Gemini Rising

Reventing

Sweeties, we were just talking about Reviews and how hard it is - I thought I'd share a little bit of the reason as to why the frustration is "sky high." Here's a recent example.

I reviewed a short story. Techincally and structurally it had A LOT of flaws. For one, the POV narration skipped and while it started in first person at one point it was third person. There were no line breaks to indicate a shift in POV or a shift in scene. There was other stuff, too. Again, a lot of judging criteria came from

SELF EDITING FOR THE FICTION WRITER

This is what I got:

The story is multiple first-person.
Line breaks indicate switching between narrators.
Re-read.

I just wanted to grit my teeth in frustration.

#1 - If anyone is serious about publishing, one of the #1 rules is keep the POV consistant. (even if it is a Lonesome Dove perspective) Multiple 1st person? For readers that is simply too confusing to follow!

#2 - There were no established linebreaks. In fact, here on WDC the spacing wasn't doubled and it was hard for me to read. I had to squint my eyes. If you're going to put up something for me to read and review, at least make it easy on my computer eyes. Sigh...

#3 - I have no intention of re-reading unless someone takes my suggestions to heart, does an edit and improves the story.

Going off to have another cup of coffee and relax....
Steph