Thank you for writing this! I'm a constructive reviewer when I do review, but I'm not a consistent reviewer. This has opened my eyes to the importance of reviews, so I will definitely be leaving more from now on and I will try to leave more helpful info.

Thank you for writing this! :) This was so much helpful, especially about the constructive criticism. I really like what you wrote.

Gave me a lot to think about. I realised that I usually just write OMG! LOOOVE! In a review. I think I'll try to write a little more elaborate reviews from here on.

Ahhh, oh my gosh. I'm so glad I came across this. I totally agree with everything you've said and it makes me wish more people read this essay. That said, you should probably advertise it more, hahaha.

- I laughed at the CR bit. Mainly because CR stands for Comfort Room (aka the bathroom/toilets) in some countries. xD
- "...or the style is needs work..." This sounded awkward to me. ;)

Thank you for the read. I'm jealous. You have such an awesome writing style!

I am truly thankful for this. It turns out that I always talk about nothing when I review a story. Hahah(: Thanks again, it helped me a lot and now, I have stuff to actually write about when I leave a review.

xoxo,
JustWish

WOW! I never realized how unhelpful my reviews were. Thanks, this is actually very useful. I will DEFINITELY refer to this when writing my next review. :)
I especially liked all the analogies you used; they allowed your voice to come through. I also really liked, and agree, with the part at the end saying, "We are the future J.K. Rowlings, Margaret Atwoods, and Stephan Kings." -SO TRUE!

Hope this review follows some of the guidelines you outlined. :D

V, my darling! This amazing spectacular guide is now featured on ADoR. You deserve it so much. Here's the review:

Melissa Thinks: I know what you’re thinking: this is not an actual story. Yes, you would be right about that, but there are a few things you should consider before skipping over this piece entirely: 1) it’s written by the ever so lovely and legendary Vena Cava, 2) it covers the always controversial and extremely important topic of how exactly one should review a story, and 3) I mean... it’s Vena.

Being a part of a site that reviews stories can teach you a thing or two about the importance of reviewing which is exactly why this is an essential piece of writing in our small community. Vena outlines a few of the necessities that make up a helpful, critically constructive review. She keeps things organized with an easy to follow format and includes examples that make the read fun. All points and suggestions made were concise, helpful, and extremely easy for the average reader to integrate into their daily Fictionpress using lives.

I cannot recommend this piece enough to all the readers and writers out there. Fictionpress is filled with young aspiring writers looking to improve their writing and bring it to new levels; something that a simple “Update please” or “Good job” can’t achieve. Vena’s guide was extremely helpful to me and I hope it can be to you too.

It only takes a few moments to read, so I strongly recommend you click the link above.

Thank you. I've been afraid to review for the past 9 years, mainly because English is not my first language and I'm afraid of making mistakes, but also because I've never believed that the author may actually be interested in what I've to say, I always think: "someone must have said that before me" or "the author has to many reviews to read them all". You made me realize that the reviews I'm able of writing are good enough for the author care about it.

VENA! I am very upset with you right now!
YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GIVE SPOILER ALERTS BEFORE GIVING A SPOILER (Referring to the McSteamy line)! (Not a GA fan though, so I have no idea if he actually dies or not)
Bad Vena! Bad, bad Vena!

Ah. "We are the future J.K. Rowlings, Margaret Atwoods, and Stephen Kings." What a lovely line. If all writers could firmly have faith in them like this, we'd see magic everywhere!

I love that you posted this. First of all, you are an excellent writer and MY GOD YOUR VOICE NEVER DIMINISHES DOES IT? I feel like when people write non-fictional stuff on FP, they tend to lose their voice a little bit (at least, in the ones I've read) but yours didn't at all. I LOVE YOU. And your voice. I want to be friends with you.

The explanation of CC really helped me because I realised that a lot of my reviews, however well-meaning, are destructive. And I really don't want that to happen, that my review could demoralize somebody. I know very well how awful it is to get a hateful review.
On the other hand, what happens if an author is extremely amateurish and his/her work has a lot of flaws? I feel like I should criticise all of them because then they'll get the feedback they posted their work for; but how do you criticise SO MUCH without sounding like a horrible bitch?

I loved your examples in the beginning btw. Thank you times million for writing this- and do tell me if my review is up to mark ;)

Ahaha, I'm feeling a bit nervous about posting a review to this, but I just wanted to thank you for that very informative and very helpful guide. All my reviews in the future will have to go through your "qualities of a constructive review" checklist.

Although, at the risk of sounding narcissistic and self-centered at the extreme, it was the way that you captured the sentiments of an author awaiting reviews and feedback that struck me the most. So, in addition, thank you too for making me feel a little bit more normal for acting and feeling as if I'm starved for reviews. _

well you sure know how to teach, thx for this!
And just to make sure u know i read this, lets just say i burst out laughing when you said so and so was trying on so and so's thongs! X)

Thank you so much for writing this! Everything you said was very helpful. I'm definitely going to put it to good use in the future ;)

aria's melody

I was going to start off with something like, "OMG! I Cant beleive u actually went aheaed and tried to give us a guide to reviewing! It is like u cant trust us to know exhactly how to do what we does." But then you got me all choked up with your inspirational final thoughts section and I thought about you breaking off a piece of yourself and giving it to me. Imagining this, I am panicking and trying to find the best way to glue you back together. (You obviously do not prefer welding your cuts, flamethrower or otherwise.)
Honestly for a day after (way in the A.M.) Christmas short-story to read "Say What" is a little long and perhaps too many examples would have been given if the examples weren't so darn funny.
I am going try to be more constructively critical in my reviews, however I can feel my emotional brain just raring to tear into a good story and blow my good intentions to bits and I will probably end up just constructively reviewing.
Thank you for this guide. I will use it to the best of my ability for future critiques.
If you keep writing Vena Cava, I will keep trying to check in and see what you are up to. But hey! Don't forget to brag about being published once you send in your manuscripts. n.n

Hi Lovely,

It's Cherry too lazy to sign in because what I am going to do with all the calories that are burnt while pressing one extra button.

These are fantastic reviewing tips, especially on constructive criticism, which as you pointed out, is often so misunderstood. So nice of you to take time out to do this.

One of my creative writing teachers said something about CC in class this semester (a workshop, which is basically quite like FP in a classroom lol): "The point of Constructive Criticism is that is should get a writer more excited about their project, not less." I thought you'd like that so I am sharing.

Okay, off to catch up with HL now. I'm home (Nepal) for winter break and now I have all this time to read/write. So exciting.

Much Love!

This is really effective. I wrote my own guide like this, but I now I feel like mine must have been very unclear and confusing. The clarity of language and straightforward layout makes this really ideal, I think, especially for those afraid of reviewing.