So You're Writing a Novel Forum reviews/critiques

This always comes up eventually, so I thought I'd start the discussion.

This made me giggle.  Great question for clarification!   Personally, I'm focusing on my character's voice.  Since it's written from 4 points of view, my main concern surrounds the distinct separation between each character.  For example, if Will sounds too much like Lita (which is prevalent in earlier drafts), he starts to sound gay (not that I'm against homosexuality in any way, shape or form, but Will just plainly is not gay).    I'm also concerned with plot and setting development, so any comments on that certainly help!  I'm pretty sound with my grammar, minus a few typos, but if anyone catches anything, that's cool too.   As long as it's put in a non-dickish way, I appreciate any words of wisdom or advice, though I may not always follow it.

I'm paying attention to the crime/mystery aspects. It is another detective, ME story, but the only big difference is that I'm trying to make my character somewhat bitchy. I'd like to know thoughts on how the investigation is going, and if anything doesn't make sense, I need to get back to it. Grammar, for me, is usually down pat, so any corrections would be nice. Over a course of a few months, I plan to start nitpicking on the medical parts, the autopsies. Of course, if anyone knows anything, I'd love to hear it.

When people reveiw my works, I want them to look mostly at the idea of the story itself, is it fun, is it exciting, and how can I make it better? However, if people were to review the novel I'm writing, then I want them to tell me if I'm writing too fast for the suspense, as it is supposed to be a horror novel, and what I can do to improve the suspense or even make the chapter longer. Also, if anyone gets confused while reading my novel, please tell me, because I am writing it as I know everything about the character, and you don't, and I do want the reader to feel like they're getting to really know the character.

i would like nice constructive reviews,thats all . 

That's what everyone wants, but we don't all have the same definition of "constructive."  Could you clarify? 

When (if) people read my novel (I'm always afraid to let non-writers read my work so not many people do haha!), I like to hear more about the content than grammar and such. Sure I'm worried about if I use something correctly, but that's really later. Right now, I want to know how my story is sounding and if it's bringing the reading in, if it's going too fast, etc. Thanks!

well i mean constructive like tells you what is wrong what can you do better but nicely

That's what everyone wants too. Do you want like Grammar assistance? Spelling? Plot? Character development?

THeres a reason I'm quiting the reveiw buisness x.x

Unfortunately, this isn't what everyone wants.  Taken a look at the typical reviews on poetry here lately?   But it is what reviews ought to be:  point out what needs work without being mean to the writer (it isn't mean to say "You changed your verb tenses here and here" - it IS mean to say "What kind of idiot would keep changing verb tenses like this?"), and also tell what is good the way it is.

no Autumn i mean not everyone is born to give reviews and i know so i have a friend like that but i was just asking for you to review nice i mean weaver does that and he stil reviews constructively withouth i know you said sorry in your review but like i was saying withouth being mean even if you said sorry and ok its your way of expressing your feelings then do what you always do cause i admit i suck at grammar i am not really good at giving reviews but i was just asking for nice reivews even if you said sorry which i forgive you but keep in mind are you really helping that person by reviewing like you do to keep pn writing ?

yeah thats what i mean thats exactly but i want and like you said i dont want to be called why are you so idiot to suck at grammar i just want reviews like you give and many others cause not everyone can do that

charcter development i suck at grammar plot yeah i need help on that one

    I get what you're saying, but unfortunately, if you're serious about writing a well written book, you need good grammar.  There is no way around it.   Since emotion doesn't translate well over the internet, many writer's, //especially// beginners and tweens and teens, telling them that their plot has gaping holes and their characters need a lot of work translates into, "Your story sucks and it's not as good as mine."  I've been thrown down and run over so many times because I've left a truthful, honest, "look, you have a good //idea//, but you're executing it completely wrong" review.   If your reviews and critiques aren't too strong, it might be an indicator that //you're// not catching things in your own writing.  Ask a lot of questions, and find someone you trust who REALLY knows what they're talking about.  Or find several people.  My younger sister has no grasp of general, elementary grammar, but she knows how teenagers act and talk.  She tells me when I have continutiy problems, and points out how things might be lame.    We're here to help, but if you're not giving good reviews, it might be time to enlarge your grammatical knowledge, that's all.

well ok fine then all m asking just look at my writing and tell me what you think that is all

see! thats what i want to ! weaver, special agent fafa what paul just said it is what i want when my writing gets reviewed !

    Ha, lolz.

Geez, I can't read your mind.