Please read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

Nitpicking is a term you've probably heard before, especially if you've ever read my reviews or reviews in general. However, what really is a nitpick, and what is the difference between pointing out a small thing and nitpicking?

Yes, there is a major difference between a nitpick and a small thing, and I'll explain why below.

Nitpicks

My definition of a nitpick is a piece of criticism over something that does not impact the story in any way. That means it doesn't impact the plot, characters, world, theme, etc. So if you make a typo and I point that out, that's nitpicking. A single typo isn't going to break my immersion or take away from the plot, characters, world, or theme.

Another example is in film. Let's say you're watching a TV show, and in one camera angle, the main character's hair is put over their left shoulder, but in another angle, it's put over their right shoulder. That doesn't matter to any of the core story elements, so if you point that out, that's nitpicking.

Nitpicking isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. Pointing out the tiny things that don't impact the core story elements may seem like a waste of time, but it isn't since it helps with polish and making the story even more presentable. While it won't drastically change the quality of a book, it can at least help in the long run.

At the same time, nitpicking isn't a huge deal, and if someone nitpicks your story, you don't need to rush to fix it or something of the sorts. You can take your time and find the best way to fix it, or if you don't want to fix it at all, it's not a huge deal.

Still, nitpicking can be useful for polishing a story and making it even stronger in terms of its presentation.

Small Things

The difference between nitpicking and small things is small things do impact the core story elements. For example, let's talk about Game of Thrones. I'm sure you all know how the crew made a mistake and left a Starbucks cup in frame of the camera during one of the scenes. It was just an accident and they edited it out, but the people criticizing it were not nitpicking, they were pointing out a small thing.

In a fantasy story where Starbucks doesn't exist, having Starbucks there can break immersion and raise serious questions about the worldbuilding. So while it really is a small thing that's easy to miss and just a small mistake, it still impacts a viewer's look on the world.

Again, it's a small thing, but because it can actually impact a core story element, it isn't a nitpick.

So that's the difference between nitpicks and small things. Nitpicks are things that don't impact the core storytelling elements while small things are exactly that: small things, but they do impact the core storytelling elements.

My view on this is that nitpicks aren't huge, serious things to get too worried about, but small things you should worry about since if you have too many small things that can break immersion, that eventually becomes a big thing and can hurt the story.

That's why I suggest fixing the small things as soon as possible. Like the nitpicks, it helps with the polish, but it also helps with the flow of the story and a reader's comprehension of what's going on.

If you just have one or two small flaws, it's not a huge deal, but still something worth taking the time to fix so the reader has a more enjoyable experience.

In simpler terms: If it matters to the story but isn't a big deal, it's a small thing. If it doesn't matter to the story, it's a nitpick.

This was a smaller chapter since there wasn't much to say about this topic, but writing is more than just putting words on a page, it's also knowing the language and the world around it, and I hope that by explaining terms used in literary criticism, it helps you understand feedback and also how to better give feedback!

~End~

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know if you have any questions or have a specific topic you want me to cover.

Plenty more topics are coming like characters, purple prose, advanced dialogue tags, etc.