A Note About Critique and Feedback at Boyds Mills

Most of our full-length workshops, whether in-person or online, include opportunities for sharing, discussion, and, in some cases, written feedback.

We approach this work with two core beliefs:

  1. You hold the roadmap to your story, and our role is to support you and offer tools along the way.
  2. Storytelling is rooted in communication. Engaging with other creatives helps clarify and strengthen what you bring to the page.

What Feedback Looks Like at Boyds Mills 

Feedback can take many forms depending on the workshop, including informal sharing, one-to-one consultations, peer critiques, page reviews, or full manuscript discussions. Each workshop outlines its specific format and schedule in advance, so you can choose what best fits your goals and working style.

What Feedback Feels Like at Boyds Mills

  • While formats vary, our philosophy stays the same: this is your story. We center feedback through questions rather than telling you what you should do. We won’t rewrite your work or take it out of your voice. Instead, we’ll ask guiding questions, invite you to identify areas where you want support, and offer ideas to help you move forward.
  • If something in a piece raises concerns around harm or stereotyping, we will address it directly.
  • These same principles guide peer critique spaces as well.

Processing Your Feedback

  • Feedback often opens new ways of thinking, and everyone processes it differently. Sometimes immediately you hear or feel a certain way about your feedback, sometimes it takes time. We encourage you to come ready to listen, reflect, and engage with care, and know that we can give you space when you need it to process your feedback and feelings.
  • If you’d like support as you process feedback or explore revision ideas, we’re here for that. We also encourage you to stay connected with your writing community and to reach out if you’re new to giving or receiving feedback.

You know the story you need to tell and our feedback philosophy has us take a supportive approach to help you tell it!