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Author Topic: The Review Challenge!  (Read 9132 times)

alota_cookin

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #15 on: April 20, 2008, 10:41:51 PM »

Okay...I just read the newly posted chapter of My Happy Ending by Sakabelle. Here is what I gave her for this chap:

aaaw. planning a wedding sucks! I am in the middle of trying to get mine together (its in July) and I am so stressed out...it's not even funny! I totally blew up at him this weekend, it was crazy. lol. that, in itself, will probably add a few more dramatic moments to thier life! I'll be interested to see what happens between them during all this. Oh wait...what I meant to say was..."Good chapter, update soon" LMAO *wink*
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LenniluvsBrian

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #16 on: April 20, 2008, 10:44:53 PM »

If I remember, the next review I leave for a story I'll post here - provided it's not for No Matter What - lol. Yes, I R&R that fic - I don't always know what's going on - & I like it that way - lol.

~Lenni~
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Concert Tickets: $270
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Having Brian grab me & pull me close during sound check: PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Train Ticket: $14.95
Bus Fare: $3.50
Marilyn Denis Show Ticket: Free
Nick Carter singing to me on live television: PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!


mare

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2008, 07:31:28 PM »

Here is my review for Julilly's latest chapter of Hawk and a Handsaw which you should all go check out if you haven't already. It's a very creative anf original idea :)

Wow once again big kudos to you for updating. I have to say i'm a little on the confuzzled side with this chapter. It felt a little rushed and like Julie said, i'm not sure whether she is dead or alive or in some kind of pergatory state. Getting hit over the head with a bottle kind of did it for me. Can a ghost get hit over the head with a bottle? Unless the guy that did it was also a ghost, then that would suck. I'd hate to know that when I died someone could actually hurt me! That would suck monkey butts! I loved the backstory on Val's suicide. You has a great imagination miss Julilly which is why I's loves you soo much! And now I realize since i've left you a mini book this probably won't take. Was she hit with a bottle? No lol it was the butt of a gun wasn't it? I have the rentention of a goldfish. What? Did someone say something? Where am I?

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Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it. ~ John Green

starbeamz

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2008, 08:03:36 PM »

lmfao mare

lovely review ;D maybe i should post mine to hers as well, since her story is really the only fanfic I've been keeping up with anymore. *goes off to find review*
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Sarah

starbeamz

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2008, 08:07:37 PM »

found it! it's not the best review ever, since the best ones I leave are apparently always for Kelly for whatever reason lol But, um, here goes nothing:

*teeny squeee*

Hmm, so things are starting to make a little more sense now. I doubt you'll make Brian kill himself, too, but, with you, I've come to expect the unexpected lol Anyway, I'm starting to see how the IAB investigation and Nick's death might be linked, but I'm going to keep mum on it until you write more (however long we have to wait on that lol). I'm glad you updated as it was yet another awesome chapter! Yay, Julilly!

Ooh, also. There should be a sentence break where there isn't one: From what he’d seen there were even people who recognized her and spoke to her as if they were friends and coworkers the possibility that it was all a ruse just seemed unlikely to him.
I think there's supposed to be a period between "the possibility" and "coworkers"...right? right?


I couldn't help but turn into the grammar police lol

And, Julilly, I might just tell you my theory, but it might be too amazing for you to handle....AMAZ INGLY WRONG bwahahah lol :P
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Sarah

julilly

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #20 on: April 21, 2008, 08:35:33 PM »

It wouldn't be wrong... bunch of assumers you all are lol
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~Maple Jellybean~

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honey

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2008, 10:51:40 PM »

Here is my review for Julilly's latest chapter of Hawk and a Handsaw which you should all go check out if you haven't already. It's a very creative anf original idea :)

Wow once again big kudos to you for updating. I have to say i'm a little on the confuzzled side with this chapter. It felt a little rushed and like Julie said, i'm not sure whether she is dead or alive or in some kind of pergatory state. Getting hit over the head with a bottle kind of did it for me. Can a ghost get hit over the head with a bottle? Unless the guy that did it was also a ghost, then that would suck. I'd hate to know that when I died someone could actually hurt me! That would suck monkey butts! I loved the backstory on Val's suicide. You has a great imagination miss Julilly which is why I's loves you soo much! And now I realize since i've left you a mini book this probably won't take. Was she hit with a bottle? No lol it was the butt of a gun wasn't it? I have the rentention of a goldfish. What? Did someone say something? Where am I?






DOH!!!   SPOILAGE!!!!!  MUST STOP READING!!!!
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If Ryan looked at me the wrong way, I lost it. If Ryan looked at me the right way, I lost it. And whenever he tried to kiss me, something usually blew up. Someone ought to teach him a little control.

kevmylove

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #22 on: April 25, 2008, 03:35:18 AM »

This is a cool thread, constructive criticism is always scary. But it's also very important and eye opening, I remember way back when i barely started posting my story "When I Found You" it was already finished. Then Mellz Bellz took the time to read it and let me know that the story was going too fast and that I should research the illness and symptoms. I did and rewrote most of it, it makes way more sense now. THANKS MELLZ BELLZ who probably doesn't even remember reading it.  ;D
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RokofAges75

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #23 on: April 26, 2008, 04:56:33 PM »

I finally got around to checking out Rose's new story "Born to Be," which drew me in from the summary.  Here's the review I left for the first couple of chapters that are posted.


Interesting start! I like it so far... and I'm anxious to read more! I like your use of description and the way you word things, especially in the prologue. Just watch your tenses... you tend to switch tenses, even in mid-sentence, and it takes away from the flow of the writing. But going back to the descriptions, I like the two suns and the purple grass and the blue leaves and everything... how it all mimicks our world, but surreal and just "off."
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~Julie

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Rose

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #24 on: April 26, 2008, 11:06:09 PM »

And I'm very happy to see you review it Julie, and took what you said and used it :) Cause I just re-edited my chapters and hopefully caught all the tense issues :) till I find me a good beta.
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MonkeyAbu

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #25 on: April 27, 2008, 02:08:14 AM »

I just read Reb's newest chapter that she posted yesterday for "Satan's Playground". Figured I would take part in this, so here is the review I left for her:

Well holy shit damn! I remember reading this back when you first started posting and I apologize because I don't remember if I ever reviewed it back then and if I didn't, I apologize for that too. Reading this brings back memories of watching that show on MTV way back in the day. I'm such a nerd for that kinda stuff and I always said I was going to appear on it one day and then MTV went and cancelled the damn thing. I'm thoroughly enjoying the story as you allow it to unravel. Your writing is about 15 degrees off simple (that's a good thing) with just enough detail that I think it hooks any reader's attention and preys upon our interest into the unknown/unexplained. There is a certain fear that you have masterfully woven throughout the words you have written and I find myself feeling each and everyone of the fellas emotions. Maybe it's because I am totally into this stuff and frequent a ghost hunting/investigation trip whenever I can, but with the way you are so far letting this story unfold, it has allowed me to paint a vivid picture within my mind of everything that is going on. All in all you definitely have one wicked creative imagination and I like it. I'm a sucker for good thrillers and you have me impressed. The only problem I've found so far are a couple tense/grammar issues throughout the chapters but they are minor things. Hope to see another update soon because it would be a real shame if we had to wait another long period of time before we got to read more! [Ashley]
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MonkeyAbu

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #26 on: May 06, 2008, 06:34:56 PM »

Ok, so I know I was the last one to post a review I had left, but I just got done leaving the longest review I swear I have ever written for a story, so I figured I would share it on here. It's for "Finally Found You" by bsbgirl4ever23, kristylee.

I must say that I thoroughly agree with what Julilly briefly touched on. However, I feel further input I may have to give could also be beneficial for you guys.

There are still a lot of grammar, spelling, and structure errors that I found throughout both chapters. Those three things, especially grammar and paragraph structure errors, can actually turn a prospective reader away from even giving a story a look.

Like Julilly previously said, quotation marks should be put around dialogue (words that a character is speaking). I noticed that you use ' ' as quotations, but the dialogue quotations should really be " ". That right there is just minor though.

Another thing I wanted to touch on is paragraph structure. For example, when there is a set of dialogue (conversation) that is going on between two characters, each line of dialogue should get their own paragraph. When you leave the whole conversation as one paragraph, especially when there isn't any sort of detail (emotions, expressions, etc) written in between the characters speaking, it makes it appear rather jumbled and difficult to read. This also goes when there isn't a break between any paragraphs. It is extremely difficult when you're staring at a long page of one big paragraph that consists of the entire chapter, including details and dialogue. That can actually turn readers away and cause a loss of interest.

I recommend taking a look at your punctuation usage. You used ( ; ) throughout both chapters. In correct grammar, semi colons are not used as often. I noticed that you used them to denote the end of sentences. All you need for that is periods (.) Semi colons are helpful when you want to connect two sentences together that contain for the most part the same content/meaning (kind of like using a big comma [,] if that makes sense?).

Another thing you should consider is developing your story line more. I'm assuming you know who all of your characters are and you probably have a general idea about them, and that is good for you the writers. But from a reader's perspective, when we open a story, we come in with the idea that the writer (or writers in this case) has shown the knowledge of their characters and will successfully introduce them to us as if we are being introduced to new friends. I didn't feel that at all while reading what you have posted so far. It was like there were just two random girls having random dialogue and I was left with not knowing anything about them, other then the fact they are going to a Backstreet Boys concert in Australia. Some helpful questions to keep in mind when developing the story line more could be:

Who are the characters (names, ages, physical attributes, their pasts)?

How do the characters know each other? Where did they meet? How long have they known each other?

What is the story about?

If you're not sure how to start something off, one good way to get past that is by making your first chapter what I guess you could call an "Introduction/History" lesson. This is where you could introduce the important/main characters and embellish on their past. Let us know who they are. This is also where you can set the stage for the rest of the story. You don't necessarily need to deliver a big bang right away, just give us some minor sparks. :)

I don't know if you have checked out the AC forums yet (the link is on the main page of the AC site), but there are a lot of good and fun writing exercises and character surveys that are very helpful in developing characters. It brings you more in touch with your characters. Either way, you should check the forum out. *blushes* A little bit of shameless plugging. LoL, we're a bunch of nerds who have way too much time on our hands, but there's a lot of authors on there that would be more then willing to give advice. Plus, it's alot of fun! :)

One more thing, because I feel like I have rambled on way too much and have lectured more so then given advice like I was trying to do... Really focus on detail. Detail detail detail. You can paint so much with words, it's pretty neat. Detail is what gives a story life. Without detail, the story holds no backbone.

I hope you don't think I'm being rough, because I am only trying help. Hope what I have said will help. Don't give up though; keep trying. I'm sure with more work and development, you could turn this into something that readers want to keep up with.

[Ashley]
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julilly

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2008, 09:02:50 PM »

That was very well worded! I kept mine brief because I was worried that I might look like a jerky jerkerson being the only person having said anything then being like BAM but with two people touching on the same topics it helps you realize that it's not just one person.
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~Maple Jellybean~

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MonkeyAbu

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2008, 09:12:50 PM »

*sigh* It's alright Julilly. I decided to be the jerky jerkerson for you. Heh. Actually, it was really difficult to leave that review. The whole time I wanted to just be blunt about it not being up to par, but that would be like being the queen of jerky jerkersons, and well, that totally goes against the point of concrit. Especially since if my story wasn't up to par and I was actually looking for concrit to help me make it better, I'd say it would have made me feel downright like poop if someone flat out said it sucked. So yeah...longest review I've ever written. I'm exhausted. I wasn't being too much of a jerky jerkerson was I?
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julilly

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Re: The Review Challenge!
« Reply #29 on: May 06, 2008, 09:53:30 PM »

Not at all it was very well written, and helpful
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~Maple Jellybean~

What's the difference between ignorance and apathy? ... I don't know, and I don't care.
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