All About Feedback

[ray gower]

To the best of my knowledge, every writer loves feedback from those who read their stories, whether they are million copy sellers like Terry Pratchett to humble hack fan-fiction writers. In the case of fanfic writers, feedback is the only payment they receive.

Before I go further. Let me make it very clear:

There is nothing wrong with simply saying "I loved this story!"

They give the writer a nice little buzz that will last for hours. If that is all a reader can manage, that is fine and I, for one, am grateful.

But good feedback can help writers improve on their writing. which means an even better story next time.

What do we writers consider makes good feedback?

Just as importantly what makes bad feedback?

[Highlander II]

Personally - I don't like the "I loved this story!" type feedback - I mean, it's fine and it gives a little warm fuzzy, but I really prefer the feedback that offers something constructive.

Hold up - and I'll explain why I'm not overjoyed with the 'I love it' feedback--

Mostly b/c half the time when someone writes that as feedback - they didn't really love the story - they loved that the story had this one little aspect that they like - usually a particular character pairing - and it doesn't really do much. It also doesn't tell the author anything, really. If feedback starts that way, then moves into an explanation of 'why' the reader loved it - great - substance.

It's just when you wander around and read a story, then read the feedback or reviews for it and every review says 'I loved this story!' - and you've read it and wonder what were these other ppl thinking - it's not always a matter of 'taste' - it's sometimes a matter of grammar and plotting and characterization.

Another problem with the 'I love it' type feedback is that it really isn't all that honest either. Especially if it comes from your very bestest friend in the whole wide world - b/c that person is not really gonna tell you that your story sucked. Which is highly unfortunate. See, this type of feedback, if it's the only type an author gets, sets the author into this false sense of security and false belief that all of his/her stories are great... which is, mostly likely, not true.

Honest feedback, while potentially heartbreaking at first, is much more useful.

This is why FF.net bugs me. However, if you just want to be praised by all your friends - FF.net is great... *shrug*

[Status]

Normally I wouldn’t join in a serious post like this one but though you have a right to the way something makes you feel, some of us don’t know how to express ourselves in words on paper. If we did, we’d be writing and not just reading others hard work.

I, for one, am one of those people and if I post a simple ‘I liked it’ or ‘I loved it’, it’s really meant. I’m not one who knows why they like something, only that they did or not. If I don’t like something, I don’t say anything unless I’m specifically asked and then try to do it nicely. Either I didn’t understand it or it’s just not my style of story. If I ever volunteer an “I loved it”, you better believe I did!

Well, so much for my 2 cents worth. *crawls back into silence*

[Highlander II]

I'm probably a bit jaded on this particular topic b/c I've read so many stories that really were not very good, then read the comments / feedback from every other person who's read it and they all say 'Wow, that was great! You should write more!' - so, I'm a little jaded on the 'simple' feedback.


I'm also not one of those writers who 'begs' or 'screams' for feedback -

Do I like feedback? Sure. But if I don't get any on my fic, *shrug* it doesn't bother me.

But that's just me.

[ray gower]

I honestly believe the 'I loved this story!' type feedback has a valid place. The warm fuzzy feeling we have commented upon, but it means it was also read in the first place.

It is not the most helpful and I never suggested it was, but if people did not like a story, then they say nothing (as do the majority of those that did ).

Nor is it just your friends that post them, I certainly do not personally know the authors of many of my 'Well dones' on FF.net, ASC or anywhere else, ergo for a proportion of the reading public, whatever you have written must be on the right lines, which is all encouragement.

Not everybody who reads fiction has the benefit of a strong literary education, or the time and practise in prase and critique to be able to make the level of comment to be truely meaningful. So it can be a big step for some readers to stand up out of the crowd and say this or that was good, what was meant by the other and where did the widget that broke the thingy come from?

As an unfortunately large number of writers take umbrage at that sort of comment as well, any commentator that goes further is potentially in for a torrid time.

I do, however, aim at becoming a better writer and therefore like to know more about what was good or bad in what I write. But there are limits, even for someone of my aimiable disposition.

I have had the occaisional missive of purest bile and my instant response was to suggest she did not read my efforts. (Wanted to say something else too, especially as she considered herself a professional writer, but that is a different matter and I am a gentleman).

So what should go into a feedback missive, that is genuinely helpful. See if we can help the likes of Status, who knows when she likes something (or not) and why, but is either too timid, or otherwise unable to explain?

I'll start off with:-

All feedback is a personal opinion of the reader and it may not be common with those of others, or the writer.

No review should be totally negative. If you thought so little of what you were reading, why the hell did you read it?

Simillarly starting off with 'What a load of crud!' is not going to get on a writers best side.