Positive Feedback

What is good, positive feedback and what does it look like? As writers, we're our own harshest critics. The list of things we think we do well can take a backseat compared to what we know we could do better. This negativity can be incredibly demoralizing. 

This can apply to how we approach critiques too. As we progress along our writing journey, it becomes easier and easier to focus primarily on constructive criticism and less so on giving positive feedback. What’s worth remembering is that this is true not just in how we approach the feedback that we receive, where our eyes will naturally focus on what our readers disliked or felt could use work, but also in how we go about writing critiques and feedback for others. So why is this important to remember? If we’re more likely to focus on negative feedback, does that mean that positive feedback is mostly superfluous? That it’s only worth focusing on when we’re just getting started and becomes less and less valuable the longer we write? Is positive feedback dangerous? Does focusing too much on it make it more likely that we’ll puff up our own egos and ignore our problem areas, leaving the quality of our writing to suffer?

No. Of course not. Though there are plenty of writers who do fall into similar thought patterns. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking something similar, don’t let that discourage you. Here, we’ll be taking a moment to acknowledge many of the benefits that come with positive feedback, and how positive feedback can help to shape us as writers just as much as negative or constructive feedback can.

Like any tool in a good writer's toolbox, positive feedback has its place. This is universal regardless of what stage you’re at in your writing journey. It’s just as true for amateurs starting out as it is for veterans with multiple published works under their names. Let’s take a moment to look at some of the benefits of positive feedback.

It can help a writer know what works best in their story

As mentioned earlier, as writers, it can become incredibly easy to focus only on the parts of our stories that we can immediately tell aren’t working. It, unfortunately, isn’t uncommon as a result to edit out a piece of our writing that works well in an attempt to improve the areas that we see as a problem. This is natural. During the editing process, we read our stories dozens of times, and each time, the strongest elements of our stories lose impact for us. We become blind to them. Because of that, by the time we’re done editing, it can be easy to no longer see the parts of a story that stand out and shine the brightest. This is where positive feedback comes in. Positive feedback can show us what parts of our stories stand out the most and why. This is invaluable as a writer at any level as it helps us know what sorts of things we should continue to implement or try to build off of in the future.

It can help us know what isn’t working

This might seem contradictory. After all, if positive feedback is there to show us what works, then how can it possibly also show us what doesn’t? Isn’t that what constructive and negative feedback is for? Yes. All of that is true, but sometimes the absence of positive feedback can show us that something that we thought was working very well or was a highlight of the story, isn’t working as well as we’d hoped. After all, if we expect something to be a particularly noteworthy standout in our story, it’s only natural that we’d expect to see a compliment or two about it in positive feedback. If we receive feedback only to find no mention of those parts at all, that can signal to us that those segments might need a bit more polishing to stand out as well as we know that they can.

It shows strong analysis of a story

Now, you might find yourself wondering what this could mean. Shouldn’t all feedback show that the reader has taken the time to really analyze a story to give solid feedback? Of course, but the truth is that this isn’t always the case. Not all feedback is created equal, but let’s talk about how positive feedback can signal to someone that you’ve combed over and properly analyzed their story even before they ever reach any of your constructive or negative feedback. Well thought out positive feedback, where your praise shows that you’ve really dug into someone’s story, can signal to the recipient of your feedback that your constructive feedback is likely equally well thought out, and therefore make them more likely to take whatever feedback you offer seriously or with fewer grains of salt.

It feels good to read

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, positive feedback just feels good to read. It really can’t be overstated just how powerful of a motivator praise and encouraging words can be. Every writer has moments where they doubt in their abilities. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first time someone has ever put words to paper or if they're an old celebrated hand at writing that should have no reason to doubt in their abilities. Everyone doubts themselves at some point along the way. In those moments, positive feedback is instrumental in reminding us that people enjoy the works that we create. That we aren’t simply writing into a void, or wasting our time writing things that nobody could possibly ever enjoy anyway.

So then, with the benefits of positive feedback covered, the next question we should ask ourselves is what exactly strong positive feedback looks like. Naturally, if you’ve ever written or received feedback before, then you likely already know that there’s a difference between strong and weak constructive and negative feedback. It’s a lot less often, however, that you’ll see people take the time to talk about how not all positive feedback is created equal, and what makes good positive feedback really stand out.

As we’d previously alluded to when we went over the benefits of positive feedback, the simplest and most obvious sign of strong positive feedback is that it will show a deeper understanding of a story and its elements. That might sound complicated at a glance, but it's really fairly straightforward. Put simply, good feedback of any variety is feedback that shows the author that you took the time to engage with their story in a way that's more than just a surface level reading.

To give some quick, but hardly comprehensive, examples, that might involve commentary on how effective certain subtext, that isn't explicitly spelled out in the story, is. It can even be something more vague and less certain, such as commentary on the themes of a story that might not be obvious but that you suspect the writer is trying to implement, and how those themes tie into the narrative structure of the piece. Sometimes it can also be something you infer about the author and their experiences that you glean from what they've included in their writing.

More than anything else, however, as simple as it sounds, the absolute best kind of positive feedback is simply the kind that shows an author just how much you truly enjoyed their work. Good positive feedback doesn't always need to be analytical or even professional. It's okay to let out the full depth of your feelings about a piece. When it comes to positive feedback, sometimes that’s even ideal. A formal “I found this story enjoyable and here's why…”, while well meaning, can sometimes leave less of an impact on an author than a gushing and straightforward “Oh wow! I loved, loved LOVED your story because…” People write to share with others, and oftentimes, seeing real emotions resonated towards them by a reader can be amongst the most gratifying kind of praise.

So then, where does that actually leave us? What actually is good positive feedback? What does it look like, and why is it important? The easiest way to sum it up is that it looks honest. That might sound silly, but that's what's really at the heart of good positive feedback. Whether you show off that honesty through a glowing and gushing reaction to a story that only lightly touches on its elements, or whether it's a well constructed essay-length deep dive into a story where you really dig into the author's intentions with each line as you compliment them, what matters, and what people want to see, is just that you cared enough to let them know that you, truly, genuinely, enjoyed their stories.

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About the author: Ash has been a voracious reader ever since she was a child and an avid writer for almost just as long. Despite a lengthy history with writing contemporary fiction, Ash enjoys stories of all genres and subject matters. She’s always eager to see a well executed plot twist come together and loves seeing all of the brilliant and ingenious ways that people build their characters, worlds and stories.