Edwina Shaw

Retreaters writing and giving and receiving feedback at our April Retreat.

When we are working on a story we can get lost in the forest of words and can’t see a way through. Other writers can help. And we can help them find a way out of their own dark woods.

One thing I know for sure is that I’ve learnt the most about writing from giving feedback on other writer’s stories. It’s so much easier to see where things are getting off track in someone else’s writing, than in your own.

Why?

In our own stories we live in that world we’ve created. We fill in all the missing gaps and plot holes that may be on the page with the thousands of extra unwritten pages in our heads. We know why that character is acting so strangely (it was their terrible battle for attention with their sister in childhood) but we can’t see that the reason hasn’t made it to the writing.

We sort of know when there’s a plot hole but think perhaps no one else will notice. Sorry to say, they do!

The same thing happens with proofreading, our eyes no longer see the words on the page, only the words we expect to be there. We need other eyes. Eyes that haven’t been living the story as we wrote it. Eyes that see only what’s made it to the page and what’s missing, or what can go. Yes, those bits, the darlings that have to go. All those extra trees, blocking our view of the path!

Don’t struggle on alone with your project, get some feedback from other writers who are kind and understand that writing a book is no easy task. Writers need each other. Yes, we mostly like to write alone, though all those people who produce great work at Writing Fridays in QLD and in other writing groups like company, but ALL writers need other writers to help them see their work more clearly and bring it to publication standard.

If you are searching for Beta Readers who are writers, then join or start a small writers’ group where you can exchange work and give constructive advice on how to fix any flaws.

I like to keep my writing groups small, four or five or even less will do. I’ve met my writing group buddies through attending retreats and workshops, writers’ festivals and even on buses.

Writing group meetings can be lots of fun!

Team up with a few like-minded people on the same writing path as they understand the Herculean task of writing a book and will be able to give you helpful feedback, not just the “jolly goods” from family.

Here are some simple tips to help you give and receive feedback on your writing.

HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK

First do no harm. Remember that writers are sensitive folk. Be gentle in your feedback but also helpful.

The aim is to make the piece of work the best it can be, while keeping the writer’s heart and soul intact.

When giving feedback keep the work as the subject. EG: This chapter isn’t working as well as others or This sentence is hard to understand. Avoid making anything personal by not using “you”. Eg: “You write like you don’t know that character at all”. Instead, “That character isn’t as fully developed as the others”.

Give your emotional response as you read through. Are you feeling happy for the character here? Or afraid?

Notice what’s working well, and what areas aren’t.

Praise what is working – here you can be personal – You did a great job with that scene! – and gently point out areas that need more work.

Give tips on how to remedy the problem.

WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

STRUCTURAL STUFF

Is there a hook? What’s grabbing the reader’s interest and keeping them reading?

What’s the central quest or question? – is there a through line that carries the piece?

What’s at stake? Is enough at stake?

Point of View – is the right person telling the story. If multiple POV characters, are the right ones telling the right bits. Is the writer head hopping rather than staying in the POV character’s voice?

Is it starting at the right place? Where else could it start? Start with a hook!

Does it end in the right place? Each chapter, each scene.

Is anything slowing the story down? Is it compelling or are there a lot of scenes that aren’t really going anywhere or moving the story forward?

Characters: Are they engaging? Do you empathise with them, or at least find them amusing if they’re not meant to be likeable? Is the main character making decisions and taking action, changing and growing?

Are there SCENES? Or is the writer telling and not showing?

Is it making sense?

Setting. Can you clearly envision where action or dialogue is taking place?

Is dialogue used? Is it working well? How can it be improved?

LINE EDITING

Trim down unnecessary adjectives and adverbs

Remove all extra padding from sentences. Each sentence should be easy to understand and get the intended meaning across clearly, without extra words getting in the way.

For more on line-editing see SELF EDITING 101.

The main thing to remember when giving feedback is that writers are sensitive souls, their writing is precious to them and they’ve worked hard on what you’re reading. Be gentle and encouraging, but also help them to improve their work with specific, story related and framed advice.

Keep your advice constructive. Not, “You suck at dialogue” but “The dialogue in this section doesn’t sound natural yet”.

Always find at least three good things in every piece to balance out the criticisms. Start and end with the positives – even if you have to repeat them.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com This may be how you feel on the inside, but try to look and act more like the image below.

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com Trapped between a rock and a hard place but still smiling 🙂

HOW TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK

First, get your story into the best possible shape you can and present it professionally. Then put on your big girl pants and send it out, knowing that this process will improve your story and help you to develop as a writer. I like to do direct swaps so both parties are going to be receiving critiques simultaneously – fair is fair.

Ask specific questions about the advice you’re seeking – eg: Is this character working? or Tell me where it gets boring. Or Am I starting in the right place? Am I head jumping? Am I writing in scenes?

When you get the feedback. Stay quiet. Just let the other person give their opinion and resist the urge to jump in straight away in defence of your work. Just listen to the critique all the way through. Say thank you.

Remember people are taking the time to read your work and help you improve it. They are trying to be useful and to help you make your piece the best it can be.

Don’t take critiques personally. Don’t react immediately and leap into a new draft.

Let the feedback settle for a few days at least.

Most of all TRUST YOUR GUT. You’ll know what criticism feels right. “Oh yeah, I thought that character was kind of blah”, or “I knew I should’ve started there! YES!”.

You are the writer, and YOU HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OVER YOUR WORK. You make the ultimate decision over what feedback to accept and what to let go. Take your time and be kind to yourself.

BOTH PARTIES

Be respectful and kind at all times.

Have fun and enjoy helping each other.

Photo by Zen Chung on Pexels.com Writing buddies become great friends.

Sharing our writing in this most intimate way, assisting our writing friends to polish their work to high standard and receiving their comments on ours with grace, is a great joy. Who else gets to sit around together talking about characters as if they’re real and then decide what we’ll do to them next?

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER if you’d like to join our Writing Buddies Facebook Group and for other special retreat discounts.

My Feedback and Revision Relax and Write Retreat is coming up soon! We’re full to the brim with eager beavers ready to share their work with others and learn all the tricks for self-editing and submitting to publishers.

If you’d like to join us in August 2025 and set that as your date for finishing your first draft (or second or third or tenth) then just drop me a line!

Places are still available for our Memoir and Life Writing Retreat October 18 – 20 in beautiful Springbrook in the Gold Coast hinterland. Prices start at only $550!! Check it out HERE

Heavenly Hoi An (February 10 – 16 2025) and Blissful Bali (23 – 29 June 2025) are now open for booking. Are you ready for one of these grand and wonderful writing adventures? Hope so! I’d love to see you in one of these beautiful places writing up a storm. BOOK NOW and grab your spot.

Me and the lovely Laurie checking out HOI AN old town at the Vietnam retreat earlier this year,

Do you have a writing group? A writing buddy? What works best for you and your stories?

Let me know. I hope these tips have been useful.

Have a wonderful writing day!

Lots of love

Edwina xx

Happy campers with our vision boards, freshly minted.

The magic of Bali and the kindness of the people worked their miracles again this year on retreat. With a small group due to some last-minute mishaps, (poor chookies, luckily we ask all participants to hold comprehensive travel insurance) we were able to spread out over the beautiful grounds of Bali Ecostay and enjoy the peace and privacy of our exclusive use of the unique open air bungalows, lulled by the ever-present music of the stream running through the property and powering our lights. With water drinkable straight from the taps, sourced from Bali Ecostay’s own spring, and all organic bath products as well as delicious food prepared with love and sourced from their own incredible permaculture gardens and food forest, we were able to totally relax into the Bali of days gone by.

Every day the local elder, dressed in traditional garb, prepared floral offerings and delivered them to our bungalows, the temples in the gardens, and to the sacred waterfall, making every day feel blessed indeed. On our first day the local women dressed us up in traditional kebayas with sashes and taught us how to prepare our own floral tributes then led us to the temple to offer them to the gods of the property, the river and the village, to bless us all, and all the staff. We even blessed the kitchen utensils! To close the ceremony, we daubed our foreheads and throats with grains of rice, tucked flowers behind our ears and scattered them through our hair. Such a beautiful ritual and an honour to be included in this sacred ceremony.

As usual on our writing retreats, our greatest joy is watching new writing friendships blossom. Writing can be a lonely business so connecting with other like-minded souls in a supported environment is a special element of these writing adventures away from home. From Victoria, with 35 books under her belt, to Carol, right at the start of her writing journey, to Kylie straight out of the outback sharing her hilarious stories about bulls, to Yvonne writing of her battle with debilitating illness, to Yuan fascinating us with stories of her great-grandmother who was a Chinese pirate of the south seas, we had an intriguing group, growing closer through the week, until we all felt like sisters by the last morning, sad to say goodbye. So much creativity and inspiration and many epiphanies about projects underway and new projects to begin. Because all activities are optional on our retreats you are free to create the retreat you most need – lots of learning or lots of writing time. Interaction or time alone.

Our mornings began with gentle yoga in the spectacular open-air yoga shala, a mandala of fresh petals at the centre, incense and flowers scenting the air. Then to a plentiful breakfast – fresh tropical fruit, coconut yoghurt, toast, eggs, tomatoes, fresh delicious greens, coffee grown on the property, ginger tea for me, plus pancakes with butter and sugar palm syrup and homemade jam and other sweet treats depending on the day. Yes, we were stuffed like Christmas geese! Luckily many scenic walks through the food forests to the waterfall and spectacular rice paddies are easy to find. And writing takes energy too!

The morning workshops were fun and interactive as well as informative and inspirational, incorporating guided meditations to get our retreaters writing up a storm. From freewriting to carefully curated prompts, to sharing craft knowledge and know-how on structure and all aspects of creative writing, these workshops incorporate sharing and discussion as all voices and input is valued and appreciated. It’s basically an entire university course on creative writing crammed into a week, so retreaters needed to put on their brain-caps, and wear their happy pants too.

Afternoons were reserved for rest, writing, adventures, swims in the waterfall, and one on one feedback sessions with Kerstin and I, plus tarot readings later in the week to offer new insights as participants prepare to move into a new phase of their lives after the retreat – empowered and believing in their right to tell their stories, rewrite the past and create a brave new future of their own making.

As the sun set each day, we gathered again in the yoga shala for some calming yoga breathing (pranayama) to clear our minds, relax deeply and prepare for a restful night. Cocktails and glasses of wine were ordered as our lovely kitchen ladies brought out our dinners, each one delicious and followed by scrumptious desserts. Everyone had their favourite. I love the black sticky rice pudding with hot coconut cream. Kerstin craved the lime dairy free cheesecake, or was it the dairy free chocolate gelato or chocolate pie? Let’s just say we feasted happily without having to lift a finger!

First collage by the very lovely artist and writer, Julie Parsons

On the final day we discussed publishing options and got our heads around submitting our work and, as is traditional in the final session, we left words behind and used collage to create vision boards for the future using images and colour. We shared what we’d created and our dreams, laughed and encouraged each other as we set intentions for the lives we want to lead, and the pain we want to leave behind. Our final night bonfire took our pain and our dreams to heaven as we stood together by the rice fields dancing with fireflies, creating light of our own. Our readings night saw both laughter and tears, with people sharing work and testing their voices, inspiring us all.

As always, I found this retreat richly rewarding, connecting with many special writing souls who gave as much as they received. So thank you my dear new friends for sharing this special week with Kerstin and I and for giving so much of yourselves, for supporting each other, for listening and for speaking up, for your writing, your inspiring creativity and your kindness, laughter and smiles.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s the people who come along on these retreats that make them so special. THANK YOU!

Are you ready for a grand adventure? Bookings are now open for Blissful Bali 2025 June 23 – 29. All the info here.

In 2025 we have Vietnam in February (10 – 16) also open for bookings, Bali in June, Italy in October and introducing our first Writing for Wellness Retreat in Byron Bay in November. You can book both Vietnam and Bali now and we’re working on getting the others up as soon as possible.

Super keen? Make sure you’re the first to know by joining the waitlist for your preferred retreat. Just drop me a line and I’ll add you to the list. And for all the latest retreat news, writing advice and publishing opportunities subscribe to my newsletter.