There's no shortage of critics once your movie is made or your book is published, but how to get useful feedback on your drafts? Friends may be afraid to say anything negative because they don't want to offend you or hurt your feelings. The other day I heard an interview with Michael Arndt, who wrote the delightful Little Miss Sunshine, and he has a great strategy for this.
He gives his friends a form to fill out. On it, they are asked to rate from 1 to 10 how well each of the major characters comes across, and how effective they felt each of the major scenes is. He also gives them a list of ten things he thinks might be wrong with the script and asks them to rate to what extent (again, 1 to 10) they believe each item actually is problematic.
He said the form gives people a context within which they can be honest and express both positive and negative responses. By admitting up front that the script or manuscript has some problems, you show them they don't need to be afraid to be honest, and the form gives them a context in which they can express both positive and negative comments.
