The Magic Question: Getting Real Feedback You Can Actually Use

Show your pretty necklace.

Just look at those beautifully dropped shoulders!

By Allison K Williams

A writer asked,

I wrote a short story recently, which wasn’t very good, and some people left comments complimenting it, but they were being nice, instead of telling me how they really felt. How do I politely ask them not to spare my feelings? While I appreciate the kindness, I wrote the thing as practice and would appreciate criticism, since I want to become a better writer.

There’s...