One of the ingredients in the peer matching algorithm is the feedback you provide to those who critique your writing. This algorithm determines who critiques your work and whose work you critique. Do you think the questions asked in the review rating section are good or bad at gauging how detailed and well thought out a critique is? What questions should we ask instead? The review rating questions are below.
Jacob
Several years ago I worked as a software engineer. I never had trouble writing applications that I loved to use. But I found it difficult to write applications that others loved to use.
I discovered the key to developing software that others loved to use was to involve users early and often. Allowing users to work with the alpha and beta versions of my applications allowed me to fix the interface, fix bugs, and change the direction of the programming project to better meet the user’s expectations.
In order to avoid writing stories that only you will love, you should pick two or three critics who will read your writing early and often. Incorporating their feedback into your work is a great way to strengthen your writing. The famed author Barbara Tuchman described her reader centric approach to writing when she said “no writing comes alive unless the writer sees across his desk a reader, and searches constantly for the word or phrase which will carry the image he wants the reader to see, and arouse the emotion he wants him to feel. Without consciousness of a live reader, what a man writes will die on his page.” I think we should take this a step further and involve readers throughout the writing process.
Do you need some feedback on your writing? Submit your work for critique now or set up your free account.
Jacob
When I was in Thailand I met a shoe peddler who claimed to have the hottest new shoes. When I inquired about the brand of the shoes the peddler enthusiastically replied “Nike by Adidas” while pulling a pair of shoes that had both the Nike and Adidas brands from under his shoe stand. When I think about these shoes I wonder if they can be considered original.
The word original makes me think of something fresh, inventive, or novel. Based on this definition I would say these shoes are original. It certainly took inventive and novel thinking to combine two competitors into this crazy product. But can a mutant creation that blatantly rips off original creators really be original?
Original products like original writing are hard to find. A lot of writers waste their time trying to combine their favorite authors into the Nike by Adidas perversion. I think François R. Chateaubriand best described what originality means in the writing community when he wrote “the original writer is not he who does not imitate others, but he who can be imitated by none.” While originality is difficult to achieve, I agree with Herman Melville who said “it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”
Do you wonder if your work is truly original? Please join our writing community let your peers help you evaluate the originality of your work.
Jacob
Chapters are flying all over Review Fuse. We originally intended to only have first chapters submitted for critique. However, members have been submitting chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 for critique as well. As a result of book critique popularity we are looking for a better way to handle books.
The temporary solution is for you to find two or three authors on Review Fuse and critique each other’s books. We have set up the Get My Book Critiqued page to help authors find each other. This page also briefly explains how private groups can help with book critiques.
More importantly, we would like to develop a permanent solution for managing books critiques. How do you think we should facilitate the book critique process?
Jacob
by Lu Ann Staheli
Here on Review Fuse, learning to review others’ work is just as important as learning how to write well yourself. Here are eight suggestions to help improve your skills as an editor and reviewer.
1. Be a voracious reader. The more you read, the more you will recognize what works and what doesn’t work in your genre. Read the best—and read a few of the worst. Learn to recognize the difference between the two.
2. Know that good writing is more than good grammar. As you read, consider how the author uses ideas, organization, sentence fluency, voice, and word choice to hook the reader. Read your writing aloud and mark spots where you notice word repetition or awkward construction.
3. Know your grammar basics. For many writers it may have been a long time since they studied the rules. I’m not suggesting you bring back bad memories of parsing sentences, but do locate a good handbook that covers punctuation and grammar rules. I use Writers Inc.
4. Read books about writing. It seems as if everyone from Stephen King to Janet Evanovich has written about themselves as writers, and many of them have great tips to share with you. Keep a log of weaknesses you know you personally need to work on improving. Make a list of words you sometimes overuse. (See The Ten Percent Solution by Ken Rand. http://www.sfwa.org/members/Rand/Solution.html)
5. Read magazines such as Writer’s Digest. For a long time, this magazine included a feature where aspiring authors sent in their first page for an edit by a professional. Carefully reading articles such as these and others in each issue show you exactly what an editor wants.
6. Understand genres. Although it is important that your ideas be unique to you, it is also important that the writing you do will actually fit into a niche in the market. Novels can often include two genres if one of those genres is either romance or adventure. For instance, a historical romance works, as does a science fiction adventure. But historical science fiction is a little hard to fathom.
7. Talk about books. Be knowledgeable about what is being published. Follow the trades, local bookstores, or online marketplaces such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com. Use books as a place to gather new ideas, but also use them as a textbook for becoming a better writer. Study those opening paragraphs. Listen to the character’s voice. Know why you love—or hate—the main character.
8. Believe that your editing skills will grow, as will your writing skills. I’ve been a member of a critique group now for nearly ten years, and I can promise you that I catch many more spots that need edits now than I did back then, and it’s not because the members of my group are untalented writers. That would be far from the truth. Learning to edit has a rhythm of its own, and like any task we undertake, we tend to become more proficient as we practice that skill.
Know that the time it takes to improve your editing skills will be well worth it once you see those magazine articles and books being accepted for publication.
Lu Ann Staheli, the 2008 Best of State Educator K-12 in Utah, is a newspaper columnist, editor, and freelance writer. She blogs at Lu Ann’s Library.
In order to provide authors with timely critiques, a reviewer has 12 hours to complete a review once it is assigned. If the reviewer does not complete the review within this 12 hour limit we assign the work to someone else for review. Is this time period too long, too short, or just right?
We are thinking about changing the default review timeout to 5 hours and providing an option to extend the review timeout to 36 hours. What do you as an author and reviewer think of this idea?
Jacob
Update (March 16, 2009) - You now have 16 hours to finish an assigened critique.
by H. B. Moore
Are you stuck on that first chapter? Even when you’ve finished your first draft, do you keep coming back to it, rewriting, editing, then rewriting again? First pages and first chapters are what an agent or editor will read first. If they aren’t drawn in by the first few lines or paragraphs, you’ve given them a reason to set your submission aside.
Consider these solutions:
1. Perhaps your first chapter isn’t the first chapter.
Maybe your story really begins somewhere in chapter 2 or 3. Have someone read through the first 50 pages of your manuscript and ask them to tell you where they think your book really begins.
2. You may have overwritten the first chapter.
Have you tried to cram too many details, unnecessary back story, or become lopsided with too much internal dialogue? Continue writing the rest of the story, then come back to the first chapter after a few weeks or months, and you’ll have a fresh perspective.
3. Does your first chapter have a hook in the first sentences/paragraph?
Start in the middle of a scene—right where the character’s life is about to change. If you start with external dialogue (what the character says) or internal dialogue (what the character is thinking), it needs to be unique, compelling, even surprising. Internal dialogue is usually considered stronger than external.
4. Visit a bookstore or library.
Select ten books by well-known authors. Read the first page of each book. Out of the ten, which first page makes you want to continue reading? Why? Put yourself in an agent or editor’s place. They go through the same process.
5. Don’t be afraid to cut and rewrite.
Some authors save multiple versions of chapters or scenes they’ve either cut or significantly rewritten. That way, you aren’t grieving the loss of throwing something away you spent a lot of time and thought on. Read the first chapter, then open a blank document. Start writing the beginning again, taking a different angle. Maybe instead of external dialogue you start with action. Maybe instead of description, you start with internal dialogue.
6. Realize that the first chapter sets the precedent for the entire book.
If you find yourself saying, “But it gets really good on page 45,” you need to take a second look. And remember if you are writing non-fiction, the introduction needs to have a compelling hook, as well as the first pages of chapter one.
No pressure. Just make sure it’s perfect!
H. B. Moore is a 2007 Whitney Award winner, the author of five historical novels, and the owner of Precision Editing Group. Visit her blog here.
We have ended our beta period and officially launched the site. We are now going to focus more of our efforts on spreading the word about our writing group. We are going to advertise at trade shows and in magazines. Where do you as a writer hang out? Do you have any thoughts on where/ways we could spread the word about our services? We are currently adding hundreds of writers each month, we would like to be adding thousands.
steve
The Review Fuse writing community has grown so much we decided to revamp our peer matching algorithm. We are now relying heavily on your “How am I doing” score on the My Account page to help us match you with your peers for critique. If you give detailed reviews that help others improve their writing we will match you with other great reviewers. If you give poorly thought out reviews you will be matched with similar authors. You will see a striking similarity between the quality of reviews you give and receive.
If you are worried about having a low “How am I doing” score you can go to the “Latest Reviews I’ve Given” section of the My Account page and click the view icon to redo a review. If you give a more detailed and helpful review you should get a higher score which will help you get more helpful reviews.
For the visual learner…
Peer Matching Algorithm
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Are you ready to ride? Then join our writing community.
Jacob
*See all of our writing contests
Since our December Short Story Contest was such a success, we’ve decided to sponsor another holiday-themed contest. This time we’re tackling the polarizing holiday of Valentine’s Day, or “Singles Awareness Day” to some. The winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift certificate.
Based on feedback from our first contest, we changed a few things, so be sure to read the following instructions for joining the contest and submitting a qualifying story:
Joining the contest
Qualifying Story
All stories must be submitted and assigned reviews completed by Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009. The winner will be announced the following week on February 21st, 2009. You maintain all rights to your submission. If you plan have it published elsewhere, be sure to keep the privacy settings to “Allow only assigned reviewers” when you upload your story.
Good luck. Post any questions in the comments or use our contact us page.
