Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Training Readers

This is topic Training Readers in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

I've discovered is often hard to find the comments/critiques I'm really looking when I have a non-writer read my stories. I suppose the key is asking the right questions, specific enough to make the reader consciously think about the aspects of the story I need to edit.

Have any of you discovered good ways to "train" a reader to realize their own response to a story in order to tell it back to you honestly?

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

How about giving them a copy of some of the various critiquing guidelines that are floating around? It might scare some of them off, but it should help others.

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

One thing you can do is ask your readers questions about the story. Questions like:

Were the characters believable in such and such situation.

Were there any dull moments when you wanted to stop reading?

Were you disappointed with anything?

How did you feel about this scene? Overdone? Not done enough?

Does the dialogue feel real when you read it?

Do you like the characters?

And so on... Eventually, they'll start asking themselves these questions, I suspect.

I ask my wife these questions, because usually all I get from her is "I liked it." She seems to be getting a little more critical lately... there's hope yet.

[This message has been edited by HSO (edited April 22, 2005).]

Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :

I am more interested in having the readers who critique my story train me. I want them to tell me about the experience of reading the story. Period.

If they have the experience I want them to have then I've succeeded. If they don't, then it's up to me to figure out why.

Last time I was critiqued, many of the readers said "On page six I was confused about how much time had passed. Was it two days or three days?" This showed me that I had a problem. The reader needed to be clear on how much time had passed, and I needed to re-write the passage.

But in a previous critique of another piece, many readers commented "How long was the character asleep?" In that case the POV character didn't know how long he'd been asleep, it was important to suspense that the reader not know, either.

In both cases I needed them to tell me about the experiece of reading my story. Without that feedback I would not know that one had made them feel what I wanted them to feel and the the other had not.

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

But by those questions, Doc Brown, it's clear that you have trained your readers to express their experience. I have a number of people who I've stopped giving stories to because their feedback consists of "I liked it." I ask why. "It was good?" they say.

Before giving a reader a story, try asking them to notice when they have the "Wise Reader" responses.

"Huh?" Which means they don't understand what's happening.
"Oh yeah?" Which means they don't care about what's happening.
"Don't buy it" Which means they don't believe what's happening.

Someone suggested adding "Cool" to OSC's list. Which means that they really dig what's happening.

Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :

That would be me!

I think the best way is to say, I want your reactions in the moment, as Mary says. But I don't complain much, unless someone doesn't give me much feedback.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

I think that the main point of having a non-writer read your story is to get those telling but unspecific answers. Interpreting those responses can sometimes be difficult, but basically, if someone is vague about the story, it indicates a lack of enthusiasm. At that point, you need a writer or highly experienced reader to look at it.

In other words, the main reason that we value a "test audience" of non-writers is because they will be less critical, more open to simply reading and seeing how it feels. But you have to accept that they won't be able to get very specific about what kept them from being interested in the story. You want them because they'll feel the flaws rather than see them. But once the canary faints, you don't ask it what kind of gas is in the mine.