Comments on: Critiques: Giving and Receiving Feedback

By: Nettie

Nettie — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:20:20 +0000

In reply to Ann Patey. I know what you mean, Ann. You feel it's such a responsibility and you want to get it right. Good luck to you and your friend. Nx

By: Ann Patey

Ann Patey — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 20:44:16 +0000

I took the last two weekends to write and rewrite feedback for a young friends novel that has done the rounds of agents and come back to him. Even though the story is good it does need some work and it was really difficult to give constructive feedback and get the right supportive tone. I finally pressed the Send button last night and I hope it will be useful and encourage him to do the necessary to iron out the (relatively small), problems.

Giving written feedback is really hard work!

By: Nettie

Nettie — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:24:01 +0000

In reply to Monica Marlowe. Amen, Monica! It's a good life lesson to learn that you can't please everyone. Thank you somuch for commenting. Nx

By: Nettie

Nettie — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:19:15 +0000

In reply to Wendy Lyth. Hi Wendy, Ah, it is difficult to remember it's not personal. There have been times I've had to wait a few days in order to see straight, but once I calmed down I realised that most points were spot on. Thanks for sharing your experiences Nx

By: Wendy Lyth

Wendy Lyth — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:00:04 +0000

Thank you Nettie. As a new writer with zero credentials it is an essential part of developing your writing. I found, quite rightly I suppose, that the writer’s group I attended did not give any feedback (didn’t want to deal with a bunch of teary souls no doubt), therefore I am lucky that the friend I asked was delighted to help. We went through her points together – most of which were spot on – and resulted in a much improved m/s. It was a huge learning curve for me. People generally don’t wish to suggest revisions but I keep saying – go on, give it to me straight. I have certainly toughened up and come a long way since my first criticism, which I took personally. I am a sensitive artist : )

By: Monica Marlowe

Monica Marlowe — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:42:19 +0000

Nettie, this is a thought-provoking post! Feedback can be useful or not. Being open to it either way is, it seems to me, key. Take what works and leave the rest. For me, having a workshop or critique group that’s professionally facilitated works beautifully; feedback on a WIP is invaluable in catching issues along the way. In the end, you can’t please everyone, though, so filtering feedback is important.

By: Nettie

Nettie — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:22:56 +0000

In reply to Martha.

What an excellent point, Martha. Something negative said in public is much harder to take than in private andI’ll certainly be stealing that to add to my Critiquing Rules! What? The post isn’t on plagiarism… ~;0)
Seriously, thank you for taking the time to comment.
Nx

By: Nettie

Nettie — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:42:42 +0000

In reply to Clare Kirkpatrick.

Good point, Clare. We all have our ‘preferences’ which don’t make us right or wrong. But if more than one person picks up on something,it’s probably worth thinking about. Thanks for your comment.
Nx

By: Nettie

Nettie — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:41:14 +0000

In reply to roz morris.

It’s interesting to hear this from a professional critiquer. Personally, I would consider a professional editor after I’d used my own critique group in the hope that I’d have less to work on than had I not had feedback. Being prepared for the negative as well as the positive is important and thank you for reminding us of that. Great comment, Roz, thank you.
Nx

By: Clare Kirkpatrick

Clare Kirkpatrick — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:55:56 +0000

This is brilliant, Nettie.

I would also add that it’s important not to think you have to take every single piece of feedback you get as gospel. It’s only one person’s opinion. That doesn’t mean you have to respond to them and tell them why you think they’re wrong, though, just that you need to take each point, consider it carefully, and decide how right you think it is.

If, of course, you send it to other people, and they all say the same thing, then however much you disbelieve it, it’s likely they’re probably right…

I really enjoy critiquing others’ work, and also enjoy getting thorough ‘pick it to pieces’ critique of my own work. Actually, scratch that – I don’t enjoy it as such. Ideally I’d like to be told my writing is perfect…but I probably wouldn’t trust someone who said that to me anyway 😀

Like you, I want to know what’s wrong so I can put it right, and it’s as simple as that! Thank you for writing this – going to tweet it right now!