Young Writers Society

Dude this sucks.

Lol, Snoink, he actually didn't spell anything incorrectly.

Actually, he did.

Hi, Fullmetal!

Well, to answer your first question, I joined for a few reasons:
1. To know if I was any decent at all in writing.
2. To improve.
3. To meet other writers and to be able to talk about writing.

It just happened that this site was the best ^_^ In reviews I receive, not only do I normally get a simple opinion, I get reasons, what they liked and disliked etc. I'm incredibly greatful grateful to those who take the time to review my work. To be honest, I hate spelling things wrong and I'm really really put off by bad grammar and spelling. Lots of other people are too - you wouldn't want to find that in something published, would you? I find that in-depth reviews are my favourite and are the most helpful. I know mine aren't as in-depth as they could be, but I'm working on it because I want to give the reviews that I'd like back

As for the point system, I think that it's making sure that the site is up and running well. Who WOULD post if no one reviewed if there wasn't any system? Anyway, some people aren't reviewers. You could greet people instead or do other stuff, but the reason for the site was to review.

If you don't want long, in-depth reviews then I can suggest a number of other great writing sites aimed for teens that give shorter reviews. If you write novels, check out Inkpop.com and if you write poetry, check out Figment.com

I agree with Jas on that point. Those sites are more geared to what you seem to want

Finally, I know this is for young writers, but it doesn't make it just for teens Officially, the site is for 13-25 year olds

Coincidentally, we are the exact same age, so let me get a word in about this.

a) As previously mentioned, critiques are reviews given to guide a writer towards improvement. 'Comments' don't do that at all, in fact, most times they barely acknowledge the work. If you write something you put loads of effort into, and then post it for some sort of recognition, a stranger giving you a monosyllabic word or a short, gush of praise might inflate your ego for five minutes, and then afterwards you won't feel anything. There's nothing to be gained by that sort of 'review'. If you're not looking for reviews but just want to get your opinions and feelings out then either mention it in a note beforehand, or post on a different website. Wattpad might suit your tastes; God knows that's the only 'review' you'll get there.

b) I'm going through high school too, and yes, there are problems, there are issues I want to get out, but that doesn't justify making some post full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Using correct English has nothing to do with being snobbish or a holier-than-thou attitude, it's practicality and common sense. If you can't spell or using grammar properly, no-one is ever going to want to read what you write, or even be able to.

c) To sum up, if you're disappointed by the site, there is absolutely no point in starting a flame war here. Just stop posting and write for yourself, or go to a different site. Problem solved. This site, as Ahmed said, is geared towards 13-25 year olds. Being young isn't an excuse to write as if you cannot read, or start spelling like a five-year-old.

AstridBartleby wrote:1) The community here isn't very supportive. For all the "thou shalt critique!" stuff I hear, I've received maybe two comments that have actually made me think about my writing. The rest haven't been helpful. I haven't made any friends here that weren't friends from previously and it's very difficult to find comments that were posted simply to benefit the writer, and not just so the commenter would earn points. I think it's an example of doing the wrong thing for the right reason. In fact, I think it's twisted from its original intent. It's become a selfish way to just get "money."

Did you actually try to engage with the community? Enter chat, maybe, make a few posts to be friendly, review for others. If you wanted helpful reviews on your work, did you ask for them in the Will Review For Food thread? We can't help you if you don't ask us to, because the truth of it is we are real people with our own lives and problems, and even if when we want to help it's impossible to weed out who needs what, when they don't ask.

Those are my two pennies, seeing as I'm British. *end of rant*

I had a friend and an ex-boyfriend come on here. The ex-boyfriend hated the point system. And my friend? She said everyone was too "up-tight" about writing. I pointed out that, "They are trying to help you become better with your writing." Because I've read her writing and she NEEDS help with it. She's not a bad writer; she's just...unrealistic with it. And many other things. And I thought of her when I read this. You need the help to develop as a writer. I was terrible with grammar and spelling and a LOT of stuff...then I came here and became a better writer! The site helps you. It really does.
But if you don't care then there are a lot of writing sites that really don't care how you write it either. And if you want some links to those sites then PM me and I can send you some if you'd like.
~LP

This is my first blog ever (if it can be referred to as a blog).

One final thought...this isn't a blog, where you posted. You can have a blog, though.

Fullmetal13 wrote:I love that this created traphic on here. I enjoyed reading the comments. I just wanna say i don't leave cuz it was hard as hell finding this ((yes i spelled it cuz. ooooo nooooo and i said hell. sue me)) it's sort of tolerable. i was just expecting teenagers going though highschool going through relatable issues (which neither of you are lol) and instead i got a site full of people with an english teacher itch to put red circles next to every grammatical error. I'm not stupid because i'm young or even new on the site. I'm stupid because i wanna say and do what i want and i thought this site was something to help with that because that's what teenagers need. A place to vent with fellow writers. Excuse me for being dissapointed.

Honestly, that's what YWS is. A site for people's writing to be critiqued, a site where those serious about writing get feedback that helps them improve, a site where you will be reprimanded for having thousands of little grammatical mistakes in your writing. You want something that YWS does not have. It's like going into McDonald's and asking for a pair of Calvin Klein boxers.

I'm stupid because i wanna say and do what i want and i thought this site was something to help with that because that's what teenagers need.

Unfortunately, you thought wrong.

There are numerous other websites that can give you the feedback you want; InkPop, Figment, Writing, FictionPress, All Stories, Teen Ink, etc, etc. I strongly suggest you join one of those sites or change what you want because you will continue to be disappointed in YWS if you stay.

My two cents coming up!
Okay, so I've been a member on here for more than a year, and I have to say I love it to pieces. It's such a close knit tight family.
And here is my question. If you hate to give/be given in depth reviews, WHY did you join? You had to have known that we give really nit-picky reviews. And if you don't like that it was geared towards young writers, why didn't you join a teen site? This site is for young writers to express their feelings and get constructive reviews in return. I joined figment (another writing site) and posted one of my poems for the heck of it. I had already gotten several critiques, but I figured that putting another writing site under my belt wouldn't hurt. I posted that poem NINE days ago, and have still yet to get anything remotely like a review. Maybe it's because I joined YWS first and I'm used to reviews at least a day after I post, but I wondered what the point was if you're not getting reviewed.
Honestly, I wouldn't be where I am in my writing if I had joined a different writing site.
What is the point of posting your work for other people to read if you don't get anything out of it?

I think that the critiquing should be left to the teachers. I roll my eyes either way.

I'm going to say what ran through my mind when I read this. 'Let's put up against a dedicated person from this site and see where you are in ten years. With this kind of attitude, you will NEVER improve.'

yes i spelled it cuz. ooooo nooooo and i said hell. sue me

To me, this is arrogant. Just because we discourage mis-spellings and language, doesn't mean it's not allowed. In moderation. Basically, we only discourage language in clubs, chat and forums. You could compose a poem titled Damn and the only word in it be Damn and as long as it was rated properly, I don't think anyone would say anything.
mis-spellings like cuz, well, it just depends on where you're saying it. Like right here, no one said a word.
But, in my opinion, mis-spelling things on purpose makes you look un intelligent. If you really want to say what you're thinking and be taken seriously, mis-spelling things is really the wrong way to do it.

Just sayin'

I just found some of your comments very arrogant and rude.

Bottom line, you don't like the way we do things here, just leave. No one will blame you, and really, it's OKAY not to like something. But for everyone who hates the system, there are four people that love it. Myself included.

/rant/essay over

~Drama

I just wanted to say that I love how this seems to be turning into a 'we love YWS' thread <3

fullmetal: You can vent all you like, though a blog is the better place for it. We'll not even tell you off if you want to use chat speak there as the blogs are your own place where you can whine to your friends or the site in general. Or share the works you don't want reviews on or just generally tell people about your day.

I know you probably think I'm too old to understand and a moderator so I'm biased anyway, but look back at my early blog entries or my first reviews. I was whiny. I vented. I wrote short comments. Fortunately, a lovely moderator known then as Claudette who was later to become Suzanne gave me a few tips and I met awesome people through the blogs and community forums. And chat of course, I <3 chat.

What I'm saying is YWS might be about good writing, but you don't have to start off as a good writer to benefit. True, you could go to one of the other sites like InkPop and they wont expect you to write reviews and they will just give you short comments. If that's all you want, you'll find it's a great site. Plus their badges are ridiculously easy to earn. I joined for two days, posted one work and wrote one/ two reviews and got badges saying I was an amazing poet. How cool is that? I'll tell you something they didn't do though. They didn't welcome me to the site - not a single post on my welcome thread. They also didn't listen to me, talk to me or try to help me. YWS isn't just about good writing. I don't tend to share my writing that often but I'm still here because I love helping others and because YWS is about making friends and sharing ideas.

Fullmetal:
The reason you find a lot of non-teens is that although when we joined YWS we were 'younger', we continue to stay because of how much we love the community.

(I just turned 20, like just. I'm still staying.)