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Young Writers Society


The Review-Reviewer <prefers payment in the form of pizza>



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277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Fri May 25, 2012 3:55 am
Master_Yoda says...



Reviewing, like reading and writing, can be a great way to improve your craft as a writer. It can also be a tedious exercise that helps neither you, nor the writer. I have started this thread as a way to help members both give and take the most with their reviews.

As many of you know, the unwritten rule of YWS reviews has always been that we don't critique the reviews of other members. Well, now you have the opportunity to have your reviews critiqued if you so desire.

Post a link to one of your reviews on this thread, and I will do the following:
1) Read through the piece you critiqued.
2) Assess your the content of your critique on validity, helpfulness, and clarity.
3) I will then write up a review of your review, and make suggestions as to how you might go about making your reviews more useful to the author and to yourself.

I will not:
1) Try to force any rigid system of review on you. The format your review takes is your business.
2) Remark on your harshness or sweetness of the tone you take with the author. This too is a judgement call only you can make.
3) Sugarcoat my own opinions of your reviews. If you cannot take criticism, this is not the thread for you.

So, let's get to it.

Here are the review-reviews that I have done so far:
1. work.php?id=94906
2. work.php?id=95685
3. work.php?id=93732
4. work.php?id=96109#comments

Requested normal reviews:
1. work.php?id=96161
Last edited by Master_Yoda on Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:41 am, edited 4 times in total.
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





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53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Sat May 26, 2012 10:59 pm
zohali93 says...



Hey there!
I'm new to the review thing. Only did 6 so far. This is the longest I ever did, If you don't mind could you check if it was alright please? (Review my review please lol) :)

work.php?id=94906
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  





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277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Tue May 29, 2012 8:52 pm
Master_Yoda says...



Your's is done, Zohali. Who's my next victim?
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





User avatar
53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Thu May 31, 2012 8:51 pm
zohali93 says...



Thanks so much! I suck at reviewing sorry. You wrote something at the end about the writers mind and charecter.... Something like that. What did you mean exactly?

thanks again. I think I'll come here again later if you'll allow it, though I may still miss a lot of something in my reviews.
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  





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277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:14 am
Master_Yoda says...



Hey Zohali,

Glad you found it useful. You don't need to get everything in your reviews, just the stuff that you feel is important for the writer to focus on.

Just to elaborate on my final point, people naturally draw on their experiences when they write. This isn't negative, but when we do not keep our emotions in check, they sometimes make us lose control over our stories. As a reviewer, you need to ensure that the writer is aware that their emotions got the better of them.

Lack of emotional control manifests itself in many ways. Mary Sue characters, chronic depressive behavior by characters, and character fandoms that don't support character development are just some of these ways. One of the most helpful things you can do as a reviewer is highlight the flaws that come as a result of emotional attachment to story and characters.
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





User avatar
53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Sun Jun 03, 2012 3:34 pm
zohali93 says...



I reviewed this other peice of work.
work.php?id=95685

Could you review that too please?
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  





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277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Wed Jun 06, 2012 2:25 am
Master_Yoda says...



Done Zohali.

Any more takers?
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





User avatar
202 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 10840
Reviews: 202
Wed Jun 06, 2012 9:19 am
Blues says...



Hi there, Yoda. I reviewed this for a friend and I've never reviewed poetry before as I don't know how. Would you mind if you could tell me how to improve in my poetry reviews?


Payment:
Spoiler! :
A big, not resized virtual pizza:Image

http://www.pizzahut.com in case you'd like to eat a real pizza ^^


Many thanks!
Last edited by Blues on Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  





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53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:46 am
zohali93 says...



Isn't the tense just part of grammar? I only wrote grammar because I didn't kow what exactly to say about the tense. This time I tried looking out for emotion but I failed. sorry. Gosh this is going to take a while for me to do right. I'll try another one and give it my all. :)
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  





User avatar
277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:41 am
Master_Yoda says...



Done Blues! >> Sorry for the delay.

Zohali >> Tense is part of grammar in the same way that nouns are part of grammar. Grammar has certain rules about tense, but tense switching between sentences is grammatically fine. It's just stupid for a writer to do and makes them look woefully amateurish. Tenses should be kept consistent.

Don't apologize to me. You're working hard and that is certain to help you as a writer. :)
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





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324 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 15580
Reviews: 324
Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:02 pm
Threnody says...



Hello! Could you please take at look at my short story, How to Break a Bridge? I would appreciate it and definitely return the favor!

Thanks,
Threnody
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes”
~ The Little Prince~
  





User avatar
277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:29 pm
Master_Yoda says...



There you go, Threnody. Hope it helped.
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





User avatar
53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:21 pm
zohali93 says...



Hey I'm back. :)...with pizza!
Spoiler! :
Image


work.php?id=96109#comments

Thanks.
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  





User avatar
277 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 7061
Reviews: 277
Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:36 am
Master_Yoda says...



Done, Zohali. You're showing signs of definite improvement.
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

I review your reviews: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=94522
  





User avatar
53 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 4226
Reviews: 53
Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:32 am
zohali93 says...



Thanks so much for the review. I don't know why I didn't see this in my notice thing.
Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (29:2)
  








You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace.
— Rod Serling