a way to protect the rest of the group from people who will argue and defend every last thing.
But following this rule will make critiques less valuable. This “Milford Method” makes the writer wait until the very end to have a brief moment to ask questions of clarification. This results in a huge waste of everyone’s time if the writer doesn’t understand the feedback being given! It is much more efficient to allow a writer to speak up at a moment of confusion, so that the critiquer can clarify what they mean!
Understanding what’s first said can be key to understanding what is built on that initial feedback, so by allowing confusion to take root in your foundation, you’re sabotaging the whole feedback session!
And if a writer is saying, “That’s not what I meant. That’s not what I’m going for,” it isn’t helpful to anyone to shut them down or limit it to a brief, timed final section of the feedback!
In my experience, critiques are far more valuable as a dialogue than as a monologue.
Here’s what I do if I’m getting pushback on a critique I’m giving someone:
- I ask them what they were going for
- I tell them what parts of their piece were leading me in a different direction and why
- I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of what they were going for vs what I was reading into it
- I give advice designed to help them hit the mark they’re *trying* for
- I accept that it is their story, not mine. They get the final say (…even if I’m sure they’re wrong!)
Using questions instead of silence, you are able to make sure everyone is on the same page (lol writing pun) in understanding what feedback is being given and what the writer’s goal for the piece is, and it results in a far more focused discussion.
Let’s have an example to illustrate! Say there is a tangent in a critique that the writer knows is actually irrelevant. Say, they included a detail that made a throwaway character seem more important and that character is dominating the discussion while the writer already knows the fix is to eliminate that detail so there won’t be focus pulled. Does it make sense for the writer to let people spend ten minutes pondering this accidental red-herring of a character that the author has mentally already written out of the story?
NO!
Let the writer redirect the critique and say, “Whoopsie-doodle! My bad! I’m cutting Sandra from that scene and the book, so can we get back to Molly’s rabid ferret storyline?”
5) Bring your own work to share as well.
There’s a reason these groups are writers groups and not book clubs! You get a different perspective when all of the feedback-givers are also practicing the craft, a perspective especially valuable when you’re still in the trenches of doing the work!
In a critique group, you have an obligation not just to give your full attention and effort to critiques for other people, but also to bring your own work. It levels the playing field and allows your fellow groupmates to get to know you, your work, and how you think. You owe bringing your work to the group because in critiquing you, they also grow as writers and thinkers.
And you owe it to yourself as well. You worked hard on that piece! Sure, it’s not done yet. It’s not perfect. But you should take ownership of it and stand behind it. Doing so will deepen your writing relationships and trust in your critique circle, allowing you to give and receive better feedback.
Even if you’re only writing small bits, even if it’s super raw first draft, you owe it to yourself to bring it and take advantage of the resources of the group. If you’re giving of yourself in critiquing others, it’s only fair to also give the benefit of the critique to yourself as well.
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There you have it! With my incredibly wise and insightful advice, go forth! Write, and also participate in robust, helpful writers groups! Go forth and cause (helpful) mayhem by breaking the old rules and replacing them with ones that work!
(…because what is a compliment sandwich other than a knuckle sandwich to the writerly soul?)
