Unanswered Posts - Page 3 - Writers Forum

Olly Buckle · 04-22-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumpole40k

No I was thinking something along the lines of using forums to refine a writing style or some other such .... (still percolating in the brain Foxee) but the concept of using the forums as a microcosm of the competitive market is powerful.

I think you are breaking rule two, send him to the back of the class Foxee

Olly Buckle · 04-23-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Jim

Foxee, when new members introduce themselves, some of the moderators always post a welcome message. It might be a good idea if the first greeting included those guidelines as standard "boilerplate". It might avoid some unhappy starts.

Jim

I have been thinking about this, my first thought was what a good idea, perhaps we could include it with the e-mail giving their password, then it struck me that it would be a bit like turning up at the guest house where the first thing the landlady does is hand you a sheet of rules. We want people to feel welcomed and stay with us and if the price of that is a little tolerance in the early stages while they learn the ropes so be it.

Raging_Hopeful · 04-23-2008, 10:07 PM

Wow! Glad to see this thread took off without me!

Foxee those were GREAT tips though I think flexibility is key. I've taken the time to post and suggest to newcomers those same things but I can also see where you're coming from Olly. How do we say these things and still be welcoming, loving and accomodating as a writing (and learning) community?

I'm glad we've all come together to talk about this. Well... by all I mean a few of us! Would be interesting to see if the Moderators could get together on this same issue.

The only thing I have to raise objection to is the 1000 word thing. I've read some great and I mean MARVELOUS pieces that were a bit lengthy but worth every inch. I think if it is a rough rough draft then yes, smaller is better. Focus on the parts that you really need help with. If you've posted and redrafted a couple of times, I think its okay to post a longer segment. HOWEVER, this does not mean posting one long part and then after no responses, posting another long part.

Cheers,
Linz

seigfried007 · 04-25-2008, 02:28 PM

I obviously can't really agree with the 1000 word thing either. Most short stories are over that length so only critting shorter pieces helps fairly few people trying to get published as 1000 is barely over the realm of flash fiction.

The only time I'll ask for someone's time to read something in WW is if I plan on honing a piece enough to get published (and I would assume that others posting there would do so for the same reasons considering they're posting in WW insted of C&A.) That said, critting is kind of a matter of livelihood--you don't crit, you won't be critted; and if you don't get critted, the likelihood of getting a problem piece out into the published world is fairly slim.

Olly Buckle · 04-25-2008, 05:08 PM

I quite often pick up on unanswered posts if the member has a single figure post count and I have noticed if it has been there long the member quite often does not come back on my comment whereas if I am quick off the mark they do, I think we must lose quite a lot of people in the first five or six posts if they don't get any feedback. People with less than 10 posts might be quite a useful category to be able to access.