You’d think I’d know how to write a review.
Nope, nope, nope.
My reviews are a disorganised hot mess of rants.
But let’s discuss!!!
When I finish a book, I don’t normally write a review straight away. I like to give myself a day or two to mull things over.
Even then, I sit in front of the computer wondering where to start. I ask myself all the time: HOW THE HECK DO I WRITE A REVIEW?!
I’ve tried:
- writing my thoughts as I read the books
- planning my reviews in dot points
- putting post-its throughout the book
None of them have proven very useful. A lot of them just have me concentrating on what I think of the book rather than just reading the story and enjoying it.
So far, I’ve just stuck to writing what’s on my mind. But then again, there’s the issue of how you make your reviews interesting for your viewers to read. GIFs have worked well so far but honestly, I know people don’t like reading paragraphs of text which is why I put my rants in bold caps.
In the beginning, I’ve split my reviews in two parts: non-spoilers and spoilers. I don’t know if people liked that so I changed my reviews to be generally non-spoilers so that everyone could read it. But it comes with a restriction with being unable to be more specific and rant about the most memorable scenes.
I kind of want to go back to the two-part reviews as they might be more engaging for people who frantically want to fangirl about a book since that’s what this blog was created for in the first place.
I don’t know.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR REVIEWS?
HOW ARE MY REVIEWS?
SHOULD I CHANGE THEM?
f
Fangirl World 
I definitely struggle with writing reviews. I’m not a writer so I always worry that I lack the skills other reviewers have. I also find it hard to articulate my thoughts into words that make sense! I definitely spend a lot of time just staring at my laptop whilst I try to figure out where to start, haha.
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YAY, me too!!! Starting is definitely the hardest part and also knowing how to end for me, as well.
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My reviews are kind of weird but work really well for me. I have two parts. The first I call critically where I critique the plot, writing style and characters on a scale of 1 to 5 stars that have nothing to do with the overall rating. Then I have an the section called emotionally where I go more in depth in my thoughts and feelings on the book but still keep it generally spoiler free. It’s been much easier to keep my thoughts organized that way and when I finish a book I usually hand write a review on a notebook so I don’t forget anything. Later when I’m typing and I don’t agree with what I wrote before, I change it on the review and make an annotation in my notes so they look cohesive
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I’ve never heard of reviews like that! I like it. You get the best of both worlds. I don’t know how you rant without keeping it spoiler free, though – isn’t it difficult? Your style sounds awesome!!
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It is a little bit hard but once I get into it, you kind of forget about it. And sometimes people who have read the book comment and I get to talk freely in the comments with them which is good. And Twitter is always a great option!
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I am like you and have changed up my review style so many times! But that might just be I find it hard to stick with one thing. TBH, unless it’s a book that I’ve been dying to get my hands on, I prefer spoiler reviews. They’re just so much more fun! I wrote my Lady Midnight review to be full of spoilers, and I actually enjoyed writing it. I got to talk about what I did and didn’t like with specific points (which is great to do for a book that is so popular you’ll get the die-hard fangirls after you for forgetting something), it was so much better for me. I generally wait one to two days before I write a review as well, that way I can give time for my feels to calm down.
-Kayl @ Kayl’s Krazy Obsession
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I agree, spoiler reviews are sooo much fun to write and honestly, a lot more amusing to read. A lot of the books I feel ‘meh’ about, I write very general reviews about. Nice e-meeting you!!!
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Love this! Mine are basically long rambles full of incoherent thoughts and some poor grammar at times. I find it hard to shy away from spoilers and I know that I personally enjoy reading spoiler reviews. I like to think mine are a bit down to earth and are a little bit engaging – I can’t help but let out my inner fangirl sometimes though 🙂
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I find it so hard to shy away from spoilers as well!!! Writing my ACOMAF review was so hard since I needed to be spoiler-free. But I have been spoiler free and just referring to things that people who’ve read it can understand. Hahahaha, our inner fangirls would get a long so well.
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