Pretty damned bold to make a statement like that, now wouldn't ya say? But then, we all know I'm just that kinda guy. Right?

In this first of two planned posts today (sorry, fans) I would like to tell you just a little bit about why I review reviewers.

It started early this morning, when I was perusing another blog by my friend PlannerDan . He wrote a post that I know we can all relate to. "A Little Whining and Ranting" 

After reading his post, I felt for him. I felt so bad, in fact that I went to my own port to see if I had been the victim of such a "drive-by" review. My personal goal is to review 100 pieces each month. Of those, a majority of my reviews deal with the reviews given by other reviewers.

Would it surprise you to know that I found five such nefarious pigeon droppings in my own port? Probably not. They were private, anonymous, and wordless. Yes, back in earlier days that was entirely possible on this site. One of them was a review of my entire professional writing folder! Contest winners and published works included! Does that make a difference?

I'll never know, now will I? That's the point. Someone took out their vitriol on my work. Was it a personal attack on me? Perhaps. Was it a vicious attack on my work? I have no idea. I think the review pretty much speaks for itself. And, that is precisely my point.

Dan's work happens to be very, very good. I've known his work for years now. Beyond my joy to see his writing again was the reality that the soul of a talented writer and encourager of our craft has been unnecessarily scarred. It probably won't last long because Dan is just too high-value a person for that. What of his reviewer? We'll probably never know. They are gone. But their droppings remain forever in the port of a talented and giving writer.

I review reviewers to thank them for insightful, professional reviews given to their fellow craftsmen. Reviewing is not a "higher" level of our art, folks. It is an entirely different, specialized area of writing. Just as a good poem or story can lift the spirits of the reader, the thoughtful review can lift the soul of a writer. I don't snipe with my reviews, but I will jump on a bad one quickly. Bad is not necessarily equal to "negative". Reviewers who "puff up" themselves at the expense of others is a bad review. A review with no insight to make the work better is a bad review. Those reviews get low marks from me.

I love to thank, and encourage good reviews by some of the best reviewers anywhere, right here on WDC. Not because I am a master reviewer--I assure you I am sophomoric at best. I learn from the talented reviews I see here. I learn about nuance of genres I do not write by reading, studying, and learning from their work. These reviews help my work. Isn't that the point?

I'm sorry Dan got dropped on. I'm sorry I got dropped on. I'm sorry anyone here gets dropped on. We know it still happens, yet with the changes in the ratings system here, we have moved to a higher and different level of expectation. I only hope we continue that trend.

I hope you will stop by Dan's port. I hope you will read, and honestly review his work. He deserves it. So do I. So do we all.

In His Care,

Budroe.