Hey Guys, I'm Pandora. I'm pretty new here, as I've been looking around for some quality writing forums that allow one to post their bits and pieces. I'm actually quite surprised at how few quality sites there are that aren't just forums for those looking to participate in courses. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. I used to be on Edit Red but now that that that has shut down for a little while, I decided to come here. And for those of you who have been on that site, I'm not the PANDORA that is on there. This is simply the pseudonym that I hope to one day publish books under. Anyway, I hope to get myself integrated within this new community and start posting some tidbits here and there. I absolutely love the idea of being able to discuss the intricacies and difficulties of creative writing with people who understand your pleasure and your pain, so I think I'll easily be able to make myself at home here. Good luck with all your creative endeavors, - Pandora
Hello Pandora, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Before you can get critique, you must first give constructive critique. This is not just a quid pro quo, it is because improving your critiquing skills is the primary focus of the Review Room workshop. Improving your critiquing skills will improve your ability to find and fix weaknesses in your own writing. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. 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!
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. And I'm well ahead of you there, Cogito. I made sure to read all the rules before I even bothered to sign up. I know how picky some writing forums can be in regards to reading and reviewing other works. Edit Red had a similar system in which you gained reputation in a point system based on the number of reviews you left (subject to minimum word count) in relation to how many posts you've actually put up for review by others. If you posted more than you reviewed, then your points would go down. Review more, and the points go up. I rather like the system, as it is rather disappointing to see so many great works go seemingly unappreciated. That small bit of competitiveness in seeing how high you could make your graph grow often encourages people to review works when otherwise they wouldn't bother.
