Summary
Review one of the literary works below, focusing on the quality and helpfulness of your review! Submit your review here, and wait for delicious feedback and the possibility of a shiny YWS gold medal!
The Details
There are a lot of accolades to earn on YWS by writing lots and lots and lots of reviews, but "lots of reviews" can lead to burnout and doesn't always mean good reviews! It can be easier to write many short, vague reviews or focus on grammar nitpicks than to write reviews that go in-depth about different aspects of a story - especially if you think the person you're reviewing is a better writer than you. This is a contest for you to break out of your comfort zone and deliver the best review you can give!
Choose one of the literary works below and review it. Then let us know! Below you'll find both the literary works and some topics to discuss if you're not sure where to start.
Literary Works to Review:
Spoiler
Criteria
The criteria below is what we'll use as a guideline for judging. You don't need to (and shouldn't) hit every point listed - it's better to focus in-depth on 2 - 3 points than to write a sentence or two about every aspect of a literary work. Please note that length and grammar are not included - a long review is not necessarily a good review (though it can be) and a review that focuses primarily on grammar isn't that helpful in the early stages of the writing process or unless an author has asked for it. Also, even if you don't know what to suggest to "fix" what's wrong with the work, telling the author what's wrong is still a helpful review!
Spoiler
Aspects of the work to comment on:
Novel Chapters
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Setting - do you get a sense of where and when the story takes place? is the setting's description balanced well with the action and dialogue?
- For opening chapters: is there an exposition or hook? too much exposition? a gimmicky hook?
Short Stories
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Setting - do you get a sense of where and when the story takes place? is the setting's description balanced well with the action and dialogue?
- Resolution - is it appropriate to the story? does it wrap up too quickly or leave you feeling dissatisfied?
Poetry
- Clarity - is the poem confusing? do all its parts work together?
- Flow - do you find yourself stumbling over words or line breaks?
- Imagery or figurative language - is it effective? does it work together?
- Emotion - what feeling did you get from this poem? what aspects of the poem gave you this feeling?
Articles
- Introduction - do you understand what the article will be about? did the intro grab your attention?
- Focus - does the article stay on topic? did you understand the point?
- Clarity - is the article confusing?
- Conclusion - is one present? does it add to the article, or is it awkwardly tacked on?
Script
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Dialogue - is it believable? does it move the story forward and develop the characters? does the writer make use of beats?
Novel Chapters
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Setting - do you get a sense of where and when the story takes place? is the setting's description balanced well with the action and dialogue?
- For opening chapters: is there an exposition or hook? too much exposition? a gimmicky hook?
Short Stories
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Setting - do you get a sense of where and when the story takes place? is the setting's description balanced well with the action and dialogue?
- Resolution - is it appropriate to the story? does it wrap up too quickly or leave you feeling dissatisfied?
Poetry
- Clarity - is the poem confusing? do all its parts work together?
- Flow - do you find yourself stumbling over words or line breaks?
- Imagery or figurative language - is it effective? does it work together?
- Emotion - what feeling did you get from this poem? what aspects of the poem gave you this feeling?
Articles
- Introduction - do you understand what the article will be about? did the intro grab your attention?
- Focus - does the article stay on topic? did you understand the point?
- Clarity - is the article confusing?
- Conclusion - is one present? does it add to the article, or is it awkwardly tacked on?
Script
- Characters - are they believable? characterized well? do they undergo development?
- Plot - progression, plot holes, or points of confusion
- Pacing - too fast? too slow?
- Dialogue - is it believable? does it move the story forward and develop the characters? does the writer make use of beats?
How to Enter
Review one of the above literary works and link us to it in this thread. Each of the works is written by either BlueAfrica or Mea, as we will be the ones judging the reviews. You may review more than one of works and link us to your best review, but we will only judge one review per contestant. Feel free to leave multiple links, but we will only judge the most recent one you post in the thread.
Prizes for this contest will follow YWS Olympics: gold, silver, and bronze. However, we will also give feedback on every entry, via PM. Please let us know if you do not want feedback.
Entry format:
- Code: Select all
[b]Title of work:[/b]
[b]Link to Revew[/b]
[b]PM Feedback? (Yes/No)[/b]
All entries are due by 02/10/2018 00:00 EST
Still have questions? Head over to the Event 1: Review Contest - DT thread!
