On critiquing

Before you start critiquing someone else's work, you are best off asking a few questions. Not questions about the story - usually, one of the things the writer is looking for is a fresh eye, a virgin reader, someone who has no idea what the story is about or what the writer was trying to accomplish, so that the writer can find out whether she got it across or not.

No, what you want to ask is stuff like: Do you want me to note typos and incorrect punctuation, or not, or only if it's a...