dear writers and artists and anyone who contributes to fandom

[tellytubby101]

What do you want in a review/critique?

I'm asking you guys because I want to know. There seems to be some discrepancy in how people think feedback should be delivered.

When it comes to reviewing, I'm generally enthusiastic, will point out two or three things I liked and will throw in a good keysmash when the situation asks for it. Icons are normally changed to appropriate .gifs of love and joy. I love using a ton of colourful adjectives to descibe how I felt and reacted to the fic/art/fanmix/etc. When I point out possible errors, I do so kindly and normally at the end of a nice review.

But reviewing doesn't seem to generate issues - critiquing does. Critiquing, I feel, is different to reviewing in that - the person recieving it asked for it to be a bit more in-depth. Commonly seen in beta work or authors playing with a new genre/style/fandom. 

Personally, I try work by the Critter Method when delivering critiques. To summarise for those too lazy to read the whole thing (though I highly recommend it, since the article includes excellent examples and is more in-depth than I will be): 

• make it less a generalisation (as in we think) and more personal (your views are your own, no one else's: I think, I feel, etc.)
• make it sound like an opinion rather than a rule
  • avoiding definites like "you have to" or "you must" and substituting "I feel as though" or "perhaps you might", etc.
• don't try to persuade, just suggest it to them and let the author/artist/etc. ultimately decide
• avoid ALL CAPS and exclaimations!!1! and text speak
• critique the story, not the person - refrain from insulting them

I also have two other things I try to do not included in the Critter Method:
 

• no swearing when correcting/offering suggestions because I think it makes things potentionally too personal/offensive
  • of course, swearing in the sense of positive enthusiasm (fucking awesome shit, man) is okay
• try to praise the writing every now and then; it doesn't need to be a block of red pen marks

How much I stick to these rules depends on how well I know the person I'm working with. For example, this RL person's trilogy I'm helping critique is also sprinkled with lewd jokes here and there when the writing presents innuendo fuel. (Don't worry, the author loves them. ;D)

Anyway, what about you - what kind of things do you like seeing in feedback? Things like certain sections being quoted back at you, or perhaps a comment on characterisation/world-building/etc.? Artists, do you mind getting comments regarding proportion or colour schemes? Finally, what do you HATE in feedback?

COME AT ME, BRO; I WANT DETAILS. :DDD

Comments

[takmarierah.livejournal.com]

Y'know mostly what I don't like in feedback is when a critiquer gets caught up in their own very personal opinions - this has really only ever happened in RL but I've had other students write things like "you shouldn't use these words because I don't know what they mean", "I like your character but he's obviously not a scientist because he talks like a normal person," and "I don't like that she wanders around topless in her apartment (because I'm a prude)."

Then, as you said, I love when a critiquer picks out certain passages that they like, even if it's just to underline a sentence and put a check mark next to it, because often it'll be a sentence I put a lot of effort into. I like when they write down what their own reactions and thought-processes are because at this point I'm mostly beyond needing language correction and more on tone, and how the reader experiences the writing. I don't mind suggestions on better ways to organize sentences, although I have experienced that to an extreme in a poetry class where one student went through every poem and basically re-wrote it using the sentence structure he would.

In art, well, complimenting specifics is the best way to go, and in critiques I usually try to say something along the lines of "I really like how you did x, but the shadows of your y makes it look a little flat." Hearing something like "it's really good" is honestly a bit discouraging (and what most non-artists will say) because that can often be code for "I don't really like it" and can't you find one thing to compliment to tell me you didn't just glance at it?

Otherwise... I basically agree with what you put up there. It's sound advice, and seems like it should be self-explanatory (even if it often isn't).