Are you a great editor? Consider this. How you give feedback on a writer's work can have more impact than what you say. Three tricks to giving helpful ConCrit.

If there’s one skill that’s vital to good writing, it’s the ability to edit your work well. But escaping your own protective feelings as a writer to honestly assess your own work can be difficult - which is why almost every good writer has an editor or friend who provides them with valued constructive criticism, or ConCrit. It may be one of the hardest skills to learn – and even harder to find clear instructions on – but it is invaluable that writers learn to provide clear, helpful ConCrit to other writers.

What Defines Constructive Criticism (ConCrit)?

You may be a great editor, with an intuitive sense of where a piece of descriptive writing falters or just what a dull poem needs to help the words to leap off the page. But unless you’re able to convey your understanding effectively to the author, and unless the writer in question is receptive to hearing what you have to say, none of your editorial brilliance matters.

The nature of “constructive criticism,” as opposed to ordinary “criticism,” is partly a difference of intent and partly how it is delivered.

• In everyday language, criticism may be a positive or negative thing; we usually call a comment “criticism” or “critical” when it is designed to tear down or harm someone’s feelings
• Constructive criticism is always positive; even when it is harsh - as honest criticism sometimes must be - ConCrit is always intended to help a writer improve and is delivered compassionately

Giving ConCrit

There are three secrets to giving good, helpful ConCrit:

1. Be Honest

Whether you loved the piece or hated it, you have a responsibility to be honest about your thoughts. Not only have you implicitly agreed to be honest by volunteering to give constructive criticism; only by sharing truthful feedback does the writer stand any chance of improving their work.

Lying to make a friend feel good does them no good in the long run. Chances are, your friend would be able to see through the lie, anyway.

2. Be Gentle

Nobody wants to receive advice from an editor who batters them to pieces from the get-go – and even the best writers are notoriously sensitive about their work.

If you want your feedback to be listened to, take care to deliver it in a way that is kind and helpful, not harsh and mean. Even if you think a piece of writing is hopeless, try to dwell on some positive aspects that could be developed as well as things to be improved upon.

3. Always Temper Bad with Good – And Tell the Good First and Last.

One of the most effective recipes for good ConCrit is to begin and end with positives – while packing aspects to be improved upon into the middle of your response.

If you liked one or two aspects of a short story, start with those aspects – the great characterization, the thoughtful descriptions – and then discuss the things that need to be worked on. This ensures that when the author gets to your criticism of the story’s world-building, they are “turned on” and listening to what you have to say, because you began by praising what they did well.

Likewise, ending on a high note leaves the writer feeling good about your remarks – and, incidentally, about you - and more likely to pay attention to what you said.

See also: Using Constructive Criticism