Q - Who will you say is a good writer?
Ans - Any person who can describe a circular staircase, a curvaceous girl, and spaghetti without using any pictures or gestures, purely in words.
Indeed, writing is a tough job. And Mouthshut is doing a good job by providing this platform to hone our writing talents. Who knows, a hundred years down the line, your grandchildren may see paperback editions of titles like Shakespeare and Maddy, the two geniuses, or Maddy's works- a collection.
Ok...that was taking it a bit too far. But honestly, writing is an art, and very few can master it. Luckily, mouthshut has so many members who have truly mastered it. Members like just-did-it, premjit, ganeshb, karana23, tongue-in-cheek and many others can give the best of the writers an inferiority complex.
With so many talents on this site, I really do not know why I am writing a review under this category. The best thing that I can advise budding writers is to visit the reviews of the above mentioned members and learn from them. Collectively, they are a university of writing.
Still I am writing this review. My wife will vouch for the fact that I love to give advices. Not that she takes them any more seriously than our marriage, but still, a habit is a habit! So here I come with my bag of advices.
THE WAY I DO IT
Every person has his own way of writing. I normally follow my heart. It is a chain of thoughts, built up as I write. I never plan my review.
When I finish, the editing starts. I cut off some lines, I add some! I rephrase some sentences, I replace some synonyms. Once I am satisfied with the review, the next step is a spell check. While doing the spell check, you should be alert. There are some typos that actually make a proper word, and hence escape the scrutiny of your check. Such spelling mistakes can change the meaning of the sentence. For example- The sentence Life is beautiful can change to a white lie if the capital L becomes a capital W. And no spell check can find it out! So be careful.
LET'S HAVE SOME FUN
Take a look at these lines:
I was sitting at home when our local cable channel put on the movie Hot Coffee. It was a fantastic movie, and I really enjoyed it. I strongly recommend this movie.
See how drab it looks. It seems as if it is written with the director of the movie pointing a gun at your temple. Ok....let us see what can be done to this paragraph.
The lines(Revised edition):
Sitting alone at home can be pretty boring. Especially if you are not used to it. It is a torture! Yes...it was one of those days when nothing seemed right. I was craving for some sound in the house, and so, switched on the television. As the dead screen lighted up, I saw my company for the evening- Hot Coffee. That was the name of the movie my cable chap had selected. This somewhat cheaply named movie turned out to be one of the best comedies I had seen in a long time.
Ok...so now, it looks good, doesn't it? Now, let us spice it up. How about some comical touches? Ok....let us give it a try!
The lines(Spiced up edition):
Sitting alone at home can be pretty boring. (Just like my college girlfriend....pretty and boring!) There I was, sitting in my drawing room, brooding over life in general.
Nothing was right! I had lost a major contract at work, because the producer felt I was a dimwit. When I came home, I forgot to take the change from the cabbie, and before I could realize it, the cabbie had performed the vanishing act with amazing promptness. As I stood on the road, exasperated, the rains started! That was when I realized that the cabbie had vanished with my brand new umbrella on the back seat.
Frustrated, I came home, only to find that my wife had left to receive her fat fussy aunt and her whole family, who were coming to our home for a short stay of 15 days. It was a bad day- I accepted.
So there you had me- sitting alone in my drawing room, brooding over life in general. Idly, I picked up the remote control and switched on our local cable channel. HOT COFFEE- the letters appeared on the television screen. The name seemed interesting, especially when it was raining cats and dogs outside!
I settled down to watch the movie. And believe me, the movie actually made me believe that there are, after all, some things in life which can really make you laugh. It was a laugh riot from the first frame to the last shot. A comedy I did highly recommend for all the guys who have been fleeced by wicked cabbies and are expecting a visit from bunch of lunatic in-laws! Just have a hot coffee!
Hmmm...that seems better! But is it too long? Ok...so let us cut off the unwanted lines.
The lines(Edited edition):
Sitting alone at home can be pretty boring. (Just like my college girlfriend....pretty and boring!) There I was, sitting in my drawing room, brooding over life in general.
Nothing was right! I had lost a major contract at work, because the producer felt I was a dimwit. I came home, and before I could realize it, the cabbie had performed the vanishing act with my change in his pocket and my brand new umbrella on the back seat.
Frustrated, I came home, only to find that my wife had left a note saying that she had gone to receive her fussy aunt and her whole family, who were coming to our home for a short stay of 15 days. It was a bad day- I accepted.
So there you had me- sitting alone in my drawing room, brooding over life in general. Idly, I picked up the television remote control and switched on our local cable channel. HOT COFFEE- the letters appeared on the television screen. The name seemed interesting!
I settled down to watch the movie. And believe me, the movie actually made me believe that there are, after all, some things in life which can really make you laugh. A comedy I did highly recommend for all the guys who have been fleeced by wicked cabbies and are expecting a visit from bunch of lunatic in-laws! Just have a hot coffee!
That seems fine!
SOME MORE POINTERS
Avoid using slang, short forms like u, every1, gr8 etc., and emoticon characters like :), ;), :( etc.
In case the review is on some product, try to mention all those things that may be necessary for a reader. For example- a restaurant review should mention the prices, parking facilities, ambience and service.
Once you finish writing a review, try reading it from a reader's point of view. Is there anything more you would like to read? If yes, add it!
Take time to think about the title. Remember, it is the first attraction to your review.
IN CONCLUSION
Keep an eye on the comments section. If someone points out your flaws, take it in the right spirit. If you feel that the flaw pointed is not valid, express decently why you feel so. On the other hand, if you feel that it is valid, learn from those mistakes. It will help you become a better writer. And who knows...one day your grandchildren might actually find your collections in some bookshop.
