Young Writers Society

The only people who have read my writing are my mom, my aunt and my counciler. None of them give reviews or critics what-so-ever. My English teacher has asked to read some but I'm scared. Should I let her? She's nice and maybe it'll be a good thing...
And what about copyright? My mom believes that its absolutely neccessary before I let people read my story but I think thats extreme and egotistical. She thinks my story is good enough to be published or stolen but I doubt it...
So, should I let Mrs. Hawkins read a bit of it? Or not?

Sure, why not? You don't need to worry about copyright - first off, because it's already copyrighted (anything you create is copyrighted to you the moment you create it), secondly because a teacher isn't going to plagiarise a student, and thirdly because I doubt you're good enough to plagiarise anyway.

I could be wrong - I haven't read anything of yours - but it's unlikely that you're writing is good enough just yet to publish. Of course - and this point has to be stressed - I could be wrong.

But I know my mum didn't used to like me posting my stories on the internet, because she was afraid they'd be stolen ... even though my writing at the time was terrible. (Still is, now I come to think of it, but that's another matter entirely.) Parents aren't very good at judging their children's work, after all.

Anyway, read this: http://www.writinggooder.com/2009/08/28 ... d-to-know/ It'll tell you what you need to know about copyright.

Hey same for me too! Yes since you write it it's your rights but people can still steal it. I don't think it's the same as a legal copyright.
So if you don't have one it's not against the law or anything to steal your story.

You can try posting only a little of your story and not giving all your ideas away, but then people have no idea what your talking about. Or you could post most of it, then there's the risk of someone stealing your hard work. (You may think your idea is not that great, but look at twilight.) LOL
I'm not sure how much you should expose. Listen to your mom, but also use your own judgement.
Good luck.

I don't think it's the same as a legal copyright.

It's the same thing.

Again, I encourage people to read this: http://www.writinggooder.com/2009/08/28 ... d-to-know/

It's written by Nate, who knows his stuff.

I think only posting a little bit of you work is a better idea if you're cautious about the risk of someone stealing.
You're writing may not be great but people can still nick your ideas and you don't have to be a J.K Rowling to come up with a decent story idea.

I'm not saying this to offend anyone or anything, but I really doubt that anyone can produce a first, or second, or even third draft that is anywhere near publishable. I'd say be cautious if you've spent years editing and polishing your novel, or if you are actively searching for an agent and publishing house, but if this is just a story you wrote in your free time, go ahead and post it.

Writing is constantly a learning experience. Stick with it and eventually you'll probably get published, but right now you're young and you've got a lot of learning to do. Heck, we all do. YWS can help you with that. We can help you find your style, give you advice, point out your mistakes, and help you make your writing shine - but we can only do that if you show us your stories. We can't help you if you don't post anything to review.

So I'd say, go ahead and post. You have a copyright, and you can gain so much more by posting than you could ever lose.

Hmm, never thought of it like that before.
That's great advice magnusbanefan13!