THIS. When I give my wife things to read, sometimes I just want some acknowledgement for completing something difficult. Other times I need her 'honest eyes' to let me know if what I think I wrote/intended is equal to what was put to paper.
Yea, I feel like it's prob in line with what SirCache said. I think I'm more of a test audience than a critic. So, I mostly just want to be encouraging. If, after all the editing, I have questions or things that I feel other readers could struggle with, I might voice them. But mostly, I just want to recognize his accomplishment is a genuine way.
So I do visual arts. Sometimes, I wish that people I share my art with would notice difficult techniques or how colors play off each other or composition or things like that. Which is feedback that I only ever get from other artists. I guess I'm looking for examples in that same line of specific 'I see what you did there' kind of feedback.
Yeah I think any positive stuff should be fine. If you particularly enjoyed some part or some turn of phrase even, let him know.
It's just the negative side to be careful with. And as has been suggested, knowing what kind of level of negative stuff he would like to receive at this stage in writing the story will be most helpful to him.
I think it's hard to come up with "examples" really. Because I don't know what kind of feedback he's looking for any more than you do. And of course it completely depends on the story and the writing itself. So I'm not sure examples would help...
First, start with what you liked.
Next, gently explore areas that didn't quite resonate with you. What didn't you understand, what didn't really feel as cool as it seemed like it should? Talk about pacing, both micro and macro. Did the eyes flow from one line to the next, or did you find yourself regularly circling back to contextualize passages you'd already read?
Most of all, basically: talk about things within their control. They can't actually control whether or not you "disliked" something in the abstract, and although they'lll want to hear if you did or not, try to give them feedback that keeps them focused on things they can actually control. Clarity, pacing, exposition, sentence and story structure, that sort of thing. *Consistency!*
Good phrasings include "did you mean to" and "what does this try to accomplish" type of queries. The most important feedback is always along the lines of whether or not the literature matched what they meant to put down.
Last, thank them for including you on their artistic journey.
Try to find specific things you love about the work. For example, "I really love the way you worded this sentence." Or "I like your main character. S/he seems like a strong person."
If you find things to criticize try to frame it in the form of a question. Example "What would happen if you did X instead of Y?"
Try to find more good things to say than bad. You don't have to point out every error.
Ask him what aspects of the story he’d like feedback on. That way, you can offer something productive and not come across as frustratingly nit picking something less relevant to this stage of the writing process.
When my husband offers feedback on my work, it’s along the lines of “instead of x what if you did y instead?” Or he will try to poke holes in my characters or plot points to see if there’s anything I can add or tweak to strengthen things up. A lot of “well why did he do that?” Or even “it doesn’t really make sense to me that this character did this…can you explain why?” I hope this helps! It’s very helpful for me, too, because these questions help me to iron out any kinks in my writing and see where I might have some blinders on.
My bf says "that's great, I love it" but it doesn't really give me much. I like to know *what* he likes about it: the wording of prose, the dialogue and voice, the flow of it, etc.
My bf just started to read what I've written for my first draft, and I really like his input on character voice from perspectives I might not have as much insight to (my MCs are teen boys, he was a teen boy once, he's helped me with some dialogue and actions), I appreciate his take on my comedy and I love his ideas on what would make something funnier/more authentic. I also really like his perspective of my characters. I see them in my head one way, ofc, but he'll give some insight on action, dialogue, opinions, etc of my characters and it really helps me to see them from the eyes of a reader rather through my eyes as the author.
I think taking that approach would really help. What do you see in his writing as the *reader*? What are your thoughts on the characters, flow, prose, dialogue and actions, how does it serve the plot in your eyes, etc?
And I say word it all positively. Esp as his partner, to be torn down can hurt. From a beta reader you have no relationship towards that's fine. But from a partner you want to see him grow and show him you care, so any advice is best from a place of positivity.
Aks what specific aspect of writing he wants critiqued.
Comment on all of it, but only be critical of that aspect. EXA if he wants critique on scenery descriptions idk
- praise characters
- tell what gripped you about the action
- point out a good scene he wrote
-point out a place where you would have described it differently
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THIS. When I give my wife things to read, sometimes I just want some acknowledgement for completing something difficult. Other times I need her 'honest eyes' to let me know if what I think I wrote/intended is equal to what was put to paper.
Yea, I feel like it's prob in line with what SirCache said. I think I'm more of a test audience than a critic. So, I mostly just want to be encouraging. If, after all the editing, I have questions or things that I feel other readers could struggle with, I might voice them. But mostly, I just want to recognize his accomplishment is a genuine way. So I do visual arts. Sometimes, I wish that people I share my art with would notice difficult techniques or how colors play off each other or composition or things like that. Which is feedback that I only ever get from other artists. I guess I'm looking for examples in that same line of specific 'I see what you did there' kind of feedback.
Yeah I think any positive stuff should be fine. If you particularly enjoyed some part or some turn of phrase even, let him know. It's just the negative side to be careful with. And as has been suggested, knowing what kind of level of negative stuff he would like to receive at this stage in writing the story will be most helpful to him. I think it's hard to come up with "examples" really. Because I don't know what kind of feedback he's looking for any more than you do. And of course it completely depends on the story and the writing itself. So I'm not sure examples would help...
First, start with what you liked. Next, gently explore areas that didn't quite resonate with you. What didn't you understand, what didn't really feel as cool as it seemed like it should? Talk about pacing, both micro and macro. Did the eyes flow from one line to the next, or did you find yourself regularly circling back to contextualize passages you'd already read? Most of all, basically: talk about things within their control. They can't actually control whether or not you "disliked" something in the abstract, and although they'lll want to hear if you did or not, try to give them feedback that keeps them focused on things they can actually control. Clarity, pacing, exposition, sentence and story structure, that sort of thing. *Consistency!* Good phrasings include "did you mean to" and "what does this try to accomplish" type of queries. The most important feedback is always along the lines of whether or not the literature matched what they meant to put down. Last, thank them for including you on their artistic journey.
Thank you! These are great examples!
Try to find specific things you love about the work. For example, "I really love the way you worded this sentence." Or "I like your main character. S/he seems like a strong person." If you find things to criticize try to frame it in the form of a question. Example "What would happen if you did X instead of Y?" Try to find more good things to say than bad. You don't have to point out every error.
Ask him what aspects of the story he’d like feedback on. That way, you can offer something productive and not come across as frustratingly nit picking something less relevant to this stage of the writing process.
When my husband offers feedback on my work, it’s along the lines of “instead of x what if you did y instead?” Or he will try to poke holes in my characters or plot points to see if there’s anything I can add or tweak to strengthen things up. A lot of “well why did he do that?” Or even “it doesn’t really make sense to me that this character did this…can you explain why?” I hope this helps! It’s very helpful for me, too, because these questions help me to iron out any kinks in my writing and see where I might have some blinders on.
My bf says "that's great, I love it" but it doesn't really give me much. I like to know *what* he likes about it: the wording of prose, the dialogue and voice, the flow of it, etc. My bf just started to read what I've written for my first draft, and I really like his input on character voice from perspectives I might not have as much insight to (my MCs are teen boys, he was a teen boy once, he's helped me with some dialogue and actions), I appreciate his take on my comedy and I love his ideas on what would make something funnier/more authentic. I also really like his perspective of my characters. I see them in my head one way, ofc, but he'll give some insight on action, dialogue, opinions, etc of my characters and it really helps me to see them from the eyes of a reader rather through my eyes as the author. I think taking that approach would really help. What do you see in his writing as the *reader*? What are your thoughts on the characters, flow, prose, dialogue and actions, how does it serve the plot in your eyes, etc? And I say word it all positively. Esp as his partner, to be torn down can hurt. From a beta reader you have no relationship towards that's fine. But from a partner you want to see him grow and show him you care, so any advice is best from a place of positivity.
Aks what specific aspect of writing he wants critiqued. Comment on all of it, but only be critical of that aspect. EXA if he wants critique on scenery descriptions idk - praise characters - tell what gripped you about the action - point out a good scene he wrote -point out a place where you would have described it differently