Writers invest a great deal of themselves in their work and maybe the worst thing a writer can feel is that no one is reading any of it. Personally, I'd prefer a bad review to no review -- at least it would mean that somebody spent time thinking about my story.

On an internet forum like this, it can be disheartening for writers to put a story out and see the view count tick upwards but the reply count stay the same. If we look at our fanfiction board, I think we can see stories that began strong and then faded because of lack of response. I too have been guilty of reading stories and not posting reviews or replies...

But maybe it is time we tried to change this.

The Circle of Reviewers

In this thread I would ask people to post a review to the story of the writer above them. This is an easy way to get reviews coming in for yourselves and to spread the love to others.

How it works:
Follow the link of the poster above you to his or her story. Read the story and post your review in that thread [not in this thread]. Come back here and post a link to your review and a link to your own story.

N.B.
Please do not post a link to your own story without having reviewed the work of the writer above you. And please, try and post a meaningful review to your fellow authors!

What Should a Review Look Like?
A review should be several paragraphs long and the bulk of it should be about the story under consideration. If you examine your review and see that only one or two sentences actually deal with the particular story, you might will want to expand it.

Your review should be specially crafted to discuss the story at hand. If you could post the same review to any story on the board with only a simple name change, then you will want to go into specifics.

If you wish to discuss a particular aspect of the story, feel free to quote it in your review. It is easier for a writer to take criticism or praise if it is grounded in a real example.

Put the same time and effort into reviewing as you expect other people to put into reviewing your work.

Here is a basic template for reviewing that might be helpful for some people. It is not mandatory to use this, but it will give you an idea of what sort of information you will want to put into a review.[/SIZE]

Optional Review Template:
The Plot
Was the plot easy to follow?
What did you like or dislike about the direction of the plot?
Did the plot keep you engaged?

The Characters
Did you find the characters believable?
Do you have a favorite/least favorite character? If so, why?
What sets these characters apart from characters in other stories?

The Style
Was the author able to create a "picture" of the world in your mind?
Was the story told in a way to draw you in?
Did the dialogue, narrative style, and word choice further the plot/mood/character development?
Wrap-Up
What would you say was the author's greatest strength?
What would you say was the author's greatest weakness, if any, in the story?
Do you have any suggestions that you think might improve the story?


Happy reviewing!

An excellent idea, I must say. We could certainly use some more critiques. I suppose I shall try and fit some more reading into my schedule, it's been far too long since I've told people what they do wrong I kid, of course, but in all seriousness, I would like to say that I for one will be offerring more reviews.

I don't have any ready fan-fiction stories myself, but I should have an original work coming shortly. So if anyone else would like to submit their stories for review, I'll be waiting :goodjob: Keep up the good work!

I do have a story of mine I am working on, The Werewolf: A Lycanthrope's tale". It is my first fanfic, so it's a bit newbish. Do post your fanfic though, I really look forward to reading it. And reviewing it. Anyone here wants to submit their story?

Good idea! Fan-fiction never really gets some spotlight. I will be reviewing some fan-fics soon, but I'm working on one right now. On Word XD Shall post soon.

Very well. I have my fanfic ready for review. I will await any other fanfics right now to read. I will review yours if anyone reviews mine.