Friends who critique... critter friends!

Are you lucky enough to have friend-critters?
I envy you! Unless... Sometimes it's awkward and not very helpful I've heard. When the try to brush your ego and tell you only what you want to hear. Nice - but not very helpful!

As a writer, you have to be thick-skinned.
Professional writing is a highly competitive field and we encounter criticism everywhere. But whether we like it, critique is the the most efficient way to increase their skills. We learn much more from mistakes than from what we did right!
Lucky for us everyone can be a critic as each one of us has an opinion. And that's what any critique is - the opinion of one individual!
To get the right answers, you have to supply your critics with the correct questions - this is especially helpful for inexperienced critics:

1.  Let them know if they should focus  on plots - do things work out?
2. Where are stumbling blocks - did you stop reading confused?
3. How are the characters? Believable? Can you feel with them?
4. How's the pace? Did you fall asleep somewhere?

Critiques help a writer improve and sees the fine line between personal preference and quality of the writing.To accept critique is not always easy, but it improves writing, because we get different viewpoints and addresses spots we  are blind to. Alas to provide thoughtful criticism that is helpful, is a piece of art.That is why it is important to know how to critique others as well.Tomorrow!