Someone you know has written a story or a blog. Before they put it out in the world, they want your honest feedback. Are you in a dilemma? Whether to be a good friend and shower them with praise? Or to give genuine and brutal feedback to help them grow as a writer? You want to be honest in your feedback and point out the flaws. At the same time, you don’t want to sound harsh and impolite. You wish for a solution that aims to achieve both. Well, fret not! I have got you covered. This is where constructive feedback comes in the picture. Before we talk about it further, let us read this review which Sameer has written for Ria.

Dear Ria,

I just wanted to take a moment to share some feedback on your writing. I read your story and it has some amazing characters in it. However, your writing is totally confusing and doesn’t make much sense. It is full of grammatical errors and typos. I also noticed that some of the descriptions are overly repeated. I would suggest that you reconsider your decision to write stories.

For obvious reasons, Sameer never heard back from Ria. His review was demotivating and harsh as well. It also lacked suggestions that could have helped Ria to improve her writing. 

Don’t be Sameer. 

Instead, let me help you to know more on how to give positive and constructive feedback to writers. 

Constructive feedback is the process of communicating information and suggestions with other writers in a way that helps them improving their writing skills and achieve their future goals. 

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.”
– Frank A. Clark

Constructive feedback is the amalgamation of both positive and negative feedback. While positive feedback highlights the strengths and successes of a story, negative feedback focuses on the areas having room for improvement to make it more flawless. Thus, effective feedback aims at improving performance and promoting growth of writers. 

“There is always space for improvement, no matter how long you’ve been in the business.”
– Oscar De La Hoya

Significance of constructive feedback:

Just about everyone talks of constructive feedback. But is it so important? 

Well, apart from the below reasons, simply asking a writer to have a thick skin may not always work (or even sound polite). (You can still say it, albeit with some sugarcoating). ;)  

•  It helps writers by making them aware of their strengths and weaknesses and providing them with suggestions to improve and grow.
• Constructive feedback is highly motivating and boosts the self-confidence of writers. Genuine and honest praise can do wonders in encouraging the writers to do well in future. This also reduces the chances of self-doubts arising among writers.
•  Providing feedback is a two-way communication between a reader and a writer. Through constructive feedback, there is an exchange of ideas and perspectives which can help writers in learning about new experiences. 
• Constructive feedback makes way for the writers to experiment with new ideas in their writing. This is only possible when writers are encouraged and motivated to bring out the best in them. This boosts their confidence and helps in improving their craft.
• Through consistent constructive feedback, readers can provide support and guidance which helps in the overall growth of writers.

Now that we know the significance of constructive feedback, let us try and understand the features of constructive feedback.

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Features of constructive feedback:

• Balanced: Constructive feedback is balanced in nature. It should provide enough insight to point out the flaws and shower praise wherever required. As it is an amalgamation of both negative and positive feedback, it aims at being helpful and supportive. This helps writers understand their strengths and weaknesses.
• Clear: Constructive feedback should be clear and easy to understand. Avoid using complicated or flowery language. Keep it simple and to the point.
• Courteous: Constructive feedback is polite and respectful. Try not to be harsh. It can be hard at times, but still try. Also, try to limit bias as much as you can. We cannot escape human bias, but we can try and minimize it. Just needs some practice. 
• Personalized: Constructive feedback is personalized for it takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of the writer and offers suggestions that cater to their needs.
• Synergetic: Providing feedback is not a one-way conversation. Thus, constructive feedback is collaborative in nature as it involves sharing of ideas and perspectives between the reviewer and the writer.

How to provide constructive feedback?

Finally, here’s where I’ll flaunt my skills. Just kidding! These tips come from several experts and have some merit. With a bit of personalization and effort from your side, you can become a pro at providing constructive feedback. 

• Be specific: It is important to avoid using vague comments while providing suggestions. Constructive feedback focuses on specific aspects of a story. Mention what worked well and what did not. Give examples to support your opinion.

For example, instead of saying “Your writing is confusing,” try saying “Your writing lacks clarity in some areas. I couldn’t understand the transition from one idea to another in the third paragraph.”

This helps the writer to know exactly what areas to work on to make it a flawless piece of work. 

The same goes for praises as well. Use them judiciously to encourage the writers.

For example, instead of saying “It was interesting,” try saying “I liked the vivid descriptions in the second paragraph. It made me feel like I was there with the characters.”

Or instead of saying ” I enjoyed reading it,” try saying “Your story was so engaging. It kept me hooked from the beginning until the very end.”

Pointing out strengths helps writers use their specific skills more often in their future work.

• Use Sandwich approach: It is a technique which is used to deliver negative feedback in such a manner that it is usually “sandwiched” between two positive feedbacks. This makes it easy for a reviewer to feel better about giving negative feedback. 

“You have to lift a person up before you can really put them in their place.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy 

The sandwich approach has three components: (stuffing between two bread slices, and here the bread is positive feedback and the spicy stuffing is the negative feedback. Make sure it tastes good.)

Step one: Positive feedback. Start by establishing a positive tone for the feedback. Highlight the strengths of the story and what worked well. You can focus on the areas that you liked the most, such as engaging plot or character development.

For example, I loved the character development in your story. I could feel a strong emotional connection with the character arc of the protagonist. The engaging plot and plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat.

Step two: Negative feedback. While the plot is appealing, some sections of the story seem implausible. For instance, in the end, how the protagonist is able to resolve all the conflicts giving it the cliched ending.

Step three: Ending on a positive note. Overall, I feel that the vivid descriptions and imagery, well-developed characters and plot twists made it an engaging read. I look forward to reading more work from you in future.

• Be empathetic: It is important to have the right mindset while giving feedback. It is crucial to approach the writer with an empathetic and respectful tone. Writing can be an extremely personal and vulnerable process for writers. This is where I should remind you, “Please don’t be Sameer.”

• The primary aim of constructive feedback is to suggest improvements.
• Feedback should be offered in a manner that is easy for writers to accept criticism.
• It is important for writers to know exactly what changes they can make to improve.

“When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.”

 – Stephen Covey

Being empathetic towards the writer helps them to continue writing and be more open to receiving feedback. This helps them stay motivated, leading to long-term development.

For instance, take a look at these examples:

Example 1:

Non-empathetic feedback:

“Your story has lots of grammatical errors and mistakes. Are you sure you graduated high school?”

Empathetic feedback:

“I came across a few areas in your writing where the grammatical errors made it difficult for me to comprehend certain things. Those areas certainly have room for improvement with regards to grammar. If you wish, I can offer suggestions on how to improve grammar.”

Explanation: 

The non-empathetic feedback is unhelpful and critical in tone. It just points out the flaws without offering any suggestions to tackle the problem. The empathetic feedback on the other hand is polite and provides relevant tips for improvement as well.

Example 2: 

Non-empathetic feedback:

“Your writing lacks clarity and is highly confusing. You should stop writing.”

Empathetic Feedback:

“I am having trouble understanding certain areas in your writing. Perhaps you would like to add more details or provide more context to make it more engaging.

Explanation:

The non-empathetic feedback is not only harsh but extremely judgmental in tone. It comes across as highly demotivating and condemning towards the writer. The empathetic feedback offers suggestions to overcome the struggles faced by the writer.

• Be clear and concise: The goal of constructive feedback is to help the writer improve their writing. It can be achieved by providing feedback in a clear and concise manner. The aim should be to focus on quality rather than the quantity. Avoid using long paragraphs to write the review. Instead, try breaking down your review into several points or sections. It helps the writer to address each issue separately. Provide sufficient examples to support your suggestions. But don’t give away the entire story as spoilers. If you cannot avoid spoilers, mark your comment with a *spoiler alert* tag. 

“Each sentence should have proper meaning, details should not be needlessly repeated, and every sentence should add to the entertainment value in one way or another.”
― A.J. Flowers, A Guide to Writing Your First Novel

How to handle constructive feedback?

Constructive feedback is crucial for writers to improve their work and grow as a writer. Thus, it is important for them to be open to receive feedback or criticism. Here are a few things to keep in mind while receiving constructive feedback.

Any kind of criticism will hurt: Let’s not pretend otherwise here. We know it’ll hurt. Be prepared for the hurt when you receive feedback. Feel it but don’t harp on it. Let the hurt pass. It will if it you let it go. Then, look at the feedback like a third-party would and list out points that are helpful for your craft. 

• Be open to discussion: After receiving feedback, the writer must be open to discuss the provided tips or suggestions. It will help the writer to have a clear idea on how to make their writing better.
• Be open minded: Constructive feedback provides writer with opportunities to learn from their mistakes and become better at their art. Thus, writers should be open to different perspectives proposed by the reviewer. They should refrain from taking feedback personally and instead use it as an opportunity to learn and grow. (At the same time, trust your instincts. Over time, you’ll know whose feedback works for you and who’s doesn’t. Still, be open to receive feedback.) 
• Thank the reviewer for feedback: It doesn’t matter whether you agree with the review or not, always thank the reviewer for their inputs.
• Don’t respond right away: Always take time before responding to a review. Think it over. Let it settle. Reread it a few times and then plan your response. Don’t forget to be courteous. 

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson