Occasionally I'll see people asking about the "how" of book reviewing. How to actually organise your thoughts on a book, and how to handle that brain-to-keyboard conversion.

I thought I'd make a thread on tips that work for me. If anyone has any more advice, feel free to share!

When I write a review, the first thing I do is try to separate my thoughts on the different aspects of the book. These can be plot, setting, characters, character relationships, pacing, conflict... basically anything.

I'll start by noting down a few thoughts on each. What I liked/disliked about them, or if I thought anything was particularly well handled.

I don't usually try to touch on ALL of these. A review doesn't need to touch on EVERYTHING about a book. That way lies madness.

Of course, some of these things overlap. A plot may be intrinsically tied to a character arc, or a quirk of the setting.

Personally, I try to take advantage of these things to help the "flow" of my review. To smoothly transition from talking about one aspect to another.

What very professional and very organised reviewers will do is take notes while they're actually reading. Lots of folks do that, and lots of us... don't.

I try to, but... yeah, life doesn't always work that way. Sometimes note-taking feels too much like work, and that's ok.

Generally, reviewing a book soon after you read it will help with that brain-to-keyboard conversion. Everything will be fresher in your mind, and the words will flow easier.

Again though, we're human. Sometimes putting a book down and immediately picking up the laptop to write a review can feel too "work-like" for what is supposed to be a fun hobby. So don't beat yourself up for it if you don't feel like reviewing straight away.

But what about when you can't make sense of your feelings on a book? When all your brain can give you is "book gud"?

In those cases, I personally find it easier to break things up into smaller chunks.

So in those cases, rather than thinking of the "plot" or "characters" of a book as vague blobs, I'll try to think of my favourite scenes, or personality traits. Then I'll try to think of why they worked for me.

In fact, I find that questioning myself helps me break through mental blocks a lot.

Why did I dislike that specific character? Why did I prefer another? What was it that made the second more engaging? Is this a personal preference thing, or was I supposed to feel this way?

Books are complicated things, and so again, we don't have to cover everything in a review. The important thing is just to get your most pressing thoughts down. If you feel nervous about touching on a certain aspect, you don't have to.

(This gets more complicated when it comes to books that contain offensive material. If someone buys a book off your review, and you picked up on but didn't mention offensive content like racism, sexism, etc — they likely won't be happy. Reviewers have some responsibility here.)

Another thing that people worry about is length. Not every review has to be a 2000 word essay (but if that's what you like to write, go for it!).

Review readers have preferences, too. Some like long, detailed reviews. Others like shorter reviews that they can digest quickly.

And this ties into probably the most important thing — write in whatever style makes you most comfortable! Especially when you're just starting out.

Long, deep, and philosophical, or short, witty, and jokey. Everyone has their own style. Don't be afraid to explore your own.

It can be easy to feel that your opinion doesn't matter, or that you're not "qualified enough".

I've written a whole piece on this, but it basically boils down to "everyone's opinion is valid, if you're not a knob."

Just... go write the review! https://thefantasyinn.com/2020/04/10/book-blogging-is-bullshit/

Some other things to keep in mind are:

* Be aware of conflating your own tastes with objective "good" and "bad"
* Do NOT tag an author in a negative review, EVER
* Remember to have fun! Reviewing for most people is a hobby, not a job.

There's a lot more to potentially touch on, but hopefully the above is helpful to at least someone.

If there's anything else you're wondering about, feel free to ask! And if any wonderful reviewers out there want to share a few more tips, please do!

And I should mention that these are just the things that work for me, personally. There will likely be a number of other tips and tricks that work for different people!