Giving and Receiving Great Feedback
A part of every writing process is receiving feedback from others, and likely reading someone else’s work and giving it yourself. First, we do this because there’s no such thing as a perfect writer, and what happens in our heads when we read our own work may not necessarily be what the reader is getting. As well, reading others’ work helps you with your literacy skills, and what’s important to you as a reader (plus, it’s just nice to return the favour).
So here’s some tips to giving good feedback:
Your should never tear apart the work. Your feedback should inspire the writer to keep going and make their piece better—not quit or give up. Balance suggestions and compliments.
Try to refrain from suggesting your own ideas unless specifically asked for. What I mean by that is avoiding statements such as, “maybe instead of (this), the characters do (this)” your job is not to write the story for them, and often, you might not be making the work better, just different.
Ask pointed questions instead, but ultimately leave the work up to the writer. Something like, “I wonder what (character) was thinking during this moment?” Or “from what I know so far, here’s my prediction for what’s going to happen.” It’s up to the writer to decide whether your questions/predictions need to be answered in the work, and how.
Always start and end with some specific positive feedback. There is always something good about every piece of work—it can be a great detail, some interesting dialogue, a concept you really like, the tone, a character.
In general, it’s most helpful to include specifics or details about what’s working and not working in the piece. Take quotes, write down page numbers and paragraphs, lines. That’s infinitely more helpful than just saying “your descriptions are well written.” If you catch yourself saying that, try adding, “such as in line (really good line) or (another good line).”
When receiving feedback, remember it’s ultimately your work and you get the final say, but remain open to the suggestions and comments you’re receiving. Try them out, but don’t be afraid to end up not including them if they aren’t working for you. Never argue, even if you think your feedback giver is wrong—they took time out of their day to read your work, you should thank them for their thoughts. Even something simple like, “Thank you very much for your feedback, I appreciate the time you took to read my work” is great.
If you’re looking for a feedback buddy, maybe try pairing up in the comments or reblogging this post! There’s a great community of writers here, don’t be afraid to reach out.
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