How to Workshop Writing (and be supportive doing it)
Inspired by @madammuffins and @nintendonianrose, because everyone deserves kindness and support.
“HELP! SOMEONE HAS JUST SHARED THEIR WRITING WITH ME AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.”
Oh, well, it’s a good thing you’re here.
It’s actually pretty simple.
LEVEL 1: THIS PERSON HAS NOT ASKED FOR FEEDBACK? DO NOT PANIC. THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
A person has done something creative and is sharing it with the world! Yay! Good for them! The act of sharing does not necessarily mean you need to comment on it or provide feedback. The joy of creating and producing is a beautiful part of being human, and this person is living it up.
Quick (optional) actions:
Did you like what they made? It’s always acceptable to say, “How cool/imaginative/wonderful! This made me feel _______. Thank you for making it,” or similar. Eternally great examples on this come from @quilloftheclouds, who has an endless stream of beautiful compliments for writers. (Mine are always so much more frustratingly generic. Quill, you elegant starfish, you have to teach us your ways.)
Did you dislike what they made? You don’t need to make an evaluative comment, but if you want to say something supportive, you can praise the creative process and production because that matters more than your opinion anyway. You can say something like, “I’m so proud of you for publishing! This must have taken so long! Congratulations!” You can also just keep scrolling and say nothing.
LEVEL 2: “I’M BEING ASKED FOR FEEDBACK/REVIEW AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.”
Maybe your friend has sent their writing to you and asked for feedback, or a review and reblog. Maybe you’re a part of a writing community where that kind of response is expected. Maybe someone has produced their little writing baby and asked the dreaded question: “What do you think?”
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PANIC TIME~~~~~
Just kidding. It’s going to be fine.
Just follow these simple steps:
Ask what kind of feedback they are looking for.
Listen to what they tell you.
Ask follow up questions if you need clarification.
Give them the feedback they’re looking for without an evaluative statement.
An evaluative statement tells whether something is good or bad. The trouble is, good and bad are relative. They depend on whether or not we are the target audience for something. They depend on whether or not we have a personal connection to the subject matter. They even depend on our level of language learning!
So, instead of trying to make an evaluative statement (such as, “It was really good because ____”), give an impression of your experience to the writer. Think of it like a sports play-by-play. The writer needs to know what effect or impression their work has on a reader, so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not they were successful with what they were attempting with their work.
Ex: Saying, “I don’t like [character]” is not helpful, really. Saying, “[Character] fully creeped me out when ___ and I can’t shake the feeling that ____” helps the writer know if they met their goal. Maybe they wanted that character to read as romantic. Or maybe creepy. Or maybe something else. Who knows?
Here are some possible ways to give non-evaluative statements as feedback:
I felt really connected to the moment when …
[This character] felt real to me when…
I didn’t understand when…
I found myself losing focus when…
_______ was confusing to me because…
I felt ________ when ________ because… (good emotional feedback words here might be: frustrated, victorious, depressed, anxious… anything that packs a punch)
As a reader, I wanted to know more about…
I liked/I disliked: Your liking doesn’t matter. Maybe the author wanted you to dislike something. This is too superficial and/or arbitrary. It’s not helpful to editing or improvements.
You should: My writer friend and I used to joke that this was people “should-ing” all over the place. Don’t tell something that they should change their work a certain way. Just let them know the impression it made on you, and the writer can make that decision for themselves.
Good/bad: Evaluative. These are unhelpful.
LEVEL 3: “THEY JUST ASKED ME WHAT I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT IT AND I DON’T WANT TO HURT THEIR FEELINGS.”
First of all, congratulations on being someone that the writer really trusts. Most of the time, writers don’t just open themselves for editorial possibilities like that. It’s a good move to thank them for their trust and openness, and stay gracious about the opportunity to join them in their creative process.
Secondly, trust the writer. Some of us have pretty thick skins and have been through the workshop processing a lot. Speaking from personal experience, it’s now easy for me to filter out feedback I want from feedback I don’t want. (It wasn’t always that way. I was pretty brutalized after my first few workshops, until I realized that I actually did have a long way to go as a writer. Checkmate, ego.) My dear one @elizabethsyson used to apologize to me for going over my short stories with a fine-toothed editorial comb, while I was on the other side of the computer practically vibrating with excitement that my online friend cared so much about these stories to spend time helping me improve them in meaningful ways. It meant the world to me (still does) and I loved it.
My favorite response to a request for edits/changes is to do a sample paragraph or two. You can say something like: “In order to improve [clarity, rhythm, characterization, what-have-you], I might change it to something like this. Obviously it’s just a rough go at it, but maybe it will spark some ideas for you! Feel free to trash whatever you don’t like.” Low pressure, experimental, fun. The way all friendly edits should be!
Stay warm, stay kind, stay supportive.
Writeblr Community: Did I miss anything?
@madammuffins @mvcreates @dove-actually @pens-swords-stuff @undinisms @royalbounties @kaatiba @whymanwrites and everyone else, regardless of whether I tagged you or not… Add your two cents! How do you ask for feedback? What have your experiences been?
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