Something special you'll find here in the poetry forums is the distinguished thirst for improvement all across the board. With writers of all ages, our lyrical nest displays a vast array of talent, and that's where you come in.
We have no doubt that you have unbridled potential in you; in fact, we see it released and nurtured here every day, and we want you to be a part of it. So make yourself at home: feel free to read and write and surround yourself in the bustling community of friendly poets you'll find nowhere else. Welcome, my friend, to YWS!
I. Posting Poetry
Now, since you're floating through the poetry forums, there's obviously something within you that feels drawn to poetry. It may be anything from an insatiable thirst for the written word or just a URL someone dropped on your Facebook wall, but for one reason or another, you're here. And chances are, if you're reading the poetry in our catalogue, then you probably want to post some of your own. Well, that happens to be exactly what we want!
We want to see your writing grow, and the first step in doing that is getting your work out there for others to see and review. Now pause for a second; there's a key word in that sentence that we don't want you to miss: work. While we welcome any and all poetry into our forums, we do ask that you have enough pride in yourself that you'll actually put effort into your adventures here! So before you post, take a look over your poem; run it through a spell-check, and see if there's something you can catch before throwing it out for the world to see. You'll find yourself much more pleased with your feedback when you insert this effort, and others will find the same appreciation in you for doing so!
There are a few provisos that we'd like to pose to our open policy, and our requests are simple and fair, and will help you along your way:
- 1. We ask that all members are reasonable about the frequency with which they post. After all, you're much more likely to get feedback on your work if you post one poem per week in lieu of a dozen poems per day! So pace yourself; give our members time to soak in your work and help you constructively build upon it so that you may grow as a writer. You'll appreciate it in the long run.
2. It's a general courtesy around these parts to review about three poems for every poem you post. This guideline isn't set in stone, and in reality, it's all up to you, but once you meet friends here, you'll understand why it's such common practice: we have a passion for helping one another, and reviewing is an enormous part of that.
3. Each posted poem costs 200 points, which we'll talk about later.
4. We request that you use proper internet manners while posting in our forums. That just means no flaming, no trolling, keeping things family-friendly, and rating works appropriately.
We look forward to seeing your work on our forums, and we have no doubt that you'll find a home in YWS in no time.
II. Reviewing
An enormous part of being a YWSer is reviewing. We can't stress it enough: reviews are what keep YWS alive. Our forums thrive when members review, and that offer extends to you as well. Now, if you're not sure how to review, or if you're not confident in what you're saying, then let me be the first to tell you: it's completely natural. And to ease that feeling of discomfort of reviewing others' works, some folks around YWS have put together articles to help you out.
- "Critiquing Poetry" (By Cade)
How To Make a (Poetry) Review Go Further (By Lumi)
Five Poetry Tips (By Hannah)
The YWS Critique Sandwich (By Nate)
How To Write A Good Critique (By Suzanne)
What isn't a good critique (By Snoink)
Now, there are plenty of incentives to review. For each review over 250 characters that you write, you receive a number of points. That number can range anywhere up to 100 points (up to 150 if it is a piece in the Green Room) for a 1000-character critique , which is about two paragraphs of text. Some folks find the 1000-character critique frightening, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have plenty to say.
Always try and be constructive in your reviews. While it's important to let the author know what you thought of a piece, simply stating, "I loved this!" won't do anyone much good. In addition to your reaction, try to sneak through and find some points where they can improve. Is their voice clear? Did the poem make you feel anything? Bring these things up in your reviews, and you'll be a pro in no time.
III. Getting Reviews
On the flip-side of reviewing is getting reviews: something every YWSer looks forward to. If you've read this post from the beginning, you'll remember we mentioned the age range on YWS: 13 and beyond! Giving that some thought, you won't be surprised when you receive reviews that are both overflowing with praise and adoration, and then reviews that are quite critical of each aspect of your work. That's nothing to be afraid of, though! A good mantra to keep in mind is constructive criticism. While a review may seem harsh at first, understand that at the very center of the review is one simple goal: to help you improve.
We assure you that every reviewer on YWS shares that goal.
So there's a classic question that comes up: How do I respond to a critique?
We're glad you asked, but it's ultimately up to you. There are rules, of course; we request that you refrain from reacting with hostility to a reviewer, despite what they've said (save the chance that they've broken rules themselves), and we ask that you take time to take in the review before responding, just to see the truth beneath what may seem harsh.
As a final note for receiving critiques, we have a forum dedicated solely to critique requests, limited to two every few days, the Will Review For Food forum. Check it out!
IV. Your Job as a User!
Well, besides posting and reviewing and having tons of fun on YWS, we on the staff ask that you take on two duties as members: stay safe, and keep others safe. There are two articles written up by Big Brother to help you understand these two requests:
So stay safe, YWSers, and help make YWS the best place it can be. We hope you love it here, and wish you the best in your writing!
-Poetry Crew
*last updated 01/30/14 by Adnamarine
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Reviews: 745