Some Suggestions for Looking Critically at Fiction/Creative Nonfiction

Some Suggestions for Looking Critically at Fiction/Creative Nonfiction:
You don’t have to answer ALL of these question, but you should address at least one per section to score well on your comment sheet!
The Shape and Focus:
Which character do you think the piece mostly about?
What about that character’s situation is interesting enough to sustain the story?
What is the central problem or tension in the story? Is there enough tension?
Based on the beginning, what issues do you think the reader will expect the piece to address?
How the Story Works:
Does is have a strong beginning? Is the runway into the story too long?
Is it clear to the reader where the story is in time and place?
Does it move through time smoothly, or are you sometimes confused? Pinpoint the places that confuse you.
Are there places that are jarring, where stronger transitions are needed?
Is there information that doesn’t belong and/or seems out of place or too much like exposition?
Are there chunks of exposition (back story) that could be broken up and feathered into the story?
Is there a balance between narrative and scene?
Character:
Is there more than one point of view represented? Whose? Why?
Are the characters believable? Does anything they do seem contradictory to the information we have about them?
Are the characters clearly motivated?
Are the characters sympathetic? (do you understand them, not do you like them)
Is the dialogue realistic and natural? Does dialogue serve a purpose? (reveal character, reveal emotion, give exposition) Is any dialogue repetitive?
Are the characters’ voices consistent and distinct from each other?
Are emotions shown rather than told?
Other Things to Isolate/Observe:
Pace—are there places that drag, places where you find yourself disconnected and skimming? Where? Why?
Telling/Concrete details vs. abstract or imprecise descriptions
Setting
Resonance (images that mirror or echo)
Management of time (flashbacks and flash forwards)—How important is the past to the story? How do past events inform and affect the action in present time?
Language—are adverbs overused? Is passive voice used? Are similes and metaphors used that are consistent with the point of view?
Is there something visual on every page? (Can other senses be employed as well?)