proto-FAQ

[healingmirth]

(since, clearly, no one's asked any questions yet!)

General information

• What is write_good?

write_good is a space for authors on Dreamwidth to post their works of fanfiction or original fiction for discussion.


• Is this community just for authors?

Readers are welcome too! However, we do ask that if you read something here, that you make an effort to leave a constructive comment, even if it's just a sentence or two. Please don't be shy about offering your thoughts as an audience member.


• Aren't you afraid that you're going to call down the wrath of the ancient writing gods by having a grammatically incorrect community name?
  
  It's my hope that we'll be able to build a community here to support both newer and older writers, to provide a sounding board and constructive criticism. I read and write because I enjoy it, and I hope we can generate discussions that keep writing and reading fun for all involved. (or at least entertaining in a larger sense if you want to put up some soul-crushing angst for discussion)
  
  
• What do you mean by constructive criticism
  
  The idea is to build on what the writers are doing well, not just correct what they're having trouble with. If there's something you loved - tell them! Otherwise the good bits may end up on the cutting-room floor.
  
  Feel free to make suggestions for what you might have done differently, had you been writing the story, but explain your reasons. Even if the writers still prefer their original versions, it may help them evaluate the choices they made.
  
  Always be aware that we are discussing the work, not the writer as a person. However, this is not a literature class or a book group - the author is part of the conversation, and is probably quite attached to their work and their words.
  
  
  
  

Posting guidelines

• What kind of posts can I make?
  
  • works of original or fanfiction of any length, from any genre or fandom
    
  • requests for a beta-reader
    
  • discussion of a particular aspect of writing that you're struggling with or interested in
  
  
  
• Where should I post?
  
  Works of fiction submitted for discussion must be posted to the community. You can access-lock the entry if you wish, but it's important to creating a space to work together that we keep discussions here, rather than in the midst of the (wonderful and legitimate!) squee that your works will get when posting for your flist subscribers and in fan communities
  
  
• How should I post?
  Please put a header on all of your fic posts, containing the following, at a minimum:
  
  Title:
  fandom or original fic genre:
  Characters/Pairings:
  Rating/warnings: - mainly for the purposes of SFW vs NSFW, explicit sex, mature themes, disturbing subject matter, etc.
  Word Count: - approximate to within 1,000 words is fine
  
  Feel free to include a link to or a brief summary of your characters or setting if you're posting fanfiction, or original fiction from a series or longer story.
  
  All works should be behind a cut-tag.
  
  What is a cut? How can I hide part of my entry behind a cut?
  
  My personal preference is to limit author's notes explaining the story. If there is something in particular that concerned you when writing it, or you especially want feedback regarding a certain thing, like characterization, I encourage you to include that in a note at the end rather than sending a reader into the story with the expectation of plot holes, etc.
  
  
• How often can I post?
  
  In an effort to build up some steam, there are no restrictions on posting for the near future. However, please make an effort to leave concrit for other authors before posting multiple stories. This community only works if people participate on both sides.

Please feel free to leave any questions, concerns or suggestions as comments on this post.

Comments

[ar]

Is poetry welcome?

[healingmirth]

I'm really torn about this, particularly since there doesn't seem to be a community yet for posting original poetry.

However, I think I'm going to say no, and I'll explain my thought process as to why, because maybe I'm totally wrong about this. The short version is I think the differences outweigh the similarities.

My first thought is that it looks like it's shaping up to be a process-discussion community as well as a work-posting one, and it's my hope that the discussions, whoever brings them up, will be useful to the community at large. I'm sure that we have members who write both prose and poetry, but I don't see this community ever being a poetry resource. I don't know the first thing about writing poetry, though, so I really can't even guess as to what sort of discussion or critique would be involved.

Second, and I think this is a more important distinction, I would feel a little silly saying that people could post poetry about imagined people or places, but not poetry inspired by their life, but I would tell someone who only wrote autobiographical poetry no, just as I'd say that this isn't the place for nonfiction essays.

[ar]

That's fine! I assumed that the answer would probably be no, but alas, I've tended to write more poetry than prose lately, so I just wanted to make sure. ♥

Thanks for such a quick answer, by the way. I appreciate it.