How do YOU critique other people's works?

1. No. If they want to hang around on a site frequented by adults, they need to be able to cope with being treated like one. Moreover, a publisher won't go easy on them because they're young, so it won't help them if others do. 2. It's never 'harsh'. It's always honest. Even when I say someone's work is terrible, that's because it is. 3. Yes. 4. No. 'Critique' that consists solely of 'this sucks' or 'OMG AWESOME I like totally wanna read more!!!!!!!!' is a waste of everyone's time. 5. Never. 6. Not applicable. BQ: By pointing out that they shouldn't ask for critique if they can't handle it. I wasn't on edge, but that is the kind of music that really rather grates on me so if I was on edge, it would probably make me want to punch a hole in my monitor.

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? Definitely. People don't even know what it means to independently pursue a career or hobby until they're in their early teens. So, anyone from age 11-16 is still just a baby when it comes to writing! I'm still a young writer, and I'm 26 years old; everyone else in my writing group is in their 30's, 40's and 50's. Young writers are almost always bad writers, but that's just because they're still learning. You don't tell a 6 year old that they suck at math! They just haven't learned the fundamentals. Same thing with writers. You have to love writing to get better at it, and telling young writers that they're awful is one of the worst things you can do. ---- 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest It depends. I'm harsher on the ones that have the most promise. If someone has great ideas but they're writing badly, I will nitpick because the writing is the only thing standing in their way. Probably 6? ---- 3.Are you always being truly honest? Of course. I don't give gratuitous compliments, and I don't just critique people to make myself feel like an expert writer ---- 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? No. Many people have no idea what they're talking about, and they spout random rules they've half-learned from other sources. They state opinions as if they're facts. They critique just to show other people how much they know instead of to be helpful. ---- 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) A few times. ---- 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? I critiqued bad pieces that had absolutely no promise at all, and afterwards wondered "why did I just waste 30 minutes critiquing this piece?" ---- BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? I just ignore them. It's their own loss to not listen to asked-for advice.

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? No. I don't believe patronizing someone's work just because they are young, just for the sake of sparing their feelings, is doing them a favor. If someone asks me for a critique I give them an honest one, regardless of their age. 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest. I don't consider myself a harsh critic. I do not look to tear a writer down. Having said that, I am always honest with my critiques. I suppose some may consider that harsh, though it is not meant to be. I guess I would give myself a 5. 3.Are you always being truly honest? Yes, I am. But bear in mind that I have my own limitations. I may miss things that should be pointed out, or be overly critical in areas that do not merit it. I am not perfect, not by a long shot. But I am always honest. 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? No. I have seen some critiques that were nothing more than one person tearing another down just to be nasty. Even if the points brought up in such a critique are valid, the receiver will, more than likely, reject the whole thing, and it does no one any good. Only a critique given sincerely, even if deemed "harsh", is good for the person asking. 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) None that I can think of. 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? Well, I always say in every critique I give that a person is free to take what they think works, and reject the rest. If a person honestly believes that some or all of what I have to offer won't do them any good, then that's fine. However, if it's a case of a person who just wants his/her ego stroked, and is mad at me for not doing that, then that is fine as well. Of course, I'll never critique another piece from that person again.

1. No, not really. If they ask for critiquing, they should be ready to hear it. It's not very helpful if you soften up on them. 2. 7-ish, sometimes 8-1/2 3. Yes. 100% 4. Not always. When someone tells the person to just 'stop', that's not helpful at all. If that person wants to write, they can. Just help them learn. 5. Never. I try to help. 6. Didn't :) BQ: I tell them straight out, "Don't ask for help if you aren't ready for it." Thanks for the piano piece, I actually am kind of on edge...I think I'll have to listen to it. :)

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? I wouldn't say I go easier, I would just say that I fit my critique to the age. For example, I wouldn't tell a 10 year old writer to start using a huge vocabulary full of SAT words because they aren't at that place in their education yet. I try helpful regardless of age. 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest. I would say around a 5 or 6. I don't completely bash someone's story, I just try to point out some of the things I don't personally like or that I think should be changed. But if something really needs to be critiqued, I will give them all of my opinions, no matter how harsh. 3.Are you always being truly honest? Usually, yes ;) 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? No, definitely not. 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) A few times, it doesn't happen often. 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? I felt that I was too harsh or that I misunderstood something in the writing that caused me to give a bad critique. BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? I just tell that that I did what they asked. If you don't want to be told what you're doing wrong, don't ask!! All this said....wanna critique mine? Hehe :) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327160217AAkGvve

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? Well no..It always seems like their the ones who need the most critique and practice. Some writers on here really do have the potential but just need a little practice like everybody else. 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest I would say a 7.5/8 3.Are you always being truly honest? Yes most of the time. If I see a problem I critique it. 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? Er. Maybe so. But sometimes people repeat the same things. some people just do it to be mean. So no.. I suppose 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) zero 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? I haven't but I want to say something: It was on Y!A! and quite honestly the person wasn't that good. She was like ten or something. I was honest people hated me for it. *sigh* BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? Well I tried to help its there loss... Nice music ;) PS: GET ON CHATROLL

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? - Nope. It doesn't matter to me. The harsher I am, the better I critique, in my opinion. I can't just say, "Nice job!" 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest. - I would say about 7 or 7.5. 3.Are you always being truly honest? - Am I? I don't know... 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? - No. "Dis suks" and "ahsome gud work" is not good critique. 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) - A lot. 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? - Sometimes I realize that I look very deep into the excerpt and point out really, really small things that don't matter to the story. Useless critique. =P BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? - I throw up. Just kidding. It's their fault. You want it, you got it.

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? I am a younger writer (I'm fourteen), so I never do. 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest An 8, I'd say. I can be a bit rude, but most people actually like that I'm brutally truthful. 3.Are you always being truly honest? Yes, I am always honest. 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? Writing, "THIS SUXXXX!!!!" or "omfggg ur amazing youre like the enxt stepheny mayor" is not good critique. 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) Once, I was scanning something when I was tired. I didn't really read it and thought it was good, so I gave it a pretty nice answer. I read the story a day or two later: it was one of the most awful things I had ever seen. I sure wanted to take back my answer, but I figured it was pointless. 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? Oops, already answered . . . see above. BQ. I'm like, "If you're trying to fish for compliments, write something actually worth complimenting." Aww, pretty music!

1.Do you tend to go easier on younger writers? - Like the first answerer, I also wouldn't say I go easier, I try to critique based on age group. 2.How harsh is your critique? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest - I'd say an 8 or a 9. However, I think I'm more honest than harsh. I try to be constructive, not mean. 3.Are you always being truly honest? - Yes. 4.Do you believe that ALL critique is good critique? - Unless the person has utterly no idea what they are talking about, yes. 5.How many times have you given a critique and wished you could take it back? (Imagine you can't delete the answer) - None. 6.If you have in the above question, why did you want to take it back? - I didn't. BQ: How do you respond to people who don't take critique even when they openly ask for it? - I try to ignore them, they'll figure out I was trying to help them eventually.