Flexible Book Exchange (Open)

Comment Guidelines (for moderate exchanges)

This chapter is for members who intend to participate in Moderate exchanges:

To meet the requirements of an exchange, comment(s) on each chapter you agree to exchange must be 7+ lines (PC)/13+ lines (mobile) long and all those lines must all relate to the story content. These lines can be contained in one final review or a cumulation of your inline comments (provided they are detailed sentences).

Please note that a line must be at least half of the way across the page to count. If it's just one of two words on the line, please add another. 

Your comment(s) should not be so generic that it could be copy-pasted onto another person's story. They should contain enough detail (names of characters, events from the chapter etc.) to show that you read the chapter. The goal of the club is to offer authentic feedback and reads on each other's stories. If your comments are too vague, you will be asked to redo them. 

Tag your comments #FlexBE or #FBE

These do not count as part of your 7/13 lines: Great chapter! Loved it! OMG! Haha. Can't wait to read more! Using emojiis, comments on your personal/writing experience, or apologies for taking a while to read the chapter (though you are still welcome to use them in addition to your five sentences) 

Aim for quality feedback:

Be specific: Use the names of their characters, settings, objects or events to show you have done more than write up some generic comment.

Share what is working well:  Remember to be specific here too.

Were there great descriptive sentences/paragraphs that really stood out? 

Is their dialogue realistic? 

Did their characters jump off the page with personality? 

Was the setting unique and richly detailed?

What needs to be improved: Try to be specific and give examples when you say something isn't working. It's a good idea to give a suggestion of how to fix the issue as well. 

No one wants to hear: "I noticed some grammar mistakes." or "Use more description".

It's too vague and not helpful. Instead try "I noticed quite a few run-on sentences, for example, "quote from story". You need to replace the comma with a period or a semi-colon" or "I think you could include more setting details when X travels to her childhood home like..." 

Questions to consider

Do the characters need more development? 

Are the transitions between scenes or paragraphs a bit choppy or unclear? 

Was the setting unclear or underdeveloped? 

Were any sections confusing and why did they seem that way? 

Did their sentences flow well? 

Did you notice any reoccurring grammar issues that took away from the story? 

Does the character's motivation come through clearly? Do they have a goal?

Could the opening chapter be more engaging or have a stronger hook?

Share your thoughts: Think about how you connected to the story. 

Could you relate to the characters? 

Do you have any theories on why the characters made the choices they did?

Did you have any questions as you read? 

Do you have any predictions? 

Example of what we're looking for:

This chapter really made me root for Alisha to succeed in her quest for the crown. Your use of short, choppy sentences during the action scenes increased the tension effectively. Your descriptions of the old woman's figure painted a unique image as did the descriptions of the sounds and smell in the cave.

I noticed your dialogue isn't being punctuated correctly. You're using periods with your dialogue tags (he said) when it should be commas. Suggested correction: "Run fast," she yelled. You could also expand more on the secondary characters since it's a bit difficult to distinguish them. Thinking about any quirks or accents in their speech or body language or any unique features beyond their hair and eye colour (scars, buckteeth, a limp, etc.) could help with this.

The pacing of the chapter was really well done since it moved quickly through the fight, but there was still a moment for her to reflect as the chapter ended.

What we're not looking for:

Wow! What an amazing chapter. Seriously, I could not stop reading and your writing is perfect, just amazing! Your descriptions are on point! You need to publish this book asap. I wish I could write this well. I thought the dialogues were really good and so were the descriptions. There were a few grammar mistakes but I wouldn't worry about it. Keep up the great work and I can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter!!! 

(Here's the problem with this comment: It does one thing right-- it mentions dialogue and descriptions, but it just says that they're good, not why or which section, in particular, was most effective. Most of it is fluffy praise. Will it make the writer feel great? Maybe, if they believe the person read their book. But it won't help the writer grow, and it could be copy-pasted on virtually any book.

How would you fix it?

What made the chapter and the descriptions so effective? Which lines stood out the most as amazing description, was there a particular use of figurative language that really helped build the setting or character? And the grammar comment would be far more helpful if it specified what type of grammar issue they had to review: tenses, commas, punctuation, run-on sentences. We're not expecting you to inline comment every mistake, but a hint at where the problem is can help the writer either look up the rule or find the issue if they know the rule. Also specific character, place, object names let the writer know you're more invested in their story and took  the time to read it carefully.

If you have anything you think would be helpful, feel free to comment and I can add in your suggestions :)