R.E.D.

Sorry, I'll try to update my thread soon but I'm really busy this week and it's either get the reviews in or update the thread. Things cool off a little next Sunday so I'll aim to catch up on the listing and stuff then.

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Monday, March 7th, 2016

We have an interview with @Meandbooks this week! It's all under the spoiler.

Spoiler

Contest: What's your motivation in reviewing? Because, wow, you have 129 reviews currently.

Meandbooks: Well, my original motivation was realizing that I really wanted to get the Green Room's numbers down, because I hadn't seen it empty for some time. So when RED came along, I decided to do it, and I knew I was mostly going to review works at the back of the Green Room. I decided to do two a day, and it's just become my normal routine now. For me, once pretty much anything becomes a routine, I never forget to do it and hardly ever miss a day. So after a little while of getting into the habit, continuing is pretty easy. Because it's a routine, I don't typically have issues with motivation - I just do it.

Contest: Do you have any reviewing role models?

Meandbooks: It would have to be Carlito. Because she's just amazing at pointing out both what makes your piece good and what needs work. She's really detailed and positive and it's awesome, and she's not afraid to tackle something huge like a novel.

Contest: Any favorite articles about reviewing?

Meandbooks: I really like Kyllorac's A Rundown on Reviewing . I think it nicely covers the basics, while also clearly explaining some pros and cons of different reviewing styles and giving some tips for the more "experienced" reviewer.

Contest: Favorite tips and tricks with reviewing?

Meandbooks: One tip when reviewing prose is to not get too bogged-down in the little things - commenting on the overall story is more helpful and is easier than doing a bunch of formatting. Another good tip is to be as specific as possible about what you liked and what didn't work for you. Even if you have no idea what the problem is, explaining your reaction will help the writer.

Contest: Favorite type of work to review?

Meandbooks: Hm, I think my favorite type of work to review right now is probably either short stories or first chapters of novels. Because first chapters have so much potential, and completed short stories are nice because they're complete. The funny thing is, I used to review mostly poetry. xD I still like it, but I don't review it as often.

Contest: Do you have a particular reviewing style?

Meandbooks: Not really - it mostly depends on the work. Just usually a short introduction, a couple things I liked, explain what could be improved and why, then a quick conclusion. Sometimes at the end I say a few more things I like if I feel I've been overly harsh. xD One thing I used to do, but don't anymore, is go through and point out little grammar or sentence structure things. It takes forever and I feel it's not as helpful as pointing out the larger issues.

Contest: Thank you so much for this interview. Any last words?

Meandbooks: Everyone should go review something right now!

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 153 reviews!
2. @Lareine with 74 reviews!
3. @Lightsong with 40 reviews!

All of these include the added bonuses of challenges and such.

Now, who wants to try and surpass these people in the rankings?


Ongoing challenges:

The Last Reviewer Standing: This is a challenge where you review more than ten chapters of a novel that has been posted for The Last Man Standing contest. The award for doing this might be something extra to decorate your joining post with, an interview, a small short story, or a cute YWS gift. Which prize you might earn is decided by a randomizer.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/SOHEXdN.png?1[/img]

Here's a list of some of the novels in LMS.
Breaker of Chains
No Romance
Thrallmagic
Tryal's Curse
The Adventures of Darren Cassidy
The Chronicles of a Public Bus
Taste of LifeUnorthodox Thieves

Team Tortoise: Right now, YWS is hosting an event called Team Tortoise. The goal is for one review a day for the month of February. If you're participating in that and RED, why not earn a snazzy square for it? Link to the Team Tortoise club!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WDuECoJ.png?3[/img]

A Splash of Color: The goal of this challenge is simple. Try to include color in your reviews with BBCode! This is pretty useful when using BBCode in general, so have this link! Also, thanks to @Lareine for making this snazzy square.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/IBseWjp.png[/img]

Weed Whacker: Since the Green Room works from October and November have been mostly cleared out, I'm introducing another badge. This one is for all the Green works posted on December 1st to January 31st. Any reviews you do on those will count as double, if you remember to include the name Weed Whacker next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/Q18jpE9.png[/img]

Hello, My Name Is: To earn this snazzy square, you'll have to have reviewed five Green Room works by new members that have joined in the past month! The prizes for this haven't been decided, but feel free to pitch some ideas to @Contest.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/aLOnbPR.png?4[/img]

Other small things:

I'm still doing banners for hitting reviewing milestones!

-

These four works count as double.

1. Nightmare
2. Eric
3. chase
4. The Marked Twin, Prologue

-

Unless something interesting pops up, there will be no more new snazy squares until all the works that fit with Weed Whacker qualifications are out of the Green Room!

-

Not much to say this week! Thank you all so much for joining this contest and I really do hope that you all are having fun.

If you want to join, there is no limit to the number of the contestants! You can just make a post and start reviewing.

If you need anything, feel free to send me a message! Don't be afraid if you miss a day or if you don't update your post on time, because everyone has small mess-ups or bad days. My mom actually had the tires off of the back of her car stolen earlier, so believe me, it's okay if you miss stuff or have a bad day or just can't make a review.

As always, quality over quantity!

~Contest

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Monday, March 14th, 2016

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 153 reviews!
2. @Lareine with 76 reviews!
3. @Lightsong and @Rydia with 49 reviews!
4. @AdrianMoon with 42 reviews!
5. @Carlito with 40!

Congratulations to all of you!


Ongoing challenges:

The Last Reviewer Standing: This is a challenge where you review more than ten chapters of a novel that has been posted for The Last Man Standing contest. The award for doing this might be something extra to decorate your joining post with, an interview, a small short story, or a cute YWS gift. Which prize you might earn is decided by a randomizer.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/SOHEXdN.png?1[/img]

Here's a list of some of the novels in LMS.
Breaker of Chains
No Romance
Thrallmagic
Tryal's Curse
The Adventures of Darren Cassidy
The Chronicles of a Public Bus
Taste of LifeUnorthodox Thieves

Team Tortoise: Right now, YWS is hosting an event called Team Tortoise. The goal is for one review a day for the month of February. If you're participating in that and RED, why not earn a snazzy square for it? Link to the Team Tortoise club!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WDuECoJ.png?3[/img]

A Splash of Color: The goal of this challenge is simple. Try to include color in your reviews with BBCode! This is pretty useful when using BBCode in general, so have this link! Also, thanks to @Lareine for making this snazzy square.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/IBseWjp.png[/img]

Weed Whacker: Since the Green Room works from October and November have been mostly cleared out, I'm introducing another badge. This one is for all the Green works posted on December 1st to January 31st. Any reviews you do on those will count as double, if you remember to include the name Weed Whacker next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/Q18jpE9.png[/img]

Hello, My Name Is: To earn this snazzy square, you'll have to have reviewed five Green Room works by new members that have joined in the past month! The prizes for this haven't been decided, but feel free to pitch some ideas to @Contest.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/aLOnbPR.png?4[/img]

New challenges:

I can't introduce another one until Weed Whacker has been retired. So go out there and review!


Other small things:

I'm still doing the reviewing milestone banners, so if you want one, feel free to message @AdrianMoon or this account. If you ask for a specific style for the banner, chances are, I'll probably be able to do it. So ask away, because I'm seriously bored sometimes.

-

If you need to drop out or take a break, just do it. There's nothing wrong with it and you can always get back on your feet and return to reviewing later. If this is stressing you out or something, there is no shame in just leaving a note on your post saying that you're either leaving or taking a break.

Also, taking breaks can be refreshing!

-

If you see any awesome reviews, feel free to send me a message and I will post a link to them here!

-

Reviews on these five works will count as double:
1. Cynder Rosetail and her Journey: Prologue and Chapter 1
2. The Girl Pt. 1
3. Where it's Always 1895
4. Joanne Jacklon Book One- The Spark Chapter 4
5. Burned 5.1

-

Got any cool reviewing tips or tricks? Anything that you do to get in the mindset? Feel free to send them in and I'll post them!

-

Keep on reviewing, because you all are seriously awesome.

~Contest

Current Challenges

There can be no more snazzy squares until all the works fitting the qualifications of Weed Whacker have been reviewed and kicked out of the Green Room. At this rate, I'll need to create a badge to encompass all of the works for both February and March.

This post will be updated as the weeks go by. So instead of taking up an unholy amount of space in the letter with just the same copy and paste, it'll all go here so I can just link it and explain the newest addition in the briefest detail.


The Last Reviewer Standing: This is a challenge where you review more than ten chapters of a novel that has been posted for The Last Man Standing contest. The award for doing this might be something extra to decorate your joining post with, an interview, a small short story, or a cute YWS gift. Which prize you might earn is decided by a randomizer.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/SOHEXdN.png?1[/img]

Here's a list of some of the novels in LMS.
Breaker of Chains
No Romance
Thrallmagic
Tryal's Curse
The Adventures of Darren Cassidy
The Chronicles of a Public Bus
Taste of LifeUnorthodox Thieves

Team Tortoise: Right now, YWS is hosting an event called Team Tortoise. The goal is for one review a day for the month of February. If you're participating in that and RED, why not earn a snazzy square for it? Link to the Team Tortoise club!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WDuECoJ.png?3[/img]

A Splash of Color: The goal of this challenge is simple. Try to include color in your reviews with BBCode! This is pretty useful when using BBCode in general, so have this link! Also, thanks to @Lareine for making this snazzy square.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/IBseWjp.png[/img]

Hello, My Name Is: To earn this snazzy square, you'll have to have reviewed five Green Room works by new members that have joined in the past month! The prizes for this haven't been decided, but feel free to pitch some ideas to @Contest.

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/aLOnbPR.png?4[/img]

Winter Be-Gone: This one is for all of the works in February! If it was published in the month of February and still in the Green Room, then those reviews will count as double towards your overall total score! Remember to include the name next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/60AMgkB.png?1[/img]

Lawn Maintenance: The lawn has gotten a bit out of hand in the past few months, so we all need to get together and attempt to get it back under control. The hedges have been clipped, the weeds have been whacked, we just need to get the last part of the yard in order. So all of the reviews for Green Room works posted in March will also count as double. Remember to include the name next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/sRLcIyE.png?1[/img]

If you have any ideas for a new badge, then just feel free to send them to this account!

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Monday, March 21st, 2016

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 181 reviews.
2. @Lareine with 78 reviews.
3. @Rydia with 63 reviews.
4. @Lightsong and @AdrianMoon with 56 reviews.
5. @Steggy with 49 reviews.

Looking at my list, a lot of you are actually really close to being on it. Does anyone dare take that challenge?


Challenge update:
All information on new and old challenges can be found in this link! If I add any new snazzy squares, then I will make a notification here and then add it to the link. Mostly, this is for saving space and a bit of time on my end. Feel free to check it out.


Other small things:

Still doing those review milestone banners, if you want one! They look super fabulous and I'm seriously bored sometimes, so it's not a problem for me to make them at all.

-

What if I said that the reviews on these works counted as five? Well, I'm saying it. One review on these works will count as five. If you reviewed all of these works, it's plausible to raise up in the rankings by twenty reviews. (And for just 19.99 plus shipping and handling, a spot in the top five can be yours! Just wait, all of this has a twenty review value for just four reviews!)

1. Merry Christmas To Me (Near To You - Chapter 6)
2. Chapter 4.1, The Name Game
3. Typo Alley~L Part Two
4. Beyond -- Chapter 5

-

Seriously, thank you all for joining this contest. It's been incredibly fun to host this thing and look at the reviews. A lot of you guys are in the top 15 reviewers this month and I don't think I could be any prouder at this point.

Keep on reviewing,

~Contest

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Tuesday, March 29th, 2016

Sorry this is late! I took a nap in the middle of the day and then forgot about time for a while there.

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 212 reviews.
2. @Rydia with 89 reviews.
3. @Lareine with 78 reviews.
4. @AdrianMoon with 56 reviews.
5. @Steggy with 50 reviews.


Challenge updates:

We have two more snazzy squares! Thank you all for getting the Weed Whacker works out of the Green Room!

Winter Be-Gone: This one is for all of the works in February! If it was published in the month of February and still in the Green Room, then those reviews will count as double towards your overall total score! Remember to include the name next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/60AMgkB.png?1[/img]

Lawn Maintenance: The lawn has gotten a bit out of hand in the past few months, so we all need to get together and attempt to get it back under control. The hedges have been clipped, the weeds have been whacked, we just need to get the last part of the yard in order. So all of the reviews for Green Room works posted in March will also count as double. Remember to include the name next to the link!

Spoiler

CodeSelect all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/sRLcIyE.png?1[/img]

Other small things:

It's 1:30am where I am and I'm super tired. So uh, I don't have much to say here. As always, if you have any questions or comments then feel free to leave them here.

You can always join! There is no cut-off date for this contest. You just gotta make a post saying that you're in and that's literally it.

Still doing banner milestones! Just send this account a PM and I can have one made within a few days.

Please update your post so that it says how many reviews you have done! It makes producing these newsletters a lot easier.

As always, quality over quantity.

~Contest

Sorry, but I'm going to have to drop out. I haven't really been able to keep up in a long while, and my life is only going to get crazier in the next couple of months. I adore this, so keep on trucking, all y'all who are still in it to win it!

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Monday, April 4th, 2016

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 260 reviews!
2. @Rydia with 90 reviews!
3. @Carlito with 71 reviews!
4. @AdrianMoon with 69 reviews!
5. @Steggy with 53 reviews!


Challenge updates:
There have been two more snazzy squares added. Winter Be-Gone and Lawn Maintenance. Click the link and you'l find the two squares at the bottom of the list!

Weed Whacker has officially been retired.

If you have any ideas for a new square, feel free to pitch it to me.

Other small things:
As I've said before, there is not cut-off date to this contest. If you want to join, just make a post and you'll be added to the reviewing list.

Please, update your post with the amount of reviews you have done! I try to update mine every Monday, just so the list is somewhat accurate. It'll make the end of this contest a whole lot easier, trust me.

The Green Room has 182 works as of right now. Do you think we can clear it before the end of April?

~Contest

I also have to drop out. My unfortunately busy schedule's not allowing me to be as active in reviewing as I'd like me to be. To everyone: keep up the good job! <3

I apologize for the lack of updates! I'm just letting it be known that I'm still watching this and keeping track.

Keep up the good work!

The R.E.D. Newsletter: Monday, April 25th, 2016

Well, it's been twenty days since the last newsletter. So let's get this one rolling.

Rankings:
1. @Meandbooks with 279 reviews!
2. @Rydia with 90 reviews!
3. @Carlito with 77 reviews!
4. @AdrianMoon with 71 reviews!
5. @niteowl with 60 reviews!

You all are doing a great job! We're nearing the end of April, so there are only two months left. Let's try and keep this up.

Challenge updates:
It looks like there are only 19 works from February still in the back of the Green Room. Can we try and clear them all before Review Day?

Also, as of right now, there are only 220 works in the Green Room. Can we try and get that number below 200? I think we can do it, guys

Other small things:

While these works are in the Green Room, the reviews on them will count as double.
The Farm
Help And Support
700 words from page 41 of ma book
Search for the Ruby of Fire Chapter 39

I know I've said this before, but I'm seriously proud of all of you. Collectively, everyone has done so many reviews and it's really fantastic. Hopefully we'll be able to meet our goal before the end of June. I seriously think that we can do this.

Other than that, I really don't have that much to say. Sorry it took me a while to get around to this! I've been seriously tired for awhile, but I'm getting back on track.

Remember to keep on reviewing!

-Contest

I haven't forgotten about this! I'm just watching and waiting. My computer has been acting up and my life has been a bit hectic, so I really do apologize for the lack of updates. Although, I'm really not sure what to update on.

The oldest works from the Green Room are now from March, which means we finally pushed the ones from February out of there! Great job, guys! I'll be retiring Winter Be-Gone and then creating one for May, shortly.

1. Spruce Woods (The Eastcliff Series #1)-Chapter 2
2. The face of evil has returned
3. Identical by Name, Different by Nature
4. Half-Animal 4-6

If these four works are out of the Green Room before the 25th, then I'll eat my hat. Nah, but I will probably create a new banner and each review counts as three. (One for the review itself, another for it being a March work, and a third for the fact that I'm asking you guys to review it.)

Please, don't forget to update your list of reviews! I know I'm guilty of that, but it's helpful in the long run when I'm tallying things up.

Keep up the good work! We have just about a month and a half left before I distribute the prizes.

-Contest

So apparently my last update never sent, which I just realized when I went to write this one and found out that my last message was still in the field.

Whoops.

This contest ends tomorrow, so I'll tally everything up and talk about RED and how it will change in the coming months! (Hopefully the changes in RED 2.0 will avoid burnout and hopefully increase participation. On my end and on yours.)

Thank you so much for participating and I do apologize for the lack of updates on my end.

-Contest

*aaaand, I'm on my account. Whoops. The next post will be on Contest.

Before I start to list them, I just want to thank everybody who was involved in RED. It's been great watching people reviewing, adding snazzy squares to their posts, and earning stars. I've seen lots of improvement from certain contestants, whether or not they are still participating now.

To all of those who contributed to the running of RED, whether it been by point donations, snazzy square creation, or simply just talking to me about it: thank you. This would have been nigh impossible if people hadn't contributed.

And now, onto the winners!







With over 700 reviews written by the top three combined, I must say that I am really impressed. I would totally tally up the points that everyone in RED did as well, but, y'know, math gets in the way.

The points distribution goes like so: 50% to first place, 30% to second place, and 20% to last place. I will be PMing the winners about their earnings shortly.

Once again, thank you all so much for participating!

-Contest

Thanks for running the contest @AdrianMoon, it was great fun to take part, though there were actually another 30 or so reviews done as I didn't tally mine for June and I'm sure a few other people got a little behind there as well.

Well done to @Meandbooks and @Carlito!