Library Guidelines, Please read before you post

[MangyCat]

You are invited to post scenes, stories, or poems that you've already written here in The Library.

However, please don't post everything you've ever written all at one time! This is a board about improving your writing. So post one scene of your story in a new thread and wait to receive feedback in the Feedback Forum. Once you've received feedback, you can edit the current section and check over your next section with the new knowledge you have, and edit before posting. That way, the posting serves a purpose.

Also, there is a notice at the bottom of every page of this board stating that original work is the property of the authors who have posted and only members of this board can read it. Your work is yours, and I (Nia) will fight tooth and nail to make sure this site is NEVER used to steal work. In fact, when you post your work here, you are helping to prove ownership (since you have to log in with a password, and our posts are time stamped--be sure you have your time settings correct). If there was every any doubt as to ownership out in the wide world, I would help you prove it thorugh what you had here. And any member caught stealing work (from another member or from any other source) will be quickly and seriously punished.

Each post should be at least 600 words. You must fairly earn your post points. ;)

Each post should not exceed 1000 words. Don't kill your feedbacker or your mentors by posting more.

Each post should have the word count posted at the top. This lets the reader know what amount of material they have to read, and it also makes sure that your posts are in the 600-1000 word range that we require.

This is a family-friendly site, so please, no inappropriate content.
If you have any doubts about it, it's probably not appropriate. Think of it this way--would you let your mom read it? If you you'd like to ask a mentor, you are welcome to PM Nia, Twinkie or Mimsy the questionable excerpt. We'll let you know if it will be okay to post. We also know have The Scriptorium for edgier material. Contact Nia about possible access to this area.

Creative Writing Only: This is a post-point counting forum, so only post here if the post has creative writing in it. If you need to make notes or preface your post with anything, please do it in the same post as your story scenes. Also, you may only post work ONCE for post points--no double posting. If you write a story as a squab, you may not repost it in the library. Nor may you post the same story in more than one genre forum. This keeps points honest!

For Mentor Feedback: If you want to ensure that you receive Mentor feedback in a timely manner, please keep your posts to under 1000 words per post. We are committed to giving feedback to everyone who desires it, but we CANNOT critique larger posts simply due to the time factor. We really do want to read your creative works, so only posts under 1,000 words that request Mentor feedback will receive it. :)

If you have any questions at all, you are welcome to PM a mentor.

Thanks, and have fun!
MangyCat
Admin

p.s. Here are some related topics that may help:

* Receiving Feedback from a Writing Mentor
* Giving & Receiving Feedback
* What is Good Feedback?

[MangyCat]

TIPS FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO POSTING IN THE LIBRARY

1. EDITING CHAPTERS
If you are going to edit a chapter, please edit your existing post using the (Posted Image) icon on your post. Do not re-post the chapter. Not only will you be getting two post points for the same thing, but you will be confusing the people who are reading by repeating the same chapters again.

Be sure to check the box that says "Add the 'Edit by' line in this post?" just above the "Submit" button. This will indicate that the post has been edited.

2. BOLD YOUR EDITS
Alot of times, people will put their edits in bold so we can see what changed very easily. This helps everyone in the writing process as well.

3. EXTRA PARAGRAPH SPACES
Please put an extra "enter" after each dialogue or paragraph break so that we can read it easier. A big block of text is most difficult to read on the screen. If you still have giant chunks of text, you are probably not breaking everywhere you should be. Take a look at this article for some help-->Paragraph Breaking

4. WAIT FOR FEEDBACK BEFORE POSTING MORE
Especially when you are new to the board, it's of more help to you if you post only one post at a time. Wait for feedback and then apply your new knowledge to the next post, editing it first, so that we don't have to keep saying the same things over and over.

Thank you for sharing your writing with us! Thank you for making it easy for us to read and understand your thread.

This post has been edited by MangyCat on Jun 2 2008, 10:19 AM

[MangyCat]

POST QUALITY WORK

If you feel you have to preface your story or scene with "this really stinks" or "this needs a lot of editing and/or help" or something similar, please don't post it. There's no reason to hang out your dirty socks for all to see. Give us what you think is your best, and we'll help you out from there.

If there are typos or problems that you are able to fix on your own, please do so.

Do not use shorthand words (e.g. ppl, thru, 4ever, etc.)
If it wouldn't appear in a quality published book, it doesn't belong in your writing.

Do your best to edit it for common problems like passive voice, repeated words, adverbs, etc., then post it. If you need help on how to edit for those things, take a look at this article-->12 Red Flags

All this does not mean that you cannot post something if it is not perfect.
But to post it and have others find mistakes you know are in there is kind of lazy and makes us do the work you are able to do. This website is to help us ALL improve from where we are in our abilities, not to do the edits for us that we already know how to do.

Thanks!