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Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [feedback]

For questions about how to request or address feedback from reviewers, beta readers, and editors. Note that questions asking for feedback on a piece of writing are off-topic.

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How can I answer high-school writing prompts without sounding weird and fake?

Being given a prompt makes me freeze up immediately. Let me clarify. I'm talking about high school writing prompts. You know. Those. The ones that ask you to write an essay about what you would change about something. Or the ones that ask you to…
Carlos Cienfuegos
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What is the balance between 'stating a problem clearly' and Hemingway's literary iceberg?

At a writer's critique group, one piece of feedback to me was: people didn't understand where I was going until the very end. They suggested stating something explicit at the very beginning so they knew what it was I was trying to convey. My…
SFWriter
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I'm afraid of quashing the hopes of a new writer

I recently agreed to read a new writer's novel and provide feedback. During casual discussion, I learned her mindset is currently in a state of "this novel is basically finished". I've never met anyone as hopeful as getting published as she is. I'm…
Gwendolyn
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How can someone become a beta reader?

We have several questions on beta readers, including this one on how writers can find beta readers. How does it work from the other side? How can a non-beta reader make the "jump" and start beta reading? There is a question here on how someone who…
Robert Columbia
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Are "non-readers" useful beta readers?

In my opinion, the best beta readers are fellow writers, partly because they may have insight others don't, but partly also because you can agree to trade beta-reading responsibilities. (This is far from a rare opinion; in fact, this special case…
J.G.
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Feedback: What to use and what to ignore?

I posted my novel online for critique. And stumbled with the obvious question: when should I consider a feedback and when should I ignore it? This is what I'm doing so far: If more than two people point out an error, I think of fixing it. If more…
wyc
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How to avoid writing irritating fan fictions?

I have recently started writing a fanfiction and I am posting it online as I write it. However, I often see in comments sayings 'This fanfiction gave me cancer','The writer of this crap should just kill herself.' and low ratings that accompany those…
Maiko Chikyu
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Helping my beta readers help me

My beta readers are family and friends - people who read a lot, but do not write. They are people whose opinion I trust, and who are genuinely trying to be helpful. (And I haven't found a writing group.) Here's the problem: sometimes the critique I…
Galastel supports GoFundMonica
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How to get feedback about the quality of one's fictional writing from friends unbiased by the friendship?

It is a little strange to ask, but are there ways to get feedback from friends about the quality of fictional writing (whether they liked it, not more objective aspects like spelling/grammar/etc.) unbiased by the friendship that is likely to bias…
Daniel Wessel
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What weight should be given to writers groups critiques?

I joined a writers group that meets every three weeks. I submitted the first eighteen pages of my work and also sent the same file to a publisher at AuthorHouse. The writers group had varied opinions including I need more identifiers because the…
Rasdashan
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My character surprised me with their behaviour while writing them, should I keep that behaviour or stick to how I had planned them?

I was doing some exploratory writing without much planning/thinking and one of the characters acted in a way I wasn't expecting! In the narrative the character (normally kind/warm) is under stress, but I wasn't expecting them to behave the way I…
ProseFerret
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Would a paid-for review from Kirkus give me real insight into quality of my manuscript?

As an amateur writer who has just finished my first manuscript, I want a qualified, non-biased, and thorough opinion on whether what I've written is any good. I recently heard about a service offered by Kirkus where I can pay about $400 or $500 to…
Shane F.
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What to look for when criticizing poetry?

A recent question got me thinking about how to criticize poetry well and I realized I am not very good at it. I can do themes, and that's about it. And I'm not even sure that should be covered unless explicitly asked for as was part of the issue in…
Summer
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Critique vs nitpicking

During an in-class activity for my AP Lang class, each student did a cold read of a piece they chose, then all the students provided critique out loud and written on their own copy of the author's piece. I read a poem about my life, which mainly…
user34214
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Is it a bad idea to publish individual chapters of my book idea online for feedback?

I have already typed at least 6-7 chapters of this book I've been focused on, but what I want to ask is, is it wise to post what I have so far online for feedback? Or am I just setting myself up for someone to potentially come across my work and…
Nicole B.
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