Infinite feedback loop

Today I finally managed to send some feedback to one of the friends who gave me feedback on my stuff, and whose NaNoWriMo novel I'll be reading at some point to give feedback on that...

I used to be better at feedback/critique, I think. I studied Creative Writing at university, and the group feedback sessions were a pretty big part of the whole thing. It was generally a lot easier to critique their stuff than it is to critique my NaNo group's, because many of them tended towards cliches much of the time. That seems less common among my lot, possibly because all of those from whom I've read stuff are, ahem, a few years out of uni and better read as a result.

Also, probably, I'm out of practice.

It is very difficult to critique something good, though. You'd think the few flaws would stand out more than ever - and that might be true for typos - but think about it. Think about your favourite films or books. They're not flawless (nothing is). But if they're good, if you're enjoying reading or watching them, you forgive them the odd fumble here and there. You wince at the clunky line and let it slide by. You handwave your own explanation for the minor inconsistency. You flagrantly ignore the giant plothole in the basic setup.

So it's much, much harder to remember to point out these flaws that we've trained ourselves to ignore when we're trying to help our fellow writers polish up the next draft. It often feels like nitpicking, like we're bent over the manuscript in candlelight, muttering wildly to ourselves that they won't get away with it this time and cackling into the night when we find something to pounce upon...

Or maybe that's just me. I do all my best critiquing in the crypt, swathed in black cloak.

I know, though, that for my stuff I'd much rather have the cackling circles around every typo or unnecessary adverb (leave the necessary ones alone, all of you waiting with your red pens uncapped already) than have the entirety of the feedback read, "Yeah, I liked it."

That's why I try (and don't always succeed) to point out anything I can. It would be a darn sight easier if people didn't write such enjoyable first drafts, that's all.