Asking Your Critique Parnter Clarifying Questions:
When you work with your critique partners, you can mark simple errors in their manuscripts with easy notes, e.g., in paragraph one they were eating breakfast, but here you're calling it dinner - there's no need to tiptoe around those notes.
However, when you wonder if an author made a stylistic choice (but you're unsure) it's important to ask. Maybe you suspect the writer's goal is to enhance poetic delivery, or nod at a secret, or reveal character in a clever way, or something else. Regardless the reason, the author needs to know you've paused reading. The choice unintentionally interrupted your reading process (your suspension of disbelief). This feels like a great spot for a clarifying question.
When you are early in the critique process, you are discovering the nuances of the story, so you might mark with a comment bubble (stylistic choice?). If it is, the author will move on, or the author will think - yes, stylistic, but did I go too far, or how can I finesse? When you ask clarifying questions, you provide the author with valuable information about the reader's gaze and where you were potentially pulled out of the story.
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