Feedback Sandwich (For Writers)
Have you ever read a story from a fellow writer and absolutely LOVED it? Your friend managed to suck you into a fantasy world, or drop you in the middle of an alien invasion, or describe the most amazing summer adventure. You finish it and when they ask how it was you can tell them all the high points! But…what about when they ask for what they could improve on? Suddenly those dull moments, those confusing themes, and that random character that showed up in chapter fifty jump to the front. So how do you respond? How can you say it without being mean? Is it even possible?
I’m here to say, yes it is! I want to share with you something I’ve been taught and love to use! It’s been called several things, but we’re going to call it a feedback ice cream sandwich. I’m going to show you how to apply it to giving friends feedback and to giving yourself feedback!
First let’s break down the sandwich by starting with the first cookie.
Bottom cookie (a complement)
Tell your friend something you really like about their story! Not just ‘I really liked it!’ But what did you like and why did you like it? Something along the lines of ‘I love how real you made the characters feel, how you showed their strengths and struggles and something I can relate to!’ Remember when you give feedback you’re not just looking for the things they did wrong, you’re looking for what they did right.
2. Middle ice cream (something they can work on)
Just like ice cream is sweet, make sure not to fire this at them. “YOUR DIALOGUE IS AS FLAT AS CARDBOARD.” NO! One of the best things to remember in this instance is what you would want them to tell you about the flaws in your story. Hopefully the writer asking for feedback actually wants feedback that can help them improve, not just validation about their work. Now you can’t always know, but it can help if you offer a solution along with what you noticed. “I had a little trouble feeling like the dialogue could actually be spoken. Maybe you could try showing more of what the characters are doing while they speak? I also found this great resource when I was struggling with writing speech, and I can share it…” As tempting as it may be to pile on one problem after another, try to limit it to just one for the first feedback.
3. Top cookie (another complement!)
No matter how long the writer has been writing, receiving instructions to improve can still be hard. Whether it’s the dread of having to fix it, or the first time anyone has ever pointed something out that was rough in their writing…So round it out with another compliment!
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There you have it! Your feedback sandwich! Now just a few more notes before you start passing them out to all your friends!
Make sure the compliments are genuine… It’s really easy to see the mistakes sometimes and completely miss what the author did well. But there will always be something they do well, make sure you hunt for the diamond in the rough and make it shine. Just remember not to force something that’s not true and don’t lie about something that you know needs some serious work. Be truthful with your compliment and of course be kind.
Remember to have your ‘something they can work on’ not be overwhelming. Telling them they need to reconstruct the entire plot is something an alpha reader can point out. But you as a friend offering feedback just needs to focus on one thing. Maybe two if they ask.
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Finally, let’s talk about how to apply this to your own writing. I want you to take a piece of your work, and use the same method above… Give yourself feedback! Find something you did well, find something you need to improve on, and find something else you did well.
So often we get caught up with all the stuff we did wrong, it can drag us down and bring our writing to a crawl. We don’t want that to happen! When you’re trying to read your own writing to improve, try the ice cream feedback method!
*One final, final, note. When you hand your own pieces of writing over to be read, if the reader asks how they can give you feedback feel free to share this method with them! Having a guideline to follow can often make it easier to give good feedback!
I hope you either learned a lot or just refreshed your memory for giving feedback! Now go out and share those ice cream sandwiches!
With Faith, Hope, Love, and Feathers,
Inertia.
