Writers often approach their work as an exercise in seeing the world through another’s eyes. But as Best Peer Review winner for our Historical Fiction Competition Nydia Dara (Australia) points out, writing a peer review benefits from this approach as well. For Nydia, an integral part of peer reviewing involves identifying “the author’s intentions, because this allows me to offer personalised advice” as well as considering “what kind of feedback you, as a writer, would want.”
Read on to get more of her spot-on tips for peer reviewing, and find out how she manages to walk her dogs and write short stories at the same time!
Guest Judge Daven McQueen said that your review “offer[ed] concrete suggestions for growth without being prescriptive.” How did you ensure that you provided the author with potential paths for revision without dictating the next steps?
I always try to keep in mind that storytelling isn’t an objective craft; the author is simply trying to convey their message in the best way that they can. Commenting on grammar issues is an activity which falls on the objective side, but apart from that, a peer reviewer can’t dictate what the ‘best’ way is for any particular author. They can only provide them with suggestions on potential points of improvement.
That being said, the first thing I try to do when I write a review is identify the author’s intentions, because this allows me to offer personalised advice. For example, if I feel like the author is aiming for high emotional impact with their piece, I’ll point out any places their word choice is less evocative. On the other hand, if the character voice seems like it’s supposed to convey disinterest or a lack of agency, I’ll offer suggestions on how to solidify this without losing the reader’s attention. In offering advice, I think intuition is usually the best thing to go with, because it’s what a reader will naturally judge a piece by when they read it.
In your review, you made great use of the highlighting tool. Describe your process for deciding what feedback you give via highlighting tool versus the guided questions.
The first thing I do after I’ve read the piece is to go back and examine it line-by-line, offering specific suggestions using the highlighting tool. I usually comment on things like grammar issues, word choice, and initial reactions—things that are helpful for the writer to get their revision process started. I don’t answer the guided questions until the end, because they provide a framework for overarching advice. My answers to these questions reflect my overall reaction to the plot, characters, and themes. You’ll also find my main advice for the writer moving forward. These are the questions a writer should come back to after they’ve made minor corrections, because they’ll take a bit more reflection to execute. I think a combination of both the highlighting tool and overarching comments is really important, because it gives the author a sort of ‘justification’ for your suggestions, which will help them decide what their next steps will be—because not all advice is going to work in favour of their artistic intentions.
What is your advice to a writer who is giving a peer review for the first time?
To think about what kind of feedback you, as a writer, would want. Receiving compliments with no substantive advice wouldn’t help you improve, but neither would gratuitous criticism. You also wouldn’t want a peer reviewer to take over your character’s lives—they’re your characters, after all. It’s about finding a balance and appreciating that writing is not like a mathematical problem: there is no right answer, only suggestions. Just remember that every piece of feedback is helpful, and much appreciated by the person receiving it, so you can’t really go wrong. Whether the author chooses to implement your suggestions or not, they are still learning about their piece through the eyes of their readers, which is always insightful. Ultimately, I’m quite new to Write the World myself, so I’m still learning as I go along!
What are your writing goals for the rest of 2020?
Despite being thrown head-first into the peak of exam season, I’m attempting to write one short story per week. Sometimes this happens on my phone’s voice memo app while I’m walking the dogs; other times while I’m sitting at a bus stop. I’m also currently establishing a content creator’s club at my school. This includes an online platform which will allow writers and other creative types to collaborate and share their work, much like Write the World itself.
