  Noticing Newbies
This week: The Reading Writing Ratio Edited by: Stephanie Grace  
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Hey there, Newbie! I'm a Newbie, too! We're all newbies at something, right? Well, be this an introduction to something new or a refresher course that makes it feel new, I hope that you enjoy this edition of Noticing Newbies.
Please, don't forget to leave a comment, question, or suggestion when you are done reading --Just like you, I need inspiration, too. 
♥,
Stephanie Grace |
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The Reading Writing Ratio
I wish that I had some amazing topic that would spread enlightenment, inspiration, and publication for all, but that’s just not the case. *sigh* Instead, I figured that I would just blabber on about something that I’ve observed too closely in the last few years.
Over the course of the last few years, I’ve pretty much stopped writing. It’s not really a block –in fact, I actually celebrated this at first. The compulsion and need to write has always felt like a burden to me, one that I did not embrace. When I found that I could live without writing, it was a relief. Part of me, however, has been missing.
I have written maybe five times in the last two years. This led me to a realization: I’ve all but stopped reading. Sure, I read humorous images and statuses on Facebook, but that’s about it. I own many books that I have not read, I own a Nook, have a Kindle reader on my laptop, and know where to find free books, yet I haven’t been reading.
A few months ago, I finally read a book. It took me a day, I wrote a review, and then … I felt the need to write a story! It went nowhere, of course, but it made me think. Thinking led to remembering, and remembering led to realizing that the more I read, the more I write.
Your read words to written words ratio may vary from mine, but all of this forces me to encourage you to read! Don’t just write and think that you can become some perfect novelist without taking in the words of others. Read everything. Read what you love, read what you don’t love, read stories from your favorite genre and read stories from genres that [you think] you hate. Just read! Find inspiration in the works of others, in their books, in their poems, in their stories, in their phrases, and in their words. Just open your mind and read … and your mind will thank you for it with a spark of inspiration and a sudden rush of words.
The outside world is entertaining and inspiring, but usually because we are observing and forming stories for the people that we see. We cannot get into their minds, so we develop our own versions of their minds (they become characters). Without the outside world, inspiration can still be found. Characters are people, too, so make with the people-watching and open yourself to inspiration!
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Time to read some of the newer members of our Writing.Com family! ♥
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1928032 by Not Available. |
| |  | Monsters (E)
When the little monsters get inside your head!
#1927781 by Sanita |
| | | Stress (E)
Just a self-help or philosophical style of writing.
#1927750 by 13liss |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1927729 by Not Available. |
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https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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I love getting comments and getting to respond.  Here is what some of you said in response to my blabbering about reviewing:
From blunderbuss: I agree with all these review tips - I probably contravene a few from time to time, but will try to do better! One thing - writers often do find it useful to know WHY you picked that item. So sometimes I refer to where I found it (newsletter recommendation) or because of the title etc.
I don't think this is 'padding' because I like to know why people review an item for me.
I have a million and one "rules" in my head for reviewing, and I constantly break them.  I think rules vary from piece to piece as much as one piece varies from another. I don't think that mentioning how you came upon an item is padding, just that it shouldn't count toward the 250 characters. I say this because if someone says, "I found this item in the Noticing Newbies Newsletter released on April 10, 2013 about reading and writing," that's 105 characters. Yes, a lot can be said in 145 characters, but *shrugs shoulders* I think it should be considered an added note, not part of the actual review.
From rubai: Great newsletter!
I think good reviewing is an art and requires as much honing as anything else. All your tips were incredibly helpful.
I see so many reviews around here that take up about a paragraph going on with disclaimers etc. The actual content of the review gets somewhat lost.
I really enjoyed reading this newsletter!
You hit the nail on the head with your first sentence. I'm glad that you found my tips helpful, but even my own reviewing style is a constant work in progress. I first used a format (in Notepad!) just to make sure that I didn't forget an aspect, and now I can't imagine reviewing without a template of some sort. I've rarely used a disclaimer because, to me, the word review implies opinion , so why not just get to the meat of it all instead of making someone chew some grizzle? Wow, that was a gross metaphor ...  Reviews are like many other things in life --the more unnecessary detail that is given, the more that useful content is forgotten, lost, or passed over. 'Keep it simple, silly' applies to a lot in life (and I've never learned to do such, LOL.)
From Quick-Quill  : Thank you for this NL. What good information. I hope all newbies read it as well as those who have many reviews in their folder. I took a Wdc reviewing class as I was horrible about reviewing. Now I have many reviewing merit badges. I do give personal opinion about what I think might sound better. I always preface and follow that they are my opinions, take or ignore what doesn't match your story. I really appreciate you character count information. That has always confused me. I try to do a 2500+ review and sometime that gets difficult to achieve when the story is very good or very short.
I'm glad that my rambling was well-received by you! ♥ 2500+ reviews can be incredibly tough, especially with things like 55 word stories or haiku. I applaud you for setting such a high bar for yourself! I do, however, suggest that you throw that away. Don't set a character count for yourself. 250 is usually easy to produce, but if you focus on the character count you can kill your review. If you type your thoughts and then go back to meet a higher (personal) standard, your suggestions and thoughts might get lost.  We don't want that happening! Don't let the character count rule your review; let your review rule the character count! (Quality is better than quantity!) It sounds like you're rocking on the review stage, though, so keep on keepin' on!
From BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  : I know of some Bad reviews I've received, and have done.
One Bad review I received was for my Dragon's Eyes- it was a rant on the fact that, "While [I] look like a good writer, there's no way a human could hope to kill a dragon." Good writer though, so I won't mention their name.
Some Bad reviews I've were basically advertisements for my things, from when I first joined- ended up Paying for them the Hard Way, couldn't collect GPs for my reviews for two years- never going to do that again.
That kind of stuff irks me!  I mean, really, it's your creation. If you want people to be purple and the sky to be orange, that's up to you. Your writing showed be as you envision it. I had a creative writing teacher that told us that we should write for our audience. Oh, how I objected to that one! I write for myself, because it's something that I've just always done. I did not like that woman.
I appreciate you sharing your lesson, too! I hope that readers hold onto that knowledge instead of repeating it.♥
From: Elle - on hiatus 
The thing that annoys me most in reviews is when people tell me things I already know. 'Your poem is about spring'. I know, I wrote it. 'Your poem has 4 stanzas of 6 lines each.' I know, I wrote it! 'Your poem uses an abcb rhyme scheme.' Enough already! What did you THINK about it? Sometimes it's okay if they then go on to tell you what they liked, suggest improvements, etc. But often, they don't. They tell you things you already know, then sign off. I find it very frustrating.
I agree with you, but I've actually appreciated a review or two like that over the years --only because I have forgotten most of my port, so it saves me from having to look at the item. (I hate reading my own writing.). I'm also guilty of making such observations in reviews, but usually for a reason --to point out an inconsistency in, praise the consistence, or explain why the rhyme scheme worked. A review should never be a summary and that's how classify such reviews. I would respond kindly and ask if they had any suggestions or what they thought about the piece. Or, you could try to bait them into giving thoughts about a specific part by saying that you were unsure about a line, etc ... It could work ...
From Lady K Bear
Hi Stephanie, I was reading your newsletter about reviewing and wanted to see what you thought about something I like to do. When I read an item and I want to do a review that will exceed the 250 character allotment, I will sometimes send a message to the author asking if it's ok for me to send them an email with a longer, more detailed review of their work. Usually people are delighted that I will take the time to review them so thoroughly but sometimes they tell me they would rather I didn't. But that is something I try to do if I'm really excited about a story and want to give it a really good review.
Thank you for your response and that is an excellent idea. I wonder, though, if I said something wrong. The 250 character count is the minimum, not the maximum. I love your eagerness to help others improve! Another thing that I've seen too often is a lot of copy-and-paste in a review --I've actually seen people copy the entire item into the review and just add notes here and there!  When it comes line-by-line editing or choosing to just add edit suggestion points, then an e-mail is definitely the way to go. Of course, you could do a short review (above the 250 count) of general thoughts and then offer to e-mail a more in-depth version, that way you will still get credit for the public review and you'll know that you helped as much as you could!  |
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Noticing Newbies: April 10, 2013 Issue [#5616]
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