I'm really new here, so it'll be a long time before I'm able to post in the writer's workshop, but here's a question for when I do. All of the story ideas here seem to be posted in either prose form or script form. But what about a basic description of the plot, like you'd see on Wikipedia? Would that be allowed? The reason I was planning on posting something like that is because I'm not very good at scripts, and I'm not the best at prose. This story idea is something I picture as a movie more than as a book. I'm more focused on getting critique on the plot and characterization than the way it's written. (Since the plot and characterization is the most important part of any work of fiction.) So, am I allowed to post my story idea in Wikipedia synopsis form or not?
Have you thought of posting in a Progress Journal and begin by having a synopsis and updating it on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure people could reply, otherwise perhaps put the synopsis in the "Plot" forums?
Quite a few members post their synopses in the Plot dev sub-forum. As long as you ask for ideas and thoughts about your concept (and not fully fledged crits about grammar, style, etc.) you're safe.
I always thought that the Plot section was for small parts of the story, not the full story itself. Also, it's the plot forum, not the characterization forum. What if there's problems with the characterization that I need to fix?
Yeah, a summary doesn't represent your actual writing, but instead your thought process. That's fine for the Plot area. Same thing for the Characterization area if you have a specific question on a character. When we talk about "small sections" in those upper areas, we mean (very) small sections of what will actually hit the page as some sort of draft, be it first draft, revision, final draft, whatever. The reason we do that is to keep the actual critique-of-writing process in the Workshop, under the rules of said area. There will always be that member who wants to circumvent the 2-crits-per rule with a post in the upper area to the tune of: Hey, I have a question about the believability of my plot. Any help?? {insert 3 chapters of actual written first draft} That's a no-go. That's not cool. Since we are a workshopping forum, the central concept around which our forum revolves is the critique of page-ready work. The way we make our forum dynamic in that regard is by institutionalized reciprocity. You've been to forums - I am sure - where there's lots of posted work and and either zero or shitty fead-back because they have no requirements. Everyone goes there expecting to get crits as though the forum is there as a free service for them, and since everyone is doing the same thing, clearly no one is going to get what they are looking for.
So, what you're saying is, I can say "Hey, here's a story idea I've spent over a year thinking out and I want to see if there's anything that needs to be fixed about the plot and characterization", and then post the synopsis below in the plot section? EDIT: I just learned the difference between plot and storyline. So, it's basically the storyline I want critiqued, not just the plot.
Sorry for the double post (the edit button for my previous post is gone), but if you want an idea of what I plan on posting for critique, check out this description of the storyline for The Secret of NIMH. http://www.cataroo.com/DBnimh.html
