The process of writing often involves getting into the world of your character and seeing things from their point of view. Tamsyn McLean (Australia), winner of Best Peer Review for our Writing for Children Competition, uses this same approach when writing peer reviews. She says, “I find that putting yourself into the shoes of your audience is the easiest way to edit a piece”—which, for this competition, meant her young siblings! The result was a winning peer review that guest judge Kathryn Otoshi praised for its deft balancing of spot-on suggestions and encouragement. Read on for Tamsyn’s full peer reviewing process as well as her favorite childhood picture books and why she thinks it’s important to tackle her older writing pieces.
What was your process for reviewing “Lost?” by The Campbell’s Kid?
When I first read Lost, I really loved the story and I wanted to help the author make it the best piece it could be. The first thing I did was pick out all of the things I admired about the story. Then I thought about why I liked these parts. What made the story appealing? What feedback can I give the author so that they know what works for an audience? It’s always important to strengthen your work and improve, but it’s also important to recognise what you succeed at. Then, it was just a matter of finding areas where a reader might be confused or have trouble reading a story. I find that putting yourself into the shoes of your audience is the easiest way to edit a piece, because it just becomes a matter of common sense.
Guest judge Kathryn Otoshi said that your feedback regarding the piece’s placement of page breaks was spot-on. Did you have any children’s books you kept in mind or referenced when writing this review?
I have two younger siblings who are currently learning how to read, so I kept thinking about them. How would they react to certain spots? What questions they would ask? (Because they always have so many questions!) I also thought about the books that my mum used to read to us and how she would read them.
When you were a child, what were some of your favorite picture books?
I read a lot when I was a kid and I still do. One of my favourites was Dogs Don’t do Ballet because of the absurdity of the story. I admired how such an underdog (pun intended) was able to seize the day and prove everyone wrong. I also loved reading Maori folk tale books like How Maui Slowed the Sun because of the style of the drawings. They were really cool. There were just so many different books that I loved as a child, it’s hard to remember them all. As long as they were interesting and had good pictures, I was satisfied.
What are your current writing goals?
Right now, I want to work on gathering the courage to tackle my old pieces. I find it really hard to look at my old writing because at the time I wrote these things, I felt really proud of my work, but then I look at them with a clearer head and think “This is total garbage. What was I thinking?” I don’t think that feeling will ever go away, but I still want to be able to face how I used to write. That way, I can see how far I’ve come and learn from my mistakes.