Writing Advice Wednesday: How to Give Constructive Feedback

If you've read any of my film analysis posts or coverage samples, you may be surprised to find out that my initial notes are more like:

"that sucked"

"wow hate that"

"why am i even in the film industry if this is the content i have to be subjected to"

Then I take those gut reactions and turn them into:

"This plot point lacked enough set-up to properly pay off in the end, making the story's conclusion feel frustrating rather than cathartic. To weave this beat into the story more naturally, consider..."

"The protagonist’s actions in act two feel inconsistent with their established character arc, making it difficult to connect with their journey. Consider..."

"The comedic beats could have stronger ties to the plot and characters. This disconnect leads to the humor feeling random rather than motivated, and gives the script an unfocused feel overall. Consider..."

Huge difference, right?

You can barely tell how little I enjoyed reading those scripts.

Okay maybe you can tell a little bit.

But the main difference is that my notes went from reactionary to actionable.

And I'm going to teach you how to do the same!

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Trust Your Instincts

I've mentioned this in a few other posts, but I'm gonna say it again: everyone innately understands what makes a strong story.

When something is off, you'll notice it.

Even if you can't identify exactly what it is in the moment.

This is what leads to those gut reactions, where your first thought is "wow i hate these characters."

There's always truth to your natural response.

And the first step in giving constructive feedback is to figure out exactly what that truth is.

State Your Case

So let's say you're watching a movie and you're bored out of your mind.

If you were preparing to give feedback on this movie, you know you shouldn't just say "Yeah the movie was really boring."

That's not helping anyone.

You have to ask yourself: why are you bored?

What in this movie isn't clicking for you?

Is it the plot? The characters? Both?

Let's say you realize it's the characters you're not connecting with.

Your next step is to ask yourself why.

Answering this question will guide you towards the note you should actually say.

Are the characters too perfect with no flaws?

Are they genuinely terrible people with no redeeming qualities, making it challenging to root for them?

Maybe there are too many characters to keep track of, and not enough time is spent fleshing them out, providing no opportunity for the audience to connect with any of them.

Maybe the characters are acting in ways that seem to have no true logic, reason, or motivation. In other words, their perspective is inaccessible.

These are all much more specific notes than "the movie is boring" or "the characters are awful."

And any one of these more specific notes can certainly point the writer in the direction of the problem.

But they're all still a bit vague and don't fully lead the writer in an actionable direction.

So what do we need...?

Support Your Claim

Once you indicate your more specific note, you'll naturally start to recall details from the film / script / story that contributed to your gut reaction.

You'll want to mention these in your notes, so the writer knows exactly where to make adjustments.

You don't have to list every single instance in the story that supports your claim (and probably shouldn't do this, unless asked).

One or two big examples are more than enough to clearly show the writer the pattern they should look for and address in their next revision.

For example, you could say: "The protagonist's motivations seem to shift throughout the story. For example, her actions in scene A directly contradict her words in scene B. Without consistency in her actions and words, it's challenging to understand her goals and invest in her emotional journey."

Most of the time, that's where your note should end.

The writer now knows the problem, has a specific example that contributes to it, and can think about how to address it in a way that works for their story.

However, if you're a creative executive, producer, consultant, or someone whose job it is to help improve the script / film / story, you're once again going to have to dive a little deeper.

Suggest Solutions

Here's the thing about this step...

You're almost always going to say the "wrong" thing.

But don't be afraid of that!!!!

You aren’t and never will be as close to the story as the writer is.

You only have the script to go off of, not all the thought and effort that went into writing it.

The best you can do is try to understand the writer's intentions based on what's on the page.

So when you're offering a suggestion, it’s based on your best understanding of the story and the intention behind it.

That understanding is inherently incomplete.

And that’s okay!

Whatever your suggestion is -- whether it’s brilliant, completely off base, or something the writer already tried in a previous draft and didn't like -- it WILL push the writer in a more actionable direction.

Because one of two things will happen:

1. They love your suggestion, realize it’s exactly what the story needs, implement the note, and the script improves.

2. They hate your suggestion and immediately start thinking of other ways to address the note that make more sense to them.

Either way, you've done your job, and the writer is addressing the core issue.

And it doesn't matter how they got there, it just matters that they got there.

Making suggestions isn't about being "right" -- it’s about opening a door for the writer to take action, or at least start thinking about it.

You're (usually) not there to rewrite the story, you're there to help the writer see their story more clearly.

And that’s the kind of feedback that actually makes a difference!

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And that's that on that!!!

Do you feel like you have a better understanding of how to give constructive feedback now?

Well then why don't you try it out in the comments?!

Write some actionable feedback for a script, book, or movie you've seen recently!