Please, Give Me the Constructive Feedback I Need to Improve!

It feels great to be told, “Awesome article!” or “Interesting read!”

It builds your self-confidence as a writer and encourages you to continue on. Both of which are very important when you’re a fledgling wordsmith just beginning to embrace your identity as a writer.

But they’re a bit like dessert. These compliments are sweet, sugary, and enjoyable. You arguably need them for the wholesomeness of your soul and they’re a great motivation to eat your vegetables, but they’re lacking in nutrition.

Constructive feedback is the nutrition that writers need. Without constructive feedback, we don’t grow as writers.

We can write daily and explore to find our voice, but we’ll also be practicing our mistakes. Our bad habits will be all the harder to break as we settle into our writing ways. Our self-confidence will be built on an unstable foundation, easily blown away at the first sight of someone who cares enough to take the time to offer us true constructive feedback.

It’s not easy being told “Who cares?” or “I don’t understand why you wrote this in the first place.” But I implore you to welcome those people into your writing lives with open arms and to hang on to them because they are the ones who will make you a better writer.

On the flip side, it is not always easy to offer constructive feedback. It takes a lot of time, patience, and effort because you inevitably invest a little bit of yourself in another person’s work. I’m sure it’s also very tiring to continually see the same mistakes over and over again.

It’s far easier to wave someone along with a generic, “Interesting idea” when in truth, you think their article didn’t flow smoothly, you aren’t sure if even they know the point they’re trying to make, and it’s painstakingly clear they aren’t using Grammarly.

And sometimes, people aren’t ready and aren’t looking for constructive feedback. That’s fine too.

But personally, if you’re taking the time and effort to read my writing, I want to ensure I’m delivering a top-quality product to you. I want to improve and I want to get better at writing. So if you ever have any feedback or critique for me, please don’t be a stranger. Reach out and let me know. I will thank you graciously for it.

I don’t just welcome constructive feedback; I need it.