{"id":2165,"date":"2022-03-07T04:30:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T04:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/?p=2165"},"modified":"2022-03-07T04:30:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T04:30:56","slug":"workshopping-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/07\/workshopping-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Workshopping Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good workshopping can vastly improve the writing of both the workshopper and workshoppee. (\u201cWorkshopping\u201d just means critiquing or giving feedback on someone\u2019s writing, BTW.) Here are some tips for giving useful, actionable feedback, and giving constructive criticism without being insulting or demotivating! Of course, everyone\u2019s process is different, so go by the expectations of the writer and your critique group as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Think of what the author wants the story to be, not what you want it to be. This means removing your personal preferences and seeing the story for what it is. Reader responses like \u201cI was confused here\u201d or \u201cI wanted to see more of the worldbuilding\u201d are often helpful, but if the writer is adopting a literary style, for example, critiques like \u201ctoo much metaphor here\u201d or \u201cI didn\u2019t relate to this style\u201d may not be as helpful. Or maybe you really liked a scene but it was out of character \u2014 the author will want to know that it felt out of place so they can fix it, even if you enjoyed it as it was.<\/li>
  2. Be specific. Overall positive feedback like \u201cI enjoyed it!\u201d or \u201cthe characters are fun\u201d can be motivating to the author, but are more like compliments than critiques and don\u2019t give much to act on. Make sure to also point to specific examples, e.g. \u201cthe use of modern language and the occasional digressions made this dialogue realistic\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t know these characters\u2019 backstory, so this paragraph confused me.\u201d<\/li>
  3. Give both positive and negative feedback. Unless the author is looking for only one, both are important. Specific positive feedback like \u201cthese details set the scene very well\u201d provide motivation, tell the writer what they don\u2019t need to worry about when editing, and give them ideas of what to do more in other scenes. Specific negative feedback (or constructive criticism, or what you didn\u2019t like, or whatever you want to call it) is important to let the author know what didn\u2019t work for you and give them ideas of what to focus on while editing. Be polite and specific, but don\u2019t talk around it. Writers are, in general, brave, intrepid people who are prepared to put their hearts and souls in other people\u2019s hands to be dissected and critiqued. This means it will just be easier for everyone if you get to the point. (Though if a writer is not ready for negative feedback, that\u2019s completely valid too.) Some examples: \u201cI don\u2019t understand this sentence\/metaphor,\u201d \u201cthis action seems out-of-character,\u201d \u201c(I recommend you) reduce exposition here,\u201d \u201clong words like this pulled me out of the story,\u201d \u201cI wanted more of this character\u2019s thought process here.\u201d Also give the reasons behind your recommendations (e.g. \u201cthis decision seemed sudden, so I wanted more of this character\u2019s thought process here\u201d or \u201cwe\u2019re focusing on the battle\/conversation\/revelation here, so I recommend you reduce exposition\u201d). Neutral feedback can also be helpful, e.g. \u201cthis scene reminds me of this other book,\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t trust this character,\u201d \u201cyou could expand on this aspect of worldbuilding,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m curious about this character\u2019s backstory,\u201d or \u201cthough this is a short story, I could see it as the beginning of a novel.\u201d Such commentary can help the writer to see things about their story that they\u2019d missed (which they could then change or build on) and give them more ideas.<\/li>
  4. Give multiple solutions to a problem. Readers will often notice problems writers miss, but writers know the story better than anyone else \u2014 which means that they\u2019ll know best what they need to do to fix the problems. Thus, it can be helpful to suggest multiple options; for example, if a character\u2019s action seems sudden and out-of-character, the writer could show backstory that gives them a motivation to do what they did, change the context of the action, have another character do it, or play up other characters\u2019 shock and confusion at the given character\u2019s action.<\/li>
  5. Ask the writer what feedback they\u2019re looking for. This way, you can tailor your feedback to what the author is working on. Specifically, check if they want higher-level feedback, such as on plot points and pacing, or lower-level feedback, such as on grammar (or both!).<\/li>
  6. Know that your feedback will not always be acted on. As I said, the writer knows what\u2019s best for their story, and sometimes your suggestions are not right for the story. That\u2019s not an insult to you or a flaw in your feedback \u2014 feedback is helpful even if your suggestions aren\u2019t taken!<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re not sure where to start, here are a few of the many questions you can ask yourself when revising your writing or critiquing others\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. What did you like and dislike, and why?<\/li>
    2. Were you ever confused?<\/li>
    3. Person and tense: What tense (e.g. past or present) is used, and is the story told linearly or with flashbacks\/multiple timelines? Is the tense consistent, and does it ever get confusing? Is the story first-person, limited third-person (one point of view per scene), omniscient third-person (floating between perspectives), or something else? Does that stay consistent throughout? Do the tense and person fit the story\u2019s narration style?<\/li>
    4. Pacing: Does it ever get bogged down in exposition or filler scenes (or any kind of fluff), or rush through important events? Does the pacing of the character development, main plot, and subplots fit the story?<\/li>
    5. Events: Does what happens make sense (and does it need to?)? Is there too little or too much foreshadowing? Do your characters and readers have sufficient reasons to care about what happens?<\/li>
    6. Characters: Are they well-rounded with clear personalities and motivations? Are there specific details about them (habits, clothing\/d\u00e9cor, preferences, hobbies, etc.)? How much do we need to know about them given the story\u2019s length? Are there too many or too few characters given the story\u2019s length?<\/li>
    7. Writing style: What is the style, is it consistent, and does it fit the story? Do variations in style convey anything, like different emotions or points of view? Is there sufficient concrete description? (If a later draft: Are there typos or parts that didn\u2019t read well, or parts that were written especially well?)<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Good workshopping can vastly improve the writing of both the workshopper and workshoppee. (\u201cWorkshopping\u201d just means critiquing or giving feedback on someone\u2019s writing, BTW.) Here are some tips for giving useful, actionable feedback, and giving constructive criticism without being insulting or demotivating! Of course, everyone\u2019s process is different, so go by the expectations of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing-tips","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2166,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions\/2166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crysaniadangoor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}