Sorry in the dealy to respond, digging out from 22"... Could you please delete, remove my posts for me. I guess I was a bad girl and I see we cannot remove the writing we posted once it's been locked. I thought I had done my required reviews, didn't know we would be graded on them. I think being new, coming in, it's harder to " dissect" someones elses work to the degree that is necessary. Coming in a newbie, one doesn't necessarily want to ruffle feathers, so I did try to be constructive, not just saying, I like it, I don't like it. I wasn't sure I'd been able to " say" enough, so I'd done three. While I think I can be quite critical of my own work, I find it difficult to critque others in a useful, constructive manner. I was looking forward to learning how to do this with an element of skill here, I did read the rules and realized this would be an important aspect of my joining. Honestly I applauded the concept. I would not intend to join a group and have them think I was being insulting which would not be my intent, yet might come across that way due to an inability to do it well. The ability to review someone else's work is definately an art in itself. I could see people who are obviously very gifted in this part of the craft on this site. Maybe a new way to do this would be to have the reviews credited to new member before they are allowed to post. This way the required reviews are done adequately and pre-approved by moderators. Thank you, Write on, mlsmason-smith
Hello mlsmason-smith, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Your threads will be unlocked when you meet the critiquing requirements. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there again. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
