Blog Shout Out - 100 Word Reviews

For this week's blog shout out Jonathan Hill tells about his 100 Word Reviews blog:

I love reading and writing fiction of all lengths. It was last year when I encountered drabbles for the first time. Defined as 100-word stories, these are a challenge to write but so satisfying when they work. I ended up publishing two books of drabbles, 100 One Hundred Word Tales and Beyond 100 Drabbles, the latter with fellow author Kath Middleton. As a self-confessed culture vulture, I also enjoy writing reviews for films, theatre and books. It suddenly occurred to me that I could combine the drabble and the review and write… a 100-word review, which is the basis for my blog, www.100wordreviews.com

We live in such a fast-paced world and most people do not have the time to wade through lengthy reviews to find their next piece of entertainment. 100-word reviews are so good because they can give a real flavour of something and take less than a minute to read. The reviews can be challenging to write and occasionally frustrating. Sometimes you have to miss out some of what you want to say. But, because of that, it makes you focus on the most important aspects and there is no room for beating about the proverbial bush. If something doesn’t work you just have to come out and say it. I believe reviews restricted by word limit in this way have a greater tendency to be transparent and honest.

My favourite post? That’s impossible to say! I enjoyed writing them all. The most satisfying reviews, to me, are the ones for things I never expected to enjoy as much as I did. I recently saw the film Gone Girl with no expectations whatsoever and it blew me away. I couldn’t wait to get my thoughts down in a review.

My most popular post? Again, it’s hard to say. They all seem to take turns in being liked, shared and tweeted. It’s great to see blog readers taking something from my reviews.

I believe the best blogs are the simplest so I intend to keep it crisp, straightforward and easy on the eye. I haven’t ruled out plans to set up a linked Facebook page and Twitter feed. Nor have I ruled out the possibility of guest reviews. These are all options for me to consider, time permitting. For now, though, it’s liberating being able to share my thoughts with the world.