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Tips & Tricks: Feedback
Jul. 14th, 2010 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pipisafoatHello, all! Don't forget about the week two topic, week one editing post, and runoff poll - this closes at 5 pm GMT (noon EST) today, so get your votes in!
If anyone has any ideas for a TnT or weekly topic, please let one of the mods know! We'd love to have your input.
One of the hardest things for me as a writer is feedback. I mean, I love a "nice job!" comment as much as anyone else, but it's not particularly helpful. What was nice? My characterization? Plot? Writing style and word choice? By the same note, a "that sucked lol" comment isn't too useful, either. I do like to know when someone doesn't enjoy something I write, but I'd also appreciate knowing why they didn't like it; if it's a clichéd plot or unrealistic characters, I could keep that in mind the next time I write, but if they're against the subject matter, I don't need to worry about it. And there are the pieces with difficult subject matter where readers appreciate the quality of writing but not the subject - how do you reply to that? My usual "Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed" is useless here.
As a reader, it's also tough to give useful feedback. It's much easier as an editor, but when you're just a reader, you're never quite sure how much you can really say. It's all well and good to point out a typo, I feel, but to offer content criticism where it isn't welcome can get you into a right mess, even if it is concrit (constructive critique). On the other hand, if it is welcome and you don't offer it, you leave the author feeling the way I described in the first paragraph.
How do you decide what's acceptable to leave as feedback? If you receive vague comments or feedback that you feel criticizes your piece too harshly, how do you feel about it, and what do you do?
If anyone has any ideas for a TnT or weekly topic, please let one of the mods know! We'd love to have your input.
One of the hardest things for me as a writer is feedback. I mean, I love a "nice job!" comment as much as anyone else, but it's not particularly helpful. What was nice? My characterization? Plot? Writing style and word choice? By the same note, a "that sucked lol" comment isn't too useful, either. I do like to know when someone doesn't enjoy something I write, but I'd also appreciate knowing why they didn't like it; if it's a clichéd plot or unrealistic characters, I could keep that in mind the next time I write, but if they're against the subject matter, I don't need to worry about it. And there are the pieces with difficult subject matter where readers appreciate the quality of writing but not the subject - how do you reply to that? My usual "Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed" is useless here.
As a reader, it's also tough to give useful feedback. It's much easier as an editor, but when you're just a reader, you're never quite sure how much you can really say. It's all well and good to point out a typo, I feel, but to offer content criticism where it isn't welcome can get you into a right mess, even if it is concrit (constructive critique). On the other hand, if it is welcome and you don't offer it, you leave the author feeling the way I described in the first paragraph.
How do you decide what's acceptable to leave as feedback? If you receive vague comments or feedback that you feel criticizes your piece too harshly, how do you feel about it, and what do you do?