The Importance of Good Feedback
Feedback is one of the most powerful tools you have to improve your writing. It's our responsibility as writers and editors to provide constructive criticism on writing that we believe needs improvement. If feedback is received in a timely manner, it's possible for writers to use this information constructively rather than get frustrated or put down their pen because of criticism. This is one of the most common questions I receive from newcomer writers: "When will I know if my writing is good enough?"
This post is meant to explain the importance of good feedback and encourage all of us to do a better job in providing it.
Effective feedback can be particularly difficult to give, but it's necessary for newer writers. Anyone who has ever been on author's or beta reader's team knows that writing is hard, and it takes time to learn how to improve your writing skills. Feedback helps you spot recurring mistakes, or problems with your narrative voice, pacing or plot structure that can make your story better overall.
It's a good idea to accept some of your first drafts or stories as practice pieces, but try to set up some guidelines for how you treat them. For instance, don't let your first draft of a story become your final draft. You may want to delete entire sections, or rewrite the whole thing into something completely different from initial concept. It's okay if a first draft isn't perfect, and it's fine to write just for fun and experiment with storytelling techniques . Treating first drafts like second drafts can help you become a better writer overall.
If you're writing for publication however, then don't count on going back and re-doing the whole thing later. You will have plenty of time to go back and refine your work later. I wrote a post on things to consider when writing a first draft that you may find helpful.
You might think writing feedback is easy, but you'll be surprised at the amount of work it can take to give good feedback. This is especially true for novice writers who come with preconceived notions about what constitutes good writing and how they should write. It's also true of older writers whose style may have changed over time making it difficult for them to evaluate a newer version of their own work.
Some authors interpret criticism as an attack on their talent or ability, or as a personal attack on them as a person. It's important to be able to recognize when feedback is negative and take it in the right spirit. If you feel like your writing is weak or has been poorly written, seek out advice from other people who care about writing.
Don't let peer pressure make you stop improving your writing. If you get lots of positive feedback on your work, don't be discouraged by the negative things that are said about you as a writer or editor. Encourage others to share their opinions and critiques constructively with you, and remember to give constructive criticism yourself.
Good feedback can be challenging to provide because each author writes differently and sees problems in a different way. This means it can be difficult to spot problems in your own writing, or know how you feel about it. Try writing down a few sentences for each piece of feedback you receive, and try to clarify what you mean. Maybe it's not so much the grammar mistakes that bother you but the way the story is told.
Remember, constructive criticism is all about helping writers improve their work; it doesn't have to be negative. Use this idea if you find yourself on your way to making a change in your writing, and feel like something isn't quite right with your work. Write down one sentence that summarizes how you feel about what needs fixing and how you think to do it.
Conclusion:
For those of you who are unsure where to start, the best advice I can give is to seek out some good writing communities like writers' forums or local writer's groups. Seek out people with similar writing goals and interests and begin critiquing each other's work. If you're ever in doubt about a certain bit of feedback, be sure to clarify what you mean and what it is that you want your co-writer or editor to change. You should never critique over one-hundred words at a time and try not to look at the feedback as a personal attack on how well you write.