Sacred_Flame said:
Hello fellow users,
Lately, I've been writing video game reviews and I'll soon be doing movie reviews possibly editorials too. The thing is: I never feel that I can create a compelling enough piece of writing to attract others. That there's a certain something that I'm missing, but this is me being paranoid and anxious to take off.
Now the question that I'm really trying to get at is, "What can anybody do to improve this skill?"
I've been reading a lot of books and reviews lately, checking my grammar and other things, but is there anything else that you would recommend?
First, read a lot of different books and writings. You need to familiarize yourself with many writing styles. Read science and history, maybe even a few chapters out of a textbook. You're writing reviews, so you'll be expected first and foremost to be very clinical and objective in your approach. Reading school texts has a surprising amount of value here. A textbook is good based on its ability to keep a reader engaged in a topic being discussed at great length and detail. We've all had bad experiences with horrible texts though: you feel sleepy, distracted, like it's a chore, like you're not going to remember anything. You need to identify what makes the difference. You need to fill your writing with as much information as possible, but you'll need to balance that with how to keep your reader engaged.
The key here is to understand how best to construct your argument. That means knowing where to put information. One idea per paragraph, no more than 7 sentences to a paragraph. Paragraphs must logically and smoothly flow from one to the next. But what's most important is how to prioritize your information. Not every experience with the material being reviewed deserves mention. The pitfall many amateur reviewers make here is being too specific and hitting the reader with too much information. "The controls are a little unresponsive and there is input latency" is a succinct criticism of a bad interface, you needn't go into detail like by adding "so much that this one time in level 7 there was this one monster that I couldn't dodge because the jump button didn't work right away, and then again in level 8 there was a spike trap..." despite your urge to rant about how frustrating it was.
Second, though non-fiction texts are the best place to start, you also need to develop your own personal writing style. Read many books from every genre: fantasy, science fiction, comedy, classics, suspense, poetry, political commentaries, even a romance or two. As above, identify what separates the good books from the crappy ones. Additionally, reading a low of reviews should go without saying.
Third, write a lot. Post a lot on forums like here on the Escapist. If you want to really learn how to put together a logical argument, get in a few arguments over on R&P. You'll know your arguments are getting good when you start getting replies that are more insult than counter argument. Otherwise, just write a lot.
Finally, if you're serious about being a good writer, invest in a few liberal arts classes at your local community college, or if you're already a student consider signing up for a few this upcoming Fall. English composition and writing classes (there are classes for many different styles: I would go for journalistic writing but definitely be diverse about it) go without saying, and also consider a course or two in literature, art, and philosophy.
Best of luck to you.
