Hiya Natalie. You can call me Brainy or Shella, whichever you like.
I thought I should let you know that there are a few rules here on YWS, but don't worry. They're very simple.
First, there is something called a 2:1 ratio. This means that for every story or poem you post, first you must review someone else's work. This is to make sure that everyone's work gets reviewed.
Second, try to use proper grammar, spelling, and capitalization. Chatspeak is forbidden. It can really make things hard for others to read.
Next, please rate your work. G, PG-13, or R and others. If your work is rated below R, it will apear on the front page where everyone can see it. If your work has adult situations or uses the f-word, it should be rated R.
That's just about everything. If I didn't mention everything or you forget something I've said here, don't worry. No one will hold it against you. As long as you don't deliberately break rules, you'll be fine.
So anyway...tell us about yourself. What types of stories do you like to write? Or do you write poetry? What hobbies do you have?
If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.
Hope you have fun here! ~Shella
"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment." -Pride and Prejudice
"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." -E.L. Doctorow
Hi Natalie! If I may ask, why are you having trouble looking for Alaska? It's kind of a big state...bigger than Texas, even (just don't tell Texas that).
*returns after asking the Magic Oracle of Google what "Looking for Alaska" means).* Oh, it's a book. That makes more sense now. I presume you like that book. What other books do you like? What music do you listen to? What do you do in your spare time? Yes, we Greeters are quite nosy.
Anyway, so I'll just second what Sheila said and advise you to check out the "Help and Support" section or you can just PM me.
Now, the fun part, HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S YOUR GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand." Leonardo Da Vinci
Hiya Natalie! I'm Selene and I'll be happy to be your ally on the wonderful YWS journey you'll be taking! ^_^ (translation: I'll be your overly-cheerful friend) Anyway, it's nice to meet you.
Now that I've officially creeped you out, on with the tour!
Here at YWS we have an awesome rainbow of colors you'll see popping up throughout the forums. This is the scoop on what it all means:
Greeters- Are a gorgeous blue! Greeters greet new members (it's pretty self-explanatory) and make them feel welcome in YWS.
Purples- aka Purps are the Instructors of YWS. They critique peoples work and help them improve in their writing.
Light Green/Green- These are Junior Moderators and Moderators. You may here them called as JMs, Mods, and Junior Mods, but they all have the same task at hand. JMs and Mods control the forums, but Junior Mods control some and Mods control all.
Red- There are three red members and they are the YWS Administrators or Admins. They make sure YWS doesn't fall into utter chaos.
Orange- Are Distinguished Members or retired Mods. They're highly respected on YWS for helping it become what it is today.
All of the YWS staff is friendly and willing to help you in any way possible, so don't be shy to ask.
If you have any questions, would like a review, or want to talk, feel free to PM me anytime.
Got YWS?
You judge others upon their actions, but you judge yourself by your intention.
To start off, I’ll tell you about our star system! See how people have stars under their name? This depends on how many reviews they’ve done. Once you do 5 reviews, you get a yellow star! The chart for the stars is:
After you get five gold stars, you move up to the Blue stars! The char for this is:
Blue Stars:
350 reviews - 1 blue star and 4 gold stars.
450 reviews - 2 blue stars and 3 gold stars.
550 reviews - 3 blue stars and 2 gold stars.
650 reviews - 4 blue stars and 1 gold star.
750 reviews - 5 blue stars.
Red after that!
Red Stars:
850 reviews - 1 red star and 4 blue stars.
950 reviews - 2 red star sand 3 blue stars.
1,050 reviews - 3 red stars and 2 blue stars.
1,150 reviews - 4 red stars and 1 blue star.
1,250 reviews - 5 red stars.
So that’s it for the stars!
So you like the book “Looking for Alaska”? I’ve never heard of it, what’s it about? Is it your favorite book? Would you recommend it? So what other books do you like? What’s your favorite genre? Exempting reading, what do you like to do?
So anyway, I’ll stop asking questions. If you need any help, just ask! -Y
Hi Natalie ^^ Welcome to YWS ;P I'm Shina, another one of those blue-titled people known as greeters. It's my job as well as my pleasure to greet the new members of YWS!
Looking for Alaska? My friend Roselle read that book, so I know what your username means ^^
Looks like everyone covered the rules xD The best way to learn the rules is by experience, which means you'll have to break some here and there (by accident) and you'll learn them.
Here's my piece of advice to you:
Take advantage of this site. It's free and there are so many members who have so much information to offer you! Rather than paying for some writing workshop or buying a book on writing (which are also good options) you can just be active on this site. It's give and take here, so be helpful ^^
Don't take all reviews to heart. Most of the time, the instructors/mods/greeters or members will shred your work to pieces the first time around. No matter how great of a writer you may be, YWS will make you ten times better. So just be open and take their suggestions. You never know what you'll learn here xD
that's all I've got for now
Good luck & have fun
-shina
You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into one.
The writer, when he is also an artist, is someone who admits what others don't dare reveal.
Is Looking for Alaska a good book? It sounds familiar, I think I put it on my list of books to read...
Anyway...
Who's your favorite author? What's your favorite baked good? If you could live in any country for a year, where would you live and why? If you were a shoe, what kind of shoe would you be and why?
I hope you have a great time here and if you have any questions or need anything, feel free to PM me!
-Carly
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
When your heart gets pierced with arrows, don't rip them out and pierce those around you in retribution for your hurt. You'll only unnecessarily wound others and bleed to death yourself. — LadyMysterio
Gender:
Points: 300
Reviews: 0