  Contests & Activities
This week: Buddy Up Edited by: NaNoNette  
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3. Letter from the Editor
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There was a day, last week or a decade ago, that you typed "writing" into your search engine. You wanted to show off some of your poems, short stories, or maybe even get feedback for a whole novel. You found Writing.com.
On this site, you found all that you searched for: Portfolio space, helpful reviewers, encouraging groups, style and grammar lessons from peers. Nothing prepared you for the amazing bounty of: Contests & Activities! |
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Buddy Up
Find a writing buddy for mutual support.
In order to write quality short stories, compelling novels, and well made poetry you should try to find a writing buddy. You can work on plot ideas when you're stuck. You can have your story read by a second person and find out what it "looks like" to somebody who is not you. We all have different life stories, so some jokes or sayings don't really translate to a broader audience. A writing buddy will tell you when they don't know what you're writing about.
The biggest group is not always the best way to use for targeted critique. One, at the most two people besides you, should have access to your writing before you put them up for all to see as a contest entry. When you're going toward publication, more people can be a good thing, but maybe not all of them at the same time. It gets confusing and instead of having advice to work off of, you end up in a muddle of good ideas that drive the whole plot into the ground.
Buddy up with somebody who will be kind yet also not hold back with needed critique. If you can't find the right person on your first try, keep looking. The site has thousands of writers at varying levels of expertise. Don't worry about those that don't want to buddy up with you. Chances are, they wouldn't give you any useful critique anyways. Work with somebody who keeps you with it above all else.
In return, be sure to give the same quality critique back. Again, telling somebody their stuff is the greatest won't make them better writers. It might encourage them, but only honesty will help you to write contest winning entries and even get published. When you read your writing buddy's work, be sure to apply the highest level of quality you have. Point out every single mistake you find. Leave a comment for every single aspect of the piece that you feel needs tweaking. It's up to your buddy to decide which changes to make, but only you with your view from the outside can tell your buddy what needs work.
Lastly, once you've exchanged reviews and critique, actually get to work and make those edits. If you only wanted reviews, then be certain to tell your buddy. Nothing is more frustrating than working for hours on somebody else's writing only to find they don't use the advice at all.
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Use the Writing.Com groups and forums to find a buddy.
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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For my next newsletter, tell me if you've found buddying up is a good idea and how much work would you be willing to put into somebody else's work.
In response to my last newsletter "Precious Writing" , where I asked "Tell me what is your one most precious activity, group, or contest Writing.Com. No, you can't have two or three or many."
Fi  wrote: Thanks for highlighting our group "P.E.N.C.I.L." in the editor's picks! 
You're welcome. I believe PENCIL can make a huge difference for writers since it's so hard to get a full novel reviewed otherwise.
Turkey DrumStik  wrote: I'm pretty sure that Troublesome Musings is my most precious contest. It's an activity that I built from the ground up and made as unique as I could while still making it accessible. It's prompt-free; has very generous limits; and encourages darker work, all things I haven't seen a lot on the site in the 11 years I've been here. I hope to keep it running for years to come. "Troublesome Musings"
Thank you for answering to my question. Your contest is definitely one of and for the ages. I too hope that you can keep it going for a long time.
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  wrote: My mission is to unite all the aliens, monsters, elves, dwarves, giants, talking animals, and other creatures from Myth, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, and other such realms. "Non-Humans R Us"
 I know.
Riya  wrote: I aspire to become a top editor or a novel writer. Well, i haven't yet started with it as i am busy with my board examinations but i assure you that with your support i would get to my goals as early as possible. My genre is writing on day to day life of a human, what all he faces and yearns for but i may diversify into many in future but i can't write poems. So i wish to get a simplified procedure of what all this site about and its benefits and what all work and time it need to?
waiting for your reply soon. 
-reee
Hello Reee. The best way to get started on this site is to read through all of the emails that the system sends you. They are all designed to get you started off to full success on this site. Whenever you need to find out something a little more in depth, go read up on it in "Writing.Com 101" . You might also find some good places to buddy up in the forums that I highlighted for today's newsletter.
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Contests & Activities: March 13, 2013 Issue [#5561]
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