Editor’s Note: I took an 8-week writing workshop with Linda Elkin in San Francisco, circa 1999, and wrote my first online short story, “Angela’s Lair.” She was a superb workshop leader and I’ll never forget the guidelines she gave.

Linda received an MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers, and her poems have been published in or are forthcoming from The Bloomsbury Review, Green Mountains Review, Southern Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry, and the anthology Kindled Terraces: American Writers in Greece (Truman State University Press, 2004). She has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

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Receiving positive feedback on your work is an excellent way to learn and highly
underrated. Before you begin to revise, it is essential to know what works in your writing: what your strengths are, what is memorable, moving and interesting.
Readers:
• Take a deep breath before you begin. Continue breathing while reading and while listening to your feedback.• Tell us where the idea for the piece came from, if you like. For example:“This came from the homework assignment/didn’t.”

• Don’t apologize but tell us what stage the writing is in, if you like
(rough, second draft and so on).

• Listen to the feedback comments and assume they are meant to help you. Do not defend or explain your work.

• When you are finished reading,there appears to be a thirty-minute silence. Actually, this is about five seconds. This pause will feel longer than it really is.We are gathering our thoughts. Don’t worry. Someone will speak up soon!

• Take notes. It is very easy to forget what has been said.

• Feel free to ask questions about your work. However, please wait until you have received a full round of feedback. You may wish to come to the workshop with questions in mind or, instead, ask questions sparked by the group’s comments.

Listeners:
• Always keep in mind that the purpose offeedback is to help the piece to grow more fully into itself, not to change it into something else.

• When you comment on a piece, refer to the character as the woman, the man, the speaker, or some variation of this. Do not refer to the character as “you.”

• Give feedback as you’d like to receive it. Quips, jokes, or sarcastic comments,even ifkindly meant, are inappropriate.

• It’s all right to comment on either the entire piece or on smaller sections.

• Is there a part you didn’t understand? What?

• Be specific—is there anything you’d like to hear more of? What is it? Why?
• Tell the writer things you especially liked—write the words or phrases down as you hear them.

• Tell the writer what stayed with you after he/she finished reading, what you remember most clearly, what was most vivid.

• Is there some important information missing? Did this take you out of the writing?

• Is there any part that stands out as being different in rhythm or tone? (In your opinion, this section might make the piece more powerful, or it might not fit in.)

• Did the writer leave a smoking gun on the mantle? In other words, is something provocative or mysterious mentioned once, but not again? Point it out, give your opinion on whether it should be left out or expanded on.

• If you’ve noticed any patterns or themes in this piece, tell the writer. He/She might have put them in unconsciously and might not be aware of them.

• Don’t ask questions, for example,“How do you and your mom get along now?” Instead, tell us how the writing works, or does not work, for you.

• Be brief. If someone else already said what you wanted to say, it’s important to let the writer know you agree, but don’t repeat the whole thing.

• Feel free to say nothing if you like. It’s not mandatory to speak.

• Feel free to disagree. This often is where the writer receives the most important information.

• Remember, your opinion counts. If you are someone who does not speak up easily, give yourself a push and jump in. For those who comment frequently, be mindful of giving others a chance to speak.