Hi. I'm DLeo. I am new to writing and am slowly working on my first book. A fantasy. I happened upon these forums a couple of days ago and have spent hours reading both posted works and critiques. Awesome. I've found lots of awesome here. Confession: When I type 'new to writing' I mean new like ... I had to look up what SPAG meant. Not funnin'. So, anything I may post will be riddled with the original doo-doo. Apologies in advance. Of course, I've already had my inner interview with Oprah and a few others, congratulating me on hitting the book of the month list or w/e. So, just in case, how might my sharing a chapter here impact future publishing endeavors? My Google-fu is fairly strong but I still haven't found a definitive answer. Could any of you share with me or show me where I can learn more about posting work online? Thank you much. My GED doesn't give me much oomf and I lack any other degree or diploma. I am hesitant to venture into critiquing another's writing. Hell, I don't even know where to put my own commas, much less yours. The best I can offer is my sharing how you made me feel. I know that isn't exactly valuable but it's what I can bring to the table. Thanks again and nice to meetcha. I enjoy reading your writing.
Hello and welcome to what I think is quite a friendly forum. I've not been here that long but have found invaluable advice and good conversation here. x
Hi, @DLeo, and welcome to the forum! I'm glad you like it here so far. I hope you stick around to learn and grow with the rest of us. If you haven't already, I invite you to check out the Rules using the tab at the top and/or visit our cool New Member Quick Start. It's got just about everything you need to know about interacting here on the forum. Don't take this the wrong way, but it'd be greatly appreciated if you posted the cleanest copy of your work only. That is, proofread it as best you can, at least, before posting so we reviewers can focus on what really matters. You should be able to catch our own SPAG (btw, I had to look that up too. ) There is a word mechanics forum to ask questions aout that type of thing, and even some stickies to good writing resources and so on. Just ask and I'm sure plnt of our members can help point you in the right direction. I can't speak on specific, but a general rule of thumb is to never post something in entirety that you plan to have published. And whatever you do post, be very wary about posting "final"drafts. Don't worry about what skills you do or don't have. We're all here to learn and grow. Just participate, be friendly, keep an open mind, and have fun. You ma have more to offer than you give yourself credit for. So again, welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing you around. ~Andrae
Thank you for the reply's and the advice. The New Member quick start link was helpful. Fun as well . Ty
I just had to look up SPAG to find out what it was, and I'm not that much of a newbie when it comes to writing (about 6 years), I've done a lot of research on the publishing industry (requirements of an editor). You will notice that you will find it easier to spot SPAG mistakes in other peoples works as opposed to your own. I am terrible at editing my own work, but my course instructors tell me that I have high level editing skills for a beginning editor. Look forward to seeing you around the forum, I may even give your work an edit if I come across it in the writers workshop. Or once I can put up a post in the collaborative section to provide a free edit for first chapters, but that is like 3 weeks away and another 80 or so posts :/ Welcome, have fun Amanda
It looks like the welcome wagon has already rolled in and I see @Andrae Smith has already given you the official links. Let me offer you a different perspective on the idea of giving critique. Firstly, how a piece makes you feel, the impression it gives to you, what you do see, what you don't see, all of that are the most important parts you can talk about in a critique. The SPaG and punctuation, there are plenty of nitpickers who will take their turn at that, don't worry. But more important than what you think you can offer as a critic, think about what you hope to learn as one. If you want to chat about how giving critique can seriously improve your writing, feel free to chat at me about joining the Reviewers. Wrey
Yeah, @Wreybies, I like to try and beat the mods hehe. It's a little fun, and I feel like I'm helping lighten the load. This is very true. Critiquing isn't all about style and SPaG. Many times, the impressions and feelings are important. Critics must often ask questions about content such as, "was this information useful?" "what does this information do for the scene at hand?" "How did this make me feel?" "How might I have done that?" "What did I think was effective or not?" and so on. Like Wrey said, plenty of us will nit pick the SPaG hehe. If you offer your unique perspective, there will be value in it. Besides, we can always use more activity in the workshop. Critiquing is as much a learning experience for the reviewer as it is the writer.
