Reviews and why should you write them.

So… Reviews. That annoying thing at the end of an update, where authors beg and whine and yell and demand and weep for our reviews. You ever wondered why? Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, it’s because it helps them? Could be because it helps motivate them or having a reaction to a particular scene or word or sentence helps them evaluate their own work, similar to how a stand-up comedian reuses and changes their jokes, to improve their craft? Or perhaps because being complimented, remembered, or even acknowledged as another human being behind the story gives them some semblance of comfort that they might not otherwise have it in their lives? 

Writing can be a form of escapism as any other in the book, and when a writer pours their heart and soul into a story, is it really that much to ask for a couple of words or lines? Doesn’t have to be a thorough review, just a reaction to a scene you enjoyed, the actions of a character you like had, or even just a funny passage. Anything can be helpful. And if you can help make someone’s day with just this small amount of effort, is it really that much to ask?

I’ll admit, as I have in the past, I am ‘guilty’ of the same sin. For months and months, I hadn’t even reviewed my primary focus, ITT, to the point it became a joke. Saliient never seemed bothered by it, but I was. And after realizing it, and talking to some other people, I forced myself into the habit of always reviewing. Haven’t always been successful, but I’m trying.

It doesn’t have to be in every chapter (hello Triage <3), it doesn’t have to be long-winded ‘love letters’ like some youngsters did, you can be politely scathing, you can be extremely critical, or not at all. Some of my authors love when the reviewer goes in-depth into their own reactions about the chapter, what they liked or disliked; if they laughed, cried, raged at, whatever. One thing though, don’t you ever flame someone. You don’t know what the person behind the screen is like, you don’t know what they’ve gone through, you don’t even know what their fluency in English is(or lack thereof), and this applies to any language, so judging someone, pushing your own beliefs, attacking someone for free content they gave to you, is the embodiment of disgusting behaviour to my eyes.

Despite not being a veteran in the fanfiction world, having only learned about its existence 3-something years ago, I’ve jumped into it head-first since… a year now. Literally. From it, I’ve met a lot of people, learned different perspectives and points of view, improved my English (somewhat) from chatting constantly and about all sorts of topics. And all of this started with 3 reviews. One wasn’t even directly at the author, but it was enough to generate a conversation, then one thing led to another, and I got myself my first Beta work. 

Another was(and this was months and months prior to either of the other two) to an author who simply took me by the hand and showered me in good feels, and even if they didn’t know it about it then, it made me want to be more involved and active in this little corner of the internet. And then, later on, it came full circle in the funniest, and frankly, weirdest ways. 

The third review was as important, as… meaningful as the others, though in a different way. I felt like I had found a long-lost friend and not a ‘random’ person on the internet. I never had a friendship develop this quickly, to that level of intimacy, in just a week or so, to the point where I was sharing my life story (not that it’s that long or particularly interesting) and being reciprocated, replete with laughter, stupid jokes, crass commentary, insightful bits of advice, heartfelt comfort, and just an overall mutual well-wishing nature.

From those three reviews, my world changed. At first, it didn’t look like it, it was just something fun, something to pass the time, to get my mind out of my reality, as any other escapism would. But as I became a bit more confident, started talking to more people, reaching out to other authors who also had written stories I loved, as I fell in love with the hobby that betaing was, I simply wanted to do more and more. So I offered to those I liked, to people I felt like I could help, even if a little bit, speed their work up, and just to make their life a bit easier.

After months of doing that, after Corona hit and everything else changed, I found myself floating, not knowing what to do with my life, how to make an income, how to even survive, feeling as though nothing I did was enough, unemployed, with a grieving mother, not even living in our own house any longer, in a completely different city; one of those contacts I made, that came from those 2 first reviews, taught me a way out. And then, with that, every other person who cared for me, from me just trying to be helpful, decided to help me. In every possible way they could. And they are still doing it. 

So, with this admittedly biased opinion on why writing reviews might be a good thing, I can’t help but advocate in propagating this sort of behaviour, because it brought such great things to my life that I want to share it with others. I’m not saying that by reviewing you’ll instantly make friends, nor that every author will even respond or care about reviews. Not everyone does. But at the end of the day, if you make even one person smile, to me, that’s enough.