Author: Xuewen
Story Title: Office Politics
Story URL: www.winglin.net/fanfic/xuewen2
Reviewed by: Ting

1* Title - 4/5

I love the title. It’s catchy and different from the lovey-dovey titles that are a pound a penny in fanfics. I don’t really read fics with Ella and Chun, but your title attracted me because it promised something different. Very clever!

2* Forwards - 7/10

Your forwards didn’t really say much about the story, mostly because a big chunk of it was taken up by a review. As much as reviews do shed some light on what the story is about, they can only critique specific points of the story, namely flow, grammar, spelling, originality etc., and I always like it when an author takes the chance in the forwards to tell readers what to expect in their story. After all, it is your masterpiece!

3* Appearance - 8/10

The font was easy to read, and the poster was simply gorgeous. I have to admit that even I fell in love with Chun’s piercing stare after I saw it. Overall, it gave a very stylized, professional feel, which offset the lightness and frivolity of some parts of the storyline. I really appreciated the effort and thought that went into it.

4* Originality and Creativity – 14/15

Your story was a first by way of using the minimalistic format (for me, at least), and I really enjoyed it. Your writing provided the skeleton of the story, letting the reader fill in the blanks. Overall, your story is like a fresh breath of air in the fanfic arena, deviating away from the tried-and-tested boy meets girl storylines that do proliferate the world of fanfiction. This made for an interesting read, and kudos to you for that.

5* Plot - 14/15

Obviously a well-planned, well-thought out plot. You’ve managed to mix in elements of comedy, drama, and shift seamlessly between the perspectives of your characters. Fantastic job here, because you introduced twists and turns in the plot that were very unpredictable. Your characters became distinctive very quickly, and that was a merit to your story, because they buoyed up the plot.

6* Story Flow - 8/10

The story flowed from one event to another, rather than from one chapter to another, which is good. I enjoyed how you’ve taken the reader on a ride from one thought to the next, instead of reading a ‘sensationalised’ story that is crafted for maximum impact without much thought put into the writing. Very well done.

7* Language: (Spelling, Grammar) - 14/15

Excellent. I may have spotted the odd grammar mistake here and there, but overall your story reads back pretty much perfectly. I knew you were a JC student from the moment I read your first chapter. :D

8* Writing Style - 9/10

I really like Meg Cabot’s writing style, and you’re the first writer I’ve seen (other than her, of course) who manages to nail it effortlessly! Crafting a story through e-mails, IMs and text messages can be difficult, because these modes of communication sometimes leave out elements that can be crucial to the development of a story. I liked that you credited your inspiration where credit was due, and managed to develop your own authorial voice via that medium. Overall, you have a style that is witty, relaxed and adaptable, making it easy to differentiate between characters. You’ve done an awesome job :)

9* Reader Friendly - 7/10

You didn’t really reply all that often to your readers’ comments, but I thought that you handled the situation where there were some misunderstandings in the beginning rather well. Not all comments can be nice all the time, but you were mature and reasonable in the way you dealt with the nasty comments, where someone else might have launched a full-scale attack. Granted not everyone has such comments thrown at them, but I felt that you handled it very well.

Total: 85/100
Bonus: 0/3