Forum: Editors/Reviewers Hangout

synopsis of the story

The longer the story the harder it is to synopsize. Most reviews aren't supposed to retell the story to the review's readers. We are strongly encouraged to review stories we like and not review ones we dislike (then send the author an email.) In my opinion much of the reviewers time should be used reviewing stories that were added to the site years ago. Particularly the ones that just appeared on the front page or are in the process of being posted don't need a review to bring them to the attention of current readers.

Another issue is that giving every story you review a 10 doesn't help separate the very best stories from the pretty good ones, and those from ones worth reading but that are not quite that good. There are enough stories to review that the newest stories may not need reviews until after they have stopped posting on the front page. The ones that are good, or at least interesting, should be distinguished from others that readers should drop everything and read immediately. In that case I can see a review while the story is being posted. Particularly if the author is new to the site. Most of the authors on the top 50 or 100 lists don't need the reviewer to alert readers he has written a new story.

This is such a big issue for me. especially for really long fics.
Just give me a fucking spoilerfree synopsis!

It doesn't seem to be a problem on dead-tree versions of books. The squibs, I'm sure written for the purpose of attracting readers, tell enough that I can guess whether I'll like the story. I wish all SOL authors were as attentive to advertising their story, though I'll admit sometimes the squib for hard-cover and paperbacks promise more than the book delivers.

writing reviews

A. I have found there isn't a strong demand for the reviewer to produce his own synopsis of the book. This area is more likely to produce spoilers than anything else in the review.
B. The opinion of the reviewer seems to me to be best at the end of the review.

C. and D. What you liked and didn't like is most of the review and doesn't have to be separated into different paragraphs.

E. Content warnings on stories reviewed should be relatively infrequent. I don't think every review needs one.

F. Recommendations aren't worth a separate paragraph except for unusual stories.

What usually works for me is to say something about what your scores reflect. Why the plot is a 9 or some other number. Usually if you liked the story the plot number is fairly high, over 6 at least. The Technical score can vary significantly from your overall opinion, this is where recommendations (to the author for proof-readers or editors, or to readers to decide if dialect stories fit their needs) most often fit in the review. Finally the reviewer gets to present his case why the story is a ten, or a six or something in between. If it is lower than a six, perhaps you should have written the author and not posted a review.