secretseven: the reviewer

Seventh Haven Writerly Advice & Review Shop | Open & Hiring |

The attempts of defining myself almost always sets me of in tangles of existentialism, but here is a rather honest attempt I have made on my About Me page. Do let me have this freedom.

 

 

(This is actually my face. LOL. No, it's Shinta Fukuda from Bakuman.)

secretseven is a fanfictionist of AsianFanFics.com since September 5, 2011.

She currently has 30+ fanfics, and several IRL writing endeavours.

secretseven is most known for Inappropriate Arrangement which is primarily a fic, minorly PWP, romance, slice of life and maybe a bit of drama.

secretseven is an aspiring real life writer and a graduate in her Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies majoring Professional Writing, Editing and Publishing. She is currently working as a communications assistant which means she has some articles and write-ups in published in the corporate world. She is also a proud social media and promotions of an indie publishing house, which means she champions books for a living.

secretseven is a dark humor enthusiast, and appreciates experimentation on clichés. secretseven writes slice of life fics but her true love is fantasy.  She also likes taboo handled in a realistic light. Her literary influence would be a lot of D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) style--Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, RA Salvatore, and Patrick Rothfuss-- a bit of Edgar Allan Poe, a bit of ia Woolf and a whole lot of JD Salinger.

But for this shop, you may want to read about my qualification and do feel free to ask me anything that may help you decide if you want me as your reviewer.

Experience: I have 18 years of writing under my belt. I am not saying I'm an expert; I'm only saying that I have been writing for a very long time.

English: English is my second language. But I do believe I am proficient enough as an English writer. My rhetoric teacher dubbed my language mistakes sophisticated... whatever that means.

Editing: This is the skill that actually took me long to acknowledge. But I edit through my subjective editorial taste. If you are wondering, I have currently taken twelve courses in editing. Again, this does not mean I am good at it, only that I have education for it.

 

Here are some interview questions, taken sometime ago by ChangDictator:

1. Are you a Grammar Nazi? Will you go through a story and make a list of all of the grammatical errors?

Not at all. To be honest, I am a grammar Jew! Please excuse the analogy. I hate grammar elitism, and I do understand that a whole lot of us FF writers do it free hand, so it's hard to maintain grammar integrity. I do have a pet peeve for capitalizations though. I won't be making a complete list of grammatical errors since that would impose to much work on my part and I'm lazy. But I can point out certain bad grammar habits. I'm working on right punctuations, transitions and the like so I can make suggestions on those.

 

2. What kind of reviewer are you?

I think it should be noted that I am a serious one. I am not saying that I am the end point for feedback but I do research on writing devices and terminologies for you. I am, as Chang once told me, extremely meticulous, until I'm not.

 

3. Rated//Yuri/: Yes or no. And if no, which ones specifically?

Rated is fine. I'm not a big reader of Yuri/, I don't think I could give a fair insight to those. To be fair, I'd say Rated and is a go. and yuri is okay, if you really want me to... though I think I'm not a very good judge of it. I don't do romanticized abuse. Portraying an abuser as a y dark love interest (e.g. Christian Grey of Fifty Shades of Grey) sets my teeth on edge, and I will not be a fair judge to your writing style if your plot makes me angry.

 

4. Any messages for your requesters?

Well, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm seven and you might be wondering what my credentials are as a reviewer (or not but, hey, just in case...) I've been writing for eighteen years, I've spent ten years as a fanfictionist and currently I am a graduate of Professional Writing. I have studied grammar academically, though how much I can put it in peer reviewing is still questionable. I  do have some peer reviewing experience, again I can't really say I'm any good. I have studied and is actively studying the writing as a craft, so I can give insights to the elements of your fiction. My objective is to help you out, and I am considering the professional direction of being an editor. I will tackle your stories quite seriously. If you have any objections or wish to discuss anything about my review please do feel free to talk to me. :D

Currently, my fandom is just the YG family and what I have found out in my years of writing fanfiction having a pre-set character does contribute to characterization. So I may be limited there. I may not be able to give you any comments about the reception of your intended audience. For example, if you do Big Bang fics and you make, say Daesung as a player then as a Big Bang fan I could oppose this characterization but if you use another Kpop idols as your mould I would have no insight if the characterization fits or not.

 

5. Favorite genres?

Slice of life, psychological, dark, drama, angst, thriller, fluff, romance

 

6. Are you a strict/lenient/snarky/soft-spoken/etc. reviewer?

Critical

 

7. How long does it take for you to do a review?

Because I write my own stories too, I only allot time for one review per month.

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Thank you!
secretseven
Hello! I am reopening this shop. Previous submissions are cancelled as two years changes one's writing style. If you still want to have your stories reviewed, please let me know.

Comments

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caleesia #1
Chapter 1: Story Title: Time Is Finite
Story Link: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/886542/time-is-finite-friendship-romance-sliceoflife-originalcharacter-exo-sehun-jongin
Reviewer: secretseven
Poster/Trailer URL: http://i.imgur.com/CFijKe1.png
Genre: Romance
Brief Synopsis: Lee Arang fears change as much as she says otherwise, as change means growing up and growing up means Sehun and Jongin could leave, for Arang has made Jongin her home and given Sehun her heart.
Two Chapters you require to be reviewed: Chapter 7 and 9
Password: TOPsyturvy
I have allowed TEXT SELECTION in my story for review and understand that I will not earn a grade here. (caleesia)
douxsoleil #2
Chapter 25: So first of all, thank you for giving a lot of time to write this thoughtful review. As I read also in your note in the next chapter, I hope things will get better for you and I actually read this review since this morning, but I personally need to let myself organise my thoughts to give you a proper feedback because I do take critics harshly, but I understand that all the words above are meant for my improvement in becoming a better writer.
For the reviews that you read, I actually didn't really read too much about myself not being placed in the same position with the native English speakers, however I thank you for pointing that out for me. I always pay more attention for the pointers and the flaws I need to improve more than the praises they gave (praises are lovely, but of course what matter truly are the flaws so my story can be improved, also goes the same for my writing).
So, I'm going to give my feedback about the whole sections since there are a lot of questions appearing and I feel the need to explain some points, and I feel that this is one of the ways I can show you my appreciation for this review you have written for me, so here it goes.
mistressdean
#3
Chapter 25: Okay, so I did not read the entire review (I skimmed through the plot section, seeing as I don't want to spoil the story for myself) and focused on the title section and the writing style section (and so forth). I appreciate these long reviews you write because even your ramblings are something to take into consideration. It's like you're acting as both the average reader and the critic. Anyways, as I was saying, this story has been on my radar for some time and I liked the title at first glance, but something about it put me off too. Your review hit the sore spot! As for the rest, I can relate. I tend to get wordy and dwell on ideas for too long. I often have to tone down my unnecessary word choices and whatnot. OTL. Writing IS rewriting. Bless any author who is brave enough to share their work.
vrendezvous #4
Chapter 1: Story Title: i am leaving you
Story Link: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1104993/i-am-leaving-you-angst-krystal-romance-exo-kai-jongin-kaistal
Reviewer (please choose one): secretseven
Poster/Trailer URL (if available): -
Genre: romance, angst
Brief Synopsis: Jongin is the rich boy who breaks people’s heart. Soojung is the best friend he shares kisses and blanket with. When the doctor says that Soojung is dying, all Jongin can hear is his father saying: she is not worth of us. “I spend the last ten years defying my father to hang out with low life like you and now you are dying on me? I am not going to throw everything for something that decays so easy.”
It always cross his mind to leave her behind—alone and lonely—before she does the same to him. Both Jongin and Soojung are fighting not to be the one who gets left behind.
Two Chapters you require to be reviewed: it's a oneshot.
Password: TOPsyturvy
I have allowed TEXT SELECTION in my story for review and understand that I will not earn a grade here. (byharu)
dhaatk
#5
Chapter 1:
Story Title: Gehenna
Story Link: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/932501/gehenna-angst-jaejoong-mystery-yunho-yunjae
Reviewer: secretseven
Poster/Trailer URL: poster: http://i68.tinypic.com/2wok705.jpg ; trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91cTASV4lXw
Genre: angst
Brief Synopsis: Kim Jaejoong is not actually human and has been on Earth for far too long. Jung Yunho is his new personal assistant and Jaejoong falls in love for the first time.
Two Chapters you require to be reviewed: 19 and 21
Password: TOPsyturvy
I have allowed TEXT SELECTION in my story for review and understand that I will not earn a grade here. (dhaatk)
mistressdean
#6
Chapter 24: THIS: taking out oppa because "it's annoying" is not a light bulb---it's turning away from cultural implications.
*applauds*
A line that I often see in reviews: "I understand this story takes place in Korea, but since you're writing in English, using oppa (blah blah) is annoying."
douxsoleil #7
Chapter 14: Story Title: Allegro: Young Blood and Electric Blue Skies
Story Link: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1096181/allegro-young-blood-and-electric-blue-skies-angst-krystal-romance-seulgi-mingyu-seventeen-wonwoo
Reviewer (please choose one): secretseven
Genre: angst, coming-of-age, romance, psychological, friendship.
Brief Synopsis: Jeon Wonwoo stops believing in everything when the people he thought would always stay, left and slipped away from his fingers. And then Seulgi comes, in the form of feline eyes and fluid movements, beneath the electric blue skies that soon will remind him of her.
Chapters you need reviewed: 1 and 2
Password: TOPsyturvy
What do you think is the strongest point of your story?
My way of writing that is able to picture the innocence of a teenager.
I understand that I will not earn a grade here. (douxsoleil)
Hi there! To be honest, I am using a one person point of view (which I never touched upon as I usually use the third person pov) in my story and I would like to hear your thoughts if I manage to pull it off, and please be honest with me as I hope to become better with your review. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my story at the same time. Thank you!
mistressdean
#8
Chapter 22: "You see narrative techniques often break grammatical rules. But this doesn't mean it's wrong, if you know what you are breaking and you can convince your reader that it's more for effect than from carelessness. This is the difference between a grammatical error and narrative techniques. "

YES. YES. YES. One in a while, I would break my story into fragments as a narrative technique. I had one reviewer point out that they were fragments (obviously) and I was daunted in the face because it was the character narrating how they were choking on milk. So yep, not everyone will like how you write nor will they understand the emphasis you're trying to convey.

Anyways, this chapter was entertaining!