Becoming Better Reviewers
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.
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Tags: How to critique
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Thanks for insights. I would recommend two more books: Stein on Writing, Sol Stein, and the venerable Strunk and White, Elements of Style, first published in the 1930’s and still viable.