I love this site! It took me a while to get used to it, though. I'm just trying to talk myself into posting the first chapter of my novel. I have reviewed two other stories, so there's nothing holding me back except the "is this really ready?" thoughts running through my poor mind. What do you guys think? MoonChild
Hello MoonChild, Welcome to the Writing Forums. There is no rush. The first thing you should know, however, is the Review Room is a critiquing workshop. Be sure that is what you are looking for. 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!
I already read all of the rules and FAQs and stuff. I have been a mod on another writing website, so I know the basic forum etiquette. About the short story writing contest, I was just checking that out about an hour ago, but I couldn't find the current contest for this week, because I want to take part, but my computer kept crashing. Is the current contest always top of the list? MoonChild Thanks for your help!
There is always a current Poetry Competition and a current Short Story Competition, and each will be at the top of the list. There are also voting threads that may still be open for the preceding contest. Older closed contests are archived in a subforum. Each contest lists its closing date in the initial post, so you can tell by that as well. There will only be at most one open contest of each type. Rarely, you may find that the most recent contest has closed, and a new one has not yet been created, but that is usually onbly for a matter of hours.
