This is the second in a series - the first was So You Want To Be A Critic. These are guidelines you can use as you're writing a review to help you remember the critical elements.
Hook Guidelines:
- How can I surprise the reader with something unexpected?
- Did I capture something unusual, profound, funny, tragic, or unexpected in the first sentence?
- Am I coming up with interesting new ways to say things or am I relying on tired old clichés?
- Does my next sentence play off the first in a logical, compelling way or did I just introduce a totally new idea which will confuse the hell out of the reader?
- Does the hook serve as an introduction to the rest of the review, or did I wander off into clever-land without realizing that it has nothing to do with what I’m reviewing?
Body Guidelines:
For a book:
- What was your reaction when you finished the book? If it was powerfully positive or negative, that may be a good place to begin.
- What is the writer trying to accomplish? It’s different for each genre: thrillers, romance, literary fiction, sci fi, etc. Does it work or not, and why? (Sometimes the idea is great but the mechanics are so bad that it has no power - see a list of the mechanics, below.)
- It could be the narrative - a story so compelling that you can’t put it down or so vapid that you found yourself flipping pages just to get through.
- The characters may be so powerfully drawn that what happens to them becomes your primary concern... or they could be so two-dimensional or trite that if one dies, you don’t even notice - or care.
- How does the writer handle dialogue? Does it flow easily, sounding natural, or is it stale with too many adverbs describing the characters' mood. Remember the goal in fiction is to show not tell.
- What about how the artist describes surroundings and people. Again, too many adjectives and adverbs create weak writing. Is there too much needless description that just interferes with the narrative flow?
- All books have to create some kind of tension leading to a climax and then a resolution. How does the author create or fail to create that tension. Is the ending anti-climactic - telegraphed well in advance? Were you surprised in a good or bad sense.
- Does the storyline hold together or does it feel that the author is using too many coincidences and tricks to hide what is really a flawed plot?
- Even in fiction, the theme or philosophy behind the story may be the dominant feature - either well or poorly done.
- How does this book fit in the overall work of the artist? Does he or she use common themes throughout or is every book a surprise - an exploration of an entirely new idea?
- Is there anything about the author’s personal life that’s relevant?
- For non-fiction, what is the author’s central thesis and how well is it explained and argued?
- Or, for non-fiction, is there something besides the central thesis that dominates — which is usually a bad thing — and distracts from what the author’s trying to say.
- Maybe this is just another in a hundred other books on “Parenting for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It’s all been written before, so why bother to write another?
- Does the book break new ground in some way? Combining two genres (humor/thriller or romance/sci fi) or doing something revolutionary or evolutionary with a genre?
- How does the book compare to similar books in the same category? Why is it better or worse? How can you talk about other books and the category in a way that educates your reader?
- If non-fiction and controversial, are there other books or articles that support or criticize the position taken by the author? Do you have any expertise to add your own point of view or should you just let the experts fight it out?
- Finally, after examining all the pieces, is this an important book? You may begin your review with your assessment, but you’re going to have to support that judgment with critical analysis.
Article comments
1 - jonas
this article is great help thanks!!