A fellow writer you exchange manuscripts with for mutual, craft-focused feedback on each other's work.
A critique partner is another writer you trade work with on a regular basis. Unlike a beta reader, who responds as a casual reader, a critique partner gives feedback through the lens of a fellow practitioner. They can name the techniques that aren't working and suggest alternatives. The relationship is reciprocal: you read their stuff, they read yours. The best critique partnerships last years and become one of the most valuable tools in your writing life.
Writing is solitary, and it's easy to develop blind spots when you work in isolation for months. A critique partner who knows your strengths and weaknesses can spot patterns you can't see yourself. They'll notice that you always rush your endings, or that your dialogue tags are doing too much heavy lifting, or that your tension evaporates in your middle chapters. Over time, a good CP makes you a sharper writer even when they're not reading your work, because their voice lives in your head during drafting.
This Oxford literary group functioned as critique partners for decades. Tolkien and Lewis read each other's drafts and gave pointed feedback that shaped The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Morrison and Naylor maintained a literary friendship where they read and discussed each other's work, blending mentorship with mutual critique.
Sanderson has credited his long-running writing group with catching plot holes, pacing issues, and unclear magic system rules across his Cosmere novels. He still uses critique partners despite being a bestseller.
Your best friend might not be your best CP. Look for someone whose craft feedback is specific and useful, who writes at a similar skill level, and who takes the exchange seriously.
Kindness and honesty aren't opposites. A good CP relationship is built on trust that you're both trying to make each other's work better, not just validate it.
Set clear expectations about turnaround times and depth of feedback. If the imbalance persists, have an honest conversation or find a better match.
Draft a one-paragraph pitch for yourself as a critique partner. Include what you write, what you're good at spotting in other people's work, how fast you typically read, and what kind of feedback you prefer receiving. Post it in an online writing community or bring it to a writing group. Being specific about what you offer and need makes it much easier to find a compatible match.