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September 21, 2015 3 Comments

#18: Bless, Address, or Press

Decide what level of input you truly want. Then ask the person or group to bless, address, or press your piece.

 

[Note: The audio uses the word “assess” but the National Writing Project (NWP) used the word “address” so I have adjusted the written content to align with NWP. The written content offers only a glimpse of the topic, not a transcription. This episode is about six minutes long.]

The last couple of podcast episodes have focused how to affirm the writer in your life who has asked for input—and how to err on the side of encouragement.

As a continuation of this discussion, I’d like to share with you an idea for how you can ask for input from individuals or groups. First, decide what level of input you truly want. Then ask the person or group to bless your piece, address your piece, or press your piece.

This bless, address, or press idea originates with the National Writing Project for teachers, which I heard about from my friend Kris. Here’s the basic idea.

Bless

If you want the reader to bless your work, you want encouragement for what is working, but not necessarily feedback on what’s not working. You ask for “bless” when you truly want your reviewer to only affirm, affirm, affirm.

Address

When you ask the person to address your work, you ask for him or her to address one specific problem or concern. Focus in on something you’re unsure about—something that an outside reader’s response would help you sort out. Be specific. For example, should this person critique the organization or tone of your piece? Does the idea make sense or need more evidence to support what you’re saying, or more examples to be better understood?

Press

When you ask for someone to press, you want the reviewer or editor to press into your work at all levels, offering constructive criticism to help the project improve in any way, from idea and organizational levels down to later concerns such as grammar and punctuation. Again, when someone presses your work, he can bless your work, as well as assess specific concerns you might throw out.

If you don’t ask for a specific level, you might be hoping for someone to address your work, giving high-level organizational input, only to see that person press your work, offering a sea of red ink focused on placement of commas and semicolons.

Writer: Thank the Reviewer

When you receive the reviewer’s input, remember this person has taken time to read and respond and provide the input you requested. Someone is investing in your writing life—someone believes in you. Thank them. Maybe take them out to lunch!

You can more easily ask for follow-up input on a revision when you have professional arrangements that include more give and take—for example, this kind of second-round review process could be built into a class, a writing group’s workshop process, a writing partnership, or a writing coach and client relationship.

Reviewer: Ask the Writer What Level Input to Provide

You can also use these three levels if you’ve been asked to give input. Confirm with the writer, “Do you want me to bless, address, or press your piece?” If the writer has never heard of these terms, you can introduce the ideas, providing a common language and understanding.

Do your best to stick with that level of feedback, remembering that good writing requires a level of risk—writers are putting themselves out there when they produce something and ask for input. So if you’re reviewing at the address or press level, remember to bless them, too. Like I’ve said before, show them where they shine.

Bless, Assess, or Press - The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker podcast

Decide what level of input you truly want. Then ask the person or group to bless your piece, asses your piece, or press your piece. - The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker podcast (via annkroeker.com)

Related resource:

  • NWP Writing and Technology: A Professional Writing Retreat
    Guidelines for Response Groupspodcast The Writing Life AK

* * *

Listen for the full podcast (6:13 mins). You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes and Stitcher.

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Comments

  1. Mzhyde17 says

    November 22, 2018 at 11:17 am

    Hi, Im listening to your podcast on spotify. I am an aspiring writer and absolutly love your podcast. It is very helpfull even though I have only just started it today. I hope to learn a lot from your podcast and start some great writing habbits based off of yur advice.

    Reply
    • Ann Kroeker says

      November 26, 2018 at 1:21 pm

      I’m so glad! I hope your writing takes off as you develop and establish those habits. Thank you for taking time to listen, read, and leave this note of encouragement!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Accept Constructive Criticism {Day 26 :: Accept} - Five Minute Friday says:
    October 26, 2019 at 6:02 am

    […] from them. Ann Kroeker offers three helpful “categories” in one of her podcast episodes: bless, address, or press. She encourages writers to be specific about whether they’re looking for positive comments only […]

    Reply

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