Reviewing with River

I really like this response, it gives me a great deal to think about.

I once gave a review (not on WDC) to a piece that somehow failed to engage the reader, to make them invested in the MC. Just as an experiment, I copied the piece - luckily it was flash fiction - and did a global replace: "she" became "I". There were a few additional edits to turn this piece into first-person POV. It worked a charm and so I suggested that to the author.

The alternative was to keep it 3PL and make some rash alterations to bring the POV character to life. As a reviewer, you can't make those alterations, only suggest what, where and why, and hope the author agrees.

The problem with both these approaches is that I, as the reviewer, have become an editor. Worse, I have become the author of a new piece based on the original author's work. Sometimes the (original) author appreciates this, often they don't. I have to watch what I am saying - this is their work, and my job is to help them polish it, not rewrite it. It is a fine line on which we have to tread very carefully.