A
Critic’s Guide For Young People
(Revised 1-1-04)
By
Eugene Orlando
Elements of Writing:
A. Root for:
this character element causes the reader to cheer them on.
1.
Do
you find yourself caring about what happens next to any or all of the
characters?
B. Conflict: a
battle of the wills between people, or involving people vs. objects. They can
be physical or vocal/emotional battles.
1.
Do
things in the “story flow” run too smooth?
2.
Are
there too many or not enough problems that the characters must solve?
D. Sympathy:
is what causes the reader to feel sorry for, or identify with characters.
1.
Do
the characters do anything that make you care about them?
E. Empathy: is
what causes the reader to feel what the characters feel—to be able to see
yourself in the character’s place.
1.
Can
you identify with what is happening to any of the characters? (You’re supposed
to)
2.
Do
you find that you compare their problems with anything similar in your life?
(You’re supposed to)
3.
Do
you find yourself saying, “Oh, yeah, I know what that’s like.” (You’re supposed
to)
F. Antipathy:
the element that causes the reader to dislike the bad characters.
1.
Do
the bad characters do anything that make you not like them (as they are
supposed to do)?
G. Lock-in: is
what keeps the characters from just walking away from the situation.
1.
Are
there scenes that are unbelievable because you feel that the characters don’t
have enough reason to be or stay in them?
H. Value systems:
are beliefs that are important to the characters. They are things the
characters believe in that guide them in their everyday activities of life:
their mindset.
1.
Do
you feel the characters have a belief system and believe in things that are
important to them?
2.
Do
the things the characters believe in seem realistic to you, or realistic enough
that someone would believe in them?
I. At stake:
is what’s lost or gained if a thing happens or doesn’t happen.
1.
Are
the characters working toward or against something?
2.
Do
the characters have goals?
3.
Do
the characters’ goals interest you?
A.
Is
the style of the writing simple, smooth, and clear?
B.
Is
there too much or not enough description on people, places, or objects?
C.
Is
there enough or too much description about what the main character is thinking?
D.
Point
out any spelling or grammar mistakes.
E.
Does
the beginning draw you into the story right away?
F.
In
every scene, do you learn more about the characters or the plot?
G.
Were
there enough or too many surprises in the story?
Hard,
negative criticism is probably the most helpful. Keep in mind that you should
be critiquing the work, not the author. It’s nice to know what is good, but the
good does not need to be changed. Skillful authors never take negative
criticism personally. If the bad is left unchanged, then the whole novel will
suffer. The idea in writing anything is to have it be its best. That cannot
happen unless people point out what’s wrong with it. No author, not even Harry
Potter’s J. K. Rowling, ever wrote the perfect story without having to make
many changes.