I wish I followed this strategy, but I end up listening to more and more and gettign a huge backlog.
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I generally agree with most of the stuff here so Iāll add one pet peeve of mine. Reviewing short stories, for example the ones in Main Range audio anthologies. Unless theyāre REALLY good or bad then I find it especially hard to find enough to write more than a paragraph or two.
Sometimes I feel like it would be nice to review the whole anthology rather than seperate stories but at the same time I like rating them all individually.
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@shauny maybes this could be implemented as an option when it comes to reviewing the anthology style releases?
@thedefinitearticle63 makes a pretty good point - I was supposed to be reviewing the āYou are the Doctorā anthology recently, but when only the first episode is stand-out, the other three do kinda blur into one.
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This isnāt something I would call a āstruggleā persay, more just something that brings my mood down.
Obviously, my reviews are some of the longest on TardisGuide. I sometimes spend days working on them; making sure theyāre coherent and have a few entertaining bits thrown in there.
Then I come back a week later to check how itās doing and see ā0 Likesā and it just kills my motivation!
Obviously, I know some of them will have no likes because I uploaded a lot in bulk - mainly the ones Iād written previously for TimeScales and then transferred over here.
I would also argue that it stings more when itās a novel being reviewed, cause they can take upwards of a month to get through sometimes.
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Reading this thread really makes me feel like I need to write at least one review for this site. I do mean to, but still havenāt got around to it. I want to write something heartfelt and meaningful but havenāt really settled on what to start with yet.
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Iām considering making ācollectablesā reviewable, which should cover this if you bought it on CDā¦ but no plans at the moment because there are lots of considerations here.
This is more to do with the number of people using the site than anything. I ālikeā plenty of reviews but will only read reviews of things that Iāve completed - a lot of you reviews I havenāt heard the story yet!
Need to spread the word and get lots more members, then youāll get more likes 
Iāve got some leaflets coming soon which I (and others) will hand out at The Stuff of Legend Live!
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I would say choose a story you adore as a first review, but as other have mentioned, they can be more difficult to cover than the negative ones.
Personally, I find that my best reviews - the ones Iām most proud of - are the ones that allow me to do these things;
- Ramble on about world-building (thatās key to any story for me)
- Drool over the phenomenal music, which is so good I have it on in the background whilst listening to it.
Of all the reviews Iāve written - dating back to Apr 2022 (from the two years I spent on the other site) - there are four that I would say Iām incredibly proud of.
āThe Wheel of Iceā was the first review I uploaded when joining TardisGuide because I wanted to make a good impression, and I think it was a damn good review.
Damn good story too, which very few people have actually read.
And because it was a book review, I had music on in the background whilst reading it. I do this cause I struggle with concentration, so the music I used is basically what I think of as that bookās OST now. Speaking ofā¦
Quite possibly my favourite review of all the ones Iāve written, and the one I found an absolute breeze to get through. āCity at Worldās Endā.
The themes of desperation during the apocalypse, of the inevitablity, it all really resonated with me and the story genuinely made me think about scenarios and what have you.
I also had music playing whilst I read this book, which I now associate as the storyās soundtrackā¦ which is great, cause it means I longer think of the dreadful video game the music comes from now!
āThe Emerald Tigerā is one that falls into the āKarma is gonna ramble about world-building nowā reviews, and I actually think it ended up being one of my longest audio reviews.
But itās just so easy to sink your teeth into stories where world-building is paramount, and the reviews practically write themselves.
OK, the world-building in this last one was absolutely immaculate, but the thing that stuck with me was the sound design and score. Fox and Yason are some of my favourite composers anyway, but their work on āEquilibriumā resonated with me so much.
Another review that was a breeze to write and that Iām very proud of.
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This applies to me as well. I tend to like reviews I find interesting and get the point across well, whether I agree with them or not. But I also only read reviews for stories Iāve completed. I can assure you @PalindromeRose that youāre going to receive more likes on your well-written and well-structured reviews as time goes by and more people join and complete the stories youāve reviewed 
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@PalindromeRose This is excellent and most helpful. I often use ambient music when writing professionally, so Iāll give that a go. Iāll have to delve into your reviews a little more! Thanks fir the pointers.
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Speaking of struggling to review mediocre stories, it took me four attempts to finish my Primeval review. Really not a lot to go on there.
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Itās been years since I last heard that one, and the only things I remember are Stephen Greifās excellent performance as the main villain - though he also played the main villain in a much better 5th Doctor story, āGhost Walkā, so I would rather stick with that one.
Oh, and the music in āPrimevalā. Thatās one thing that definitely stuck with me - gorgeous use of the piano, which makes me think it was likely a Russell Stone score.
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The performance of the villain was pretty good but I wasnāt a fan of his characterisation, felt like a very generic evil dictator who, for an omniscient being, is tricked very easily at the end.
I oddly enough never find myself paying attention to the score in audios, I think there are very few stories Iāve come out of where Iāve remembered the music. I should probably focus on it a little more.
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I focus on them too much sometimes - see my previously linked āEquilibriumā review.
I discuss the scores in 90% of my reviews, to the point I can pretty much tell which composer is behind each adventure.
If itās a Fourth / Eighth Doctor adventure, youāve got a high chance of it being Jamie Robertson.
Bomastic and cinematic? Howard Carter.
Beautifully polished piano? Russell Stone.
An ability to perfectly capture the 1980s? Fool Circle
Soft and atmospheric? Fox and Yason.
Bland, boring and generally 
? Nigel Fairs.
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This thread has inspired me to stop caring about starting to write reviews, and just go ahead and do it!
My struggle is that I worry that if I donāt write out a perfectly worded, structured, wonderful review then itās not worth doing.
But for a story with no reviews on the site at the moment, and one I felt like complaining about, I just went ahead and wrote some stuff.
Behold my mediocre review of a River Song story:
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I recently started writing reviews on series 1 (2024) in my notes when the episodes came out and I always struggle to write how I feel about them. Episodes I love are easier to review than ones I donāt. Itās harder to critique things
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Actually started writing a review! Itās of an audio story I recently listened to. Genuinely impressed amd thought, rather than sharing my thoughts in the āWhat are you currently listening to?ā thread, Iād put something a bit more structured together. Who knows? Maybe Iāll actually get it finished and up sometime this week? Pretty pleased with it so far.
Thanks for the encouragement and advice, folks!
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I believe we all look forward to reading your review once you are ready to share it! I know I do! I love reading other fansā opinions on different stories, especially if they differ from mine or bring up points I might have missed or interpreted differently.
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Aha, so Iāll have at least one reader then?
Seriously, I hope you enjoy and Iāll be interested to see what you think! Will try and remember to comment on here when itās up and ready.
Hereās a hint: 
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