Notes from the margin: It has potential
It has potential
Requests for feedback require a new kind of creativity, as Lorraine Mace discovers
A few months ago I wrote about how difficult it is to be honest with a beginner writer.
The person giving feedback has to walk a fine line between truth and tact. Even experienced writers are protective of their babies, but new writers haven’t yet developed the necessary thick skin required to take criticism – regardless of how constructive the feedback might be.
At the end of the column I asked if anyone wanted to share similar experiences. I thought I might get one or two replies, but I must have touched a nerve because my inbox almost exploded! I’ve chosen a few to illustrate this column, but I could have written an entire magazine’s worth just by cutting and pasting all the emails. Needless to say, without exception, every missive carried the request that I not use his or her name.