How to Critique Your Own Novel Honestly and Effectively

You have just finished the rough draft of your novel and it is now time to sit down and give it an honest critique. Before you put it out there for others, give it a good honest critique first. To do this effectively, you need a plan of action. Here is a step by step guide.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Red Pen
• <br>Blue Pen

1. Print out a copy of it. Double space the entire text, and give it plenty of margin room. This will allow for the inevitable marks and notes that you will have to add.
2. Find a cozy corner to curl up in to read. Make sure that you have a writing surface of some kind so that you can make your notes, but be comfortable. It is vital that you be somewhere that will allow you to concentrate. Eliminate all things that might distract you as this is the most vital thing you will do with your novel.
3. Have a red pen to make grammatical and spelling corrections. Have a blue pen to make suggestions and idea changes. It is important to have a different color as this will help you when you go back to do the corrections. Have both pens on hand.
4. Concern yourself only with blue pen corrections for the first reading of your novel. These should be plot changes, scene changes, complete changes in dialog or corrections to chapter order. Anything that will change the books words other than grammar. Idea suggestions should be made with this blue pen.
5. Do not spend an inordinate amount of time with corrections for this first reading. Only make the changes or corrections that are obviously in need of work. You will be shocked at how clear they will jump off the page. If a particular passage sounds funny to you, then you can be sure it will sound funny to the reader. Fix it with the blue pen and move on. Do not worry about itty bitty details. You will pick that up on the second reading.
6. Go back and make the corrections on the computer. Reprint the book again. This time, reread the novel and put the pen down. Only make corrections during this read through that are obvious. See how the book flows and listen to your inner critic.
7. Go through again and edit the grammar and spelling with your red pen. This is not necessary until you are happy with the content. Otherwise you will be making corrections to material that may be changed anyway.
8. Read your finished copy after all changes have been made. If you think it rocks, then let someone else read it. See what they think. Then another and another. Once you are happy with the finished product, then you will be ready to send it off to be read.

Tips & Warnings

• Double space the editing copies for ease of correction.