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Writerly Play 007 – Make the Most of Feedback

Writerly Play 007 – Make the Most of Feedback

by | May 7, 2019

Writerly Play Kit: 007

Make the Most of Feedback

WP Kit: 007

Make the most of feedback

In college, I had regular acting assignments. Week after week, I’d step onto the studio floor and take on a character to the best of my ability. No matter how long or intensely I’d practiced, my professors always had suggestions for how I might improve my scene.

It took a long time for me to accept this feedback loop as a vital part of the creative process. Honestly, what I wanted was a gold star. “Wow, Naomi. Excellent job. I can’t imagine how your scene could be any better.”

As I deepened my skill set, the suggestions became more complex. Often my professors responded with some form of, “I wonder what would happen if you …” Over time, I began to understand. The feedback loop was an act of collaborative observation. Our shared goal was to deepen, develop, transform the scene. Even more importantly, our goal was to move me, the artist, forward in my creative development.

Now, I realize that feedback is a gift. Caring enough about someone else’s work to think about it and ask probing questions is not a small investment of energy. The observer may not be able to put the problem they sense into words. Their gift of “I wonder what would happen if you …” is a huge red arrow pointing to an issue that I, the artist, need to solve.

It’s easy to toss someone’s feedback away, thinking it’s irrelevant. On the other hand, we might grab hold of someone’s idea and think we must do as they say. Both responses are missing the point. To make the most of feedback, we must listen through the words to identify the underlying issue. We might try the proposed solution plus a dozen others before we find an answer. Our ultimate job is to clarify and solve the problem.

Accepting feedback requires vulnerability. We must allow others to point out our blind spots. In the process, we must accept the fact that we have blind spots. However, in the end, the resulting growth is absolutely worth it.

In this Writerly Play Kit, we’ll explore strategies, activities, and resources to help us receive the gift of feedback and make the most of it.

 

Featured articles

CREATIVE LIFE

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF FEEDBACK

In order to make the most of feedback, you must be a strong translator. Why?

Feedback doesn’t come gift-wrapped with a solution.

In fact, feedback generally points out holes, problems or weaknesses. As the creator, your job is to not panic, to hear past the comments, and to identify the true problem that’s being raised.

 

Read on ...

THREE QUESTIONS THAT MAKE

FEEDBACK ACTIONABLE

Whether you’re writing a novel, developing an app, or designing a lesson plan, your creative process will yield stronger results if you seek feedback at key points along the way. Often when we seek feedback, we want to give our advisors room. So, we ask a wide-open question along the lines of, “What do you think?” However, when we’re on the receiving end of such a question, we immediately see the problem. The most likely answer to “What do you think?” in an emotionally fraught situation is, “Ummm…”

 

So, what might you ask instead?

Read on ...

“Hard conversations, giving and receiving feedback, problem solving, ethical decision making, these are all born of vulnerability.”

-Brene Brown

The Writerly Play CAFE

To give and receive feedback is a core skill used in the Writerly Play Cafe.

We visit this space when we need collaborative time to share our work, hear from our readers, and learn from the perspective of others.

 

Explore the Cafe Further

Activities

Pin the Heart on the Problem

FOR INVENTORS

List the issues raised and then use “Why …?” to narrow in on the heart of the problem.

Try This

The Question Queue

FOR ARCHITECTS

Line up your questions and address them one by one in this structured revision approach.

Try This

And Down the Stretch they Come

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose the frontrunner issues and tackle them head-on with a quick-listing exercise.

Try This

Scramble and Sort

FOR COLLABORATORS

After collecting feedback, scramble and sort it into new categories so the group can help the writer choose a starting place for a revision.

Try This

Wondering what Writerly Play is all about?

Writerly Play is designed to help you make the most of your creative potential. Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to help you stretch your thinking skills and develop practical strategies perfectly fit for you.

Want a shortcut? If you don’t have time to read today, but want a quick win, try this quick quiz to identify your creative strengths and weaknesses:

QUIZ: What's Your Creativity Style?

Once you know what works best for you, you need a perfect-for-you plan. Writerly Play functions more like a map rather than a cookie-cutter recipe. First, you’ll locate yourself on the map. Then, with a clear understanding of where you are, you can make informed choices about your next best steps.

Writerly Play Kit 006 – Structuring Ideas

by | Apr 5, 2019

Writerly Play Kit: 006

Structure Your Ideas With Style

WP Kit: 006

Structure Your Ideas with Style

Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, the ability to step back and take a 30,000 foot view look at your project is essential. Whether you’re planning a new book, setting goals, or re-envisioning your office, there comes a point when you must think strategically … or accept the fact that you’re going to lose a lot of time wandering in the land of indecision.

Recently, I heard Brooke Castillo explain the need for strategic thinking in this way. Imagine you’re riding your bicycle somewhere far across town. You need to arrive where you’re headed urgently, so you pedal, pedal, pedal. But what if you took the time to get off the bike, climbed into your car, and fired up the GPS?

Sometimes we’re so committed to moving forward that we don’t stop to think about what might work more efficiently. Or, alternatively, we might resist strategic thinking because that’s not our biggest strength. Just as learning to be more playful in our thinking is key across every creative style, learning to be more strategic is important as well.

In this Writerly Play Kit, we’ll explore critical thinking tools and strategies that we can use to structure our stories, develop our ideas, and revise our lives and work.

 

Featured articles

CREATIVE LIFE

HOW TO reach a complex goal

Many writers spend a lot of time in their mental “Workshop,” structuring their stories, developing their writing craft, and revising their work. However, we may not apply those same cognitive skills to our careers and lives. Whether we’re storyboarding a work of fiction or our actual lives, the strategic thinking involved uses the same mental muscles. 

Do you have an exciting (and complex) goal? Let’s put those powerful mental muscles to work to figure out how to travel from where you are now to that big dream.

Read on ...

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

-Albert Einstein

The Writerly Play WORKSHOP

To structure our ideas is a core skill used in the Writerly Play Workshop.

We visit this mental space when in order to think critically–practicing storytelling craft, developing ideas, and revising. 

 

 

Explore the Workshop Further

Activities

Storyboard Like a Detective

FOR INVENTORS

Define the scenario, collect clues, and ultimately, resolve your questions. Capture your thinking on your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like an Animator

FOR COLLABORATORS

Use the Hero’s Journey to structure your storyboard discussion with a collaborator.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Reporter

FOR ARCHITECTS

Structure your thinking about a project with a reporter’s questions. Use your discoveries to shape your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Coach

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Run a few quick scenarios for your idea and then choose a game plan for your storyboard.

Try This

Wondering what Writerly Play is all about?

Writerly Play is designed to help you make the most of your creative potential. Each Writerly Play Kit is designed to help you stretch your thinking skills and develop practical strategies perfectly fit for you.

Want a shortcut? If you don’t have time to read today, but want a quick win, try this quick quiz to identify your creative strengths and weaknesses:

QUIZ: What's Your Creativity Style?

Once you know what works best for you, you need a perfect-for-you plan. Writerly Play functions more like a map rather than a cookie-cutter recipe. First, you’ll locate yourself on the map. Then, with a clear understanding of where you are, you can make informed choices about your next best steps.

Storyboard like a Detective

Storyboard like a Detective

by | Apr 2, 2019

Storyboard Like a Detective

Define the scenario, collect clues, and ultimately, resolve your questions. Capture your thinking on your storyboard.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Structuring Ideas

Time

15 – 45 minutes

THE WORKSHOP:

Storyboard Like a Detective

 Structured thinking can be difficult for Inventors. Approach the plotting process with a sense of play by tapping into your inner Sherlock Holmes. First define what you know about your storyline. Then, list your questions and choose a line of inquiry where you can start. Collect if-then clues to resolve those questions. Then, return to your list of questions. What is no longer relevant? What is still unresolved? Pick another line of inquiry, and repeat until you have a workable storyboard.

When should you storyboard your manuscript? There are a number of times in the writing process where working with a storyboard can be useful.

After idea generation, storyboarding will help you structure energetic brainstorming into a solid plan for your story. For me, the right moment is after I’ve done some full-plot brainstorming, and after I’ve drafted at least two or three scenes.

When drafting, storyboarding is an excellent get-unstuck tool. You might play a game or two to shake up your ideas and then use a storyboard to help you plug your new ideas into the plot. If you’ve already created a storyboard, you can play around with the variables to see if a change here or there might unstick your stuck moment. If not, a storyboard will give you increased clarity.

When revising, storyboarding is a powerful shortcut to help you see the effect of changes. Rather than trying to hold your entire plot in your mind while you experiment with possibilities, swap elements into and out of your storyboard to see how each change will impact your plot. Using this simplified view, you’ll be able to problem-solve with greater perspective and speed.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Colored Pencils (optional)
  • Index Cards
  • Posterboard, a White Board, or a Large Open Space (such as a wall, a tabletop, or the floor)

1. Set a timer for three minutes.

2. In that short time, capture what you know about your storyline. Stick to who, what, and where, and be as matter-of-fact as possible. Deal with any new shiny ideas the way Sherlock Holmes might … with a withering look and a dismissive attitude.

3. Considering your givens, and all of those ideas bouncing around in your mind, capture a list of questions. They might be “what if,” “why,” “how might,” or any other kind of question that needs to be solved for you to move forward.

4. Look over your list. Some questions will be related, some will be silly. Others will be clearly important. Choose a line of inquiry to follow.

5. Grab a stack of index cards. Decide how long you want to spend on the storyboard today. Save three-five minutes at the end of your work session to capture any thinking you haven’t captured on the board and don’t want to forget. Set your timer accordingly.

6. If this is your first draft of the storyboard, start your storyboard with the cards that relate to your givens. Then, use if-then thinking around your line of inquiry to define key scenes. Remember, you can always define a scene and an alternate, and decide to make your final choice later. Put one scene on each card, using an interesting title and images if you like.

7. If you’ve already created a storyboard for this project, begin with the cards on your board. Write new scenes on cards and add them to the board, pulling off cards that are no longer relevant.

8. When you reach problem spots, or gaps between one major scene and another, use your Sherlock Holmes logic to find a possible way from one scene to the next, and then test that theory. Does it work? What might strengthen it? Would an alternate option be better?

9. Depending on how much time you’ve allotted for this activity, you can spend time now experimenting with variables, or just capture the givens for a scene and plan to play with possibilities later when it’s time to draft that scene.

9. Wrap up your storyboarding session by writing yourself a quick set of notes about any outstanding questions. You might just highlight what’s left on your original list, or write a new summary.

Don’t forget! If you can’t store your storyboard as is, number your cards (in pencil) so it will be easy to lay them out in this same order again.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Storyboard Like a Coach

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Run a few quick scenarios for your idea and then choose a game plan for your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like an Animator

FOR COLLABORATORS

Use the Hero’s Journey to structure your storyboard discussion with a collaborator.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Reporter

FOR ARCHITECTS

Structure your thinking about a project with a reporter’s questions. Use your discoveries to shape your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard like a Coach

Storyboard like a Coach

by | Apr 2, 2019

Storyboard Like a Coach

Run a few quick scenarios for your idea and then choose a game plan.

Style

Special Agent

Skill

Structuring Ideas

Time

15 -30 mins

THE WORKSHOP:

Storyboard Like a Coach

Imagine yourself in a locker room with a white board, going over game play with your coach. In this version of storyboarding, you sketch your possibilities out as quickly as possible, and then snap a photo of what you think will work better. You don’t have to know all the specifics, just the general movements across the field. Plus, you can plan for the surprises that might pop up along the way.

When should you storyboard your manuscript? There are a number of times in the writing process where working with a storyboard can be useful.

After idea generation, storyboarding will help you structure energetic brainstorming into a solid plan for your story. For me, the right moment is after I’ve done some full-plot brainstorming, and after I’ve drafted at least two or three scenes.

When drafting, storyboarding is an excellent get-unstuck tool. You might play a game or two to shake up your ideas and then use a storyboard to help you plug your new ideas into the plot. If you’ve already created a storyboard, you can play around with the variables to see if a change here or there might unstick your stuck moment. If not, a storyboard will give you increased clarity.

When revising, storyboarding is a powerful shortcut to help you see the effect of changes. Rather than trying to hold your entire plot in your mind while you experiment with possibilities, swap elements into and out of your storyboard to see how each change will impact your plot. Using this simplified view, you’ll be able to problem-solve with greater perspective and speed.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer
  • White Board
  • Dry erase markers
  • Camera

1. Set a timer for three minutes.

2. In that short time, mentally play through your story.

  • How does the story begin?
  • What key things happen in the middle?
  • Where and how does the climax take place?
  • Why does this problem or opportunity matter to your character?
  • How does the story resolve?

3. Once the time is up, it’s time to storyboard. Grab your dry erase markers. Decide how long you want to spend on the storyboard today. Save three-five minutes at the end of your work session to capture any thinking you haven’t captured on the board and don’t want to forget. Set your timer accordingly.

4. If this is your first draft of the storyboard, draw out a simple map of your story on the board. Use simple symbols, as a coach would (think x’s and o’s), and labels where they’re helpful.

5. If you’ve already created a storyboard for this project, reference your past material. You might have a photo or the actual board. You can use those pieces of info to help sketch this map.

6. When you reach problem spots, or gaps between one major scene and another, think like a play-maker. If this problem arises, how might I bypass it? How might I use it to my benefit?

7. Depending on how much time you’ve allotted for this activity, you can spend time now experimenting with variables, or just capture the givens for a scene and plan to play with possibilities later when it’s time to draft that scene.

8. Wrap up your storyboarding session by writing yourself a quick set of notes. What is left to be considered? Are certain sections of the plan weaker than others? Note whatever you don’t want to forget and keep those notes with your photo of the completed white board.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Storyboard Like a Detective

FOR INVENTORS

Define the scenario, collect clues, and ultimately, resolve your questions. Capture your thinking on your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like an Animator

FOR COLLABORATORS

Use the Hero’s Journey to structure your storyboard discussion with a collaborator.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Reporter

FOR ARCHITECTS

Structure your thinking about a project with a reporter’s questions. Use your discoveries to shape your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard like a Reporter

Storyboard like a Reporter

by | Apr 2, 2019

Storyboard like a Reporter

Structure your thinking about a project with a reporter’s “w” questions and then use your discoveries to shape your storyboard.

Style

Architect

Skill

Structuring Ideas

Time

15 – 45 minutes

THE WORKSHOP:

Storyboard like a Reporter

 

When reporters gather the elements of a story, they look for the who, what, where, when, why, and how. As an Architect, you can play to your strengths by using these questions in both phases of the storyboarding process. When you’re storyboarding your overall plot arc, use these categories to guide your big-picture thinking to make sure you’ve covered your bases. When you’re dealing with the details of each scene and problem-solving, use the categories to focus your attention on what matters most.

When should you storyboard your manuscript? There are a number of times in the writing process where working with a storyboard can be useful.

After idea generation, storyboarding will help you structure energetic brainstorming into a solid plan for your story. For me, the right moment is after I’ve done some full-plot brainstorming, and after I’ve drafted at least two or three scenes.

When drafting, storyboarding is an excellent get-unstuck tool. You might play a game or two to shake up your ideas and then use a storyboard to help you plug your new ideas into the plot. If you’ve already created a storyboard, you can play around with the variables to see if a change here or there might unstick your stuck moment. If not, a storyboard will give you increased clarity.

When revising, storyboarding is a powerful shortcut to help you see the effect of changes. Rather than trying to hold your entire plot in your mind while you experiment with possibilities, swap elements into and out of your storyboard to see how each change will impact your plot. Using this simplified view, you’ll be able to problem-solve with greater perspective and speed.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Index Cards
  • Posterboard, a White Board, or a Large Open Space (such as a wall, a tabletop, or the floor)

1. Set a timer for three minutes.

2. In that short time, summarize your story by answering the following questions. Make sure to use quick bullet points rather than long-form sentences.

  • Who is your story about?
  • What problem or opportunity shows up in the story?
  • Where and when (in general) does the story take place?
  • Why does this problem or opportunity matter to your character?
  • How do they tackle it? How does the story resolve?

3. Once the time is up, it’s time to storyboard. Grab a stack of index cards. Decide how long you want to spend on the storyboard today. Save three-five minutes at the end of your work session to capture any thinking you haven’t captured on the board and don’t want to forget. Set your timer accordingly.

4. If this is your first draft of the storyboard, use your summary to spark ideas for the scenes you need. Put one scene on each card, using an interesting title.

5. If you’ve already created a storyboard for this project, compare your current summary to the cards on your board. Write new scenes on cards and add them to the board, pulling off cards that are no longer relevant.

6. When you reach problem spots, or gaps between one major scene and another, use your reporter questions to define scene possibilities.

  • Who could be in the scene?
  • What needs to happen?
  • Where and when might the scene take place?
  • Why would it be important to your character?
  • How would your main character act? How would others in the scene act?

7. Depending on how much time you’ve allotted for this activity, you can spend time now experimenting with variables, or just capture the givens for a scene and plan to play with possibilities later when it’s time to draft that scene.

8. Wrap up your storyboarding session by writing yourself a quick set of notes about any outstanding issues.

  • Who needs additional scenes or growth in the story?
  • What scenes need to be developed more strongly, reconsidered, or added?
  • Is there any room to experiment with your where and when in particular areas of your story?
  • Is the why ever unclear? What motivations should you spend more time thinking about?
  • How strong are the actions of your key characters? Are there areas where you’d like to take a second look?

Don’t forget! If you can’t store your storyboard as is, number your cards (in pencil) so it will be easy to lay them out in this same order again.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Storyboard Like a Detective

FOR INVENTORS

Define the scenario, collect clues, and ultimately, resolve your questions. Capture your thinking on your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like an Animator

FOR COLLABORATORS

Use the Hero’s Journey to structure your storyboard discussion with a collaborator.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Coach

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Run a few quick scenarios for your idea and then choose a game plan for your storyboard.

Try This