How to Write Meaningful Reviews

by Mystic_Warrior

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Hi there. I’m Mystic Warrior and I wrote 52 featured reviews in three months, winning Will’s Summer Reading Contest. In this article, I’ll be sharing some secrets for success, equipping you with everything you need to easily churn out feature-worthy reviews.
 

Table of Contents

What makes a good review?

  • Compliments
  • Constructive criticism
  • Specific examples

What story writing elements could you include in your review?

  • Plot 
  • Characters
  • Worldbuilding
  • Writing style
  • Theme
  • Emotional impact

What types of reviews are there?

  • Reviewing as a writer
  • Reviewing as a reader
  • Reviews for potential readers
  • Reviews for the author

 

What Makes a Good Review?

Before I begin, I’ll preface with this: any comment, including short ones, are valued by authors and the community. Some writers are so starved for feedback that any modicum of effort is appreciated. But if you’re looking to earn those gold stars, commendations and the glorious ‘Avon’ title, then this is the guide for you.

Let’s start simple. I find that the best technique is to use a mix of compliments and constructive criticism, backed by specific examples. 
 

Compliments

This might be somewhat controversial, but I find that it is strategic to say at least one nice thing about the story. Not only will the author be more receptive to your feedback, yet it would also mean you’re providing a more balanced view of the piece, as opposed to merely being an overly critical fault-finder. 

Of course, this does not apply to obviously terrible storygames with little to no care put into them. Feel free to mock them all you like—I know that is a popular pastime here. However, for storygames where the author has obviously put in some effort, point out something they’re doing well. Surely you can find something to like, be it a character’s amusing dialogue or a line of poetic prose. After all, part of the reason we write reviews is to encourage the author to keep writing. 
 

Constructive Criticism 

Some reviewers veer to the other extreme, praising an author as if they’ve written an eternal masterpiece (yes, the pun is intentional). Of course, as someone who has received long comments without constructive criticism, I absolutely love them. Please keep writing these kinds of reviews to boost my ego. But at the same time, if you find a certain element of a storygame could be improved, do not be afraid of giving the author some constructive criticism. 

Personally, I used to worry about giving out constructive criticism as I felt under-qualified to do so. I had a lot of imposter syndrome during my first few years on this site. As such, I created a disclaimer so I could limit my responsibility if the author implements my advice to their detriment (though that might just be the law student in me). So if you wish to add a disclaimer to your reviews, go ahead. 

Reviews, when written for an author, are meant to fulfill two potentially contradictory tasks:

  • Help a writer improve
  • Motivate them to keep writing

Hence, when deciding on the ratio of compliments to constructive criticism, I like to balance between the ‘improvement’ and ‘motivation’ aspects. However, it also depends on the strengths and weaknesses of a storygame. The better it is, the less there is to critique. And a story with a weaker grasp of writing elements naturally lends itself to a more ‘improvement’ style review. 
 

Specific Examples

Imagine I were to walk up to a random aspiring author, show them this website and say, “This is a great writing community so you should join”. Chances are, they won’t believe me. They would probably walk away thinking, ‘What a weirdo’.  

But what if I were to provide them with more reasons to join? “You’ll get lots of good feedback from other writers, you can join contests to refine your writing skills, and all the storygames are free to read.” Now, they would still be thinking, ‘What sort of weirdo randomly walks up to a stranger and promotes a writing website?’, but at least they’ll be more inclined to check this site out. 

Simply put, back up your statements. If you mentioned that the story’s worldbuilding is creative, list a concept or two that intrigued you. Or if you dislike the protagonist and found him annoying, state what about him irritated you—was it the way he acted recklessly, or could it be that the dialogue felt too unrealistic? Not only does this add to your word count, improving your chances of getting your comment featured, but it also ensures your views are backed with actionable steps the author could take to resolve a shortcoming or capitalize on a strength.

Pro Tip: Take notes on the storygame as you read it. A number of seasoned reviewers have stressed the significance of this technique. But if you want to throw caution to the wind and rely on yourself to remember everything at the end, well, you better have an incredible memory.

 

What Story Writing Elements Could You Include In Your Review?

The short answer: anything, as long as it is relevant.

The long answer: here is a non-exhaustive list of some criteria I consider when reading a storygame. In a way, you could consider it my ‘grading rubric’. Even outside of writing reviews, it may be helpful to ask yourself these questions as you write your own storygames. 

Plot

  • What is the scope of the story? Is it effective?
  • How is the plot structured (e.g. three act structure, hero’s journey, save the cat)?
  • Is the pacing too fast or slow?
  • Are there any plot holes or continuity errors?
  • If there are plot twists, are they too predictable? Is there adequate foreshadowing?
  • Do the endings make sense? Are they satisfying?

Characters

  • Who is the protagonist & what is the struggle they face throughout the story?
  • How strong is the characterization of the main cast? Can they be differentiated from each other?
  • Does the antagonist challenge the protagonist enough?
  • Do you have a favorite character? Why or why not?
  • Are the side characters developed?
  • Are there well-written character arcs?
  • Do the characters have engaging and memorable dynamics?

(For tips on writing stronger characters & compelling dynamics, click this link).

Worldbuilding

  • Does the setting feel realistic and lived-in?
  • Is there any lore & does it enhance the experience of the story?
  • Are there any unique cultures, rituals or traditions?
  • How do characters from different backgrounds & upbringings interact with each other?
  • How are worldbuilding details conveyed? Are info-dumps avoided?

Writing Style

  • Is there a distinct narrative voice? Does it remain consistent throughout the story?
  • How often is description used? Is it distracting or effective?
  • Is there too much ‘showing’ (purple prose) or too much ‘telling’ (summary of plot events)?
  • If literary devices or specific sentence structures are used, do they fulfill their intended effect?
  • Are there any proofreading errors (e.g. typos, grammar mistakes, punctuation)?
  • Are there any comma splices? Do you know what a comma splice even is?
  • Is dialogue formatted correctly?
  • Are there any run-on sentences, redundancies or awkward phrasing?

Theme

  • What is the theme?
  • How does it fit into the story?
  • Is the story effective at communicating this theme?
  • Are there different themes across various branches and endings?

Branching & Choices

  • Do the choices make sense?
  • Are there enough choices or is the storygame linear?
  • What branching structure does it predominantly use?
  • How much do the choices affect the storygame? What do you think of the storygame's replayability?
  • How many different endings are there? Which do you like the most?

Emotional Impact

  • How does the storygame make you feel?
  • Can you empathize with the protagonist’s story?
  • Does the writing style evoke an emotional response?
  • How do you feel about the plot?
  • Will you remember this storygame in a week, a month, or a year?

Hopefully, these questions give you a better idea of what you could fill your reviews with. Of course, it is not recommended you use each question for every storygame you read. Take each storygame for what it is—with a plot-driven story, you’ll likely focus more on the ‘plot’ elements, though with a character-driven story, place more emphasis on the ‘character’ questions. 

Over time, you’ll find that your own preferences may influence your perspective of storygames. This becomes much more evident when you assess a story’s emotional impact. I’ve seen instances where the same story has had some people critiquing it for too much negativity while others enjoy the more melancholy tone. 

But how much should you let your own personal preferences shape a review? Is it better to take an objective approach to the story’s writing, or is it better to employ a more subjective one? This leads us nicely to the next segment.

 

What Types of Reviews Are There?

For the purposes of this review, I’ll be tackling four types of reviews. The first two are about the reviewer (in this case that’s you), whereas the latter two revolve around the intended audience. 
 

Reviewing as a Writer

Some people tend to write reviews with a more analytical lens. This means dissecting the narrative, and determining what works and what doesn’t. These types of reviewers tend to focus on advanced writing tips such as sentence structure, the syntactical merits of prose, and the use of punctuation to create certain effects. They may share writing tips or advice they received from other writers.

As such, the review becomes an evaluation of the aforementioned story elements on an objective level. These types of reviews are helpful for the storygame author to improve their own writing, or for readers of the review to use in their own works. However, they may lack a more personal touch. In extreme cases, the review may become too much like a paper graded by an examiner, maybe even appearing as if the reviewer only read the story for the purpose of finding things to comment on.
 

Reviewing as a Reader

On the other end of the scale, there are a number of reviews which are written from a reader’s perspective. This includes what they liked and disliked (leaning towards personal preferences), the things it reminded them of, and how the story made them feel. You’ll often find these sorts of reviewers gushing over a character or speaking about the emotional impact of an ending.

Contrary to the former category, this takes a more subjective approach to reviewing, as it involves one person’s perspective. When taken to the extreme, they may bring up odd grievances about the subject matter or barely related tangents, though thankfully I haven't seen any such reviews. Although the advice usually isn’t aimed at how the author can improve, these sorts of reviews show them whether they can create stories that resonate with readers. I once read a piece of advice which said that good writing isn’t pretty prose or beautiful turns of phrases—it is when a story makes you feel something. Besides, every writer loves it when a reader is enthusiastic about their work.

My stance is that the best reviews include a mix of both components. You should talk about how storygame could be improved on a technical story-writing level, but also connect to the story you’re reading as a reader. Fully immerse yourself in the work but do so with a bit of a critical eye. 
 

Reviews for Potential Readers

This is a rarer type of review, written to help readers decide whether to read a certain storygame. It is—as the title suggests—directed to readers rather than the author of a storygame. This means avoiding spoilers, providing tips in a difficult puzzle game, or including a line like ‘If you like murdering crowds of people, you will enjoy this storygame!’
 

Reviews for the Author

From what I have observed, most reviews appear to be written with the author in mind. This makes sense considering that comments are their main source of feedback and most readers decide whether to read a storygame based on its ratings, description or if a mod forces them to do so. When a review is written for the author, it may involve spoilers, bring up specific improvements that can be made in relation to the story and possibly even compare the storygame to the author’s past ones (especially if it is part of a series).

I believe it is best to either write a review for the author or include elements of both. After all, writing a review solely for the reader would be rather limited in content, and as long as you’re including feedback on what worked or how to improve the story, it can be argued that the review is directed to the writer anyway. Still, you could always add aspects of ‘for the reader’ reviews, especially at the start and the end of your comment.

 

An Important Note

While this article may have presented a somewhat formulaic approach to reviews, it can only take you so far. The main thing to remember is to make each review your own.

Find your own structure. Some reviewers like using a specific template with consistent categories, while others prefer to write freely. Experiment with formatting: try out bullet-points and paragraphs to see which one you prefer. It may even be a mix of both. At the end of the day, as long as you’re engaging with the stories that the community has written, there is no right way to write reviews.

Add a personal touch to your review if you can, whether that is through humor or anecdotes. For me, I like to match the style of my reviews to the storygame’s writing: if it uses a lot of flowery language, my review would incorporate this; where the tone is more humorous, my review tends to include jokes or my (somewhat failed) attempts at humor. 

Lastly, have your own signature style. Gower is known for commenting on writing style, especially in regards to semi-colons. Gryphon assesses each storygame with a specific scorecard and assigns them a numerical grade. Darius is known for his detailed and in-depth reviews as both an author and reader. As for me, my disclaimers have become something akin to a calling card, alongside my overly wordy textwalls. Find your own distinguishing factor and it’ll make reviewing a lot more fun. 

Now, why are you still here? Go and write that review you're currently procrastinating on!