I don't think I've done much more than ten or twenty reviews here. I knew that some concepts were easier to explain after having commented them several times but I couldn't imagine the impact. For a couple of days I've been helping a friend with a piece he wrote and I'm amazed about how easy it is now to explain each one of those bits that not so long before just "felt wrong". Some months ago I had a lot of "that's not right. Let me rewrite it for you"; now I can consistently explain what is wrong with each of those points, how to detect similar mistakes and what to do about them. I haven't learned so many new things but now I find it much easier to express all those concepts. And then there's the speed. I can now review close to my reading speed, where before I needed about ten times the time to avoid losing the story line while I commented or corrected. This has allowed me to see some of my own mistakes while I write. Maybe not a lot of them, but moving ten percent of the corrections from the first review to the writing has a huge impact on my own feelings about what I write and on my ability to write without stops. In all, it's been a wonderful side effect; I know it's supposed to be useful but I review for pure pleasure and getting the benefit feels like a nice unexpected gift. So I'm happy.
I have read some of your reviews and they are insightful, succinct, and polite. I have learnt a few things from your reviews as well, thanks . Happy to know that it's having a positive effect on your writings too. As far as critiquing is concern, I enjoy doing it. But I am almost embarrass to admit that I didn't know writing terminologies like POV, 1st/2nd person narrations etc before I joined this site. Now that those terms are on my fingertips, I am able to understand and explain writing issues more clearly. I used to write by instinct. Reading reviews by others, learning from them, and applying those lessons when I review, have help me see my work from a perspective I have never known before. It is helping me better understand my work. So, I would like to thank all the members (new and old alike) and mods of this wonderful site. Thank you.
