Feb 17, 2008 02:15 PM
2526 Views
I am not claiming to be Mahatma Gandhi!{His book was My Experiments with Truth}
{Gimme a minute, guy'n'gals: My best friend, My Brother'n'sister, My collective bosses and HR managers, My dealers AND my suborninates have all fainted at what they think is my claim to mahatma-dom! Yaar how can the devil incarnate be. thats their statement, not mine btw!}
Ok, all are now revived. Took 27.62 metric tonnes of ammonia to do that!
And No, it is not an updesh from my side. Just a few insights into my experiences.
Coming to the review per se, as usual my title says it all!
THE BACKGROUND
I was searching for a dpepndable mobile and a dependable bike on the net, when I encountered Mouthshut.com, and took to reading its reviews. I thought that I should pen my mobile experiences on the site, and that it how my it started, this affair with MS!
My initial reviews were just plain vanilla statements of facts about mobiles and frankly read a bit like catalogues, with very little inputs of personal experiences of the product - and here the comment section of MS hlped me evolve - so thanks to my trusted circle for that.
Slowly, as my list of reviewable mobiles came to a close, I was left with little choice of what to write on. Then I moved on to other topics. And where do I find those topics? From my own skill set, my experience and my own brain!
And that is how it started. Since this topic is not about I me and myself, let me cut to the chase: The point of the above is just one thing: whatever you write, be yourself. If you are interested in writing, then it should come from within you. And it is your experiences that determine who you are, your mindset, your personality, your nature and your environment.{Yes, genetics does play a role: but t is the experinetial component that it the determinant}.
WRITING REVIEWS
1) As I was saying, be yourself. The pen will flow automatically if you are penning on something that is you! For example, my moview reviews: just compare with Paul's or Ipsie's. They pale into insignificance in comparison with these stalwarts of MS! I
2) Another parameter is do not try to imitate any style. As as example both chintu-25 and myself write book reviews. Just compare them. You will find a lot of emotion in her writings, a lot of reading between the lines, and a lot of emotion - which tends to give a feel about the book. My reviews in comparison are far more factual and concentrate more on the story, the background of the novel and its factual interpretations, and the writing style. Similarly, just compare Isphonlu's and Paulbs02's moview writings: Paul gives a good feel of the audience response while Ipsie gives a good view of the story and the technicalities! Each has his own style: and each has fabulous ratings from one and all! The point is, if I try to imitate chintu-25 or if Paul tries to do a Ipsie, it will not come off!
3) Dont force it. While initially ideas will not come{as they did not to me}, as you grow in experience they will come. Writing has to have a mood - and when you are in the mood: pen down your ideas. Ideally, if you can write it at the time you get the idea and you are in the mood - the prose will flow. Do not make the mistake of writing just for the sake of increasing review tally. Wait for the mood - like I had this idea and have immediately penned it straght on MS site online extempore. How? The answer is my prose is coming in auto mode without thinking since I have the mood and the Idea! IO haven't written anything for 15 days - and now 3 reviews in 2 days!
4) Get into the reading habit: does not matter what you read, so long as you read. That will develop your linguistic skills as well as your ability to paraphrase{the skill of putting vague ideas into words}
That is about all there is to write a review!
