I recently read something written on a blog by a meat-world friend of mine, whom in order to protect my indentity shall remain annonymous Now, I was recently called up on something I said by Cogito, who sharp as a razor that has been attending sharp school, noticed an inconsistency between two things I said. On another post, Heather advised Dirtroadwriter for downplaying his/her work* We all tend to post things with comments like "I haven't proof read this yet" or "this is just some silly idea I've been working on" etc. So, in a nutshell, my questions for all the site are, 1) what do you think your site "spin" is? 2)Do you think it is working for you, or against you?
If I rightly understand what you are asking, my "spin" would be "here it is, i've put it here before I could change my mind and send it to the trash bucket." It's not the disclaimer I would write on the post, but it's one that I try to eject from my head. Nothing I write ever seems finished, or even finished enough. No matter how many times I reread it, I always find something that I wish I had written better.
I couldnt really put into words what my spin is. Or at least find one word for it. There was a while back there when I wasn't the most popular guy over a couple of my critiques, but Im not about to hold back to preserve someones precious ego. So I dont know really.
I completely love this forum and is probably the only forum where I've been given reponses I'm able to take and use for future works. Initially however I wasn't sure this was the right place for me, especially after one incident when someone took my second post ever (being a story) and torn it to shreds, basically telling me it was crap and I could do better- which now I see as more of a critical reading than a deliberate act to make me cry, lol. I believe alot more members, especially newcomers, would enjoy the forum alot more if they didn't take everything said so dang personally- if they evoked a little courage within themselves to gracefully accept critique and to embrace it as a suggestion rather than a put down. As for the select few that come in and out of the forum actually offering no crit or encouragement (more or less spamming peoples work with injust insults)- just keep in mind that they're probably just bored human beings who are looking for something to do and that they probably haven't even read your work they're just looking for a reaction- hence linking into my 'don't take things too personally' notion.
I think this is a pretty good forum to be honest. I have learnt a lot since I joined here and my poetry has improved dramatically. There have been some cases where things have been blown out of proportion and since been resolved. I think that this is a great forum and don't see what all the commotion is about really. ~Torana
This is exactly why new members should not post works to be reviewed until they have visited for a while and at least read some reviews. Ego can still get in the way, but if they at least see that the intent of a review is to find areas for improvement, there's a better chance they will take it in the spirit in which it is offered. Those few will get better reactions from other forums, though. Hopefully they won't stick around long. I feel worse for those who may actually intend to be helpful, but either lack tact, or simply do not express their intentions well. Expressing intentions is also a writing skill, and too many Internet-trained cruisers never learn to shape words to convey tone. Emoticons can help, but they can also become a crutch. I usually try to avoid using them, especially on this forum, to make sure that I make my meaning as clear as possible in the words themselves. There are other boards where I use them more, but usually where I know that readers will not read for meaning regardless of how much care goes into the words; where readers are practially obsessed with finding a way to take any statement negatively. This is a wonderful place. Members here are aware of the power of words, and I believe they nearly always respect that power, and respect their fellow members as well.
sorry but you mentioned my name sorry, i am sooo immature but YOU MENTIONED MY NAME haha. my spin, ermmmm . . . . i used to say that it wans't veryy good, and i am always polite, that tends to work, saying thank you like 100 times or something. now i just tell them its something i've wrote, apologise for any mmistakes there may be and say thanks for reading. thats all you can say really. but i think the people on the site are amazing and i always get lots of help with my work, whatever i put before it. Heather (who had her name mentioned)
haha, that wasn't intentional, i didn't notice it till you mentioned, haha. i'll leave it there though sinse you like it so much Heather
I'm not sure how to give my answer. I write because I love to write about another world. My world the one that exists inside my own very head. Recently the only work I allowed people to read was my Fan Fiction I used to post those stories on another forum named 40k online where they made me project Contributor and Mod. However that forum was 40k based only so as I branched out I joined Warseer posted up my stories at which pouint i was writing my third sequel (Skin Of Evil) to my famous Crimson Fist Saga. I joined a few other forums regarding having my stories written. However I returned to 40k Online to find they'd nominated my story (Skin Of Evil) The best of the year due to the replies. and sheer popularity. So I decided to write one final story to end the whole Saga but I had to make it far better than the previous three. I wrote Exordium the story of the Exiled Captain trying to keep a small little girl safe from the horrors of war. Exordium had a sad and tearful ending but for some reason made me famous amongst so many forums including the Black Library’s very own giving me some really good contacts and friends and becoming mod on three. So I posted the four Crimson Fist Stories up on all the forums. But I still wanted to find a forum that wasn't Fan based and here I am. I posted my stories here and now I’m recently working on re-writing my Chronicles story. This is proberly the best of all the writing forums I've seen and visited the members here are the most friendly and helpful. I even post up my lyrics that i write. But I spend most of my net time on this forum rather than the others. So my spin here is that I feel Comfortably Numb. I think its most definatly working for me I get an Idea and I write it down. I like to write what I'd like to read. That way I get a novel packed full of what I like. ~Raven.
