Activities for the Slush Pile
All activities are voluntary as far as participation. The moderators will not toss you out for being a lurker.
Mechanics of Writing
I will be posting a Writing Discussion topic every Thursday for members. If for some reason I have NOT posted a topic by 6 p.m. CST, anyone can volunteer a topic of their own if they wish. (Sometimes I lose track of the day of the week...)
Applause and Sympathy
On Mondays, I'll start a post for members to report the previous week's writing progress (or lack thereof), submissions, rejection slips, or other writerly needs for applause or sympathy. This may provide encouragement (and cattle prods) to members to keep active with both writing and submitting.
Book Reviews
Please review any non-fiction writing books you wish, whether to tell others not to waste their time/money or to rave that everyone should have one. If possible, try to use an LJ-tag to tag it as a "review" so that they are semi-linked together for easy searching.
Writing Prompts
There are plenty of active prompt communities and websites, but occasionally I will post some sort of writing challenge or prompt, probably tied to issues that come up in Writing Discussions. Example: if members are fighting POV problems, I'll find an exercise to concentrate on that area, whether created by me or another member or taken from a book or website dealing with the issue.
Member Profiles
I'd like to do a "quickie profile" for each member on the Info page for this group. If you're willing, please reply to this post with the following info: Any published materials (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc), genres written, genres preferred to critique. This will help newcomers to decide if we're the group for them. I believe we are currently strongly slanted towards the speculative fiction range, especially horror.
Critiques!
This is the SLUSH pile after all. Stories (or chapters of larger works) can be posted anytime, by any member. Just follow the rules on the Info page. For critters: if a short story reminds you of a certain market you're familiar with, please let the author know. Not everyone has access to all the magazines and such out there, nor the funds to buy sample copies of them all.
NOTE: The default setting for the community is to friends-lock each post. Any post you want to make "public", you will have to change the settings manually (you have to post, then go back and edit the security level). This is to protect stories that are posted for critique.
Other activities to be added as members suggest them.
Mechanics of Writing
I will be posting a Writing Discussion topic every Thursday for members. If for some reason I have NOT posted a topic by 6 p.m. CST, anyone can volunteer a topic of their own if they wish. (Sometimes I lose track of the day of the week...)
Applause and Sympathy
On Mondays, I'll start a post for members to report the previous week's writing progress (or lack thereof), submissions, rejection slips, or other writerly needs for applause or sympathy. This may provide encouragement (and cattle prods) to members to keep active with both writing and submitting.
Book Reviews
Please review any non-fiction writing books you wish, whether to tell others not to waste their time/money or to rave that everyone should have one. If possible, try to use an LJ-tag to tag it as a "review" so that they are semi-linked together for easy searching.
Writing Prompts
There are plenty of active prompt communities and websites, but occasionally I will post some sort of writing challenge or prompt, probably tied to issues that come up in Writing Discussions. Example: if members are fighting POV problems, I'll find an exercise to concentrate on that area, whether created by me or another member or taken from a book or website dealing with the issue.
Member Profiles
I'd like to do a "quickie profile" for each member on the Info page for this group. If you're willing, please reply to this post with the following info: Any published materials (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc), genres written, genres preferred to critique. This will help newcomers to decide if we're the group for them. I believe we are currently strongly slanted towards the speculative fiction range, especially horror.
Critiques!
This is the SLUSH pile after all. Stories (or chapters of larger works) can be posted anytime, by any member. Just follow the rules on the Info page. For critters: if a short story reminds you of a certain market you're familiar with, please let the author know. Not everyone has access to all the magazines and such out there, nor the funds to buy sample copies of them all.
NOTE: The default setting for the community is to friends-lock each post. Any post you want to make "public", you will have to change the settings manually (you have to post, then go back and edit the security level). This is to protect stories that are posted for critique.
Other activities to be added as members suggest them.