Whether youre a new writer or have years of experience, when joining a writing site, youre going to be receiving several types of reviews. Some will be full of praise and some will be nit-picky. The tone we strive to keep is encouraging and constructive, but we are human and humans tend to have bad days and bad moods. Know that you will probably receive and give at least one tear apart - bad job! review. The trick is to expect it, and dont let it wreck your confidence. If anyone makes a habit of tearing apart anothers work, they wont last anywhere very long.

Some of your reviews will be given by novice reviewers. You may know more about writing than they do, but they will be able to tell you if they liked your work, or if not, where it lost them. Ive noticed that usually when a poor review is given, its done by someone who hasn't learned how to read as a writer yet. Please, be patient with us.

For New Reviewers

To review, you simply need to make notes as you read. If something is confusing, say so and say where. If you can say why it confused you, thats great. If a particular action or dialogue is good, tell the author that, too. You dont want them to start cutting good scenes because no one told them they were good. Most of our writing is a combination of good and bad. Pointing out both is encouraging and helpful.

When Reviewing New Writers

New writers have plenty of desire and imagination, they need encouragement and tips from those of you who are more experienced. Posting for public consumption is scary, and we don't want to scare anyone off. Read the content, find the intention of the piece, and consider the intended audience the piece is written for. Let the writer know that you got the idea of the story; that you know what hes trying to do - or not.

Be honest.

If there are a lot of errors, dont point out every one; that only overwhelms and discourages a beginning writer. Leave something for the next reviewer. If youre good with characters, but not so good with plots, comment on the characters and leave the plot to another.

Be positive and encouraging.

Its difficult to keep the spirits up and work on a piece when nothing good has been said about it. They have to care about their work and know that readers care too. Leave their pride intact, and try not to re-write the piece for them.

Learning to critique is the other side of learning to write. We all know its easier to see the problems in someone elses writing than our own. This is a good point to keep in mind when you receive reviews on your work.

And remember, our critiques are free. Check what they charge on some editing sites, and it's worth every penny.

Write, Read, Review; you can't do one without the others.

Harriet Silkwood
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storytime