A short guide to giving good feedback.

A short guide to giving good feedback.
Topic Started: Jul 16 2009, 02:17 AM
Cosmic	Jul 16 2009, 02:17 AM
Administrator Posts: 185 Group: Administrators Member #1 Joined: Jul 3, 2009	Hey, Here is a small guide to giving good feedback to other people's stories. Giving feedback... it is one of the most important activities in any community of this nature. It allows a writing group to work properly, allows members to improve, and gives a general point to posting things here at all. Without feedback givers there would be no such thing as a group like this. But first of all, before you even try to help any of our members develop their skills there are a few fundamentals you must know. These tricks of the trade turn your post into help, not a flaming ball of idiocy. • Respect the author. Make sure that in your feedback you say it politely and without any sort of aggressive tone. I don't care how good or bad his work is, just make sure that he receives kind feedback. • See it from both sides. your feedback should be given so that both he can improve and you can get better at critiquing. IOt is a win-win situation, so you need to live up to your side of the bargain and provide a helpful post. Short posts like "that r good", and "lulz dat bad" are just not up to par and benefit neither of you. • Know what you're talking about. Make sure that everything you say when advising the author is informed. If you do not know about a subject, suggest that he look in to improving it, don't suggest the absolute wrong thing. This way he will not receive bad advice and you will not look like a fool. • Kind but exacting. Make sure you catch every mistake that the writer makes, but don't bash him for it. Remember to make the point clear that his story is good, regardless of how much you see wrong in it. Negative feedback helps no one. Posts which are completely negative will not help the writer to improve. You need to focus on his problems and tell him how to fix them. Do not consider these rules, but consider these guidelines to help you become successful in the world of critique. You can use these tips to help your advise to the writer seem as sharp as a needle, but as helpful as a swiss army knife.