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 Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:04 am
Welcome to the Review Writing Thread
Reviews are an essential part of the writing process. They help us understand if we are doing all we can as writers to reach readers. You learn what areas of grammar and/or story telling you need to focus on or that you have a good mastery with, and what readers enjoy seeing you write in general. However, many writers forget a simple fact about reviews. If you want reviews, you need to give them to others. And not just the casual “Love this story, nice job” comment, no, because while nice it does nothing to encourage further growth as a writer or showcase that you as a reader really connected with and took the time to read the story thoroughly.
That is what this Thread is going to try and help mend. Here is where we, as fellow guild members, will actually read over various stories, and post up reviews. We will also read over the reviews posted here and analyze them. This is to help each other become better reviewers, and by extension, better writers.
It is a known truth, that my English Professors often state, that to become better writers, whether of prose or poetry, you as the writer need to read. Reading a large variety of things only adds to your knowledge of literature and can only serve to make your writing better. It doesn’t even matter if you enjoy what you are reading, because, if you are finding something you are not enjoying then you are learning about things that you dislike in literature, that don’t work for you. And knowing what, specifically, makes you think positively and negatively during your reading process will help you turn it around and use that knowledge for your writing.
Now for the Workshop work: To begin with, we will not be reading any fanfiction stories. Instead I have picked and posted links to a few short stories and a poem that members can all go and read and then come back and post their reply to it here.
You are not required to write reviews for ALL of them, unless you wish to. But you need to review at least 2 of them, that way we can see your reading and reviewing style.
Remember we are going to be helping each other in our reviewing process, so for this first exercise please try not to do anything out of the norm for you when you review. If you just usually state whether you liked something or didn’t, then go ahead and do that. We are human, and so by definition, no one is perfect. You are not expected to leave a perfect review, just do what you normally would and post it here.
Once you have posted at least one review, you may begin commenting on the reviews other members have posted.Any Questions about this Workshop, please post them in the guild’s Questions Topic or send a Gaia PM to Umi Pryde
You can make a story and/or poem suggestion for review through a PM to Umi Pryde with the link and name of the piece. A few more to the list would be welcome.Here are the Short Stories, and the Poem to Review:
1) The Card : by James Ross
2) Phase in Space : by Paul O’Neill
3) David’s Haircut : by Ken Elkes
4) The Other Option : by Jamie Brindle (this is the only story with a rating over age 13, it is rated 15 +)
5) “Today” by Billy Collins ( I chose him, as he is a relatively easy poet to read for most people )
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:16 am
Lelandra Review # 1 For : Phase in Space by Paul O'Neill
First off, may I just say poor Phase. Love the turnaround at the end, I was right there with Phase’s line of thinking myself.
This certainly was an enjoyable short and funny read. I like the subtle introduction into events, there aren’t many details, but then that serves the purpose of the story just fine. Part of the excitement about this story is the lack of full vision of this planet and what is happening until the very end.
You get everything you need for this story and it only took a page. Nicely done.
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Reply
