Young Writers Society

Hi guys, I'm new, and wanted to introduce myself. My name's Caitlin, but call me Hawkie if you want. I'm thirteen and love to write, have written a book which I plan to self-publish, plus a lot of other shorter stuff/drabbles. I'm a little unsure of what to do next, but I'm sure I'll figure things out soon enough. I'd love to get to know all you guys . . . I'm not shy (well, not on the Internet anyway). And I most certainly don't bite.

Well! I'm glad you don't bite! Hiya and welcome to the crazy website of YWS!! It's a good thing you aren't shy on here, you get conversations with everyone here!

We have some rules that need to be followed here.

We have a 2:1 ratio here in the Writing forums. For every story or item you post, you need to do 2 reviews. It's a great way to make friends, offer your wisdom in writing, poetry stuff like that.

No chat speak or CAPS. IT'S REALLY ANNOYING!! And ppl hve a hrd tme rdng it.

Please rate your works in the Writing forums. If you have a story that has serious swearing, sexual stuff or really gory/graphic scenes, please rate it R.

Well, those are the rules!

So, what's the genre of your story?
What genre do you like to read?
Do you have a favourite book?
What's your book about?
Favourite food?
Favourite colour?
Sorry, I'm bombarding you with questions. Might as well get them done with now!
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Lucy

Hi, Hawkie/Caitlin!

Caitlin's such a wonderful name I'm Demeter, nice to meet you. Most people tend to shorten my name to Dem or Demi, but I'll respond to basically anything.

Wow, you plan to self-publish! That sounds great. Now that you're here, you can post parts of it for us to see, so we can help you to make it shine! There are very good reviewers and editors in here, so you and your novel are definitely in good hands. Not to mention friendly. YWS is like the epitome of greatness in every way, and after spending some time here, you'll definitely come to notice that!

Hmm. Maybe I should become an advertiser? xD

Anyway. You'll probably come across with many people who have different coloured names. I'm light green, which means I'm a junior moderator. The regular green are moderators, and the red are admins. The ones with purple name are Instructors, which means that their job is to do anything to make others improve with their writing. Then there are the blue Greeters, who you will see much around the Welcome forum. Their job is to greet new members and make them feel welcomed and cozy.

Of course, greeters do not only greet, but they also review. Everyone reviews, especially when they're posting their own stories or poems. You can't get away with only posting your own stuff and never reviewing others' – that would be unfair, so that's why it's recommended to keep the review/post ratio at 2:1. And it's best to do those two reviews before posting your own works.

Well, I'm really sorry to all you greeters of whom I stole the things to say. xD

I hope to see you around a lot! Enjoy the site and just drop me a line if you need something


Demeter
xxx

Whew, lots of questions! That's okay, I like to talk about myself.

So, what's the genre of your story? - Hmm . . . that's a toughie . . . fantasy, probably. But not with knights and wizards and heroes and high fantasy stuff. So I suppose you'd call it Low Fantasy.
What genre do you like to read? - Pretty much anything, as long as it's good. Though fantasy is probably a fav.
Do you have a favourite book? - A few. Harry Potter and the Warrior Cats series come to mind, as well as Tuck Everlasting and Welcome Home, Jellybean. Also, it's not a book, but I adore the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. (hence my avatar)
What's your book about? It's pretty much an animal fable. All the main characters are talking animals, but it's definitely a YA-level book, there's lots of fighting and serious problems dealt with.
Favourite food? Anything. I just like food in general. Especially meat and fish. (I'm a carnivore. Rawr!)
Favourite colour? Purple, though blue and silver are also favorites.

Demeter/Dem/Demi:

Glad you like my name. Oh, and not really self-publish per se . . . Lulu.com is doing it. But it's a lot like self-publishing. Thanks for letting me know about the 2:1 and the name colors. Nice to meet you both!

Hey, Hawkie! I'm Hannah~ Welcome to YWS. ^_^

I was reading your responses here and saw you enjoyed the Warrior Cats series AND that your story is about talking animals with a more serious undertone. I was wondering if you've ever read Watership Down or Firebringer? They are both books just like that that I've read and enjoyed. The author of Firebringer also has another book called The Sight. See, these are books about rabbits, deer, and wolves, respectively. I highly recommend at least Watership Down and Firebringer, because I haven't read the other one, but my mother liked it when she did, so maybe that's worth taking a look at, too.

Besides fantasy, which your book is, do you write in any other genres? Ever tried poetry? Flash fiction?

^_^ PM me if you have questions or want anything reviewed! As Demeter said, Instructors like me are here specifically to help you improve your writing! I'm open to whatever you feel up to posting and I'll try to help as much as I can. I know that taking critiques is the thing that has helped me improve my writing the most. I learn what readers pick out, what mistakes I make on a regular basis, and then I can watch out for those things! You'll learn, too. ^_^ <3

Again, welcome to the site~

-Hannah-

Hannah:

I have read Watership Down (another fav, actually) but never Firebringer or The Sight. I've heard of them, though. The problem is, I haven't been able to find them anywhere. Not at the bookstore, not at the library, nowhere.

I have written some poetry, fan fiction, and one or two short stories, but my novelwriting is my best. Currently I'm (sort of) working on a (also sort of) romance novel about a werefox. I'll definitely call on you when I want a review. It seems that you enjoy reviewing (just a hunch, hehehe).

Hawkie wrote:Hannah:

I have read Watership Down (another fav, actually) but never Firebringer or The Sight. I've heard of them, though. The problem is, I haven't been able to find them anywhere. Not at the bookstore, not at the library, nowhere.

I have written some poetry, fan fiction, and one or two short stories, but my novelwriting is my best. Currently I'm (sort of) working on a (also sort of) romance novel about a werefox. I'll definitely call on you when I want a review. It seems that you enjoy reviewing (just a hunch, hehehe).

Wow! I don't know what's up with that. I mean, I don't remember where I got my copies, but they didn't seem to be too rare. Maybe try looking them up online and see if your parents might help you get them from there? That's weird~.

^_^ What fan fiction do you write then? Perhaps for Warriors or something like that? I've never really written fan fiction, and I've discovered an overwhelming percentage of it is poorly written, so I steer clear of it for the most part, but I imagine it's great fun to take over the characters of your favorite book. Also, I do encourage you to look through the poetry forums here and pick up a few tips on poetry if you want. I considered myself all prose, for sure, when I got here, but the members are inspiration and helpful and you might end up producing some great pieces between your novel writing.

And, well, the mood for reviewing comes and goes. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to get out there and help, but I'll get to it sooner or later. Hehehe~

Hmmm, what about music? What's your favorite genre? Band/musician? Song? =]

I'm not too picky with music, myself, but my favorite song is Far, Far by Yael Naim. =D

-Hannah-

I've written a little Avatar fan fiction, as well as some Legend of Zelda fics (yes, I'm a video game nerd).

Oh yes, the wonderful world of music. I like upbeat pop and power ballads. Call it a guilty pleasure, I guess. I also like orchestrated and cinematic-type music, and rock, as long as it's not overblown.

I have a few questions, too.

1: What qualifies as a good "review?" Would just a few constructive comments work?

2: If I have a work that crosses genres, where would I put it? My werefox story has a basic romance plot, but is set in a fantasy world. Would it go under "Romance" or "Fantasy?" Thanks in advance.

1: What qualifies as a good "review?" Would just a few constructive comments work?

2: If I have a work that crosses genres, where would I put it? My werefox story has a basic romance plot, but is set in a fantasy world. Would it go under "Romance" or "Fantasy?" Thanks in advance.

I have some answers!

1. To me, a good review is one that picks out not only small problems that the author can work on {for example, recurring grammar errors or a sentence that doesn't feel correctly structured} but also looks at the bigger picture. Comments on characters, plot, flow, etc. are always helpful. ^__^ Basically, take the time to say what you thought when you read it, but also look at it as a piece of work apart from your opinions.

There are other opinions on what makes a good review, as well. As long as you give it a good effort and make constructive comments rather than just saying something was 'good', you're good. xD

2. You can put it in either, I suppose, but I think if it were based in a Fantasy world or with Fantasy creatures, it would go in the Fantasy forum. I think that the Romance Fiction forum is for realistic fiction that is based around romance, or something like that. ^____^

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. <3

-Hannah-

*snugs Hawkie*

1. A few constructive comments will work. As you go around YWS, try to find good critiques and such that are really helpful. Especially if they help you out. Then imitate. It works out. But really, everyone has their own particular style.

2. Fantasy all the way.

I have been talking to you a lot in Chat and felt I should post here too.

1- What Snoink said, pretty much. A review's minimum length is about three lines, so anything more than that is plus. Poke around the forums to find critiques you think were helpful and copy them. Also, check out the Knowledge Base for articles on what to look for. You can also read a few articles under the YWS section to see what can be included in reviews.

2- Go by main situations, not subplots. Ie- Fantasy!

Can you tell I'm a fantasy writer? xD