7 Things To Look For And Avoid When You Want Constructive Feedback On Your Writing

As scary as the prospect may sound, the best and most effective way to improve your writing is to get constructive feedback on how well you are communicating your story. Writing is, in its essence, a form of communication. You are having a one-sided conversation with another. In order to make your writing the best it can be, you have to find out how well that other side of the conversation is understanding and enjoying your story. This is an essential part of moving from a first draft to a final draft, and getting your story accepted for publication.

If the idea of having someone else read and critique your writing makes you squirm in your seat, you’re not alone. A lot of writers feel that way. You’re vulnerable. You’re pouring your emotions, experiences and personal thoughts on the page. I get it.

But you’re a writer. You feel compelled to write and share your experiences. You want others to read your stories, not hide them in your journal or on your computer. In order to share that work with willing readers, you’ve got to get comfortable with receiving constructive feedback in order to make your piece of writing the best it can be.

What to look for:

Find a good reader. You want someone who reads widely and critically. That person will know the expectations for a compelling, well-written story, and can direct you toward that goal. A reader who cares about writing will hold your work to a high standard, and that’s what you want.

You want a reader who understands that some writing issues are more important than others. The biggest writing issues have to do with the overall structure of the story, and the smaller ones have to do with grammar, typos and word choice. A good reader knows this, and won’t spend time pruning the weeds, when she could be helping you replant your garden.

You want a reader who implicitly understands your goals for the story, without you having to explain what you want to get across in great detail. They should intuit that goal from your writing, and help you achieve it with their comments.

Look for a reader who is a generous, patient and concise explainer. You want to be able to understand your reader’s questions and ideas for improving the next draft, without much clarification. You also want a reader who points out all the good things you are doing in your draft, so you know what’s working well.

What to avoid:

You do not only want a grammar lesson or someone who only points out typos. That is not constructive. Sure, it’s somewhat helpful, but that kind of feedback is only superficial. If you’re going to rewrite your opening, it doesn’t matter that there was a comma splice in sentence two. You’re going to change it anyway. This goes back to my point above about your reader tackling a higher order of concerns.

You are NOT looking for someone who is mean and rips your work apart. If by some ill-fate that happens to you, run far away from that person. You do not want their negative energy around you. Tearing someone’s apart is never the way to provide constructive feedback.

Avoid readers who want to turn your story into something else entirely. Perhaps this reader loves a certain kind of travel story, and wants to create tension and drama when your piece is more about humor and reflection. Avoid this kind of reader. She doesn’t understand what you are trying to achieve with your story.

Try to find this person, and to be this person for someone else. You may also want to check out my own service. I offer feedback sessions.

Here are 8 sample questions to ask your reader. Or, use these questions yourself to give constructive feedback to someone else:

1. What is the main takeaway of this story? What did you learn from reading it?

2. What do you think the main purpose of this story is (to make someone laugh, to reveal a truth about the human experience, to share a meaningful anecdote)?

3. Comment on the story’s opening. Was it intriguing? Did it make you want to read on? Why or why not?

4. What happened in the middle of the story? Did the momentum build? Were there any parts that dragged? Was there backstory and how did that work to inform the main story?

5. Was the ending satisfying? Did it answer all the questions planted by the writer in the beginning of the story?

6. Comment on the overall structure of the story. Did it work? Or might some other organization work better?

7. Were there any word choices or sentences you particularly loved? What was so great about them? How could the author use more of that?