ENCOURAGING CRITIQUES

by Pamela Ehrenberg

"I liked it."

"It's good."

Or, if you're lucky, "It's funny."

Such well-meaning but unspecific and ultimately unhelpful comments can leave writers feel like no one really read their work after all; perhaps their friends and critique partners were just trying to be nice?  And writing teachers can feel equally frustrated when "critique sessions" are really just sharing sessions.  Surely there are ways to point out the strengths in students' writing, and encourage them to do more of what's working.

In my first creative writing class in college, we began each critique session by having each person in our 15-or-so-person workshop identify something positive in the piece of writing.  This worked well on a number of levels:

1) It helped us to become closer readers.  If you were one of the final people to comment, all of the obvious strengths had already been identified.  It forced us to read line by line, word by word, to find gems that the writer might not have recognized.  (Depending on the age of the students, the length of the work, and the size of the critique groups, teachers might try having each critiquer identify two strengths--no repeats!--before moving on to suggestions.)

2) It helped us to become kinder human beings.  Some people in the class wrote in genres I didn't usually read.  Not every piece in freshman creative writing (certainly nothing I submitted) was worthy of major awards.  But knowing that I would be called upon to identify something positive in this piece of writing shaped my development as a critique partner and writing instructor--not to mention commenter on other people's Facebook statuses and blog posts.

3) Of course, it encouraged us to keep writing.  Each writer heard 14 specific, positive things about his or her work before hearing even one suggestion for improvement.  That helped to foster an "I can do it!" attitude that made us (me) eager to work on the next piece.

4) And it helped us to become better writers.  Some of this was the "keep writing" effect described above.  Some was a greater willingness to address the critiquers' concerns and suggestions, fostered by the environment of trust.  And some was that the ubiquitous, specific positive feedback helped us tune in to our individual strengths--"They seem to like my dialogue!" "Those sensory details really worked!"--and build upon our successes.

How do you help students to encourage and support one another?  What successes and challenges have you encountered?  Let us know in the comments below!

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PENCIL TIPS WRITING WORKSHOP: SALT IN THE SOUP OR HOW I LEARNED TO WRITE

by Jacqueline Jules

The more I work with student writers, the more I think about how I developed my own writing skills. When did I become careful about punctuation and spelling? When did I start making a conscious effort to add sensory details or to build a story arc with a satisfying conclusion? Looking back, I see that I learned to write the same way I learned to cook—by testing recipes and listening to advice.

As a young bride, I remember my mother-in-law tasting my soup and pronouncing it too salty to eat. You can bet that I followed the recipe more carefully the next time. I also remember a professor, my first year of college, who wrote in red ink, “Don’t bother passing in a paper with this many typos again.” My embarrassment over both incidents has changed to gratitude. Now I measure how much salt I put into my soup and I proofread my manuscripts carefully. Editors at publishing houses frequently admit that stories submitted with grammatical errors are tossed without reading. If I had never listened to that professor, I wouldn’t be the author of twenty-two children’s books today.

The first book in my Zapato Power series, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off, is dedicated to my writing group. Dedications like this are not uncommon. Authors frequently pay homage to the critique groups who made the suggestions that transformed a mediocre story into a publishable one. Editors are often thanked as well. Every time I read my Thanksgiving picture book, Duck for Turkey Day, I am grateful to my creative Albert Whitman editor, who gently but firmly guided me into writing an important new scene for the book.

      

Contemporary writing curriculums all urge educators to teach the writer, not the writing. While I understand that this advice is to discourage teachers from overwhelming young writers with too many suggestions at once, I still find the distinction puzzling. In my own experience as a writer, I know I have learned a great deal from the revision process of a particular piece, often guided by others who pointed out places in my story that didn’t make sense or fell flat. And I have seen my students come up with absolutely brilliant ideas for revision when I have questioned a sentence that confused me. I trust that my students will find that the lessons learned from fixing one story will carry over to the next. It is the recipe that guided me and most of the authors I know to publication.

Jacqueline Jules

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PENCIL TIPS WRITING WORKSHOP: SETTING UP WRITING CRITIQUE GROUPS

by Pamela Ehrenberg

Brownies were a point of dissension.

Recently I co-led a workshop for The Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland, called HOW2 Create (and Maintain!) a Writing Group.  Critique groups can play a major role in nurturing and guiding our writing, whether within or outside of a classroom setting, but setting them up requires some thought.  Among the topics we talked about:

1) Amount of time.  Workshop participants placed themselves on a busy-ness scale from  "I've got 2 full-time jobs, 11 small children, and a couple of pet llamas--but I'd like the group to keep me in touch with my writing goals," to "I have just retired and am hoping the group will help provide structure for my newfound free time."  In most K-12 classrooms--faced with state standards, high-stakes testing, and countless other demands--the amount of time available for writing groups might fall somewhere around caring for the pet llamas.  For these busy students, writing groups provide a consistent and regular checkpoint to make sure that real writing gets done despite the hurried pace of classroom life.

2) Level of writing skill.  I asked participants to say whether they felt most drawn to workshops labeled "beginner," "intermediate," "advanced/expert," or "all levels."  In my experience, students are more willing to open up and take risks in their writing if they perceive that others in the group are facing similar-level challenges.  Mixed-level grouping can work, however, if everyone feels valued and able to contribute.

3) Meeting logistics.  The workshop included time for a simulated writing group session.  Immediately on receiving the sample piece of writing, participants identified logistical questions they'd need to work out: Would the writer read the piece aloud, or would participants read it before the meeting?  Would readers provide written comments in addition to verbal?  Would the writer be permitted to add clarifying information or raise questions?  Each choice offers advantages and disadvantages for the teacher and/or the groups themselves to consider. 

4) Food.  Here was the brownie dissension.  Some groups are strictly business-only, noting food's potential for distraction and crumbs.  At other groups, food is a major reason that people look forward to coming.  My own writing group falls in between.  As my co-presenter, Farrar Williams, noted, food is a bonding opportunity in many cultures, and interacting over food helps to break down barriers and help people feel more comfortable.

As my writing group enters its ninth year and welcomes its third published book among group members (it's called Echoes of Her, by group member Brooke Kenney), I'm grateful for the time we've put into establishing a group routine that works for us.  What has worked well in writing groups for you--personally or in your classroom?  Please let us know with a comment below!

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