Post by domynoe on Jul 20, 2018 10:15:22 GMT -7
One of the first things to remember about any kind of writing and revision is that all rules can be broken. But breaking any kind of rule or guideline would be done knowingly and with a purpose in mind. In the end, whatever you write is yours. Only you can make the decision on what works for your story and what doesn’t. And only you can decide whether it is important to keep it as is or to make a compromise. With that in mind: here are some guidelines you can use when reviewing someone else’s piece or when revising your own fiction.
When revising, ask the following questions:
» What is my story about? or What is the pattern of change?
» Is there unnecessary summary?
» Why should the reader turn the page? Is the language fresh? Are the characters alive?
» Is it original? Are there stereotypes, clichés, etc...?
» Is it clear and easy to follow?
» Where is it too long?
» Where are any of the following underdeveloped: character, action, imagery, dialogue?
» Where is it too general?
When scoring (i.e. using a number rating) use the following as guidelines for a 1-5 scale:
» 1 - Doesn’t Work: The submission has flaws in the category that are so serious or wide-ranging that they make the submission unreadable, or the author should put it aside and work on something else.
» 2 - Shows Potential: The submission has flaws in that category, but you feel the author could improve it with some time and attention.
» 3 - Good But Needs Improvement: The category is handled fine is some places but has flaws in others.
» 4 - Very Good: You enjoy the submission, but still notice some minor flaws in a particular category.
» 5 - Excellent: You don’t notice any flaws and that aspect of the submission stands out compared to other reading you’ve done in the genre.
Through the Basic Review Form
DON’T FORGET POSITIVE COMMENTS AND ALWAYS KEEP THE AUTHOR’S WRITING STYLE IN MIND!
» Setting ~
should feel real, is convincing; uses the 5 (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) senses to help the reader experience it; detailed, comes alive, descriptive.
» Character Development ~
characters are consistent and believable; they experience change, growth (particularly in novels); revealed in actions and dialogue; well rounded with good and bad personality traits - remember, no one is completely good or evil even if they appear to be; language, behavior, and dress takes into account age, gender, education, occupation, circumstances, etc...; tend to change when reacting with other characters.
» Plot ~
should ring true and seem believable; have a beginning, middle and end; not seem contrived, artificial, or forced; everything makes sense; events are believable and the pace keeps the readers going.
» Dialogue ~
should be believable; develop character and plot; match setting and character; each character has his/her own voice and can tell who is talking even without the dialogue/character tags; pronouns to indicate who is speaking are clear in which person they reference; use 'said' for your dialogue tag 99.9% of the time; explain the emotional content of dialogue as little as possible - show it in action or in the word choices, etc; limit use of -ly words; use ellipses to show a character trailing off and a dash to show an interruption.
» Voice (passive/active) ~
cut passive voice where possible by deleting 'to be' verbs (is, was, were, are) and 'had+verb' combinations whenever a verb can carry the action or be adjusted to carry the action by itself; use strong, active, descriptive verbs (she was sitting in the chair vs. she sat in the chair vs. she slumped in the chair); the verbs SHOW the action.
» Language (-ly words, modifiers, repetitions, clichés)/Sentences (structure, length, etc.) ~
cut as many -ly words as possible - use strong nouns and verbs instead; watch for words and concepts that are repeated close together; use repetition only if the sentence is can't be reworded or easily combined, or if trying to emphasize something; some drama is good, too much or using words considered overly dramatic can come off as melodramatic and soap opera-ish (which is ok if you're writing a soap opera, but tends to not do so well in other genres; and romance novels do NOT have to be melodramatic); don't tell what you can show and don't explain what you've already shown, particularly if it's obvious in some way.
» Inconsistencies ~
the details should agree, and if they don't there better be an explanation as to why; things should also agree with how they work in real life unless, again, there's a good explanation as to why they don't; if you're not sure how it works, what it does, of its characteristics, etc...research it - don't make it up just because you don't know, someone who does will catch mistake.
» Description/Detail ~
use the five senses (at least 3 out of the five); be specific with details, even using product names if they will be fairly timeless (but avoid dating your writing with products no one will remember next year); use exact colors, size, etc and avoid vague words that can be interpreted differently by different people; also avoid telling your readers what to think - let the reader decide if something is beautiful, wonderful, etc.
» Technical Notes ~
vary sentence length and structure: several short sentences together can sound choppy, unconnected, or even like a child wrote them, especially when combined with repetitions, while a number of long sentences together can overwhelm a reader, make a reader feel "out of breath," and slow the pace of the story down - however, a consistent sentence length can also reinforce what's going on at a particular point in the story (example: "It was one of those long, languid July days, when the sun seemed to crawl across the sky, and the oppressive heat shimmered in the air without a breath of wind to provide relief. Most of us avoided being outside, preferring to be in the cool air, drinking Macy's homemade lemonade, and lazing about like a cat in a sunny window.").
When revising, ask the following questions:
» What is my story about? or What is the pattern of change?
» Is there unnecessary summary?
» Why should the reader turn the page? Is the language fresh? Are the characters alive?
» Is it original? Are there stereotypes, clichés, etc...?
» Is it clear and easy to follow?
» Where is it too long?
» Where are any of the following underdeveloped: character, action, imagery, dialogue?
» Where is it too general?
When scoring (i.e. using a number rating) use the following as guidelines for a 1-5 scale:
» 1 - Doesn’t Work: The submission has flaws in the category that are so serious or wide-ranging that they make the submission unreadable, or the author should put it aside and work on something else.
» 2 - Shows Potential: The submission has flaws in that category, but you feel the author could improve it with some time and attention.
» 3 - Good But Needs Improvement: The category is handled fine is some places but has flaws in others.
» 4 - Very Good: You enjoy the submission, but still notice some minor flaws in a particular category.
» 5 - Excellent: You don’t notice any flaws and that aspect of the submission stands out compared to other reading you’ve done in the genre.
Through the Basic Review Form
DON’T FORGET POSITIVE COMMENTS AND ALWAYS KEEP THE AUTHOR’S WRITING STYLE IN MIND!
» Setting ~
should feel real, is convincing; uses the 5 (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) senses to help the reader experience it; detailed, comes alive, descriptive.
» Character Development ~
characters are consistent and believable; they experience change, growth (particularly in novels); revealed in actions and dialogue; well rounded with good and bad personality traits - remember, no one is completely good or evil even if they appear to be; language, behavior, and dress takes into account age, gender, education, occupation, circumstances, etc...; tend to change when reacting with other characters.
» Plot ~
should ring true and seem believable; have a beginning, middle and end; not seem contrived, artificial, or forced; everything makes sense; events are believable and the pace keeps the readers going.
» Dialogue ~
should be believable; develop character and plot; match setting and character; each character has his/her own voice and can tell who is talking even without the dialogue/character tags; pronouns to indicate who is speaking are clear in which person they reference; use 'said' for your dialogue tag 99.9% of the time; explain the emotional content of dialogue as little as possible - show it in action or in the word choices, etc; limit use of -ly words; use ellipses to show a character trailing off and a dash to show an interruption.
» Voice (passive/active) ~
cut passive voice where possible by deleting 'to be' verbs (is, was, were, are) and 'had+verb' combinations whenever a verb can carry the action or be adjusted to carry the action by itself; use strong, active, descriptive verbs (she was sitting in the chair vs. she sat in the chair vs. she slumped in the chair); the verbs SHOW the action.
» Language (-ly words, modifiers, repetitions, clichés)/Sentences (structure, length, etc.) ~
cut as many -ly words as possible - use strong nouns and verbs instead; watch for words and concepts that are repeated close together; use repetition only if the sentence is can't be reworded or easily combined, or if trying to emphasize something; some drama is good, too much or using words considered overly dramatic can come off as melodramatic and soap opera-ish (which is ok if you're writing a soap opera, but tends to not do so well in other genres; and romance novels do NOT have to be melodramatic); don't tell what you can show and don't explain what you've already shown, particularly if it's obvious in some way.
» Inconsistencies ~
the details should agree, and if they don't there better be an explanation as to why; things should also agree with how they work in real life unless, again, there's a good explanation as to why they don't; if you're not sure how it works, what it does, of its characteristics, etc...research it - don't make it up just because you don't know, someone who does will catch mistake.
» Description/Detail ~
use the five senses (at least 3 out of the five); be specific with details, even using product names if they will be fairly timeless (but avoid dating your writing with products no one will remember next year); use exact colors, size, etc and avoid vague words that can be interpreted differently by different people; also avoid telling your readers what to think - let the reader decide if something is beautiful, wonderful, etc.
» Technical Notes ~
vary sentence length and structure: several short sentences together can sound choppy, unconnected, or even like a child wrote them, especially when combined with repetitions, while a number of long sentences together can overwhelm a reader, make a reader feel "out of breath," and slow the pace of the story down - however, a consistent sentence length can also reinforce what's going on at a particular point in the story (example: "It was one of those long, languid July days, when the sun seemed to crawl across the sky, and the oppressive heat shimmered in the air without a breath of wind to provide relief. Most of us avoided being outside, preferring to be in the cool air, drinking Macy's homemade lemonade, and lazing about like a cat in a sunny window.").