The New Authors Group Members

This group is for aspiring authors of novels, short stories, poetry, etc. You could go off and read all kinds of books on how to write (and you definitely should at some point), but for now, consider writing something short (e.g., a short story or poem) as a way to get your feet wet and as a way to get your first reviews from others on this site, who range in skill from novice to experienced (some with many published stories under their belts).

IMPORTANT:

*Always* include the Premium group as one of the groups to which you post your writing since that'll ensure it shows up on the home page of all site members, including the most experienced ones. It costs points to post in Premium, but you'll soon see it pays huge dividends. Many of the experienced site members generally give some of the best/most helpful feedback.

Reciprocate! You need to read/review the works of others to earn points to post to Premium, but it also allows you to study and learn from diverse writing styles, and potentially build long-term relationships (and friendships!) with other writers.

As any long-term member of this site can tell you, you get as much out of this site (and then some!) as you put into it. In terms of rough numbers, if you want to post a 2,000-word story or chapter to Premium, expect to review about 8K-10K words of others' writing to gather the necessary points to post. That may sound like a lot, but since you're probably not Stephen King, there's a great deal you can learn simply by reading (and studying!) how others write, both on this site and elsewhere, including from your favorite authors.

The points needed/gathered for poetry is somewhat different.

For your own sake and the sanity of others, please limit your posted stories to somewhere between 1,500 words and 2,500 words at a time. That length allows most people to review your posts in one sitting, which results in far more reviews for you. If your story or chapter is much longer than that, post it in multiple parts, usually with a part number as part of the posted title (e.g., "Writing for Dummies, Part 1 of 2").

Welcome and Happy Writing!

Dirk B.