Critiquing Short Stories

When critiquing a piece of writing, consider the following elements: You may find it easier to put your critiques into the headings below, and give your views on each topic. Some prefer to break the story down into parts and refer to each element in the story that they feel needs further work.

What can be problematic is when a person writes about how the story has affected them personally and/or offers praise. Although praise and sentiment are very worthwhile they are not what a writer needs most when trying to "polish" their work to perfection. In the end, it is ultimately whatever you are most comfortable with, but at all times consider what would you most want for feedback on your writing.

CHARACTERIZATION: Do the characters seem real with depth and emotion, or are they recognizable stereotypes? Are the motives of the characters understandable and logical to the story? Are the good guy(s) likeable and the bad guy(s) really bad?

The characters are very important to any story and they must be believable. There is room in any critique for characterization.

DIALOGUE: Does the dialogue seem realistic? Can the reader imagine real people talking as the characters do?

SETTING: If the story is, for example, about the rich and famous, details of wealth must be included. If about poor people, the reader has to see that they are poor. Is there atmosphere in the story allowing the reader to experience what the characters experience? Can the reader imagine the location around the characters clearly?

POINT OF VIEW: Is the POV first or third person? If it is third person, is the narrator able to see into the heads of the characters? Is the POV consistent throughout the piece?

DEVELOPMENT: Does the story develop logically, so that the reader can follow the specific changes, which occur in the story, or does the story make sudden leaps, which cause the reader to lose the direction of the narration? Is the progression of characters and events logical, or is the whole story too confusing?

PACING: Pacing is a key to appeal; how well does the reader get involved in the story? Does the action progress slowly or quickly? How long does it take for the story to be set up? Is the reader drawn into the story from the beginning? Is it non-stop action or character development? Different readers prefer different paces in what they read.

MECHANICS: A beginning writer often has trouble with mechanics and needs help. Sentence structure, verb agreement, and aspects of basic style are considered here. If a reader feels that there are problems with mechanics, s/he will specify the problems seen, rather than simply stating that they are there.

Readers react to what they read. Sometimes the gut reaction to the story is more important than anything mentioned above--especially when the writer is more experienced. Gut reaction can negate nearly anything, with the exception of flaming another writer.

SHORT STORY CRITIQUES from shortstorygroup.com

The Silver Crown (Bernard Malamud)

Wonderful. The nuances of the story are brilliant. I'm convinced the outcome of the story is different for every person and the perceived content reflects an individual's belief.

I used this story in two separate classes and the discussions were the best I've ever had.

The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor

I think The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor is one of the greatest books of the 20th century (although I've never seen it on anyone else's list). One can open the book at random and find great pearls of wisdom. I found the following quote by doing just that:

I am very handy with my advice and then when anybody appears to be following it, I get frantic. . . .Don't [write] anything that you are not interested in. . . . start simply with a character or anything that you can make come alive. When you have a character he will create his own situation and his situation will suggest some kind of resolution as you get into it. Wouldn't it be better for you to discover a meaning in what you write than to impose one? (The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor selected and edited by Sally Fitzgerald (1979))

Push Yourself

Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. Go a little further. Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning. Probably that's why we decide we're done. It's getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.


Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

What I know, for sure ... I think

Everybody won't like everything you write. Some people won't like anything you write. Get over it.

Stay off an editor's "Life's too short to deal with this person" list. At the same time, don't be a wimp. Practice professionalism.

Don't tell yourself lies about either your strengths or your weaknesses as a person and a writer. Looking yourself in the face is the first step to creating great characters.

Read widely.

from "What I know, for sure ... I think" by Susan Elizabeth Philips
The Writer January 2003

Point of View

Choosing a point of view is a matter of finding the best place to stand, from which to tell a story. The process shouldn't be determined by theory, but driven by immersion in the material itself. The choice of point of view, I've come to think, has nothing to do with morality. It's a choice among tools. On the other hand, the wrong choice can lead to dishonesty. Point of view is primary; it affects everything else, including voice. I've made my choices by instinct sometimes and sometimes by experiment. Most of my memories of time spent writing have merged together in a blur, but I remember vividly my first attempts to find a way to write Among Schoolchildren, a book about an inner-city teacher. I had spent a year inside her classroom. I intended, vaguely, to fold into my account of events I'd witnessed there a great deal about the lives of particular children and about the problems of education in America. I tried every point of view that I'd used in previous books, and every page I wrote felt lifeless and remote. Finally, I hit on a restricted third-person narration.

That approach seemed to work. The world of that classroom seemed to come alive when the view of it was restricted mainly to observations of the teacher and to accounts of what the teacher saw and heard and smelled and felt. This choice narrowed my options. I ended up writing something less comprehensive than I'd planned. The book became essentially an account of a year in the emotional life of a schoolteacher.


The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work (edited by Marie Arana)

You Can't Imagine a Three-legged Dog

An old saw about a three-legged dog states, "You can't imagine a three-legged dog running." But as soon as you read that sen-tence, your nervous system contradicts it - you do see that three-legged dog. And it's running. The dog is ridiculous, clumsy, endearing, inspiring, or even oddly graceful.


Let the Crazy Child Write!: Finding Your Creative Writing Voice
by Clive Matson