How To: Write A Good Review

A/N: Okay, I usually save these for the end, but today I'll start at the beginning. Basically, I'm joining the bandwagon and writing a fanfiction writing guide. However, I haven't seen one about giving reviews yet, so I think I'll do that, because I have some issues with reviews I've seen. Next chapter I'll do something about Mary-Sues and Original Characters.

I know, I know, how many of these have you seen before? Probably a lot. But, I've been trawling through the PJO archives, and to be honest, I've become quite dismayed. And then, as I turned to some of the communities, it got even worse. To say I was quite angry would be an understatement.

To get to the point here, I am writing this to help. I absolutely adore fanfiction. I think it's a wonderful way to express oneself, and I think everyone should be able to utilize it. That saying, some stories are quite hard to read because of critical faults. Now, I'm not a flamer. I despise flames, and to be quite honest, I despise 'squees' as well. Yes, I know, I'm an odd one here.

You see, I am a firm believer in constructive criticism. When I log onto my account and check my reviews, the ones that always stick out are the ones that point out what I have done wrong, and what I have done right. Another person's perspective always helps me out. When I look over my story, I am completely biased, and even though I try and go through it with a fine comb, I'm not perfect. There are often things that I miss, that others might pick up.

So when I receive a review that tells me they love my story, I smile, say thank you, and move on. However, when I get a review that says, 'I hate your story because your portrayal of Percy was atrocious', then I will respond with a PM, thank them sincerely, and ask what they think I could do to fix it.

There has to be a method to the madness for me. Every time I see a flame, I get incredibly angry. I am not a flamer, nor will I ever be a flamer. Flaming someone does nothing. It is simply damages someone's self esteem.

Now I know there are people out there who might be reading this, who will probably scoff and say 'the eleven year olds who lack the maturity to write a decent story deserve to be flamed'. And yeah, I'll admit, stories written by some of the younger members can tend to be hard to read, but that doesn't ring true for all of them. And if you think back to when you were eleven, or twelve, or whatever age, was your writing all that great? Or think about the people who are writing their stories in a language they didn't grow up speaking. Would your story be that great?

The truth is, when I was eleven, I surely would not have posted anything I wrote on the internet. I've always been a creative person, and I've always loved writing. When I was eleven, I was praised for my writing, because I was good for an eleven year old. Had I come onto , I would have been laughed off the net, and I might not have written another thing in my life. And considering I'm a Creative Writing major, that really wouldn't have boded well for my future.

After that long ramble, I come to my point. When you are flaming someone, you are basically saying, 'I don't like your story', often in words a lot harsher than the ones I chose to use. But are you providing a reason? Look, I'm not saying you have to be nice. I'm all for being blunt and honest, that's how I always am in my reviews. I don't sugarcoat things, I tell them like it is. However, I try to offer constructive criticism, not just criticism.

So, I'm going to offer a quick five step cheat sheet on how to offer what I consider, good, constructive criticism.

Read through the story.

Pick out things you dislike about the story. Try to find as many things that you like.

When writing the review, point out the things you think could be improved upon.

If you can, tell the writer how to improve upon the issues. (I.e. giving someone the link to a Mary-Sue quiz for their characters.)

Make sure to comment on something you did like (if anything). The writer has to know there's hope for the story.

That's my advice. You don't have to follow it, chances are, most people won't. But the thing is, self-esteem is a fragile thing. Especially for the teens and preteens on this site. For some people, writing is their only outlet, to be creative, to escape, or whatever. Sometimes, writing a Mary-Sue character is just their way of visualizing what they want themselves to be. And while I'm not saying it's acceptable writing, or it should be looked over, it doesn't merit the phrases, 'thank God you stopped writing'.

The thing is, no one was born an excellent writer. Everyone had to learn, and how do we learn? From our mistakes. Every time we're knocked down, we have to get back up and climb higher. Everyone started out somewhere, and everyone has built up their writing, based on constructive criticism. You may not think so, but think back to an English teacher, or a friend, or anyone who criticized your work. It didn't feel good did it? So did you learn to improve upon that, or did you give up?

Either way, your reviews can make a difference.