Critique Guidelines

Writing/critique groups generally follow guidelines as they critique the works of others.  Based on our in-class discussions, the following guidelines have been decided on by the two classes.

AM Class:

1. What we say in class stays in class.
2. Be compassionate.  Empathize.  Critique with kindness.  Knowing what is right is as important as knowing what is wrong.
3. Be understanding.  What works for one person might not work for someone else.  Recognize that most of these "rules" are really "suggestions."
4. Be courageous.  Recognize your roadblocks and commit to overcoming them.  Open yourself to empathize with your fellow writers even when it can be difficult.
5. Commit to "exploring" or "what if"/"what about" comments.
6. Don't let an unfinished or imperfect assignment keep you home.  Come anyway.
7. Be considerate in what you read.  Choose your length with the participation of others in mind. 

PM Class:

1. What we say in class stays in class.
2. Be compassionate.  Empathize.  Critique with kindness.  Knowing what is right is as important as knowing what is wrong.
3. Be courageous.  Recognize your roadblocks and commit to overcoming them.  Open yourself to empathize with your fellow writers even when it can be difficult.
4. Be attentive and supportive.   Tell what works as well as what doesn't/
5. Don't monopolize.  Leave room for others to speak.
6. Concentrate on the writing.  Commit to answering questions or referring to related stories briefly in terms of recognizing what more needs to be told or what resonates with other readers, but keep the full story to be written so that it will have a larger audience.

If you are interested in general examples of guidelines, you can see some samples from other groups, such as The 6' Ferret Writers' Group, Writers on the Plains, and Sylvia Dickey Smith's Guidelines.