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[RokofAges75]

1) What if anything is one thing you learned from doing this challenge?
I don't know if it was directly from doing this challenge, but it was mostly because of talking to Cinzia that I opened myself up to trying slash.  Slash is a genre I always said I'd never write, but reading what she had to say about it made me see some appeal in it.  I still don't see myself as a slash writer, but at least I tried something new!

2) Were you ever afraid to be honest?
Not really.  I never want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I figured people signed up for this challenge knowing they were going to get some constructive criticism, so I might as well give it.  Luckily, I enjoyed both of the stories I read and didn't have to be brutally honest about my opinions of them.

3) Did you find it easy to give concrit?
It wasn't hard because, like I said, I knew the authors were expecting it, and I didn't have to give a lot because they're both talented writers, and their stories were both good.

4) Did you find it easy to TAKE concrit when given?
I didn't really get any concrit that would have been hard to take, as Cinzia enjoyed my story.

5) Did you tend to agree with most of the comments made?
Yes

6) Did you find yourself reading other challenge stories besides the one you originally picked?
I read Emily's story Falling in Love Again, though not because of the challenge.  I may have read one other that I won't name.

7) If you could offer one suggestion for next year's challenge, what would it be?
Whether you go back to pairs or do it the same way we did this year, I appreciate giving us some choice over what we read, either by letting us choose from all the submissions or choose between several stories written by the same author.

[Alexsgirl_ritz]

I guess you're Ritz, right? 

Yes! Ritz220429

[mare]

Name of story: Switch

1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise? Yes

2) So far who is your favorite character and why?
I think Kevin as Nick is my favorite because he's seeing that Nick isn't as immature and dumb as maybe he thought he was.

3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be)
My guess is they will switch back but as a result have a lot more respect and understanding for each other!

4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit?
Yup, it was pretty straight forward

5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations?
Not yet

These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.

6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why.
I think it's a cute story but I might have stopped reading because of all the grammatical/spelling errors. It looks like it wasn't edited and I usually won't stick around an unedited story for too long.

7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of)
Like I said above, there are a lot of mistakes but the great thing is, Chris is aware of that and I'm trying to help her out as best as I can by fixing and beta reading the story for her as I go along.  

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot?
Why did you choose Nick and Kevin to be the ones to switch bodies?

[Carter-Orange]

1) What if anything is one thing you learned from doing this challenge? I don't really think I learned anything new.

2) Where you ever afraid to be honest? Not really.  We signed up for this expecting good, honest feedback and that's what I feel I gave.

3) Did you find it easy to give concrit? I never find it easy because I'm aware that I'm no expert, but if I feel the story needs it, I will point things out.  Luckily the stories I read were well written and didn't require any concrit.

4) Did you find it easy to TAKE concrit when given? Yes, I think so, although I think the only concrit was about the amount of swearing (which is weird when in reality I rarely swear).

5) Did you tend to agree with most of the comments made? Yes

6) Did you find yourself reading other challenge stories besides the one you originally picked?   No, but I might in the future (although I think I've read a lot of them already).

7) If you could offer one suggestion for next year's challenge, what would it be? I can't think of anything, I've enjoyed every challenge so far.

[mare]

1) What if anything is one thing you learned from doing this challenge?
Not sure, maybe to have more patience and realize that despite the kind of story it is, if it's good writing, it's worth a try and if it's bad writing, it's not.

2) Where you ever afraid to be honest?
No, because that was the purpose behind this challenge.

3) Did you find it easy to give concrit?
Sometimes. It really depends on what it's about. I find it a lot easier to tell someone they are doing something wrong with grammar and spelling than I do with the fact that their story might not be that good.

4) Did you find it easy to TAKE concrit when given?
Yes

5) Did you tend to agree with most of the comments made?
Absolutely!

6) Did you find yourself reading other challenge stories besides the one you originally picked?
Yes lol

7) If you could offer one suggestion for next year's challenge, what would it be?
I think we're going to do it the same way but I might make it a new rule that the story has to be at least 10 chapters long and almost near completion or totally complete. Other than that, I really think the way we did things this year worked out really nicely!

[RokofAges75]

^ I think those are both good suggestions.  I felt bad because I wasn't able to give Cinzia anywhere near the amount of feedback she gave me, since I read a one-shot of hers, while she read a novel of mine.  Requiring them all to be "chapter books" would make it more balanced.  And I think having them be complete or near completion is a good idea, too; it just makes it easier to give feedback on the overall story when you know how it ends.

[mare]

Yes, or for people who maybe write a lot of one shots and don't have a ton of novels written, they could submit at least five one shots as a novel or something. This way it is more balanced and fair for everyone.

[RokofAges75]

That's a good idea.

[mare]

Happy Saturday!

I wanted to say congrats to Steph for finishing her challenge this week and an extra kudos because she took on a third story and STILL finished way before the deadline! You are awesome!! Ten gold stars for you!

Everyone else, you are doing a great job so just try to keep reading. Maybe tackle one chapter a day or two a week or something like that. I does look like most of you are almost done reading which is great! Bit for those of you tat have quite a bit to go, you might want to set some kind of goal for yourself.

Happy reading!

oops! Did notice one thing, Emily make sure you complete your reader's survey for Falling in Love Again!

[mare]

Final survey (To be completed after finishing the story you are reading)

Name of story: Forever

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story?
I knew that a story about the female lead and her band was going to be a very tough challenge for me to get through since I typically stay away from female centered fics.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework?
At first I was worried this it would feel like homework, but thankfully because Emily was such a great writer and we seemed to get along instantly just from giving and receiving feedback to one another, it became something I actually looked forward to every day. 

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story?
I think my favorite moments in the story were the times that the boys were the center of attention. For instance the last chapter Emily posted had a lot of great scenes in it where the boys and some of the girls are all hiding in one room while Carson is in the kitchen cooking an egg. LOL I know it sounds silly but I guess you'll have to read the story to find out what that's all about!

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end?
I think it might have changed from Kevin to Howie. As we got further into the story, Howie's role changed and I love how Emily portrays him. Gotta give Howie some love!

5) Who was your least favorite character and why?
Joey. Because he wasn't a BSB and when he was in the chapters, I didn't feel like I was reading a BSB fanfic and it made those chapters feel like homework.

6) If there was a sequel to this story would you be interested in reading it?
Emily isn't finished with this one yet, but I don't think she has plans for a sequel and if there was one, I most likely wouldn't read it unless Emily were to die and Kevin took over lol (Sorry Emily but hey, they would sing Back to Your Heart at the funeral if that helps?)

7) Were you happy with the ending?
I'll have to get back to you on this one! lol

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one)
Honestly, that it wasn't a huge cliche. I went into this with very low expectations just because I have seen so many girl band meets boy band and they fall in love fics and they have all been terrible. The fact that Emily made me care about some of the characters was pretty great and made me realize that no matter the plot, as long as a great writer is at the helm, it could be pulled off!

9) What was this stories biggest strength?
Without a doubt Emily's writing! She is great with descriptions and has a natural rhythm to her writing that made it so easy to visualize everything she put into words.

10) What was it's biggest weakness?
I guess I would have to say the balance of the characters? This story has a lot of characters which is bound to happen when you have two five piece bands and while most of the emphasis is clearly on two of the members, when the others got involved, things tended to get confusing, especially since they all had such similar names. I think also trying to figure out the overall plot of the story might be a challenge if you are not a romance type person.

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?
I would read a nice male centered BSB fic by Emily in a second! I don't think I could do another female centered unless it was for a challenge but a story about the boys as told by the boys, I'd be on board!

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading this, maybe explain why you gave the kind of feedback you did or if you would have perhaps picked a different story from this one?
Like I said before, I knew nothing about Emily or how she wrote, but just judging by the subject matter, I went in not expecting much. I was so pleasantly surprised that I had to smile and I think I even let out a sigh of relief after reading the first chapter. If any of you have not read something by Emily, you need to give her a try. She's a great writer who was always willing to listen to my feedback whether it be dumb and whiny "Where are my boys!" or insightful and usually babbly. She took everything I said and always responded with how or why she went about things the way she did. I feel like not only did I get to know her as a writer but also as a person. Both of whom I think are super which is why responding to reviews is also such a vital part to this challenge or the writing process in general! 


13) Did you prefer the way we did the challenge this year or did you like the pairings better?
I had the opportunity to do it both ways this time around and I think they both have their advantages and their disadvantages. We are going to do it this way from now on.

14) Did the author respond to your feedback?
Always!

15) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?
Just wanted to let you know it was a pleasure and I hope you really do branch out one of these days and come over to the dark side. I know you have it in you! LOL

[carterkid]

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot?
Why did you choose Nick and Kevin to be the ones to switch bodies?
[/quote]


They are two of my favorites and I wanted the oldest to switch with the youngest.

[FrickingKaos]

Final survey (To be completed after finishing the story you are reading)

Name of story: Love Story by Cinzia

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story?

-The fact that it was slash, and I am not used to reading that genre.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward as you were going along or did it feel like homework?

-I feel horrible for saying this but yeah after a while it did feel like homework because the story was not yet completed. Every time I thought I was finished, I'd come back to more chapters to read. It was not a horrible story, just got tedious after a while.

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story?

- It was really towards the end but I liked the scene where Brian tells Nick he won't go to Europe in a letter and uses post its of things he likes about him to lead him to the letter. I thought that was really clever and adorable.

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end?

-Yes Brian was still my favorite.

5) Who was your least favorite character and why?

- Kevin because he only had one scene LOL

6) If there was a sequel to this story would you be interested in reading it?

- I don't see how there could be one as it wrapped up pretty nicely, but if there was....no. I just couldn't get into the slash part. Mostly the reason I can't get into it is because I can't picture Brian and Nick being lovers for some reason. The writing was great, but I couldn't get past my own feelings.

7) Were you happy with the ending?

-I liked the ending because it was realistic, Brian not running away with Nick felt real and honest.

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one)

- I was surprised at the addition of Kurt and Blaine as characters, they are from Glee. I found that interesting.

9) What was this stories biggest strength?

- Cinzia has a wonderful way with description and writing a scene so well that I could picture the details in my head. She writes very well for someone who does not use English primarily.

10) What was it's biggest weakness?

-Some of the chapters would have done better as one chapter rather than splitting them up.

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?

- If Cinzia wrote a non slash story yeah I would try reading it.

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading this, maybe explain why you gave the kind of feedback you did or if you wou have perhaps picked a different story from this one?

- I gave honest feedback and tried to leave helpful tips as well for her, because that is what new writers need. Honestly i wanted to try something new which was reading slash....so in a way I am glad I chose this story. I was as honest as I could be without trying to sound like a jerk about it.

13) Did you prefer the way we did the challenge this year or did you like the pairings better?

- I really liked that we could submit multiple stories and that we could choose what we read.

14) Did the author respond to your feedback?

- Yes, she was very good at responsing. I always love the author comments.

15) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?

- Nope.

[usako]

Story: Love Story

Person reading it: DelphinaCarter

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts?
I was happy. I've read one or two of her stories so I was glad she picked up one of mine. 

2) Did your reader leave you an adequate amount of feedback and was it helpful to you?
Yes, she did. She was honest, even when she didn't like some scene and, as I said her, I appreciate every little advice she gave me.

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback?
Actually, I found pushing myself to finish the story so that she could have the whole picture and not being left half way.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story?
Nope. She was very clear in her feedback.

5) Overall did you find the experience a good one or a bad one?
Definetely good.

[usako]

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?

- If Cinzia wrote a non slash story yeah I would try reading it.

I have a non slash story, which is the one Julie has read for the challenge. Actually, my own challange is to be able to write and finish a non slash long but I know it will take time because the translationg process is really long.

[mare]

 8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot?
Why did you choose Nick and Kevin to be the ones to switch bodies?



They are two of my favorites and I wanted the oldest to switch with the youngest.

Oh okay, thanks! That makes sense!