Workshop Critique for Fiction Projects

Critique's name __________________ Story-writer's name ______________________

To the critiquer: this is a chance for you to practice being a sharp reader and editor of any story. It's also a chance to provide helpful, positive feedback to your fellow writers and classmates. Please respond to the following questions and instructions thoughtfully and thoroughly. AVOID YES-NO ANSWERS, and provide BALANCED feedback (criticisms-compliments, judgements-suggestions). Feel free to write on the draft itself as well.

Everyone should critique 2 stories. Swap stories with someone, fill out the sheet, then simply swap with an additional person and complete an additional sheet. (When you're done critiquing the first one, just holler out to see if anyone else is ready to swap.) By the end of the period, all stories and critiques should be returned to the writers—so you should all leave class with your story + 2 critiques by classmates.

1) Read through the story carefully and thoughtfully one time. Are there any questions you'd like to ask the writer right off?

2) What immediately strikes you as "good" about the story? Is it inventive, smart, moving, engaging, challenging? How so?

3) Write a paragraph comment to the writer addressing the following areas of the story:

Plot (what sort of plot do you see? chronological/nonchronological? are specific scenes adequately developed within it? is it paced appropriately, so that tension is built and then resolved in a believable way, or does it rush too fast through any given part? is it predictable or surprising? what plot devices are being used: framing? montage? intersecting lines of development? flashbacks? etc.)

Character development (are the main characters distinctive? believable? dynamic? complex enough to seem genuinely real?)

Point of view (what point of view is the story told from? First person ("I"), second person ("you"), third person omniscient or limited ("he," "she," "they")? Why do you think the author chose that pt. of view? Does it work? What would be gained or lost if a different angle of vision were adopted?

4) Is the story adequately DETAILED? Are settings, scenes, characters, actions, dialogues etc.sufficiently FLESHED OUT with SPECIFIC, VIVID DETAILS—or does the story read more like the SKETCH of a story-in-progress? Does the story try to do TOO MUCH (is it aiming for something more complex and lengthy than can be accomplished in the space of short story?) or does it do TOO LITTLE (is it inadequately developing the situation it has set up?).

Provide examples of what is working and/or not working in the story in regards to development and detail.

5) Is there any place in the story where you just get lost—can't follow the sequence of events, the characters' actions, or the narrator's thinking?

6) Please offer a developed paragraph of additional comments here. (Address any further qualities of the story you wish, your reactions to it, questions you may have, suggestions you'd like to offer, and so on.)

Thanks for your help!