Young Writers Society

So, this is pretty much me introducing myself to you. (:

I'm Lize, fourteen year old and I come from the Netherlands. My English grammar is therefore a bit... shakey. My apologies. I write mainly prose, in the genres drama, humor and some failing horror. My poetry is one big mess, you really don't want to read that.


Besides writing I also do some photography and I play guitar.

*is excited! New members!*


I'm June! Nice to meet you!

Pft! Have confidence, dear! We welcome all sorts of writing, and we're here to help you improve, dear!

You play guitar? That's awesome! So do I! Acoustic or Electric? How long have you been playing? We've got a music group on here that you might want to join!

Yay! You're into photography? So am I! We have a forum here where you can post your pictures and get feedback on those, as well . I look forward to seeing your work!

Who is your favorite author? Favorite poet? Favorite book? What's it like in the Netherlands?

Welcome to our humble home, YWS! I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here. We're full of friendly people!

The homepage is the lobby; the featured works, latest posts, and the members who are currently at home will be displayed there. We're so glad you joined our family, it's a wonder to have you here!

The lobby leads to the living room, which is where you are now. You can introduce yourself as you have done, and a few people will swing by to say hello to you!

Right down the hallway is the dining room, also know as the literature forums. You will find all sorts of things that the members have stirred up. You're absolutely welcome to come and sample some of the pieces (literature ), and be sure to leave a review.

You can go to the kitchen to cook up your own story or poem, but, before you post it, you should have completed at least two reviews on someone else's work. This way, you'll get more reviews on yours .

Also, before submitting your food, be sure to rate it. If it's mild, meaning that people of all ages can read it, rate it G. If it's slightly spicy, containing mild language and violence, rate it PG - 13. Anything with the F word, explicit content and overall bad stuff gets an R. Works that are rated PG-13 and G show up in the lobby... er... main page.

And! If your work hasn't gotten any feedback yet, you can request some here:

forum188.html


Anywho! There's the Den, aka the Lounge. You can post stuff that isn't literature there, and get to know the other family members well! Then, there's the random room, also known as randomness; you never know what you're going to find there.

We have clubs, too, for those family members who share interests. You'll find them under usergroups. It's much fun in there .

Also! You have your own bedroom; anything you stir up in the kitchen will be collected in your portfolio, which is displayed in your room. You can hang a pretty picture on your wall, by posting a profile picture, and you have a bulletin board (aka guestbook) where your close family members (or friends) can leave a message for you! You also have a private mailbox for any private mail .

When you get home, you come in through the back door, which takes you to My YWS. Here, you will see bulletins that your family members posted, blog entries that those on your friends list have posted (yes, you get your own blog! yayness!), and any updates will be shown there.

Also! We have family meetings, aka chatroom. The chatroom cannot always be open; it has to be moderated by Big Brother so that nothing gets out of hand.

Let me explain our house staff!

There's Big Brother. Big Brother is actually a color-coded team!

Those who walk around with red name tags are the Admin and Junior Admins. They founded this place, and help with house repairs and renovations. All that fun stuff that we don't have to deal with.

Those in dark green are the moderators. They manage the entire house, taking care of the cleaning, making sure that everything stays under control.

Then, there are the orange guys, who are retired admins and moderators. They still get to live here, but they've just completed their work term, so they get to relax .

And, that's all of Big Brother-- but!

There's the light green members. These are Junior Moderators-- they only have to pay attention to one area of the site, cleaning and maintaining it. Busy people they are .

Then! There's the purple people (like me!) who specialize in giving good reviews on your food... okay, okay, I'll quit making ya hungry . It's just fun to compare literature to food. Hey! They're equally tasty. Anyway, you're welcome to ask us for reviews anytime.

Lastly! There's the greeters, who welcome newcomers home. They wear light blue, so they're easy to recognize.

Make sure you're active around the house! Everyone has to pull their part of the bargain, ya know! Being active has its rewards, see?

Yellow/Gold

5 Reviews = 1 Star
25 Reviews = 2 Stars
75 Reviews = 3 Stars
150 Reviews = 4 Stars
250 Reviews = 5 Stars


Blue Stars:


350 Reviews = 1 Blue Star, 4 Gold Stars
450 Reviews = 2 Blue Stars, 3 Gold Stars
550 Reviews = 3 Blue Stars, 2 Gold Stars
650 Reviews = 4 blue stars, 1 Gold star
750 Reviews = 5 blue stars

Red Stars:

850 Reviews = 1 Red Star, 4 Blue Stars
950 Reviews = 2 Red Stars, 3 Blue Stars
1,050 Reviews = 3 Red stars, 2 Blue Stars
1,150 Reviews = 4 Red stars, 1 Blue star
1,250 Reviews = 5 Red stars


And, there's also ranks! Ranks come with your post number and show up beneath your name:



New Member: 0-4 posts
Novice: 5-14 posts
Junior Writer: 15 - 49 posts
Writer: 50 - 99 posts
Senior Writer: 100 - 249 posts
Novelist: 250 - 499 posts
Speaker of the Forum: 500+ posts
Master of the Forum: 1,000 posts.

When you hit novelist, you can have your own custom title . A custom title is those bolded letters beneath your name. You can edit it as often as you wish.

In case I have confused you with all of my food stuff, haha, here's the link to the rules:

rules.php

and the FAQ!

faq.php


Lastly! The points system!

Points are basically YWS's currency. When you post a review, you get points for it. A review needs to be at least 250 characters to count as a review.

It costs 150 points to create a new post; you get 50 in return, so you're only getting rid of 100. Nevertheless, you need the full 150


And! You will see some people talking about critiques around here. Basically, there's not much difference between a review and a critique:

A review - You respond to the piece, as if you're responding to a book in the book store. You can't make any changes to the story, but, you're giving positive feedback for the author.

A critique - You respond to the piece, providing positive feedback, pointing out any errors that may have occurred (spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics) and give suggestions on what could change. You respond constructively; don't be afraid to be honest, but remember to be kind, dear .


So! I know it looks like a lot to learn and take in, but DON'T worry! Once you find your way around, it's so much fun! We're a really crazy lot, too, we love to have fun.

Also! If you have any questions, PM me or post them here!

Welcome home!

June

PS. If you would like a mentor to assist you around the site, just let us know, dear

Goodness, June is amazing with the metaphors.
Anyway! Welcome to the site!

Quick: An important rule:
The 2:1 review ratio policy! Basically, for every work of your own that you post, we ask that you review (or critique!) two things by someone else. This keeps the site running and spreads the love, and also makes others more eager to give you feedback!

The Netherlands? I've always wanted to go there. Been planning a trip to Amsterdam for forever, but eh...hasn't happened yet. And don't worry, dear, your grammar already seems better than some of the native English speakers on the site, and we'll all be happy to help if you need it.

How long have you been playing guitar? I tried to, for a few months, once, but I never continued unfortunately. There's an Art & Photography forum too, so your prose, poems, and photos are all welcome here.

So who are your favorite authors? Books? Movies? Plays? Bands? How long have you been writing?

Hope to see you around (love your username!) and don't hesitate to PM me if you have questions, or just want to talk.
-Mars

Wow, I think June seems to have covered everything, which only leaves me with a humble hello to say *waves* (:

My questions to you are the same as Mars's, so I'll be checking up on your answers

And finally, just weclome to the YWS family!! I hope you enjoy yourself here - I promise you will get addicted =P - and I hope to see you around.
--Lucyy xx

Hey Lize (how do you pronouce that? )!
Welcome to YWS

I've been to the Netherlands when I was a kid. We always went to the beach
So we're neighbors - kind of - since I live in Germany, haha ^^

Don't worry about grammar - you have us YWSer to correct any mistakes
Hope you post something soon, and make sure you tell me - I'll be happy to review

So, tell us more about yourself! What are your hobbies? Favorite movies and books?

Hope you enjoy it here
MySunshine

Welcome to YWS!

My poetry is not all that great either, but I refuse to stop writing and bug YWS-ers by posting it. Though I don't think they get bugged, everyone is very friendly and eager to help.

So get posting!


any questions, concern, or anything at all, just send me PM.

See you around!

-Zehra

PS. Yes, how do you pronounce your name?

Hey Lize! Welcome to Lize! *throws flowers and confettis everywhere*

Don't ya worry a thing about grammar, Lize! The members here we'll help you catch on gradually to anything you do have problems with, but we're not entirely about grammar here either. I mean, don't concepts and prose and characterization come before the boring mechanics? I think so, because that's the actual substance of writing! The grammar can be edited and picked at after addressing where the storyline is going.

I'm awful at poetry too. I try to write it, but I always feel like I'm missing something, haha. Like, I'm just not a big poetry person! It's sad. I love reading it though, and I will review it.

I like that you write humor! I need some humor. I can't wait to read some of your stuff! My purple name means I'm an Instructor, so I'm always available for writing help and I'll give you a review on any work of yours you desire! Feel free to PM (Private Message) me at any time for any help! I like talking, and I'm almost always available.

I hope to see you around, Lize! Poke around the Usergroups and Blogs to try to settle in here.

Yours truly,

Clo

No worries, dear, the world shall not fear you. You seem too sweet!

Now, as you can see, you've been attacked by the Purps instead of the Blues, who would normally be Greeting you. However! You've decided to show up during YWS's epic battle between Greeters and Instructors, which can be a bit crazy. Currently we're fighting to see who can switch jobs and do just as well. Instructors ftw, of course!

Also, make sure to check out the Knowledge Base! If you go under 'Resources' you can find the link, and then you may browse to your heart's content! We have some amazing members who've contributed tips from grammar tutorials to how to develop your character to how to come up with a good rhyme in poetry. I'm sure you'll find something incredibly helpful while you're there. ^_^

We'd love to read your poetry! That's what YWS is here for-- to improve your writing. I'm sure it's not all that bad, lol. I think mine can be horrible too, but it's so great to get feedback that I couldn't help but post my poetry! You'll discover that recieving reviews is addictive.

See you around, Lize!

~Evi

Hey, Lize! I'm Holly. You could call me by my username if you wish, but I prefer real names. And speaking of names, yours is awesome! Well, both of them. Your user name and your real name.

I totally know how you feel about poetry. I mean, I like poetry and all, but I'm horrid at it! I usually just keep to stories. Humor has got to be one of the best kinds of writing. I wish I were better at it; I'm as dull as a stick in the mud when it comes to humor.

I have nothing much to tell you about YWS since everyone else already beat me to it, but you're welcome to send me a message if you ever get confused, all right?

-Holly