Young Writers Society

Hi. I'm Max.

I was looking for random writing tips and I tripped over this one. It seemed interesting... so here I am.

I write, lots of fiction. No fantasy though. Some poetry.

I enjoy swimming, running, and the band Thriving Ivory.

So, that's about it. Yeah.

*Awkwardness*

Heya Max! Welcome to our home! Er...YWS.

Let's see if I can remember some of the rules.

1) Before posting any of your work you must review at least two things. We try to keep a 2:1 ratio so everyone gets a chance at being reviewed.

2) No chatspeak. It's annoying and we really like proper grammar on here. Plus we're writers.

3) Rate you work. If it has the f-word or any sexual, er, scenes, it should be rated R. Rated works (other than the R's) will appear on the Index page for everyone to see.

Well, that's enough. I'm sure someone will explaine everything else too you ^_^

This site is great! Everyone is friendly and so it's easy to make friends >_<

What's your favourite book and author? I can't wait to read some of your work, although I usually haunt the fantasy forum. Have fun!

Happy Writing!

Meadow

P.S. I have an avatar like yours saved somewhere on the computer. It's so cute ^_^

Hullo Max!

Swimming's awesome. I've been swimming since before I was born, and my mom has the scar to prove it. Love the water. On any teams?

No fantasy? What's wrong with fantasy? Ah well. To each his own, I suppose. Have anything ready to post yet? I'd love to review it, if you do. ^_^ On that! We've got a 2:1 rule here. That is, for every two reviews/critiques you give on other people's work, you can post one of your own works. This way, everyone gets a review! ^_^ And the more you review, the more people are likely to review your work in return. So in the end, everybody's happy.

Also, my name's purple. That means I'm an instructor, and my job is to go around and critique people. Instructors tend to give in-depth critiques and make a thorough job of your work over all. Their critiques also tend to be long, but helpful over all. In a word, they instruct.

The bluuuue people are the greeters! Normally, they'd be the ones to welcome you and you'd have a page of blue welcomes. Their job is to make new members feel welcome and be your buddy while you get used to the site. Have questions? Need reviews? go to them and they'll be more than happy to help you out. ^_^

The light green people are the Jr. Mods. They moderate a specific forum. There's a JM group for each section of the site. If you have any problems or need help, they're good to go to. They'll also answer any questions you have about just about anything YWS. Awesome people.

Dark Green people are more powerful. They moderate the entire site. A JM might be limited in how much they can do because of being limited to a single section, but they're still tough. Moderators, though, the dark green ones, have power everywhere in the site. Again, any problems, and questions, almost anything at all, go to them. They can help and do things like lock topics and such for you.

The red people are the gods of YWS. Currently there are three, Firestarter, Meshugenah, and Nate. Jack, the first one, can't seem to make up his mind though, so don't be surprised to see his color changing by the day. He's a great guy, if a little indecisive. Jack and Mesh are Jr. Admins, but Nate's the big one. He made YWS and can do just about anything. Turn it purple with red polka dots, change your name, make new forums, get rid of people, add new toys for us to play with, anything. He's awesome, too, and loves to pull pranks. Keep an eye out this April fools day for his prank -- they've been awesome every time.

Why are you getting welcomes from purple people though? Truth be told, you joined in the middle of a war. The instructors more or less snubbed the greeters, talking about how amazing and epic they (the instructors) were, and how insignificant the greeters were. The greeters said something to the effect of, "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try it. You wouldn't last a week."

"What, a week of greeting? That's nothing! Try a week of critiquing. Then you'll see how awesome we are."

So they swapped places for a week. The greeters won! But they had a mod on their team, so there was much arguing, even though the instructors had a mod, too. They decided on a rematch, this time with no mods. And that's where we are now. And that's why you're getting purple people instead of blue. ^_^

(And of course, it's all in good fun. )

If you ever post anything, send a PM my way! I'd love to read it. War or no war, I signed on to be an instructor.

Can't wait to see you around!

Max wrote:Hi. I'm Max.

I was looking for random writing tips and I tripped over this one. It seemed interesting... so here I am.

I write, lots of fiction. No fantasy though. Some poetry.

I enjoy swimming, running, and the band Thriving Ivory.

So, that's about it. Yeah.

*Awkwardness*

:*squishes awkwardness under left foot*:

Welcome to the YWS, Max! I'm Sumi, one of the afore-mentioned awesome people here, willing to PMed with questions or review requests or whatever else.

Are you on a swim team or track, or do you just enjoy doing those solo?

If you're into poetry, you should check out the Poetry Inspiration usergroup (the link's in my signature). We have weekly contests with prizes and such jazz.

Now that we've thoroughly bombarded you with personal questions and requests (join Poetry Inspiration. Nao.), you should definitely post back. ^_^

Again, welcome!
~Sumi

Heya, Max!

It's me, again one of the awesome people! My name is Demeter, nice to meet you. Aren't you happy to have now joined to this awesome society, because now you can finally call yourself awesome! Yay!

The word 'awesome' itself (and all the variations of it, like awesomeness and awesomity) were made exclusively for this place, so be prepared Okay, enough of the awesomeness now, and to the point.

Welcome! How are you? We're all very happy to have new members, so I'm sure you will be well received! In fact, you already have And always-lovely Dreamer gave you a round of colours there, that's great.

By the way, if you feel like a little lost and would someone to show you around etcetera, check the Buddy System thread on top of this forum. In there, there's a list people called Mentors, and you can choose one of them and PM him/her. Then he/she will help you out, answer your questions, and review everything you post here in a month. It's a good way to get to know the site!

We have many fun features here, like blogs, usegroups, guestbooks (in a member's profile), and loads of other things. We also have the Chat (on front page) but it's only occasionally open. So when you notice there are people there, just step in and check it out! It's really cool! [/advertisement]

Well, if you have other questions or just want to talk, just PM or guestbook me, it'd be fun! See you around!


Demeter
xxx

Hi there Max, and welcome to the [s]insanity[/s] writing phenomenon that is YWS!!!

Hmm, what to tell you... so you said you were looking for writing tips? Well, how about this? We have an actual forum for writing tips in the Community Forum, you should check it out: forum11.html .

You should also check out the other forums in the Community Forums - there's a Randomness Forum, which is for exactly what it means - random stuff!! (: There's also the lounge where you can hang out and relax, and sooo much more!! Check it out hehe =D.

There's also a Subforum to the Lounge called 'Will Review For Food', which is only handy if you have a big bag of cookies to bribe the people to review your work for you, but just make sure you review two things yourself before you go posting anything!! =D Ooh, *looks happy as she finds something else to ramble on about* for reviews to count they must be roughly 250 characters/6 lines long. Also, you need to make sure that your reviews are constructive and helpful to the writer, even if their work is pretty damn good (which is always the case on here) there is always some area of improvement, no matter how small it is, so point it out to them, and they will be forever grateful!!

Anyway, enough of my ranting and more about you!! So, what kind of stuff do you like to write? Books you like to read? Music you like to listen to...? Fill us in!! =D

I hope you enjoy your time here, and I hope to see you around. PM me if you have any questions, or are in need of a review!!
--Lucyy xx

Hola, Max! That's such a cute avatar! Aw... *mildly distracted* ^_^

Er, WELCOME to YWS! The best writing site in the world. True story. No -- don't look it up. This is top secret information only we members know. We don't need a gold plate engraved with "Best Writing Site Ever" to KNOW we're the best writing site ever. >_>

My name is Clo, and I'm an Instructor who peruses the forums often since she can't stand ever being bored and always has to be doing something. I give reviews at the drop of a hat, so feel free to PM (Private Message) me at any time! There are many other Instructors who can help you out as well, and mods are wonderful here too.

I suggest just browsing the Community forums and commenting on topics that you have interest in -- you'll get to know people very, very fast. And after reviewing the work of other writers (2:1 review to post ratio after all!), feel free to post your own work -- it WILL get reviewed, and it's always the nicest thing to see people consider your writing and give both helpful and constructive comments on it.

And reviewing is very easy on this site. Feel free to say general comments ("I like this, but this could use some work by...") or get specific (Quote a line, "This sentence is phrased strange, move around these words...", "This is a really great sentence!"). Easy as cake.

So yes! Awkwardness be gone.

I hope to see you around the forums!

Yours Truly,

Clo

Awkwardness is an awkward word, don't you think? Too many w's.

But, anyway, there's no need to feel awkward on YWS, for we are, as mentioned above, the most swesome people in the world. We shall not stand for anyone being uncomfortable. We speak in the name of truth, justice, integrity, and proper grammar! Huzzah!

Hehe. We're also mildly insane.

You said you were looking for random writing tips? AHA! The Knowledge Base (just click the word to go there) is the treasure trove of random writing tips. Except, they're all written by fellow YWSers! You can even write one of your very own to help the community and make the world a better place. Epic, I know. ^_^

Also, be sure to check out the usergroups. You can find whole bunches of people who share your interests and are willing to talk about them. It's a great way to make friends, believe me!

See you around, dear!

~Evi

Hi Max! I'm June!

It's totally awesome to meet you-- there's no need to feel awkward, out of place, nervous, or anything, because YWS is full of kind, helpful, welcoming people-- you'll feel at home in no time, so just-- *snatches awkwardness and tosses it out of a random window*

There.

So! Yes, welcome to YWS! At first, the rules seem overwhelming, but it's really simple. After a minute or so, it's almost like there's no rules to follow, because we've got lots and lots of freedom on here.

Anyway! The 2:1 ratio policy has already been explained. That's actually a really good policy, because in reviewing other people's work, your knowledge expands. By noting mistakes in their literature, you know what not to add in your story and all that good stuff. And, there's another bonus! The more reviews you have, the more stars you get. What are stars?

Well, stars are the shiny yellow(or gold), blue, and red stars that dance beneath people's avatars. Okay, fine. So, they don't actually have any cool dance moves, they just sit there, but that's beyond the point. Anyway! Right. The point--

Stars are like, a legend to show how many reviews you have done so far. Here's how the stars work:

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


So, the more reviews you have, the more stars you have.

A review must be at least 250 characters to count as a review, dear, so try to make those worthwhile! What exactly is a review anyway?

Well! In the literature forums, you post stories and poetry and all the other good stuff that you get to read, and in turn, people "review" it. A review can't just be, "Oh wow! That was really good, I liked it!" That just won't do!

And, to make things even more confusing, you'll hear some people talking about reviews and critiques.

A review is where you point out what you liked about a piece, and provide the author with positive feedback on the piece.

A critique is where you offer constructive criticism. First, you point out any errors you may have noted in the piece, and offer a way to correct the errors. Focus mainly on mechanics-- spelling, grammar, punctuation, and all that stuff. Then! We do an "overall", which consists of all of the things that the author needs to pay attention to, and finally, we do the review, which is like, our favorite parts. (Instructors specialize in detailed critiques, so if you would like one, just ask us!)


Hmm... we also have the community forums, where you can go interact with other members! Be sure to check out the Lounge and Randomness . Be sure to post so that your post count goes up, too! The more posts you have the higher your rank! Take a look:


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.

* - At Novelist, you're allowed to have a custom title. A custom title shows up in bold letters beneath your name, and you can edit/change it as much as you like!

Did I mention we have blogs? Well, yes! Blogs are so much fun! Basically, it's your own little corner to go rant on and on about anything and everything and people can come to comment, and you can comment on other people's. Major, major fun.


Hmm... also! At the top of literature pieces, you can give it a star if you like the piece. A star is like, voting it to be a featured piece, so the more stars it gets, the more chance it has at being a featured work.

And! We have guestbooks (I'm going to sign yours, haha!) where people can leave messages for you and all of that fun stuff. It's really fun, because we're pretty close to each other on here, even though most of us live so far apart. Once we get to know you, you'll fit right in.

And, yay! Swimming? Swimming has to be the best sport ever-- it's so fun. Are you good? Can you do the butterfly stroke? How deep was the deepest body of water you've swam in so far?

And! You like running!? Wow, I absolutely love running! It's so fun to just run without stopping until you lose your breath .

Yay! Fiction and poetry? I do both, and I don't do fantasy. I like reading some of it, but it's just something about writing it that's escaped me. I'm not too sure what it is, exactly, but maybe someday I'll learn how.

So! Are you into music? Who's your favorite author? Tell us more about you, so that we can get to know you better!

Welcome aboard, we're really glad to have you here!

June