Writing.Com 101

Writing.Com hosts tens of thousands of items, and more are added every day. We realize that with such a vast amount of reading material, you might need some direction on the best ways to find these items and explore the site.

Let the system choose an item. The Read & Review feature is linked in the navigation on the left. Using this link will load a random item for you to read and review that follows these criteria:

Completing a valid 250-character review of an item that comes up in the Read & Review feature can earn a select number of gift points. The amount of gift points varies based on the length of the item reviewed. The longer the item, the more gift points earned.

The review must be submitted within the time limit prescribed at the top of the item to earn the gift points. Again, the time varies with the length of the item -- longer items allow longer review times.

This is an easy way to find new items and introduce yourself to authors that you otherwise might not have met! As an added bonus, because these items are by authors who are currently online, they might respond to your review sooner than someone who isn't.

Check the sponsored items. The Sponsored Items listing is linked under Community in the navigation on the left. These items are also showcased in the right column, and designated with a SPONSORED label in item listings, Browse By Genre listings, and Browse By Type listings. These items are advertised by our members. Some members advertise their own work; some advertise the work of others. These authors would all appreciate your attention!

Check out items written by Newbies. The Read a Newbie listing is linked under Community in the navigation at the left, and items from the listing are showcased in the right column. These are items by "newbie" Writing.Com authors, those who have been members for 31 days or fewer. Reading and reviewing their work is a wonderful way to welcome these new members into our community.

Visit the individual genre listings. Writing.Com provides over 90 different genres from which to choose your reading. Genre listings are most easily accessible from Browse By Genre, and your search can be narrowed by Static item subtypes at the bottom. If you wish to narrow your search with more than one genre or by specifying item type/subtype in addition to genre, you can do so by using the Search All Items page.

Visit The Shameless "Plug" Page . Provided by Writing.Com for the shameless promotion of their own writing or that of another member, this plug page is updated as new items are posted by authors looking for your attention. This page is linked under Community in the navigation at the left.

Search Writing.Com for an item. If you're looking for something specific, you can use the Search area located at the top left of every page, or for more options, use the Search All Items page linked under Community in the navigation on the left.

Peruse Authors' portfolios. Click on the Authors link in the navigation at the left. Here you will find a listing of all of the Writing.Com authors. Various criteria for resorting the list are provided. Choose an author of interest and explore that portfolio! You can also use the Search area located at the top left of every page to search another member's portfolio.

Subscribe to and read Writing.Com newsletters. Writing.Com's weekly newsletters are tremendous resources for our members. Each issue contains interesting editorial commentary written by our very own moderators, five to ten recommended items, and answered feedback from the readers. The Newsletters page is linked under Writing Resources in the navigation at the left. This page gives you access to the newsletter archives, the item submission/feedback form, and your newsletter subscription manager.

Check out the auto-reward items. Earn Gift Points while reading and reviewing items that have auto-rewards! The complete listing of these items available to you is linked as Auto-Reward Items under Community in the navigation on the left. To read more about auto-rewards, please see Auto-Rewards.

Visit The Hub. The Hub page features a sampler menu of recent activity on the site in several categories. Click on the Writing.Com logo in the top left corner, or use the link under Community in the navigation on the left.

Randomly explore the community. Writing.Com has many nooks and crannies to explore, so don't be afraid to just click things at random to start your adventure! Find an item to read and after you have sent your review, explore the rest of the portfolio and find another item to read. If you find nothing of interest there, find a message forum in a genre that you like and click an author's portfolio from within there. Perhaps members are recommending items in that forum that you might enjoy. Introduce yourself and ask for recommendations. The point is, everyone is here for one reason or another: to read or to be read. So jump right in and have fun while you're doing it!1