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  1. Writing Forums Staff

    Writing Forums Staff Moderator Staff

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    New Member Quick Start Guide

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Writing Forums Staff, Apr 27, 2014.

    This is the quick and dirty to get you up and running in the forum. We will give you links throughout that will take you to the more detailed information.

    First and foremost:


    :rules:

    Our Community

    Admins are in Red
    SuperMods wear Orange
    Contest Admins are in Burgundy
    Supporters are Green
    Regular Members are differing shades of blue depending on how long they’ve been with us and how much activity they have had within the forum


    Admins and Moderators

    The Admins are the Owner, NWOPD, Big Soft Moose and EF Mingo (Admin Moderators). The Moderators are Homer Potvin, Selbin, Hammer, Dbesim, and Seven Crowns. This list will change from time to time. We're an approachable bunch so if you're not sure about something just ask, any of us will be happy to help.

    Our main job is to make sure the forum runs smoothly and is an enjoyable and worthwhile place to talk about writing. From time to time we may have to ask for calm; move, edit, lock or delete threads, or warn or ban members. When that happens please accept our decision as final.

    If you really want to ask about something contact us, don't start a thread. Threads like "why was this thread closed?" or "why was XYZ member banned?" are not allowed and will be deleted.

    All our staff are volunteers, giving up their time to keep this forum running for you to enjoy, so we ask that you treat them with respect. Anyone who is abusive or threatening to our staff will be permanently banned.


    Your Screen Name


    There is more detailed information in the Forum Rules concerning screen names, but one important point that should be mentioned right now, before you get started: If you are using your real name as your screen name, you may wish to reconsider. Although we will delete accounts on request*, if your digital footprint is of concern to you, using your real name is not a smart move. If you want to change it, please contact Big soft moose now before your name gets quoted or mentioned in forum conversations, posts, etc.

    Once you have started using your screen name we only change it while you are a new member; when you reach 14 days and 20 posts your name will be set in stone. Don't attempt to change your name by starting up another account. Unapproved double accounts may result in the permanent banning of both.

    *Note that if you request account deletion your name and identifying information will be removed - your posts will not, but will instead be assigned to a random user name. Also having deleted your account you cannot return with a new one, so think carefully before requesting this, as it is a one time thing.


    Language

    Though our membership is worldwide, English is the language spoken here.
    We are NOT a G-Rated forum, but that's not license to swear like a drunken sailor.


    Conduct
    You are expected to treat other members, and the staff, with respect. Of course there will be disagreements, it's fine to disagree courteously with the opinion, but not to insult or abuse the person who holds it.

    We all know people who make us uncomfortable either on line, or in the meat space, don't be that guy or girl. No one wants to see your junk or other bits, no one is looking to hook up, just treat everyone like a rational civilized human being would. If anyone does creep you out, report them.

    AIs and Bots
    We expect your posts and writing to be by you, not generated by AIs like ChatGPT and the like. If you want to specifically discuss AIs, this is acceptable in the appropriate forum, but you must make it clear which parts of the post are AI generated.

    We are a Xenforo™ forum

    If you've not used a Xenforo™ forum in the past, please know that it handles broken, wonky or missing BBtags differently than other forum platforms. VBulletin forums and other platforms just leave broken or unpaired tags as they are rendering a "broken quote" or "broken tag" while Xenforo™ tries to remedy the situation when it can (sometimes it just leaves it alone) by adding the missing or broken opening or a closing tag at the beginning or the end, respectively, to even up the pairs. If you're that person who loves to explain to forum newbies the ins and outs of BBtags and this is your first Xenforo™ forum, the [noparse][/noparse] tag in Xenforo™ is the [plain][/plain] tag.

    Bloggers

    We're a writing forum. The purpose of the venue is writing. If you're here to push and link your off-site blog in every post you make, this is poor forum etiquette and isn't something that will be tolerated for long.

    Your Profile Details
    If you want to change things in your profile, just hover your cursor over your screen name to the right of the forum and you will get the following pop-up window. Pretty self explanatory after that.

    Screen Shot 2017-09-10 at 7.30.41 PM.png

    Can I promote my work?
    We're very happy to see our members get published, but this forum isn't here to be a customer base. You can tell other members about your story/novel/play whatever, but please don't create spam-like posts saying buy my book, buy my book.

    Once you pass the Active Member threshold (90 days membership and 100 posts) you can have two links in your signature which may include links to your book on amazon or wherever. At that point you can also have one link per thread in the Success Stories forum. Please remember that these are the only places on the forum where you can post links to your sales pages.

    Also you should be aware that we have a no advertising rule, so you can't link to or promote any other kind of venture whether that's Viagra, false documents, writing services, or anything else. Posting spam will get you banned instantly.


    But I want critique on my STORY !!

    If you’re here, you probably have a work in progress that you’re dying to post to get critiqued, right? Of course! And we’re dying to give it a thorough critiquing, but our forum has some requirements that all of us have had to meet prior to being able to post in the Writing Workshop.

    • 2 constructive critiques given to items already in the Workshop for every item you want to post. This means 2-for-1 all the time. If there are 10 unique items you want to post for critique, you need to have at least 20 critiques given by you. 2-for1. All the time. It's not 2 crits and then empty your hard-drive into the Workshop. Have I been annoyingly clear? :whistle:
    • Writing posted for critique must be by you, no posting work by your mate, your significant other, some bloke you met on the bus, or by an Artificial Intelligence or bot.
    NOTE: The Writing Workshop is the only place where you may post your writing for critique! All work that is posted outside of the Workshop (unless it's an entry in one of our Writing Contests, or finished work for display in the Showcase or Blog section) will be deleted.

    Here are 7 questions you should answer before posting your work for critique.


    Note that we don't allow deletion of work, since it isn't fair to all those people who gave crit and helped you achieve brilliance. Once you've posted it, it's here for good.

    If you just want to show your work off without receiving critique, instead of using the workshop post it in the writers' showcase. https://www.writingforums.org/community/the-writers-showcase.224/

    I've met the Requirements and I still can't post!!

    If, after having met all the requirements to post in the Writing Workshop, you still can't start a new thread in there, please PM a moderator (click here). We are happy to help you get your thread up and running.

    THE MAP

    I. Welcome The top section is where you introduce yourself and view our important announcements, rules, FAQs and so on
    • New member introductions - who are you and what do you write
    • Announcements - important information about the site
    • Writing Contests - hone your craft by entering our monthly short story, flash, or poetry competitions
    • The Writers Showcase - show off your finished work to the community here. (not visible to non members) Success Stories - tell us about having got your work published. Links are allowed here, but it is not the place to spam annoyingly about your work or to try and sell it
    II. the Writing Workshop. This is where you give critique to other members and ask for it yourself. (remembering the 2 given for each 1 asked guideline)


      • Novels and Short Stories
      • Poetry
      • Song lyrics
      • Non-Fiction
        • Autobiography & Memoir
        • Essays
      • Scripts and screen plays
      • Graphic Novels and Manga
      • Erotica: this is for all forms of writing with explicit sexual content, it is subject to its own additional rules
    III. The Writing Process: This where you can post questions concerning different aspects of writing, brainstorming, etc.
    • Research - Ask other members for help with topics you want to know more about, or help other members with your experience and specialism.
    • Character Development - Fill in and flesh out those actors.
    • Plot Development - Get help moving the story from A to B to C.
    • Setting Development - Build that world!
    • Dialogue development - Learn to talk the talk
    • Descriptive development- Bring your stories to life with descriptions that pop
    • Point of View and Voice - Confused about First vs Third (or if you're brave, Second) here's where to ask
    • Word Mechanics - Slept during 6th grade grammar? It’s cool. We all did. Here’s where to get help with the nuts and bolts.
    • Revision and Editing - Polish your draft
    • Novels and Short stories- ask questions or start discussions about writing novels and short stories. Sub fora for all the popular genres.
    • Poets' Corner - Discuss anything to do with writing poetry here
    • Scripts and Screenplays - Discuss the art of writing scripts and screenplays here.
    • Non Fiction- Discuss everything to do with writing non fiction here.
    • Erotica and Sex Scenes- An 18+ limited forum for the discussion of these matters, be aware that content must be legal (in the United States where our server is based), so there should be no discussion of kids in sexual situations, bestiality, necrophilia, or rape. Also this board is for discussing writing these things, not sharing your personal kinks
    • General Writing - the board of last resort for things that don't fit anywhere else. Threads started here may well be moved to other boards if the staff think they fit better
    IV. Writers Tools
    • Progress Journals- a place to start a diary about your WiP
    • Collaboration - want to find people to work with on writer projects, beta readers etc? This is where you ask (after you have been here for 14 days and made 20 posts and met the workshop requirements)
    • Writing Software and Hardware - A place for questions and answers about writing software and web applications. Note that it's not for general chat about software unrelated to writing. Bear in mind the no discussion of cracked apps rule
    • AI Writer's tools - Discuss the pros and cons of AI as a writer's tool or deconstruct AI pieces as a learning experience.
    • Articles- high quality articles about the writers craft and art
    V. The fifth section is Publishing - exactly what it sounds like.
    • Traditional Publishing - Want a book deal? talk about how you get one here
    • Agent Discussion
    • Publisher discussion
    • Query and Cover Letter critique
    • Self-Publishing: Want to publish your own book? Talk about how here
    • Electronic publishing. Ebooks, blogs, Wattpad and new media
    • Cover design
    • Blurb Critique
    • Print on demand
    • Marketing - We do not actually market in here, we discuss the ins and outs of the topic
    VI. Community Interaction area.
    • The Lounge - Relaxed topics, enjoyable chat.
      • Entertainment - Specific to topics concerning TV, Film and Gaming
      • Debate Room - This is for reasoned intellectual inquiry into hot button topics, not pointless fighting and argument. Separate rules apply. You can't view or participate in the area until you've been a member for 90 days and made 100 posts.
    • Discussion of Published Works - Want to chat about your latest read whether that's a book, poem, script or any other kind of writing? Here’s the place. We do not talk about our own works here.
    • Writing Prompts - This is our word games area, please do not post long pieces of writing here.

    VII. The final section of the forum concerns Site Information
    • Support & Feedback - ask for help using the site
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2023
  2. Andrae Smith

    Andrae Smith Bestselling Author|Editor|Writing Coach Contributor

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    This is a great idea. I love the layout, the tone, the content... The overall presentation is a nice introduction. Kudos staff.
     
  3. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    It might be better to have IV at the very top of the forum and to have the General Writing subforum at the bottom of I. Perhaps the Workshop section could go near the top as well. I guess we'll have to see what Daniel thinks because he's the only one who can make the changes.
     
    theCount likes this.
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I absolutely agree with General Writing being dropped to last position in the upper quarter. :agreed:
     
    YouBeTheDelta likes this.
  5. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    My impression is that General Writing is one of the most - if not the most - popular forum. If that is the case, I think it should stay at the top of I, IMHO.
     
  6. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    That's the problem, though. Too many members use that subforum to post threads that would better be suited for another subforum.
     
    YouBeTheDelta likes this.
  7. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    I'm not sure that changing the order would change the behavior. OTOH, changing the order would work an inconvenience for those who use it appropriately.
     
  8. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    i have to agree with ed... besides which, 'general' just naturally makes more sense being placed before getting specific, doesn't it?
     
  9. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    The problem is that a lot of new members post threads about plot creation, characterization, or grammar in General Writing without bothering to check the other subforums. The mods have had to move a lot of threads lately as a result.
     
    YouBeTheDelta likes this.
  10. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Add Introduction Threads to that list, @thirdwind. All the time... o_O

    Cleaning up General Writing is #3 on my daily routine of things to do.

    #1) Check the Mod-Chat for any goings-on I've missed.
    #2) Deal with reported posts that haven't been already taken care of.
    #3) Move threads out of General Writing to where they should go...


    It may not seem like much of an issue because I do try to stay on top of it, but one less mundane chore means more time for other things...
     
  11. Andrae Smith

    Andrae Smith Bestselling Author|Editor|Writing Coach Contributor

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    While I agree with Ed and maia's concerns, I also think moving General Writing down might be a good idea so that new members actually look through the other forums first. Then again, there is a chance that it wouldn't change anything, as Ed suggests. Members may see the other forums, but they may not be entirely sure of where to put their posts... Although, then I might question their reading comprehension since the forum names are pretty self-explanatory and one would think people cognizant enough to scroll through the whole page before deciding to post anywhere... Maybe it would be good to sticky this somewhere like New Member Introductions and/or add something into the rules (or here) about being sure to read the forum descriptions before deciding where to post new threads.
     
  12. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    I will only make one other point - it seems that the assumption is that members post inappropriately in General Writing because it is the first category listed. But one can plainly see all the other subforums at the same time, which suggests that they post inappropriately because they either don't recognize that it belongs elsewhere or just don't bother giving the matter sufficient thought. If that's the case, I doubt changing the order of the subforums will make an appreciable difference.

    I'll keep mum.
     
  13. Andrae Smith

    Andrae Smith Bestselling Author|Editor|Writing Coach Contributor

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    That's what I was getting at in the middle of my previous post. :) Hence the section to to add a comment about the forum purposes in the rules, or stickying this in New Member Intros.

    Hey @Wreybies or @minstrel, is it possible to add a tag line or short blurb/description below each of the sub-forum titles. It might provide some clarification if members are actually confused and not being lazy. Otherwise, you might want to post a sticky of some sort to the Generel Writing forum providing a brief explanation of the purpose of the forum or type of questions that should be direct elsewhere. I mean it looks pretty self-explanatory, but you never know...
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  14. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I like the idea of moving General Writing down to the bottom of the list. It's kind of like taking a multiple-choice test - the "none of the above" option is the last one. You look at the previous options before settling on "none of the above." I was, I think, the first to suggest moving General Writing to the bottom when @Wreybies started discussing it.

    It's just too easy to select General Writing for a question when it's the first on the list. It almost begs people not to look at the other choices.
     
    jannert and Oscar Leigh like this.
  15. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    This is a really good way of thinking about it.

    I also like Andrae's idea of adding a short description under each subforum title.
     
  16. mattbmaine

    mattbmaine New Member

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    very cool layout
     
  17. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Thank you. :) Since this is meant for brand new members like yourself, is there anything you were hoping to come across here that was missed?
     
  18. Mohwak

    Mohwak New Member

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    Hi,
    New here and was just wondered if the was a critique button or how do we know when we have met that requirement? Does someone look out our post and judge if a particular comment was considered a critique. I just want to make sure I meet all the requirements.( by the way this is post number 4 for whoever is counting)
     
  19. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    The forum software automatically counts your first two critiques in order to get the Workshop Guardian to move aside. That bit is automated. After that it's up to the mods, the Reviewers and the general populace to keep track of things. When it comes to giving a critique, just think about what you are hoping to receive in the form of critique. If you followed the link concerning constructive critique, you'll have at least a basic idea. No one is expecting anyone to write a doctoral thesis analyzing the social commentary made in any piece, but a genuine effort must be seen to have been made. ;)
     
  20. Earl Slocombe

    Earl Slocombe New Member

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    Thanks for the rules... !!
     
  21. Autumn Hazel Rain

    Autumn Hazel Rain New Member

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    great intro...i shall get started!
     
  22. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Okay, how about this? I can see the problem with the General Writing tag. How about listing all the other categories first, then re-naming GW "Other Writing Issues." Or something like that.

    That makes it clear it's for things that are not covered in the other catgories?
     
  23. beauxsox

    beauxsox New Member

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    Thanks so much for this wonderful information.
    Very helpful to those that are just getting started with the forum.
    Page has been bookmarked!:)
     
  24. SD92

    SD92 New Member

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    Did I break the rules with my introduction? I wrote very short story that seems to have been deleted. Is this not allowed?
     
  25. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    You may only post your writing in the Workshop (unless it's like a sentence or two that you have a question about) and the rules for posting there are the following: You need to have been a member for 14 days and have at least 20 posts of which 2 are critique on other peoples' work in the Workshop.
    For any further work you want to post you need 2 more critiques for each.

    Does that answer your question?
     
    Intan Suryani likes this.
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