I belong to a critique group of nine writers, some of us are published authors and some of us would like to be, but we all bring to the group different degrees of expertise. Some of us have a good sense of story, some of us have a good eye for mechanics and grammar, some of us have a good command of human dynamics. We have been together for several years, so we keep each other focused on critiques of our work and not on criticisms. If that should happen, we delve deeper into what caused the emotion. Only then can we offer suggestions to the writer. “This chapter went nowhere.” “Your lack of commas confused me.” “I didn’t like the character.” A criticism is a judgment, a disapproval, based on an emotion. Stated in such a vague or negative manner, it comes across as a personal attack of the writer instead of focusing on what the person has written. It faults the person and zooms in on flaws and weaknesses. It condemns what is lacking on the page and it is a pa