Spring Super Power Newsletter

"WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" 
NEWSLETTER

This Spring time newsletter will mainly cover reviewing.
Many of you have heard this all before, but it's always a good idea to glance it over anyway. There might be one thing new which you like.
I like to think that there's always room for improvement.

It is my hope that some of our newer members to WDC might also be open to suggestions and improvement.

In our group, we credit your reviews starting at 250 characters. A review doesn't need to be tremendously large to be good, though some of your more detailed reviews are very impressive.

Remember, everyone's style is different. It's wonderful to see a variety of style and flare in our affiliated reviews, and your enthusiasm should be praised! This newsletter isn't meant to discourage, but rather to help when you feel ready to add improvement. ...If need be, of course!!

I think it's important that you have fun and enjoy reviewing. It should never feel like a chore. With added knowledge, your reviews should flow with ease.

Have fun!

REVIEW EXAMPLES AND OTHER IDEAS

The following entry from WDC 101, is very well-written. I highly recommend that you take a moment to look it over.

"Guidelines To Great Reviewing" 

Let's examine one excerpt from it...

~How did the writing make you feel? Did it invoke any emotions?
~Can you relate to the writing through a personal experience?
~Did the plot interest you? Were the characters believable? Did the dialog flow naturally?
~Did the time, place and other setting characteristics work together?
~What did you like most? What did you like least? Did anything stand out?
~Is there anything you would change within the writing?
~Was the writing memorable? Why or why not?
~If this were your own writing, what would you want to know from a reviewer?

If you simply covered all of that, you'd find words flowing effortlessly into your excellent review.

I'm going to talk briefly about a few reviews here.
Please note that I randomly grabbed a few, so that explains why one of yours might not be here. Members of our group do many, many fine reviews, and I most certainly notice.

The following are a few great, smaller reviews.

Review of "The Longing of a Writer"
sadorose added a link to our group, and talked about imagery, flow, and the touching experience.

Angus 's reviews are always fun to read, and very helpful, as in this example:
Review of "Caught"

The following are a few great, mid-sized reviews.

Review of "Molasses_A Kennton the Arsonist Story"
Warped Sanity had been reviewing entries for a contest and included a small link to it, which is fine. One of our pretty images at a proportioned size was added at the top of the nice review.

Review of "Hawks With Sins"
IceSkatingSugarCube added both a link to our group, and a smaller image. This review focused on small errors which could easily be corrected. Notice that large amounts of material weren't copy/pasted. The point was made with only what was needed.

A similar example is in this excellent review by Emily :
Review of "The Great Aunts of Lemnos"

These few are fun and helpful:
Review of "Cloudburst" , by eyestar~*
Review of "Ibiza " , by Lornda
Invalid Review , by Maryann

Here's a few longer and impressive reviews:

Review of "Adelphus" , by Sum1's Home
Review of "The Tribute" , by Choconut
Invalid Review , by Lornda
Review of "The Descendants of Ipswich " , by A E Willcox

TEMPLATES

Templates are not necessary, but they can be very helpful. Think of them as a simple base to put your words, just as your plate holds your food.
It's up to you if you would like to use one.

If you go to the left side of your screen and click on 'my account', you will be able to then click on 'my review tool' and follow the prompts to create a template. This will make your reviewing much easier.

You will then be able to concentrate only on doing each review, rather than having to set it up each and every time. ..And the reviews might be quicker and easier to do because it's like a 'guide' to help you type your thoughts.

You can get creative and make any template you want...I think there's a nice link or two about templates at "Helping Links"  ... but here's a quick one here which you can copy and use or change around the way you'd like (...adding colors, centering, different image, no image, more ideas, etc.):

Hello {suser:}

{b}My Thoughts:{/b}

{b}My Favorite Part:{/b}

{b}My Suggestions:{/b}

{center}Write On!!{/center}

{center}{citem:power}{/center}

{center}{image:2154080-50%}{/center}

If you notice in the template above, there is an opening greeting, followed by thoughts. You might take the opportunity to say something really nice in your opening thoughts. Remember to keep it related to the topic. Off topic conversations can be sent in an email at another time.
--How did this piece make you feel?
--Did it remind you of something?
--Continue being honest, positive, encouraging and helpful throughout your review.

Notice in the next part of the template, you mention your favorite parts of the item. Even if the piece you read was incredibly terrible, you can always find something positive to say.
--Was their idea creative?
--Did their descriptions make you smile? Cry?
--Did something about it really touch you in some way?
If the piece was so perfect that you can't think of anything that might improve it, let the author know that. Letting the author know that you really loved the piece is also a big help. You are saying that the author is on the right track.

The next area in the sample template is the suggestion area. This is where you can truly shine and be helpful. It's always a great feeling to know that you are able to really help a writer.
--Try not to be rude. We don't want to send anyone away in tears...We want to get them excited about the new ways you pointed out that might improve their work.
--Did you notice anything about the story plot that might be improved?
--Was the rhyme of the poem off?
--Could more descriptions eliminate confusion?
--Did you notice any spelling/grammar errors?
--Typos?

Take a good look at the size of the image in the above example. I've added '-50%' next to the number.
A lot of times our images seem very large. By inserting an image at half size, your review will have a better, more proportioned look.

Some members like to use an image and a link to our group, as in the above template example.
Here is a link to several of our group images on share which you can use:

Master Book of Shared Group Images  [E] #1982996 This is a gathering of most WDC Power Reviewers Images all in one place. by Maryann

If you can't use images, please make sure to add a link to our group. You can decorate the link if you choose to with emoticons.
For example:

"WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group"  E: Join the fun! We inspire reviewers through kindness and learning! Winner of eight Quills!

WHAT NOT TO PUT INTO A REVIEW

A dozen blank spaces between lines

I always suggest leaving space throughout your writings. Leaving space gives a more reader-friendly presentation, and eliminates the big, run-on block of words.
Leaving a strange number of blank spaces between lines or paragraphs, however, only makes your review appear to look scant and missing something.
Perhaps you might try a template to give your review a more organized look.

Off topic filler 'fluff'

I've been noticing a large amount of disclaimers and other opinions inside of reviews on the public pages.

If you have a philosophy about reviewing or a strong idea about how you personally review, make an item of it.
If you have a lot to write on this sort of subject matter or daily ramblings, perhaps make a book item.

There's no reason to copy/paste the same lines or paragraph into every review you write.
The person reading the review realizes it contains your personal opinion, in addition to suggested corrections.
That's why each item allows endless amounts of reviews. The owner of the items enjoys many people's opinions.

If ever a person responds to your review with questions about why you reviewed a certain way, you might then send them your copy/paste philosophy, or send them to your book entry!

I've also noticed occasional off-topic ramblings inside reviews.
It's okay to add thoughts related to the item. The author will enjoy hearing that their item provoked emotion and had you thinking.
On the other hand, ranting about unrelated thoughts isn't a good idea.

Look at this haiku:

nature's garden wakes
honeysuckle shyly peeks
sweet scents will follow

An author might not want to read this review about his haiku:
Great that you can write poems. I tried writing poems when I was in college. The dorm hallway was always so noisy that I could hear the racket inside my room with the door closed. It goes without saying that I could never write any poems, not even a crazy small poem like you did. I tried putting my music louder, but that only made it worse. So, I never learned anything about poems. I learned the words to a lot of good songs, though! LOL Sorry, I can't be of more help to you. It looks okay to me. Maybe make it bigger. It's smaller than some of the poems I've seen on Writing.com. For that reason, I have to give it only three stars. Keep trying. Don't give up like I did!

There's nothing wrong with trying to chat and make friends on WDC. Send a person an email, but try to (for the most part) keep your review related to the item.

MEMBER FUNDRAISERS

Mad Hatter's Tea Party   [E] #2074069 March Madness at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party Raffle & Auction Extravaganza. by Choconut

Did I leave something out?
Post your fundraisers which benefit "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" , questions, suggestions, thought, etc. at "Superpower Reviewers HUB" 

*The ideas in this newsletter were just a few quick suggestions. The captains and I will give you more help and ideas from time to time. Once again, don't hesitate to post on "Superpower Reviewers HUB"  if you have any questions. One or more of your fellow power members or captains will be glad to answer your posts.