newbies shall take over the world! :D

Hi there. I'm glad you decided to click on this topic.

My name is Jay (it's actually my nickname)and I'm from America. I'm not really "new" to this site, because I've been on here quite a bit before actually registering. I'm not new to writing, either. I got started in fourth grade and I've loved it ever since. I'm in the Writer's Club at my school and I send my stuff to an old teacher of mine, who critiques and corrects for me.

I like to write fiction, mostly. Maybe a poem here or there.

So... yeah. I guess that's it.

Hi!

Hola dude.
So cool that you're joining... it's cool having new people. I'm really not all that not new, so yeah....
I love fiction! and poetry pretty much runs along with it... sorta, i guess. i do both too.
would you like some queries? (i love that word)
-How long is your longest story so far?
-Do you like Taylor Swift or All American rejects more?
-How many ends of stories have you accually done? Besides school work, however. I'm at, like, none. I have a few sentences left on one, though. Don' worry, it'll be embarrassingly low.
-You're smart. You accually posted one of these thingies... I didn't know you were supposed to until... now.

umm... should i be telling you rules? Probably.
-when posting, hit enter

between

each

line. Makes reading online sooo much easier.
-don't type in all caps or in a coloured font. It's annoying.
-I'm going to let other people tell you the other stuff because i'm sleepy....

-kelly
PM (personal message) me if you want me to critique something, but not fanfic.
=]

Hey Jay, welcome to YWS!

If you haven't already, I'd read the Rules. They're kind of long and slightly boring but they'll help you on the site and keep out of 'trouble' with the mods. The main ones to keep in mind are pretty simple:
-3:1 ratio --> for everything you submit for a review on the site, we ask that you review at least three other works first.
-No chat speak/swearing --> tlking lke tHiS is annoying so don't do it and try to keep swearing to an extreme minimum (like only in your stories/poems/etc.) cause there are some younger people on this site that may not want to read that. Also, if you do have kind of excessive swearing or sexual content in a story/poem/etc. rate it accordingly, again for the younger users

Ha, that's all I can remember off the top of my head.
My fellow Greeters (blue people) can fill you in further.

Since I'm starting to get tired, I'm just going to skip to my favorite part of these nifty welcomes which is the Really Hard Questions.
Are you ready?
Prepare yourself.
What kind of music do you listen to? If you could meet one author and ask them anything you wanted for an hour, who would you meet? What's your baked good of choice? If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be and why? If you were a marine biologist, what animal would you study and why?

I hope you have a really great time here and if you have any questions or need anything at all, feel free to PM me!

-Carly

Hey Jay, welcome to YWS! I'm WD and I'm thrilled to see another new face around. Any specific genre of fiction you especially enjoy to write/read? Again, welcome to YWS! If you have any questions or just want to say hi, do feel free to PM me. ^_^

Wow! Large response here. That certainly made me feel good. xD

EmiAnne -
How long is your longest story so far?: Uhhm. Around 29 pages? Not a lot, I know, but for some reason I get bored with an idea and then I just drop it. Hopefully I'll be able to work on that.
-Do you like Taylor Swift or All American rejects more?: Hmm. I like them both, but I like Taylor Swift more because I know the words to most of her songs. But All American Rejects are cool too - it's nice to rock and roll once in a while.
-How many ends of stories have you accually done?: As in finished? Three. But they were really, really short. Flash fiction, if you will.

Carlito -
What kind of music do you listen to?: Pop and classic rock. Don't judge, but I like the Jonas Brothers. Well, more like love. But I listen to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, The Shirelles, Heart, and many others. I basically adore music in general (except rap. Ick. As my friend's dad calls it, "mumbo jumbo.")
If you could meet one author and ask them anything you wanted for an hour, who would you meet?: I can't choose just one! JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer or Harper Lee, for sure.
What's your baked good of choice? Chocolate chip cookies.
If you were a piece of furniture, what would you be and why? I would probably be a comfy armchair. I personally love armchairs and I'm small enough to curl up in them instead of just sit, and it feels like it's hugging me, haha.
If you were a marine biologist, what animal would you study and why? I would probably study the humpback whale. Even though they're so enormous, they're so graceful and beautiful.

Writersdomain-
Any specific genre of fiction you especially enjoy to write/read? I like to write and read fiction. I like to read romance and thrillers (I especially enjoy The Da Vinci Code and The Bourne series by Robert Ludlum.) My favorite romance author is probably Nora Roberts, but I love funny romance as well, and not just the same old, damsel-in-distress, needs big strong man to save her kind of stuff. I love Meg Cabot's Not Fat series, (Size Twelve is not Fat, Size Fourteen is not Fat Either & Big Boned.)

Wow, that was a lot of responses! But thanks for welcoming me on the site!
By the way, do any of you have tips on critiquing? What should I look for? What should I notice?

Thanks!

Haha, sounds like some fun stuff you like. Can't wait to read some of your writing.

Well, everybody has a different style of critiquing and different sensitivity to different issues, but here are a few things you might look for:

- awkward sentences/word choice issues
- how the characters are coming off (seriously, writers will love you if you give them character impressions and suggestions)
- pacing issues (does something seem too fast?)
- detail issues (does a section seem too sparse or heavy on details?)
- dialogue (does it seem natural/fitting?)
- is it engaging? Did the story hook you straightaway?
- are there parts that seem too cliche?
- some writers like critiques of grammar, so feel free to address some grammar/spelling, but, in general, if someone has already mentioned grammar, addressing other issues is more helpful.

Again, these are just a few ideas. You don't have to mention all of them. You don't even have to mention any of them. Just read, think, enjoy the piece and tell the writer how you think they can improve. So glad to see you on YWS! If you need anything, again, PM me.

Also, if you're at a total loss of how to critique/ how to respond to people critiqueing you, go to the itunes store and search young writers society, because there's a fre radio by the starter of the site.