Some Thoughts on Myself

This is actually me stalling for time but in another sense I need this some where to look back on to improve my own writing.


As a casual writer, I try to make my reviews "good." I admit, this doesn't always happen, and occasionally I miss points that I originally meant to mention but forgot. Perhaps its because I'm starting to rush more often, which is usually a bad thing. I need to start dedicating time in my schedule that's purely dedicated to thinking reviews out and writing them.


I have this notion of attempting to avoid as many spoilers as possible making the review not spoiler-free but good enough that it won't reveal too much. The main problem with that however (and I've been seeing this in my reviews) is that I make these super broad sweeping statements that make my reviews look terrible. Game wise, I feel that I can be more specific on certain things that would allow me to personalize it a bit (such as gameplay). But for anime that don't really have anything unique about it or don't' make it to my absolute top or bottom. I noticed I've often just ended up writing such broad statements that when I try to look back on it, I make this mental note of "oh, that was some time ago, I shouldn't worry about that anymore."

I know I shouldn't distance myself from my writing and I know I have to take this head on but goddamn... Some reviews just suck. It's so stagnant and void of any character that I'm mildly ashamed I wrote such filth. I frequent the Anime News Network and I often read Theron Martin's and Carl Kimlinger's work. They refer to key characters and explain certain points that make a show strong or poor. They get very specific into the details of some characters to explain why they think that concept works.

I think that I may have to change up how I write and take a look at this from a different approach. Maybe I have to work on applying a little more focus and spoiling a bit more than what I usually do. The main thing that holds me back from doing that is my "philosophy." Because of how story driven anime is (supposed to be). I believe that minor spoilers in conjunction with a higher frequency of them are just as bad as major spoilers because it's these small tidbits that give3 you the small bit of insight that makes you go "oooooooooh." Figuring something out? Yeah, that's a good feeling.

So I'm a little bit at a loss here because I'm somewhat unsure how to approach this. Do I spoil more to give more character (no pun intended) to my reviews? or do I potentially screw up my own reviews and make them sound pathetically generic and lifeless with no specific key points?


I have an agenda when I write a review. It's quite easy to see that. But just exactly how far to I have to stick to it to get the kind of review I want?



In other news. I'm going to add CD Japan's links to the board. I've been accepted into their affiliate program. It's a really great site. You can get Japanese soundtracks for retail price in Japan. All you really do is play EMS shipping (which is cheap) and the standard conversion rate.