How To Review The Arts

It is essential for one who writes a review to mentally frame an outline of their opinion about the piece they're writing about. This should always include pros and cons, upsides and downsides to every opinion and never leaving out some justification. Always do the reader a favor in giving each artist the benefit of the doubt meanwhile explaining how and why the viewer came to the conclusions. In a novel, it doesn't matter whether the reader disagrees with the writer because it's a story. But in a review, there needs to be a reason for the reader to be okay with their disagreement, no matter how much it pisses them off.

Get yourself on a roll and fucking WRITE all that's in your head!

Reviewers should always remember to take a second to remove themselves from the experience. The written piece isn't about them, it's about the audience. All too often, writers talk about a subject with a heavy bias, and it isn't fair to the reader. Reviewers must remember to take every instance with a grain of salt, and place their viewpoint in the eye of someone who might have an opposite viewpoint. It's not very likely that a middle-aged mother of three will have a good time at a monster truck rally, but perhaps if she considers how much fun the group of metal-heads next to her are having on their night off, maybe she can sympathize with the event as a piece of entertainment.

Taking notes and pulling quotes is essential for the reviewer to back up their ideas, and it's also cool to add personality in order to sell their thoughts. Sometimes it may be intimidating to know that there is an a wide audience who might disagree with their opinion, and this is why reviewing is scary. But learning from past writers and stemming off of past can be the essential tool in knowing how to say what they feel. Writing a review is all about knowing your shit, backing it up, and sending it home.