Hi

Hi, my name is Jade (you can call me that if you want)

I would love to be a writer, but I just don't think I am good enough, but I love writing anyway. I'd love to learn more (which I think I can from this site) and get some harsh reviews of my work to know exactly where to improve.

I don't really know where to start on here so any suggestions would be nice. Thanks

Hello Jade! Welcome to YWS! I am Winter

Well I suppose I should start off with the rules:
1. Minimize chat-speak. Don't replace "you" with "u" or "to" with "2". An occasional lol is fine though.
2. You must review two works before submitting one of your own. You must also do your best to maintain a 2:1 review to work ratio. This way everyone gets reviews!
3. Please rate your work. If it contains the f-word or obscene or graphic scenes please rate it R. If it is not rated R it will show up on the front page! Perhaps you will get more reviews.

I don't really know where to start on here so any suggestions would be nice.

Oh, that is a difficult question! Well, you could start by reviewing. This will help you improve your writing skills and the writer will be very appreciative. Or you could go to the community forums and write a short bio in "about the authors". Here's a link:
forum32.html
You could also click on the big groups button on the top of the page. Here you will find a long list of usergroups with themes that range from character development to Twilight to Jane Austen! You can join any of the usergroups you want. I'm sure you'll find a few that interest you.

Anyway, if you have any questions please feel free to PM me!
-Winter

Hi Jade! Welcome to YWS! I was a bit clueless as to where to start too, but you get the hang of it.

I'd start by reviewing. Even if you don't think you're the best reviewer, every opinion counts! Plus examining other people's work helps you get a better perspective on your own. After that, you can head over to the Community Forums where you can have discussions and get to know the YWS community better. Once you're ready, go ahead and post a poem or story. Just don't post all at once, since that gets annoying and you won't get many reviews.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

Now, HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S YOUR GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the welcomes and the ideas on were to start.

Well, one way to introduce yourself is to answer these questions:

Who are your favourite authors?
What are your favourite books?
What is your favourite genre to write in?

Well, I like Alice Sebold and I quite like Truman Capote. My favourite books are Girl Interrupted and Breakfast at Tiffany's, I also like The Bell Jar and now for what I write. I write just general fiction, my stories don't really fit into a specific genre, in my opinion anyway.

Hi Jade! Well rules are done, and tips were given. So, I got a couple more questions.

What other hobbies do you have?
What are your interests in movies?
What about music?

And have you heard about usergroups? If you want to know more, you can check the 'Groups' button up there. These groups are made by the members of YWS for people who share interests. There are groups for teenagers, cartoons, fantasy, almost everything! That's a good place to start as well.

So, great to meet you! Cool avatar, by the way. If you write general fiction, then I'd suggest the Other Fiction category. See ya around sometime!

Thanks for the welcome.

I got a couple more questions.

What other hobbies do you have?
What are your interests in movies?
What about music?

The obvious hobby is writing and along with that is reading. I am a big fan of shopping and just relaxing. I like a lot of movies, so I'm not going to bore people with a huge list, but I love Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Molly Ringwald movies. And now for music, I am generally into old/oldish stuff, or anything that people have never or very few people have heard of. I'm a Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Jeff Buckley fan. I also love old 60's bands (The Beatles & The Kinks etc.)

Hi! My dad's a huge fan of Ryan Adams! Welcome to YWS, by the way. Just letting you know that some of your music has been heard of. Haha.

Yeah. Probably a lot of it has, but I have a few favourites that most people haven't heard of.

Hello, Twigg/Jade!

(Haha, I wrote 'Twiggy' first.) I'm Demeter, nice to meet you!

Well, it seems you've been a member for a while already, but I'll say hello anyway! You must have checked the rules and everything, so that's great.

Oh, I adore Audrey Hepburn! On the walls of my room, I have two paintings of her, one poster, a wall calendar, a wall magnet, and a postcard of her – all black and white. Even my Facebook profile pic is a made-by-me reconstruction of one of her Tiffany photos She's so pretty!

I like The Beatles, too, and Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah is one of my favourite songs.

You'll definitely improve your writing here, don't worry about that! Us Instructors (purple name) are here to make sure of it.

There are also Greeters (blue), Jr Mods (light green), Mods (dark green), and Admins (red). The actual site admin and founder is Nate, and he's the one we worship. Occasionally, you'll also bump into people with orange name.They've been Moderators of the site, but have now retired.

Have you already been able to enjoy the YWS Chat? You'll find it on the homepage, but beware – it's only open every now and then, not always. The Jr Mods, Mods, and Admins have the rights to open the Chat, but you mustn't pressure them to do so, it will make them feel very cranky. And no one wouldn't really like that. But when it's open, it's definitely worth visiting!

Are you familiar with the Buddy System? It means that you can have a Buddy/Mentor for a month, if you'd like someone to show you around, answer your questions, and review everything you post. You'll get more info in the Buddy System thread on top of this forum.

Well, have a great time, and don't hesitate to PM me if you have questions or need help!


Demeter
xxx

Hey Jade
Welcome to YWS!

I hope you're enjoying your time here so far

Well, all the questions I usually ask have been answered ... *looks for something else*
Don't worry about the "not good enough"-stuff. If you post some of your work here, there are tons of people that are willing to help you out, and trust me - you'll improve a lot!
Besides, you don't really write for someone else, but mostly for you first, right?

PM me if you post anything, and I'll be happy to review
And feel free to ask for help, if you need any.

MySunshine

Hiya Jade! Welcome to YWS!

I'm June, we're glad to have you here. Relax, have a cup of tea. You're at home now.

So! The rules have already been given? Great. Here's the only other things that haven't been spoken of. Don't worry, I'll be quick with the boring parts .

When you review, you gain stars that show up beneath your name. Pretty, right?



First, the gold stars come marching in:


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

Followed by the blue-coated 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

Then, the red coats come in to stay


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! Ranks come with your post count. They appear beneath your name on the forums. Here's the legend:



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 [When you reach Novelist, you're allowed to have a custom title]
Speaker of the Forum: 500+ posts
Master of the Forum: 1,000 posts.


The FAQ is really, really helpful faq.php

*

Eek! Bob Dylan? I'm a fan-- a really big fan. *high-fives*

So! Question time!

What do you want to be when you grow up? Favorite country? Favorite sport? Least favorite thing to do?

If you have any questions about the site, feel free to PM anyone or post them here. We'll try our best to answer you .

Welcome aboard!

June

Hey Jade! Welcome to YWS! We know you'll love it here; if you're looking for constructive criticusm to improve your writing, then, believe me, you've come to the right place.

You've been attacked by our welcoming committee, I see? We're perhaps a bit over-enthusiastic to new members on YWS, but then again, you've decided to show up during a kind of crazy time-- we're in the middle of a color war between the Instructors (purps) and Greeters (blue). That means the two groups are switching jobs for one week! It's a really confusing time to show up, I knowm but you'll get the hang of things eventually.

So, if you'd like to go ahead and start getting some feedback, take a look at the Will Review for Food threads! You can post a link to your story in any of these lovely advertisements and guarantee that you'll get feedback. Of course, you have to review at least two other pieces before you post something of your own, but you probably already knew that,

If you want to improve your skills, check out the Knowledge Base. Many of our writers (including yours truly) have contributed to the site by posting tutorials and such on all sorts of different things: grammar, character development, cliff hangers, and even navigating YWS! It's a great place to start if you want to get some helpful hints on writing.

Also, be sure to keep an eye open for Chat! The Chat window is in the lower left corner of your Home page screen, and every once in a while Mods (people in greed) or admins (people in red) will decide to open Chat. Whenever Chat is opened, you can go in and meet all kinds of awesome people, make new friends, and discuss everything from your latest favorite book to the meaning of life to the worst sports team in the world. It's a load of fun, believe me!

So, hope you're finding your way around YWS without too many mishaps! If you ever need anything, just PM me! No one on here bites.

~Evi