I've always been looking for a site like this (it's reminiscent to some old sites I've been on, and I wanted the same general feel) and I just found it today. I read one of the pinned posts so I'll answer it. I'm a dude who's writing a science fiction story & dark fantasy lore who's turning fourteen in July. Due to my young age (and hence inexperience) you might wanna take any critique I give with a grain of salt. I am definitely on the younger side compared to most people here but don't worry. I'll try not to be too annoying.
Hi Hazardly I’m one of the forum moderators, and I want to welcome you to the forum. Delighted to get young members on board! Don't apologise for your age, or feel that you can't make really good contributions. After all, I assume you're a reader. (Most writers and wannabe writers are.) And I also assume you'll have opinions about what you read. That's all critiques are, really. Just your opinion of what you've read, with some reasons for what made you feel the way you do about the piece. You don't have to try to 'fix' the writing. Just let the writer know what you think of it, and why. All you need to do is give the KIND of response you'd like to receive for your own work. There is a link further down in this lengthy treatise that might be of help. * Sci Fi and Fantasy are probably our two most popular genres here on Writers' Forum, so you will have no trouble finding topics to interest you. Feel free to jump into any discussions that draw your eye. The upper section of the forum which contains Plot Development, Setting Development and Character Development will be rich lodes for you to mine. Anyway.... In order to help you get oriented and get settled, here are a couple of links I strongly recommend that you read at the start, if you haven’t already. They will give you a good idea of how we operate here on the forum: New Member Quick Start Forum Rules You will notice in the New Member Quick Start that in order to post your own work in the Workshop area—the only area of the forum where you are allowed to post your work and ask for feedback—you will need to do at least two critiques for other people, in exchange for receiving feedback on one of your own pieces of work. This site is designed around the concept of members helping each other out by ‘paying it forward’—through our two-for-one critique system. So do two critiques, THEN you can post something of your own. This advance 2:1 ratio lasts as long as your membership here—although it is your own responsibility to keep track of your own ratio. The software doesn't keep track of it for you, beyond your first two critiques. * In order to help you get started doing critiques, here is a link to a good article written by one of our former moderators: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/constructive-critiques.20627/ One of the popular areas of our forum is our contest section. There is a monthly contest running for Short Stories, Flash Fiction and Poetry. You can enter these ongoing contests, even as a new member. And we really encourage you to visit the site, read the current entries, and vote for your favourite when the voting period starts. This means a lot to the people who have written these entries. And it will also give you a good idea of what our members are capable of writing. https://www.writingforums.org/writing-contests/ While the Role Playing Game section is not new, it’s being given a revamp. So if you are interested in playing and writing Role Playing Games, you might want to visit this section and get in on the fun. https://www.writingforums.org/threads/resurrecting-the-dead-rpg-section-rebuild.165055/ I hope you have fun getting to know us and let us get to know you, via the posts you make. Please feel free to explore the forum. There is a lot under the hood. This site map might help you find your way around more quickly than the menu bars do, so feel free to use it. https://www.writingforums.org/faq/ If you encounter any difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact me or one of the other moderators, whose names appear in yellow at the bottom of the Community page. We will be glad to help. Again, welcome! Cheers for now, Jan
