WiP Wednesday: Critique

This has been an incredibly weird week. A week with eyes and teeth and lots of green snot. But then it grins, and it's kind of cute. Ever had a week like that?

I just sent out a batch of 15-pages to a few wonderful folk who agreed to critique for me. You know who you are, and thank you!

There's been a lot of talk about critique lately. At least, the Query Tracker blog had a lovely post on critiquing the other day. Click on the link if you didn't get to read it.

But I find I feel different than most people about critique. I don't feel like I need a sandwich method. I don't really want fluff or carbs. Give me the meat. Tell me what you're really thinking.

It never hurts me.

The worst that can happen is that I won't agree with something you say. But more often than not,  later, when I've let the feedback simmer for awhile in my sub-conscious, I realize I do agree, and I can go ahead and make a change.

Critique is always helpful as long as it's polite and given with the writer's best interests in mind. But critiquers shouldn't have to claw out their eyes trying to think of something complimentary to say.

A good critique is like a surgeon's scalpel making a decisive cut. No tiger claws involved.

It's not meant to destroy, but to help, to ultimately heal a problem in the manuscript.

So slice away, my friends, with your steady hands. I trust you.