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My writing group used to give me vague 'it's good' feedback for a year straight.
Then I started bringing a single, specific question like 'does this character's anger feel earned on page 7?' and the notes I got back were ten times more useful. What's one concrete trick you use to get better feedback on a draft?
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kim_nelson1mo ago
My friend Jake asks his beta readers to mark any sentence where their attention drifts.
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finley_bennett281mo ago
Smart move by @kim_nelson's friend.
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kevin_carr15d ago
Honestly, that idea Jake has about flagging attention drift is gold. But here's the thing - did they tell you how to handle those marked sentences after? Because I feel like just knowing where someone zones out is only half the battle. Ngl, I've tried that approach and ended up with a manuscript full of random marks but no clue why my readers checked out. Was it the pacing, the dialogue, or just the time of night they were reading? Tbh, I think the real trick is following up those marks with a quick question about what specifically made their attention wander. That way you get the "where" and the "why" without having to guess.
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