Reviewing with River

To be honest I can't remember the last time I reviewed a newbie. That sounds pretty awful, but at least it's the truth.

Whenever I review someone, I try to figure out what their strengths are, and where they are weakest. If they're a newbie at writing, or new at taking writing seriously, I look for the one thing they might improve on that would make the biggest step forward for them, and talk about why it would be good for them. That way, they see a step change for minimal effort, which I think really helps to build confidence and encourages them to seek more help in the future rather than shying away from it.

I've taken three newbies under my wing to give them guidance and mentoring. One I dropped because they ignored everything I suggested. One turned out to be writing in French and then dropping it through Google translate, and one reacted poorly to any kind of critique that wasn't 100% positive, and always argued to defend their writing. Maybe I just got unlucky, but it wsn't a good experience for me, so I stepped away from it.

My time is limited. I have my own novels to work on, and I'm active in the Novel Workshop group. The members of that group tend to be very polished and accomplished writers, so I can go to town with reviews and not pull my punches. Each chapter or scene averages between 2k and 4k words, and it takes me about an hour per 1k words to write up a review. I'm also active in places outside WDC, helping authors. I'm also trying to get a local school to start a novel writing club, so the youngsters can learn the basics of novel writing and set them off on their journey.

I'm not saying this as an excuse for not reviewing newbies, it's just the way it is. I'm much more comfortable helping authors who are further along in their journey.