Providing feedback

I am one of those people. You know, a person stuck in Niceville. I want to give helpful feedback to my colleagues, but worry about coming off too negatively, about hurting people’s feelings or discouraging someone else from writing.

This isn’t a bad problem to have. It means we’re thinking about the person behind the words so we can give constructive feedback while lifting others up. We just need to change the way we think about critiquing.

When we’re in the midst of writing, when we’ve poured our heart and soul into a piece of prose, it can be very difficult to see everything that’s happening. Is one of your characters a little too flat? Is the setting hitting all the senses? Is the middle dragging?

Distance is crucial to editing and rewriting, and another set of eyes can be a great asset. In fact, one of the things we’re hoping our classes give you is a sense of community, a group of people who you trust to read your work and comment, who will share this journey with you.

Part of building that sense of community is offering helpful feedback. Deliberate practice plus honest assessment is how we learn and grow. Likewise, analyzing and giving feedback also teaches us to think critically about fiction and helps us see problems in our own work. We’re not just asking you to give feedback because we want to make you work!

There’s a wide range of different approaches to giving feedback. Some people comb through a piece line by line while others hit the major components—hook, character, tension, setting etc. But no matter what rubric is used, it’s still hard to know how to approach problem areas.

The key is balance.

In the long run, feedback that only serves to stroke the author’s ego does more harm than good because it hinders the learning process. A writer who has never had constructive criticism is ill-prepared for sending their work out into the marketplace. Most editors don’t have the time or the will to give feedback. Repeated rejections without knowing why the story isn’t finding a home can do much more damage than getting a piece of constructive criticism early in the game.

Well balanced feedback = being helpful.

Always assume the writer you’re critiquing wants to improve. If not, why are they taking the class? It’s true, sometimes you’ll run across an author who doesn’t want constructive criticism. You’ll find out quickly if that’s the sort of person you’re dealing with and you can either keep your feedback focused on what you liked or continue to give well-balanced critique.

Here are Seven tools that can help you achieve balance in your critiquing

• Point out the problems, but also point out what they’ve done well.
  I have yet to find a piece of writing I couldn’t say something good about. Maybe I’ve been lucky in that regard, but I can usually comment on a nice turn of phrase, a great insight, a well-drawn image, the imagination, whatever.

• Remember, we’re critiquing the work, not the writer.
  Sometimes, if you’ve had negative interactions with someone in the class, this can be difficult. I’ve heard other writers talk about receiving a critique that crossed this line. I’ve received feedback like that myself. It can be painful, and it can be hard to divorce ourselves from our feelings and be objective, but remember, these aren’t just members of a critique group, they’re our colleagues, and a little professionalism goes a long way.

• Never feel afraid to admit you don’t know something.

  If the piece I’m critiquing has elements I’m unfamiliar with, I’ll either take a moment to look them up, or I’ll comment that this isn’t something I know a lot about. This way I have a chance to open a dialogue with the writer and learn something new.

  
  Let’s say I’m reading a piece that’s built around the idea that France was still executing people by guillotine when the first Star Wars came out. That sounds unlikely to me, but a quick internet search reveals that it’s true, or at least internet true. Now, instead of commenting, “This sounds pretty unlikely. I’m not buying it.” I can say, “Wow, I had no idea. Fascinating.” Now I’ve learned something new, and my comments are much more positive and less likely to antagonize the writer. Plus, it took me less than three minutes to Google that.

  Or, maybe you’re not worried about being nice. Maybe, this is your first time critiquing someone else’s work and you don’t know what to say or you’re worried you’ll come across as “stupid.”
  

• Big picture vs. details.

  If you’re new to critiquing, try to focus on the elements of the story instead of grammar and spelling. If you catch grammar and spelling mistakes feel free to point that out, but feedback that only points out spelling and grammar mistakes isn’t very helpful to the development of the story. Focusing on the story mechanics can help make giving feedback more manageable.
  

• Don’t change the voice of the piece.

  Sometimes it can be really tempting to say something like this: “Try saying it this way…” Personally, I don’t give specific suggestions on how to fix something, not unless I’m asked. Don’t rewrite the piece for the writer.

  By rewording and rewriting you insert yourself into that person’s story and that’s generally frowned upon.
  

• No matter how careful we are, miscommunications can happen.
  In a recent workshop, I commented on a funny bit in a colleague’s piece with, “snort.” I didn’t think about how that could be taken as derision. If this happens, stay calm. Apologize and explain. If you receive a piece of feedback you’re unsure about, don’t accuse. Reach out and ask about it. By inquiring you’ll get clarification and you enable your colleague to give better feedback.
  

• Don’t hate-read.
  If you do find yourself getting linguistically eviscerated by someone’s feedback, ignore it. That’s no longer constructive feedback and there are too many good things in life to waste time on the negative.

As you continue to write and critique, you’ll develop a sense for when someone’s feedback jives with your aesthetic. Listen to that inner voice, and remember, we’re all here to learn and grow and it’s okay to like a piece that someone else hates.

There are a multitude of ways to approach something. Use the above tips as a starting place and eventually you’ll develop your own style. Be helpful, be kind, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Communicate with each other and remember, a big part of Storyville is you.