LOL...Then, the question would be...
What if the couple in question is a couple of sheep?
Wow.
1 2018-03-07 16:12:03
Re: Collective Nouns - Married couple. (30 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
2 2018-01-19 22:54:55
Re: A Slow Death (44 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thanks, Norm.
You're kind. I appreciate the advice; I'm not asking for reviews right now.
I was giving my perspective as a new member who had dropped out, and why I decided to return to the site. Well, that and I'd paid.
So, I'll sum up differently:
1) I found it shocking that the first communication I'd received as a newbie was a person telling me to go back to second grade and learn to use a dictionary. It takes a lot of guts for a person to post writing on a site like this the first time. Candor, sure. Insults, unacceptable. (I mean, unless we're friends.)
2) The number of reviews I'd given far outweighed the number received. I understand that's how it works, but at first, I was surprised. On other sites, newbie works are highlighted differently, and stay listed until a quota is met.
On the flip side in favor of TNBW,
1) I noticed a handful of people who tended to reach out to new writers - Ann, Marilyn - over and again. I felt as if these two reinforced "the writing community" that people often seek when they come here.
2) The quality of the reviews tends to be better on this site than others.
- Clark
P.S. Yes, you did indeed review an "Antsy" chapter in Part II (and took a second look at it for me, thank you). It's currently inactive because I'm reworking that part of the book.
3 2018-01-19 21:14:39
Re: A Slow Death (44 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Hello,
I'm still a "newbie" here, relatively speaking. I thought I'd post to this thread and offer my perspective, for whatever it's worth.
I joined in late September, early October, but stopped participating for three months, after only receiving feedback from two or three people (Marilyn, Ann, and someone I blocked after being told to go back to the second-grade teacher mentioned in my Chapter One and ask her to show me how to use a dictionary, no joke) (and that my dialogue was hokey). That was my first review. I don't mind candor, but well now...
It was frustrating for me, as a new member, to write numerous reviews and not receive many, even if folks might not be interested in the story or genre.
I've been on other sites where new members receive a minimum of five reviews, and they stay at the top of the feed until those quotas are met. Some sites close reviews after a person gets so many, to allow for others' work to be reviewed.
Some of those sites also enforce a "no insult" policy and give reviewers warnings if they find comments in very poor taste.
That said, even with the few I have received here, I feel this site is much better because of the quality of the writing (compared to other sites). The editing and input of the reviewers, sometimes harsh and soul-wrenching, is much more candid and useful. I saw a post from one writer who recently stated that she hadn't received such honest feedback from family, writers' groups or other sites as she found here (she just joined a day or two ago). I share that sentiment.
For now, I've decided the value (for me, as a relatively new member) is in reading and reviewing others' work.
On a side note, I think this site would have more traffic if you developed a "songwriting" section where folks could post lyrics and demos for review and input. I hear they give out Pulitzer Prizes now for songwriters... Just a thought.
Clark L.
