I be Cpt. Smurf (but please, call me Kyle), and this be my critique requesting thread! I have two and a half months of general nothingness ahead of me to bump up my review count, and this looks like the perfect place to help make that process much easier!
What will I critique?
I'll critique most fiction, but I do have an order of preference:
* Fantasy and Other fiction
* Action/Adventure and Science fiction
* Romance and Historical fiction
So bear in mind that requests for Fantasy and Other critiques will be given first priority, with Action/Adventure and Science requests coming second, & etc.
I may do Non-Fiction, depending on what mood I'm in and on the subject matter. If it doesn't interest me I won't do it, and all Fiction will probably be given priority over Non. But feel free to post any Non-Fiction requests, just in case. Finally, I may well try a few script critiques, so don't hesitate to send in requests for those.
What won't I critique?
No Poetry, in any genre. Believe me, you don't want me critiquing your poetry works (poetic ineptitude FTW!). Also, no Art, Lyrics, or Fan-Fiction.
Also, I tend to set a limit on things I critique to pieces which have less than five reviews. So if you have something which has five, thorough, well thought out critiques on it, unless you're absolutely desperate, don't ask me to look at it.
What do I focus on in critiques?
This can differ from critique to critique, depending on the problems/improvements needed in the piece. Generally, I focus on dialogue, use of description/imagery, sentence structure, show/tell rules, character development, etc. I usually don't focus too much on grammar/punctuation/spelling, as most of that can easily be rectified on proof-reading.
What's my maximum number of requests?
Generally, critiques take me well over an hour or two to do, so no more than three requests at once (and preferably two). Also, please don't make another request for a different piece before I've finished the ones you've already requested - though of course, if I'm taking forever to come up with the goods, a friendly PM to nudge me in the right direction is perfectly welcome.
If, by any chance, I get loads of requests, then I will cap them and stop taking them so that I can deal with the ones I already have. Notifications of such caps will, of course, be posted in this thread.
What do I want in return?
Nothing much - a thank you via PM or my guestbook (the latter being preferable - public thanks are so much more fun than private ones!) would be nice, and if you have a few points to spare, I'm not going to refuse them. But there's nothing huge I'd like in return. However, when I start posting my own stories again, critiques of those will be very welcome (and, indeed, critiques of ones I've posted already - though there's slim pickin's).
Some examples of my critiques (look through the threads, they're there)
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/post276645.html
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic26804.html
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic26860.html
Remember to include the link to your piece in your post - the easier you make the request, the quicker I'll be able to critique it.
So get requesting - I'm here, ready and willing, all summer!
~Kyle
)
Gender:
Points: 5890
Reviews: 79