z

Young Writers Society


Posting Checklist



User avatar
657 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 6523
Reviews: 657
Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:56 pm
Jennafina says...



Posting Checklist

Here are my suggestions on what to do before you post something in the Literary Forums.

1. Have you critiqued at least two things by other people?
That's a forum rule. Don't worry, it's not hard. ^_^

2. Have you read through your entire story/poem at least once?
It's amazing how much one more read through can catch. If your work isn't full of little mistakes your critiques can focus on the important stuff.
> Is it entirely free of typos?
> Is it spellchecked?

3. Have you formatted your work?
It's really, really hard to read prose that's all in a bunch.
> Are your paragraphs frequent and double spaced?
> Does all your dialogue have a new paragraph?
> Are all your sentences a reasonable length, not extremely long?

4. Is your story/poem/other punctuated?
If you don't know how to punctuate, there are plenty of tips in the writing tips forum, here.

5. Are you posting things one at a time?
You'll get more critiques if you wait a few days between posting each new story/poem.

If you've done/are doing all that, you're ready to post! He're's a quick link to the Literary Forums. I hope this has been helpful. :)

-Jenna
Last edited by Jennafina on Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:00 am, edited 3 times in total.
Jennafina's Love Your Body Already Dammit Campaign

forum353.html

(To find out what it really is, just click.)
  





User avatar
161 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 890
Reviews: 161
Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:38 pm
Cassandra says...



I applaud you for posting this! *claps*

In all seriousness, though; this is a good checklist for everyone. When people ignore number rules 5 and 2 it really annoys the heck out of me.
"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."
-Chuck Palahniuk
  





Random avatar


Gender: Female
Points: 9682
Reviews: 156
Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:46 pm
McMourning says...



Jennafina wrote:2. Have you read through your entire story/poem?
It's amazing how much one more read through can catch. If your work isn't full of little mistakes your critiques can focus on the important stuff.
>Is it entirely free of typos?
>Is it spellchecked?


Yes, I've checked, but sometimes the little things slip through. My first grade teacher told us to read it backwards, word by word, to look for spelling errors.
"One voice can be stronger than a thousand voices, " Captain Kathryn Janeway
  





User avatar
55 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 890
Reviews: 55
Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:54 pm
Shafter says...



*Joins Cassandra in applause*

One more thing I would add (under step two):
> Do you use periods occasionally?

A lot of people seem to struggle with run-on sentences, which is okay for a while but after a whole paragraph that's one big long sentence I start to wonder if this person has ever heard of a period, I wonder if they know how to use it, they seem to be addicted to commas, they don't ever end sentences...

You get the idea. ;)
Got YWS?

Over 18? Join The Writers Society today!
http://www.thewriterssociety.com
  





User avatar
2058 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 32885
Reviews: 2058
Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:53 am
Emerson says...



Think I could take these and make them stickies in the Fiction Section without you minding?

I'm not sure how often people actually read the stickies, but this would be helpful...lol. If I do do it, I'll be sure to credit you and link to this page :-D because chances are I'll put the bare questions in the sticky. *lazy*

They're really good though! But on Q2 I have to admit something. I don't read my work through once, I tend to read it 3-5 times before posting. And then some after it. It's habitual. I have to check it, make sure nothing is wrong.

The little info you put after the questions were nice...now that I think of it, if I do decide to sticky these I'll put even more info than you did after the Q's.

> Does any dialogue have its own line?
You should add something to this, I think, because that is so vague. Really, the rule is, if a new character is speaking there is a new paragraph, ALONG WITH each line of dialog starting in a new paragraph. And, even if it is the same character speaking, sometimes it is necessary to start a new paragraph. It's debatable.

My first grade teacher told us to read it backwards, word by word, to look for spelling errors.
That is an amazing idea. I'll have to try it!

:-D
“It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
  





User avatar
657 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 6523
Reviews: 657
Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:04 am
Jennafina says...



Edited! I added the thing about periods, and tried to make the dialogue line more specific. Is it any better?

Clau>> About the stickyness, I'd be flattered. :)
Jennafina's Love Your Body Already Dammit Campaign

forum353.html

(To find out what it really is, just click.)
  





User avatar
3821 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 3891
Reviews: 3821
Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:55 am
Snoink says...



Yay! Much fandom! :D
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic! :D
  





User avatar
820 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 890
Reviews: 820
Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:40 am
Myth says...



Thank God for Jenna :wink:
.: ₪ :.

'...'
  





User avatar
758 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5890
Reviews: 758
Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:22 pm
Cade says...



1. Have you critiqued at least two things by other people?
That's a forum rule. Don't worry, it's not hard.

It's so annoying when people don't pay attention to that rule. If I notice that someone's piece is their first or second post or if I know that they haven't been critting others, I usually try not to respond to their work.
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
  





User avatar
2058 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 32885
Reviews: 2058
Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:26 pm
Emerson says...



I usually try not to respond to their work.


But then you're being bias! lol. You have to think of it like this: 1) They are like you assume, and they are stupid, rude people who just want critiques and are too lazy to give critiques OR don't know how to give critiques so the don't give any. Or 2) They are unaware of this rule.

So its better to actually critique them (lightly, if you want, don't waste too much time doing it if you don't feel like it) and while you are at it mention something like "I noticed this was your first post, and in the rules it says that...." even quote the rules, just sort of tip them off to it.

Some people really don't know that is the rule. I mean we've got 11-14 year olds who may not be Forum savvy, and not know that its polite to critique before posting. So don't ignore them all together but...don't give them gold either XD IMHO.
“It's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
  








This is a house of homes, a sacred place, by human passion made divinely sweet.
— Alfred Joyce Kilmer