How to Give Feedback at a Writing Workshop

Writing workshops can be incredibly helpful for authors of every skill level. By seeing how other people react to your work, you get a good idea of what you're doing right--and what you might want to revise. The best writing workshops have lively discussion. When you give honest feedback at a writing workshop, everyone benefits.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Outline your ideas in advance. When you read a particular piece of writing, jot down questions for the author, generate ideas for revision and make note of things you liked. That way, you'll be very prepared to talk about what you have read, and the author will appreciate the time you spent with her work.
2. Elaborate upon your opinions. While it's fine to tell an author that you loved his short story, you should be able to tell him why you enjoyed it so much. Detailed feedback is useful to everyone in the writing workshop. For example, if you tell a writer that you admired her sentence structure, the other writers in the room can refer to the text to see what you mean.
3. Ask the author questions. This is a great way to clear up any confusion without being confrontational. For example, if a technical passage in a non-fiction piece didn't make sense to you, ask the author if he would mind explaining it to you. Writers want to know what does and doesn't make sense to their readers, and the writing workshop is the perfect place to ask and answer questions.
4. Make your criticism constructive. It's fine to be critical, as long as you politely provide advice for improvement. Be prepared to advise other writers on everything from grammar errors to plot holes, and be willing to accept their constructive criticism about your writing, too.

Tips & Warnings

• Suggest that the writing workshop occasionally break into small groups. Many people feel more comfortable discussing their writing with 3 or 4 people than with 15 or 20.
• Don't be too long-winded. Feedback should be thoughtfully worded, yet concise. If you ramble on for too long, some people won't get a chance to talk at all.

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