Young Writers Society

Hey everyone. You guys can call me KAR. Those are my initials. I love here it already and only been on this for a little bit. This site is really cool and I have been writing for ever. I can't tell you when I wasn't writing. So I hope I can make friends here and I hope everyone likes my work.

Hi Kar, and welcome to YWS!

I'm glad you love our site so far! I'm sure you'll only fall more in love with it as time goes on. I know I have!

So, I'm going to go over the colors with you! Have you noticed that some people have different colored names?

Black names- The amazing members of YWS who don't have a specified job except to be awesome, review, and post!

Blue names- They're known as Greeters. They're the ones whose job it is to make everyone feel welcome here at YWS.

Purple names- They're called Instructors. They are known for their great reviews, so go to them for writing advice!

Light green/dark green names- Junior Mods (JMs) are the lighter and Mods are the darker. They control the forums, make sure everything is where it's supposed to be and follows the rules.

Red names- Administrators. We have three- the site owner, Nate, Firestarter (Jack), and Meshugenah. They keep everything running smoothly.

Orange names- Distinguished members (retired mods).

So, do you have any hobbies? What are your favorite genres to write? Read? Let me know; I'd love to get to know you more!

Questions, concerns, or the urge to randomly discuss awesome things? PM me.

Love,
Music

Hey, Kar, how're you? ^^ Of course you love YWS; it's impossible not to. In fact, a good number of us are now addicted to the site!

If you want to make friends, one awesome way is to check out the Chat room. Did you see it? It's on the main home page towards the left/bottom of your screen. You'll get to know some awesome people, and introduce yourself to the wonderful world that is YWS!

Alright, some quick rules.

--- No chatspeak. that meens u cant tak lik dis. We are a site of literary excellence; we use proper capitalization and proper spelling! You'll get used to it soom enough (this applies to the Chatroom too.)

--- NO ALL-CAPS. They are bad. Avoid them like the swine flu.

--- We have a 2:1 ratio. What does that mean? It means that you can't post anything of your own until you've reviewed at least two other pieces posted by some of our members. If you need some help doing your review, just take a look at the reviews of the Instructors, or go to the Knowledge Base and check out some tutorials. The Knowledge Base has everything from grammar tips to how to make your characters realistic. It's magical.

If you need any help around the site, be sure to PM me or anyone else and you'll be assited in no time! Enjoy yourself, and get reviewing so you can post your stuff!

~Evi

Hi, Kar! I'm Jon, welcome to YWS!


There is a rule that you keep the post to 2:1. Meaning that you should critique or comment on someone else's work before you post anything first.


Anyway, what do you like to write? I myself like to write poetry and Fantasy.

You will love YWS, you'll make a bunch of friends and improve your writing!


Anyway, If you haven't read the rules, you can here: rules.php .


Once again, Welcome! I can't wait to see some of your stuff.

Also, if you have any questions, you cn PM (Private Message) me anytime! You will find the PM button below this post or just click my avatar.


Welcome!


---Jon---

Hey Kar! That's so cool, one of my characters is called Kal because that's her first three initials

Okay, so most stuff has been said, but:

- Please rate your work, G, PG, PG-13 or R. R stuff won't be shown on the front page, for obvious reasons.

-Check out the Knowledge Base in Resources! There are lots of useful things in there for you to read about...

-Also, clicking on the groups button at the top will get you onto the Group index where you can find people with similar interests as yours- Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Twilight, Vampires, Girls etc . I'm sure you'll find something in there to entertain you.

-You can earn Points by reviewing other people's work and posting here in the Welcome forum, as well as some other places around. However, some things will also cost you points, so beware! Every so often, Nate- that's the boss round here- will reset everybody's points to 300, so you'll be starting at the same point that all the old members are. This'll give you a chance to get Featured Member!

-Look at the YWS Official Blog, write your own, read others! It's a great way of getting to know people...

-If you need a Mentor to help you round the place, look at "The Buddy System." A mentor will help you get on your feet in the forums and help you find your way around...

Hope I've helped, and PM me (click the button at the bottom of the post) if you need anything!

And tell us a bit more about yourself: where are you from? What are your interests? Your favourite authors?

-Stella.

Hi Kar! I'm Pop. It's really nice to meet you! *shakes hand*

Since Evi's gone over the three greatest laws of YWS, I suppose I can just throw in some of the cool features this site has.

First, see that black bar at the top of the screen? There's a "Groups" icon smack dab in the middle. Click it.
There's tons of groups you can choose from (if you wish), ranging from Character Development to Twilight fandom. You can also join as many groups as you'd like! These are a fun way to meet and chat with other people who share the same interests as you.

Speaking of awesome groups, here's one that we'd absolutely love for you to join:
The Completely Evil Plan
It's a surprise that all of YWS is working on for a special member (and the funny thing is, it's not evil at all).
We need as many members as possible to help out, so please do!

Also atop the black bar is a "Blogs" icon. That is a fun place, I tell you. Under Blog News you can read and comment on other user's blogs, and under My Blog you can create your own!

So with some of those things out of the way, what do you like to write, Kar? I love a good horror story myself. XD
I really can't wait to read some of your stuff - everyone on this site is incredibly talented, and trust me, you will have a hard time not being amazed!

We're so happy to have you in the family!


Pop

Hi there Kar! Welcome! I'm Eliza or El.
I see everyone's already covered the rules. So I'll tell you about the chat. The chat is amazing! You can talk to YWS members in a flash and meet lots of new friends.
What's your favorite thing to write? Favorite author? Cake or pie?
I look forward to reviewing your work. Have fun on YWS, dear.

Hi Kar! Welcome to [s]the family[/s] YWS! This is the best website on the internet to learn how to write gooder.

Here on YWS, we are almost like family. We love doing surprises and special things. The link for the completely evil plan, the one that anti-pop gave you and is in my signature, is one of those special things. So do it, please! We will love you if you do it!

Nah, we will love you anyway.

Also here on YWS, we have an e-newsletter called Squills. It usually has articles about writing and about the site. You can check some of the old issues by clicking the Squills button on the top header.

And these smilies get addictive. Don't be afraid to use them!

You are sure to make friends on here! This is the friendliest place, ever! Everyone is nice, and no one bites. I promise.

Well, except for the England college boys. They sometimes bite, but if you stay away from them, you should be fine.

If you ever need any help around the site, want a review, or you just want to talk, I'm almost always available. Feel free to PM me at any time.

I hope to see you around!

*Lin

Heya there Kar!

Welcome to YWS! Everyone above has gone over the rules and such so I'll explain one more thing to you...or maybe two. Doesn't matter.

1) You are most likely wondering why you are being greeted by Instructors instead of Greeters. Well, we're in the middle of our third war on here. Just a little competion that we do for about a week every few months. It's actually quite amusing ^_^

2) When you post some of your work, don't get discouraged by the reviews you get. Every thing anyone says is meant to help you improve your writing. So embrace the critisim and use it to your advantage. That's what we're all here for!

So, let's see, what do you write? What's your favourite genres, authors, books?

Hope to read some of your work soon.

Happy Writing!

Meadow

Hello Kar! Welcome to YWS, I hope you enjoy it here I'm sure people will like your work, everyone is really friendly and we all work to improve one another's writing, it's a brilliant place to be.

I can see that a lot about YWS has already been covered but I thought I would mention a couple of the other features on YWS too ^^

Well the point system has already been explained but a great way of earning extra points is under contests where there are always quite a few going on- sometimes really random ones- and the prizes mean not only bonus points but also usually in depth critiques owed to you for when you would like them

There is a leader board for reviews on here that is reset every month and also a leader board for points which is reset every couple of weeks or so, it's a good way of competing but can lead to spending a great deal of time on YWS!

You shouldn't have much trouble getting reviews, and if you ever need one you can always ask any of us purples but there is also the Will review for food thread (just beneath the lounge under Community) and you can post there to get a piece reviewed by any of the members offering.

So what do you like to write? There is quite a lot to do here on YWS but I'm sure some other members will probably point out a few other features too, if you ever need anything feel free to PM me!

Alo Kar, I'm Mia. Welcome to the extended, wierd and happy family we call YWS.

I think most of the rules have been explained to you... let me just tell you one or two things that will help in your first few days as a newbie.

Wanna make friends with members? Visit our awesome chat room here:
http://host7110.123flashchat.com/youngwriterssociety/

We discuss so many random and crazy topics, and always seem to have fun. However, with all this fun comes the *counts* five chat commandments!
~THOU SHALT NOT TALK IN ALL CAPS! (It's so painful to look at and distracting. Also I don't like to talk to people who look like they're shouting at me.
~Thou shalt not chat speak! (Yes we are in a chat room, but we are still writers and must behave as so. Ergo, pls dnt tlk lke dis.)
~Thou shalt not do anything like this: heeeelllloooooooo!!!!!!!!! (Yes, we get it you're excited to say hi/bye/whatever else to someone, no we still don't think this is right. )
~Thou shalt not flame any other members! (This basically means no making fun of someone or being mean )
~Thou shall obey the chat moderators at ALL costs! (The chat mods are the people whose names are in green and at the top of the who's online list in chat. They basically tell you if you've broken a rule and be warned, they have the power to kick you out of chat if you have broken rules and don't listen to their warnings.)

Also, on YWS although we absolutely hate chat speak, certain term abbreviations such as: lol, brb, ect, MC (main character) are allowed.

I would suggest joining a usergroup! Go on 'groups' at the top of the page and join one which captures your interest. There are a wide variety including a debate group, a contest group, and a twilight group. At the moment, I would suggest checking out 'the completely evil plan' group. It's basically a prank a member has cooked up which involves a lot of writing.

Personally, YWS has greatly improved my writing and my love for it. I understand the difference between showing and telling and I'm proud of it. I hope you get the same experience from this site!
Questions? Need reviews? PM me.
xxMiaxx

I've been writing since I was very young, too. Pleased to meet a fellow avid writer - welcome!