Feedback (Un)Focused

Feedback on story writing is something that I always struggle with. I get so caught up in the amazing stories that people have written and the intense imagination that the authors have that I forget that I’m supposed to be critiquing their stories.  The only thing that has ever truly stood out for me is grammar problems, but I was a newspaper editor in high school and I excelled at English (maybe not anymore) so it comes naturally to me. 

DELETE!!!

 Of these three techniques, I think the best one to me is the Copy-and-Delete technique. It makes me focus on the story in bits which really helps my ability to give feedback.  I can look at this section and see if there are any useless bits or parts that could be expanded on, and then relate it to the previous comments that I have written to see if my questions have been answered from previous sections.

Personally, I always try to read a story at least twice.  The first time, I read it through for my own personal enjoyment.  I can get into the story and envision it and just revel in the imagination.  Then I reread it for grammar mistakes and other storytelling flaws or tweaks that could make the story better.  Reading stories out loud has never worked for me because I tune myself out.  Like, I’m actively reading the story out loud and not listening to a word I’m saying.  It’s a real problem. 

Image Info: Cyberman. Source: Wikimedia Commons