Today we welcome B. Lynn Goodwin to Author Exposure. We are the last stop on her WOW Women on Writing Blog Tour. That means, today is your last chance to win a copy of her book, You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers. In order to be entered in the giveaway, you must leave a question/comment (along with your email address) in the comment section. Lynn is available to answer your questions. So, please join us.
Today, Lynn discusses with us the power of positive feedback on writing. I recently had the pleasure of experiencing this firsthand. Using her book, You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers, as a guide, I started journaling this past month. During this time, I emailed Lynn several of my entries. She offered feedback that both encouraged and supported my writing. I can personally attest to how the following guidelines helped me open up and explore my thoughts. You can read about my experience in the essay following this article by B. Lynn Goodwin.
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Writers crave positive feedback. They love hearing what words, phrases, and ideas in their writing have energy.
Does positive feedback give false hope? Absolutely not. When writers hear what works in a draft that may have felt clumsy as they wrote it, they develop a new appreciation for their own work. Positive feedback is especially critical when the material feels fresh and vulnerable. If a writer spills her heart into her journal, the last thing she needs is criticism.
In my face-to-face workshops I tell everyone that listening is a gift we give each other. “Listen for what you love,” I say before the first person reads. “Listen for what stays with you and what resonates. It could be a phrase, an image, a concept, a word choice, or it could be the way the narrator expresses her outrage. You could like the journey that a writer takes you on. Listen for what stays with you.”
I use the same principles when I conduct a workshop online. Here are the guidelines I send:
RESPONDING GUIDELINES:
1. Responses are optional. Respond if something moves you.
2. Say what you love in the writing.
3. Respond as a listener. Encourage the author by saying what resonates or stays with you.
4. Revision comes later. Do not critique.
5. We are only experts about our own lives. Do not offer advice.
6. Everything we write is confidential.
7. Feel free to quote passages you like.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
8. We are sharing the stories of our lives—not seeking advice.
9. We are honoring the writing—not giving advice.
10. We are responding--not critiquing.
I also send a sample piece of writing and a positive response:
WRITING EXAMPLE: Today I feel sad. You didn’t want your breakfast. You didn’t want to talk. Neither do I. I want to stare at the dust motes floating in the sunshine that’s streaming through the screen door. So mindless. Like me. If I were a dust mote, I’d have no hands or feet or responsibilities.
SAMPLE RESPONSE: I loved the way the sad mood built in these lines. I loved the sensory images like "...dust motes floating in the sunshine…” Great ending line!
Not sure how to do this? When in doubt, say what you love in the writing. Tell what sticks with you or what stays in your head. All writers, but especially caregivers, feel less alone when responders validate their work.
Positive feedback opens people up and makes them eager to explore. It encourages people to do second drafts and deepen their writing. It helps develop voices.
In addition, positive feedback has the power to heal. Affirmation does that. There is always something to love in every piece of journaling. Finding and honoring it is truly a gift.
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B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of Writer Advice, http://www.writeradvice.com/and the author of You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers, which contains encouragement, instructions, and over 200 sentence starts to help you journal any time. E-mail her at Lgood67334 AT comcast DOT net (You know how to translate AT and DOT) to learn about her workshops.
Does positive feedback give false hope? Absolutely not. When writers hear what works in a draft that may have felt clumsy as they wrote it, they develop a new appreciation for their own work. Positive feedback is especially critical when the material feels fresh and vulnerable. If a writer spills her heart into her journal, the last thing she needs is criticism.
In my face-to-face workshops I tell everyone that listening is a gift we give each other. “Listen for what you love,” I say before the first person reads. “Listen for what stays with you and what resonates. It could be a phrase, an image, a concept, a word choice, or it could be the way the narrator expresses her outrage. You could like the journey that a writer takes you on. Listen for what stays with you.”
I use the same principles when I conduct a workshop online. Here are the guidelines I send:
RESPONDING GUIDELINES:
1. Responses are optional. Respond if something moves you.
2. Say what you love in the writing.
3. Respond as a listener. Encourage the author by saying what resonates or stays with you.
4. Revision comes later. Do not critique.
5. We are only experts about our own lives. Do not offer advice.
6. Everything we write is confidential.
7. Feel free to quote passages you like.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
8. We are sharing the stories of our lives—not seeking advice.
9. We are honoring the writing—not giving advice.
10. We are responding--not critiquing.
I also send a sample piece of writing and a positive response:
WRITING EXAMPLE: Today I feel sad. You didn’t want your breakfast. You didn’t want to talk. Neither do I. I want to stare at the dust motes floating in the sunshine that’s streaming through the screen door. So mindless. Like me. If I were a dust mote, I’d have no hands or feet or responsibilities.
SAMPLE RESPONSE: I loved the way the sad mood built in these lines. I loved the sensory images like "...dust motes floating in the sunshine…” Great ending line!
Not sure how to do this? When in doubt, say what you love in the writing. Tell what sticks with you or what stays in your head. All writers, but especially caregivers, feel less alone when responders validate their work.
Positive feedback opens people up and makes them eager to explore. It encourages people to do second drafts and deepen their writing. It helps develop voices.
In addition, positive feedback has the power to heal. Affirmation does that. There is always something to love in every piece of journaling. Finding and honoring it is truly a gift.
+++
B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of Writer Advice, http://www.writeradvice.com/and the author of You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers, which contains encouragement, instructions, and over 200 sentence starts to help you journal any time. E-mail her at Lgood67334 AT comcast DOT net (You know how to translate AT and DOT) to learn about her workshops.
8 comments:
Hi Lynn,
I've been anticipating your visit! I'm surprised to read about receiving feedback for journaling. I thought journaling was basically an exploration of someone's inner thoughts or feelings. A very personal experience. Which leads me to my question..... is your book designed just for aspiring writers?
I liked the comment made about how we are sharing the stories of our lives and not seekign advice. Very interesting
krystenlindsay (at) gmail (dot) com
Krysten, have you ever kept a journal or are you thinking of starting one?
As a male Writer, I found this very helpful, although I have never kept a journal, your advice can be interpreted to one's writing a manuscript as well. I have a Godson whom I trust to read my first drafts, and he is honest enough to give me his true opinions.
Your descriptive words are linked so to give the reader a vision of what you are seeing.
I enjoyed your writing.
Michael Phelps
Thank you Michael for joining us! You're right--this journal writing advice can be applied to manuscript writing as well. On a side note, we would love to hear more about your book. Please email us a synopsis at bookreviews@authorexposure.com.
I always think journaling sounds like a great idea, and I like to read about how people journal. But. . .my problem is that I already have so much writing to do, I just don't have "time" to journal too. I sort of think of my blog as a type of journal, although I am not really journaling any strong feelings. Just something I am passionate about--education and parenting. I know Lynn has had a great tour with WOW! and I hope she has gotten many more people involved in journaling through it. Thanks for hosting her today.
Margo Dill
http://margodill.com/blog/
Margo, Thanks for joining us! It was our pleasure to host Lynn yesterday. As a fellow blogger and writer, I definitely understand how difficult it is to find the time to devote to personal journaling. I think it's great that you view your blog as a type of journal.
this kind of blog always useful for blog readers, it helps people during research. your post is one of the same for blog readers.
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