Many new members have the question of "What do I say in a review?". The information below may help you. I wrote this to help someone out a week or two ago and hopefully, I can more members by posting this.
Read the entire story first. Some things that may be confusing in the beginning may be explained toward the end. You see the bigger side of things this way.
After you've done that, scrutinize the story. Pick it apart. Some things to look for:
-Grammar (Don't point out every little thing. If it's a constant grammar violation, tell them to read over it to find the rest of them and give them a general suggestion on how to fix it. The only exception to not pointing out every little thing is when they ask for help in grammar--then you can point out every little thing)
-Word choice (Do the words fit the rest of the sentence? The rest of the paragraph? If they don't, tell them that and suggest they find a synoym)
-Characters (Do they seem too nice? Too whiny? Too arrogant? Too shy? Is there something slightly off about them? Do you like them? Hate them? Why? What can be improved about them?)
-Plot (Is it original? Unoriginal? What could be changed about it? Why do you like it? Why do you not like it? Why? Did everything fit together? Were there parts that confused you? What were they and why?)
-Show, don't Tell (If the writer is saying "He laughed.", they're showing. Tell them to describe their laughter.)
-Description (Is there too little? Too much? Hint: Too little meaning you can't draw a basic picture what's going on in the story in your head. Too much being to the point where there's not much left to the imagination. Note: A writer doesn't have to describe how a character looks so don't tell them to; generally speaking, it's boring to read, readers don't care, and it leaves less to the imagination).
-Dialogue (Is there too little? Too much? Is it realistic? Unrealistic? Why?)
-Spacing (Do they start a new paragraph after each person talks?)
-Overall (Did you like it in whole? Did you not like it? Why? Summerize what you said above with everything else).
-Reread it a third time and add in anything you may have missed the second time.
-End (Sign your name at the end.)
Notes:
-Add in compliments.
-Always give suggestions when possible about how to fix things and always explain why you said something (Like if the character is too nosey. Why is the character too nosey? Give examples).
-You don't have to go in that order. When you're quoting, just point things out as you see them; put them in organized paragraphs otherwise.
-All stories are different. That's just a basic review outline for all fiction stories. If there's not a problem with it or it's something you don't know what to say on, you don't have to say anything at all.
If there's anything anyone thinks I should add, please let me know!:)
-alwaysawriter
