Education · Advice & Questions · Oct 17

Do I have to follow every suggestion in creative-writing feedback to show that I've revised?

Education

My tutor wrote, "Consider letting the sister forgive him here." I changed the ending, read it aloud, and realised I no longer believed the last page.

It's a short story for a writing class. In my original ending the siblings speak again, but the sister keeps the spare key he returned. The tutor says the reconciliation feels incomplete. That's partly what I wanted: they are talking, but the lost trust isn't magically back.

Our revised submission needs a brief account of the changes. A classmate says ignoring a suggestion makes it look as though I didn't use the feedback. I don't want to keep a weak ending just because it's mine, and I don't want to treat "consider" as an instruction to change what the story means. How could I test the tutor's criticism and explain my choice if I keep an unresolved ending?

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2 community replies

@northstar88

The key seems to carry the distinction you want: renewed contact without full trust. Ask whether the tutor found that distinction unclear or simply wanted a different outcome. Those are different reasons to revise the scene.

@softfocus

Your classmate is guessing about the assessment. Check what the revision account asks you to demonstrate. It may require you to respond thoughtfully to feedback; that doesn't automatically mean every proposed plot change is compulsory.

Do I have to follow every suggestion in creative-writing feedback to show that I've revised?

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