Young Writers Society

Username: MailicedeNamedy, Mailice for short.

What you like to read: Anything that falls into the short story or novel/chapter category. I'm not too keen on fanfiction, but I can read those too. I would enjoy following a longer story.

What work(s) you'd like to put up for review: I'll keep posting my story (Genre: Mystery, Young Adult, Fantasy Historical Fiction if that's a thing.), (chapter by chapter) and maybe a short story.

Your goals for RevMo: 100 reviews.

Username:ForeverYoung299. Forever for short.

What you like to read:I am pretty okay with short stories and chapters of Novels. My favourite genre- fantasy and science fiction, I guess.

What work(s) you'd like to put up for review:Maybe a few chapters of "Cehyn in the Earth" and also a few short stories.

Your goals for RevMo:100-120

Username: RandomTalks

What you like to read: Short stories and novel chapters of any genre.

What work(s) you'd like to put up for review: Short stories mostly. I might try to revive an old novella (not sure about that). Most of my stories are usually realistic or young adult.

Your goals for RevMo : 120 (and if I can, more)

Username: looseleaf

What you like to read: historical fiction, short stories, essays

What work(s) you'd like to put up for review: maybe a poem and some chapters of Dad Hacked Death

Your goals for RevMo: at least ten reviews, would like to do twenty

Username: MomoMajesty, but I go by Momo or majesty or Momonster c:
What you like to read (For example, 'fantasy novels and short stories'): I love poetry! But short stories are always nice.
What work(s) you'd like to put up for review (this can include future works, such as chapters of a novel that will be uploaded during RevMo itself. Also, think about what can be reviewed within a time period of about 2 weeks.): Probably some poem I have floating around.
Your goals for RevMo (e.g. 50 reviews, 30 reviews, 10, 5, etc.): I'm trying for 20, but I'll probably only get to 10 or so lol

Username: HarryHardy

What you like to read: Short stories and novels...of basically any genre

What work(s) you'd like to put up for review: Well...I think probably one short story will come out in the next couple of weeks, as well as quite a few parts of my novel "Survival: The Escape" which is updated pretty much daily.

Your goals for RevMo: 200+

Alright, with round 1 of Review Buddies concluding, here are some reflection prompts for you to think about either on your wall or right here in this thread, if you'd like! If you do post it on your wall, use the
#RevBuddiesReflect hashtag~

What was the best part about reviewing multiple times for one person?

What was one thing you liked about receiving multiple reviews from the same person?

Is there anything in your buddy's reviewing style you would consider adopting for the future?

How did having a buddy change the way you think of reviews?


Tagging everyone from round 1:


P.S. Also feel free to ask @Que and I any questions about all this!

The next match-ups should be up before the start time of round 2, so stay tuned for that!

What was the best part about reviewing multiple times for one person?
I hope I'm not repeating myself too much here with everything, so let's start; what I liked the most - especially when you compare the most recent stories and the ones from before, that you could see a clear difference in the structure, and through that you could see an inverted learning curve, where you could tell, "There's been some improvement" or "There's been more work on that than at this point." But you also saw recurring motifs, positive ones, as well as sometimes even negative ones.

What was one thing you liked about receiving multiple reviews from the same person?
Since I'm writing a longer novella, when you do several reviews of the same person, you notice how they come together in the story and how they develop - quickly or slowly. By showing thoughts, character traits or even pace, you can see very quickly exactly where you are at and how long you can stretch something for example or what still needs to be changed. Especially with several buddies, you sometimes get the same points, which is of course better than a single opinion.

Is there anything in your buddy´s reviewing style you would consider adopting for the future?
I realise that I don't always revise in a very structured way; I jump from one point to another just as the thoughts come into my head. I think I would have to adapt a little bit this structure of characters - story - other or something like that.

How did having a buddy change the way you think of reviews?
The hardest question comes at the end, of course. I no longer see reviews as just a suggestion for improvement or a piece of writing where you make comments, but a link that becomes an overall picture through several reviews, almost like a transcript where you get an overview of everything you have done or not done without being directly evaluated.

What was the best part about reviewing multiple times for one person?
When you are reviewing the works of a particular person, you start identifying these little things about their writing and as you go on, you find them changing and growing which was especially fascinating for me. I could identify where they excelled and where they could work on and with time, as I moved onto more recent works, I could also identify the improvements. It was like a journey and I really enjoyed it.

What was one thing you liked about receiving multiple reviews from the same person?
Each person has a really different reviewing style of their own. And since I had two buddies who have two vastly different reviewing styles, it really helped me to understand how each individual sees my work. They pointed out my own quirks, and what is my strong suit and what isn't and it helped me understand a lot about my own writing.

Is there anything in your buddy's reviewing style you would consider adopting for the future?
Like I said, both my reviewers have extremely different reviewing styles and I think I learned a lot from them. I have broadened my own style and now I try to share not only what I liked and what could be improved, but I share my thoughts in general as I have realized it helps the writer to understand what the reader is seeing and if it matches with what they were trying to portray.

How did having a buddy change the way you think of reviews?
I had always viewed reviews as the final kind of judgement where people evaluate your work and make comments. Now, I still see it as an evaluation, but also as the suggestion of an advisor who sees your work for what it is and helps you to understand and improve.

Here are the groupings for round 2 everyone!

1. @looseleaf, @MomoMajesty, @RandomTalks
2. @ForeverYoung299, @HarryHardy, @MailicedeNamedy

Feel free to PM your buddies to introduce yourselves and the works you'd like them to review first. Have fun everyone and have a happy Review Month!

Alright, here are the reflection prompts for round two! Thank you so much for participating in Review Buddies everyone - it was so inspiring to see the site meet its review goal and also hear so many awesome reviewing stories.

If you do post your responses on your wall, use the
#RevBuddiesReflect hashtag~ Or, you can post your thoughts right here in this thread! Feel free to engage with as many questions as you like.

1. What was one piece you really liked reviewing?
2. Use 3 words to describe your buddy's reviewing style.
3. Is there anything in your buddy's reviewing style you would consider adopting for the future?
4. How did having a buddy change the way you think of reviews?

Tagging every one from round two:

So, here are my answers:

1. There was nothing directly specific, but it was more like a collection of parts of a chapter. That gives you a bigger overview and I think you can write a clearer review in general.

2. Active - reaction-dependent and building up (In the sense that the reviews feel like a new story one after the other.)

3. I think taking a text apart completely and analyzing it could be a great change. It gives a new dynamic between the text. Then, when you focus more on a particular section, you're more likely to notice what the writer is trying to say.

4. Probably the same answer as last time.