How to Find a Compatible Critique Partner

Ideally, a strong critique partner fulfills a variety of roles. They’re an accountability buddy who pushes you to meet your writerly goals, a cheerleader who encourages you to keep going when you’re feeling stuck or fatigued, a hawk-eyed wordsmith who can intelligently dissect language, and an editorial sounding board with whom you can easily bounce around pitches for possible alterations. Such a partner is an invaluable resource, and the backbone of an effective writers’ group.

Having someone like this (or several someones) in your network can make all the difference when trying to craft coherent, moving stories. With their help, the creative process becomes smoother, travels down fewer detours, and feels less lonesome.

In case you might not already be aware, a solid critique partner can also save you money! I’m a bit surprised at how many times I’ve seen fledgling scribes seek out the professional services of a script doctor or developmental editor before sharing their work with anyone else. Rather than paying premier prices for hired help straight out of the gate, trusted colleagues can exchange feedback among themselves for free. All it takes is investing a little time to find someone who’s the right fit for you.

But how do you find these multi-talented colleagues? If you’re new to the industry at large, this might feel like a tall task. Or perhaps you’ve moved to a new town, or your prior writers group has shrunk to zero and dissolved, so you have to start from scratch to rebuild it. Where does one meet potential critique partners?

Rest assured there are a plethora of ways to meet fellow creative thinkers. Think of places and events where writers or readers naturally spend their time. In person options include book clubs at local libraries, author signings or talks at bookstores, and writing classes at nearby schools. Many book conferences and film festivals also offer events specifically for networking. But buying a ticket to get in the door isn’t the only way to meet the attendees. Consider serving for a couple of volunteer shifts at these events, and you’ll be sure to meet interesting people while still being kind to your wallet.

Meeting people in person tends to be a bit more conducive to getting a clear sense of someone’s energy and level of professionalism, but meeting individuals online is still an option too. Regional organizations, such as the Junior Hollywood Radio & Television Society, sometimes run online mixers. Or for online access without paying a membership fee, interest groups on sites like LinkedIn or Discord can also be a way to make introductions.

Once you’ve met someone who shares your enthusiasm for great storytelling, make the effort to ask them a few questions to better determine if they are a relevant fit for you and your creative goals. For instance, does the individual see writing as a hobby or as a long-term pursuit? Are they class-taught or self-taught? Are they repped or unrepped? Has any of their work been published or produced?

When asking these questions, compare the other person’s responses to your own. Your joint answers don’t need to be 100% identical, but there should definitely be overlap. A critique partnership works best when the parties are at similar stages in their careers, and share the same expectations about the amount of work that’s necessary to write well. Connecting with someone of a similar age can also be a helpful factor (although that’s not always the case). Critique partners stay together when they grow together, but if there’s a large mismatch between their goals and their stages of life, a parting of the ways will eventually take place.

The gold standard is for critique partners to feel like they each have something to offer the other. No one person should end up carrying the emotional and intellectual weight of the exchange. Instead, it should be a mutually-beneficial relationship.

Once you’ve identified someone who seems compatible on paper, don’t be overly hasty to swap drafts right away. Instead, engage them in further conversation as a low-stakes way to observe how they talk about creative work. Have them tell you about a story they read or watched recently, and make a point to ask how they would have done it differently. How would they have improved it? The style of their reply can give a glimpse into how they might talk about your own work-in-progress.

Pay attention to what they say, as well as what they don’t say. Do their comments feel general and ill-defined, or are they nuanced and specific? If they really didn’t like the narrative, is their critique pointed at the writing itself, or entirely focused on opinions about the author? How blunt or tactful are they?

It’s important to note that blunt critique is not automatically bad critique. When it comes to feedback, writers naturally find that the tone of conversation lands somewhere on a sliding scale between so critical that it’s just plain rude and demeaning vs. so soft and sugar-coated that it ceases to be useful. All writers like notes that fall somewhere in between: exacting but not belittling, respectful yet not hollow.

That doesn’t mean, however, that all critique partners find their middle ground at the same point on the spectrum. Some creatives appreciate a heavier hand. They may therefore give notes that are more blunt and less diplomatic. Other scribes (such as those in the first few years of their writing career) may prefer a gentler approach. If you can clearly articulate where your own preference lies on the sliding scale, it will help you determine who is a better fit to talk with you about your projects.

If you find someone who aligns well with your professional interests and energy, then congrats! The last component to consider is setting the partnership up for long-term success by establishing ground rules before sharing pages. What’s the maximum number of pages you can share for a given session? How much time do you and your partner(s) need in order to read and process each piece? How often can you realistically meet? All good writers’ groups have these guardrails in place.

Hold each other to these standards, and it will make for a more rewarding collaboration. You will build trust with a like-minded creative. Your time will be protected, your drafts will grow sharper, more evocative, more meaningful. And if the partnership is truly a two-way street, the other party will be equally supported in return.

To quote the ending scene in Casablanca, it’s “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”