Other places to post writing

TheGoodMadame

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I already post on quite a few sites including: Quotev, Mibba, Fanfiction.net, Wattpad, and Writers-Network but aside from WN they're all fairly Fan-Fiction related so I'm looking for more sites that I can post on which include more Original Fiction sites that aren't as centered around FF.
 

SallyB

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Figment (Personal Favorite) and Scribophile (Heard lots of good things but haven't had time to actually try it.)
 

Marlys

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You could also check Submission Grinder for places to submit. Then you'd get a publication credit if you place something.
 

Catherine_Beyer

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I'm just getting into writing forums, and the only place I found potentially worth my time besides this place (so far) is Scribophile. They have a really nice interface for critiques, although I'm not a huge fan of their overall organizations. They have lots of groups, but you get into a lot and find they post rarely or are completely outdated. You earn karma for giving certain kinds of critiques, and you need karma in order to submit something to be critiqued.

It has both free and paid memberships. Unfortunately, they really push for the paid membership. You can only have two pieces up for critique if you have a free membership. Sure, I can delete them once I've gotten feedback, but if I could keep them up readers of my later characters could reference those old pieces.
 

Denevius

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I used to more widely push Scribophile. I still enjoy it, but I don't like how they encourage 3000 word submissions, asking writers to break up stories and chapters into 2 and 3 parts. It makes absolute no sense to me to read the 2nd half of a story, or the 2nd half of a chapter, or to get critiqued in similar fashion. I see writers on there begging people to go back and read the first part of their story/chapter.

But I still do post regularly on Scribophile, and though 3000 words are encouraged, I've been able to post as much as 5000 words without a warning from the site's creator. Anything more and he sends a private email asking for the story/chapter to be broken up. However, I still recommend the site, though not as highly as before.
 

Geoffrey Fowler

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You might try Silver Pen Writers Association org. You can submit in any genre and everything submitted will almost certainly get a review. Unfortunately, most of the reviews are rather perfunctory.
 
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divine-intestine

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It makes absolute no sense to me to read the 2nd half of a story, or the 2nd half of a chapter, or to get critiqued in similar fashion. I see writers on there begging people to go back and read the first part of their story/chapter.

It makes perfect sense if you have a network of writers who critique your work and you in turn critique them. Honestly, if I see someone asking for a critique on a piece that is is in excess of 5000 words I shy away. I just don't have the time or energy to give a high-standard critique on such a big thing.
 

Harlequin

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I've tried a couple different sites but in the end, it comes down to the same thing--some feedback is better than others, relative to what I need. I end up only paying attention to one or two people and not bothering with the rest.

Plus AW is so far (fingers crossed) the only place where I don't get asked if English is my second language. This almost always is the point at which I leave other forums/groups. I really don't think anyone should say this, ever, because even if it's true it's an unhelpful observation/question.
 
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Fruitbat

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I already post on quite a few sites including: Quotev, Mibba, Fanfiction.net, Wattpad, and Writers-Network but aside from WN they're all fairly Fan-Fiction related so I'm looking for more sites that I can post on which include more Original Fiction sites that aren't as centered around FF.

I don't understand if by "posting on sites" you are looking for critiques of your work or to showcase your work, which would be considered "online publication."

Another decent site for critiques is Critique Circle. (Or here, of course). For online publication, check Duotrope or Submission Grinder for many, many places to submit your work to.

Plus AW is so far (fingers crossed) the only place where I don't get asked if English is my second language. This almost always is the point at which I leave other forums/groups. I really don't think anyone should say this, ever, because even if it's true it's an unhelpful observation/question.

I have to say, I don't think receiving a comment you don't want to hear is any reason to leave a site. Anyway, that is not an insult so there's no reason it should be off-limits to critiquers. It probably means they find your wording awkward, which would be something to work on rather than be offended by having it pointed out, no? It might be more helpful to you to ask them if they'd point out which parts they found awkward, so you could improve them.
 
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Harlequin

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Maybe, but personally I think the reason it's never happened on AW or Inked Voices is that I don't have to use my name on a forum. Scribophile / local group / fb groups display your real name. I could be wrong, though, and it could be a coincidence.
 

Anna Iguana

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AW is so far (fingers crossed) the only place where I don't get asked if English is my second language. This almost always is the point at which I leave other forums/groups. I really don't think anyone should say this, ever, because even if it's true it's an unhelpful observation/question.

I have to say, I don't think receiving a comment you don't want to hear is any reason to leave a site. Anyway, that is not an insult so there's no reason it should be off-limits to critiquers. It probably means they find your wording awkward, which would be something to work on rather than be offended by having it pointed out, no?

Receiving a comment you don't want can absolutely be a reason to leave a site. When I write poorly, people tell me so, but I've never been asked whether English is my second language. I've little doubt that my Anglo-sounding name and white avatar* contribute. (On the downside, my name's female, so what I get, instead--but not at AW--is pornographic, harassing "comments" from male writers about how my work featuring survivors of sexual assault reminds them of "something that might interest me.")

If writing is poor, a critiquer should comment on the writing, not speculate about the writer. I'm sure there are people who ask writers if English is their second language without any conscious ill intent--maybe they even mean to be kind--but it's unnecessary, and it adds to a pile of garbage that gets systematically thrown at some people and not others.

It might be more helpful to you to ask them if they'd point out which parts they found awkward, so you could improve them.

Yeah, but it's really not the job of people targeted by unconscious bias and/or conscious harassment to swallow that garbage, step around it, and ask for help a second time. If someone wants to step away from that, more power to them--and more credit to AW and other places that take steps (like not requiring real-name screen-names) that systematically reduce how often people are subjected to certain biases.



* On other sites, I'm a brown-haired cartoon woman with a real last name.
 
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Fruitbat

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If I received sexually harassing comments or personal insults in a critique, I might report them to the site owner or leave the site if nothing was done about it, but that is not anything like what we're discussing here.

If I was doing someone the favor of critiquing their work and the writing led me to believe English wasn't their first language, it would not be any insult whatsoever to mention that that was how their writing was coming across.

It's probably best to remember that a critique is a favor and not make something into an offense that is not one, if one hopes to continue receiving such favors.
 
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Cyia

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Asking if English is someone's first language can stop a pile-on if there are noticeable grammatical "tells" or if the poster uses phrasing or colloquialism that's considered harsh or offensive in English. It can also clue the poster in that they'Re being chastised for something other the quality of their work.
 

Roxxsmom

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Which genre do you write?

Fantasy Writers dot org is a small site that has a forum and a story critiquing area that is only visible to logged-in members of the site. As the name suggests, it is limited to speculative fiction that falls under the fantasy umbrella, though any subgenre of fantasy or paranormal is allowed. Writers of all ability and experience are welcome.

The site is heavily moderated, and unhelpful, snide, or harassing critiques and forum posts are not allowed. There are some differences in the way the site is set up, and there are some rules (no more than one story or chapter submission per week, and the word count should be 7k or less) so there's a bit of a learning curve for using it to share stories, but its set up allows members to link chapters together so that a novel can easily be read and critiqued in order by other members. As with any other writing forum, the skill of the critiquers and usefulness of the comments is variable, but there are some good writers on the site. There are no restrictions about who can post stories for critique, but people who are active in the forums and as critiquers are most likely to attract readers for their work.

Asking if English is someone's first language can stop a pile-on if there are noticeable grammatical "tells" or if the poster uses phrasing or colloquialism that's considered harsh or offensive in English. It can also clue the poster in that they'Re being chastised for something other the quality of their work.

I'd agree with this, but it is a sensitive subject, and one where people can "assume" things based on the nature of someone's screen name. It can be perceived, at least, as a micro-aggression in some situations, even when asked with good intents.

The one time I asked someone this question while critiquing (because his sentence structures and grammatical errors resembled ones I've seen ESL students make with student papers, and others asked the same quesion), the person turned out to be vehemently and proudly white. In fact, he was of a persuasion where being taken for anything but a white AMERICAN was seen as a grave insult. He was, in short, a militant racist (with a white nationalist facebook page to prove it). So I suppose the resulting anger and ragequit of the writing site (after a long racist flounce screed) was both amusing and welcome, but it goes to show that it's impossible to tell which languages someone speaks fluently based on their writing.
 
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Harlequin

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It was a mutual exchange, not one way, but I've always finished my swaps regardless.

Everyone has different things which exasperate or irritate them, even if irrational. Perhaps it just falls into that category for me. I don't like being asked, IRL or otherwise, if English is my first language (which it is, not that it matters). I think it comes with attribution bias, where any issues in the writing are then seen as language unfamiliarity rather than just beginner mistakes.

I agree with Anna that it adds nothing. Regardless of a person's background, they're choosing to write in English, so a conversation about their personal origins rarely has any bearing to the critique unless they bring it up first. And if you get it wrong, it's an extremely hurtful assumption in many cases.

Anyways... here's to un-derailing the post. As you were, with apologies >.>
 
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Anna Iguana

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If I received sexually harassing comments or personal insults in a critique, I might report them to the site owner or leave the site if nothing was done about it, but that is not anything like what we're discussing here.

I did report them, and that writing site's owner did nothing.

Here, I offered the example so as not to speak for another commenter about their example--and to broaden the view of the issue somewhat. I agree, the examples are different. But I think they're on a spectrum, both highlighting trouble with the view, "I'm doing you a favor, paying attention to your writing, so you should be fine with however I treat you while I do that."

My intent isn't mainly to comment on people giving feedback--especially not regulars at AW, whom I've found 100% thoughtful and amazingly supportive. (I realize, though, that there's criticism in what I'm saying; I don't intend it personally, and if anyone reading experiences it that way, I regret it.)

The reason I'm speaking up anyway is to support people who feel unnameable, niggling discomfort about critiques they receive. It happens, sometimes, on some other sites where you can post writing.

It's okay to trust that voice in your gut; you don't have to be okay with things said to you under the cover of helping that aren't really about the content of your writing.

(ETA: For what it's worth, like Harlequin, I've always finished my swaps.)
 
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Anna Iguana

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Asking if English is someone's first language can stop a pile-on if there are noticeable grammatical "tells" or if the poster uses phrasing or colloquialism that's considered harsh or offensive in English. It can also clue the poster in that they'Re being chastised for something other the quality of their work.

Cyia, I really appreciate you making this point. At other sites where I've posted writing, the critiques are usually one-on-one between reader and writer, not group critiques like in AW's Share Your Work. I take your point about the signaling function of some comments.
 

Svader

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Besides this site, Scribophile is the only one I will post to. Yes, they do push for the premium subscription, but in my opinion it is well worth it. I've learned a lot over there, met a couple writing buddies that help push me to hit my goals, and get some awesome critiques. Just my opinion.
 

Freya Yuki

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You might try Silver Pen Writers Association org. You can submit in any genre and everything submitted will almost certainly get a review. Unfortunately, most of the reviews are rather perfunctory.

Thanks for the suggestion. Am also looking for sites where you can get your stories critiqued. Will check this out.

It makes perfect sense if you have a network of writers who critique your work and you in turn critique them. Honestly, if I see someone asking for a critique on a piece that is is in excess of 5000 words I shy away. I just don't have the time or energy to give a high-standard critique on such a big thing.

Agree with this.

I've tried a couple different sites but in the end, it comes down to the same thing--some feedback is better than others, relative to what I need.

Could you mention what other sites you've tried? Am looking for more places-like Critique Circle and Absolute Write-where I can post my stories for critique.

Which genre do you write?

Fantasy Writers dot org is a small site that has a forum and a story critiquing area that is only visible to logged-in members of the site. As the name suggests, it is limited to speculative fiction that falls under the fantasy umbrella, though any subgenre of fantasy or paranormal is allowed. Writers of all ability and experience are welcome.

The site is heavily moderated, and unhelpful, snide, or harassing critiques and forum posts are not allowed. There are some differences in the way the site is set up, and there are some rules (no more than one story or chapter submission per week, and the word count should be 7k or less) so there's a bit of a learning curve for using it to share stories, but its set up allows members to link chapters together so that a novel can easily be read and critiqued in order by other members. As with any other writing forum, the skill of the critiquers and usefulness of the comments is variable, but there are some good writers on the site. There are no restrictions about who can post stories for critique, but people who are active in the forums and as critiquers are most likely to attract readers for their work.

Thanks for the suggestions. Will check this out.
 

Beckx

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I think it's a little ridiculous to ask someone if English is their second language. Yes, there's often idioms and phrases that a non-native speaker will get wrong, but from what I've seen, native speakers can make just as many mistakes (if sometimes not more!) than people who didn't grow up speaking English.
 

Bufty

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I think it's a little ridiculous to ask someone if English is their second language. Yes, there's often idioms and phrases that a non-native speaker will get wrong, but from what I've seen, native speakers can make just as many mistakes (if sometimes not more!) than people who didn't grow up speaking English.

This is a global site and there are many folk here for whom English may not be a first language. Normally I couldn't care less if English is a second language or not, and the question is actually not asked frequently at all, but sometimes where there are obvious phrasing or word-choice errors it's helpful to know if these errors may indeed arise because of a language issue. A completed profile can help here. Folk here can be very understanding and helpful in those instances.

Errors caused by language issues can give the mistaken impression that one is lazy or careless - and such attributes are frowned upon as suggesting the submitter is apparently expecting others to do the work for them.
 
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Denevius

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It makes perfect sense if you have a network of writers who critique your work and you in turn critique them. Honestly, if I see someone asking for a critique on a piece that is is in excess of 5000 words I shy away. I just don't have the time or energy to give a high-standard critique on such a big thing.

Is 5000 words now "such a big thing"?

Writers who don't love (and understand the importance of) reading is a strange thing. Unfortunately common, but strange nevertheless.

EDITED TO ADD:

Yes, there's often idioms and phrases that a non-native speaker will get wrong, but from what I've seen, native speakers can make just as many mistakes (if sometimes not more!) than people who didn't grow up speaking English.

Perhaps you haven't known many non-native speakers of English.
 
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c.m.n.

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Archive of Our Own is more focused towards fanfiction, but they have a section for original works.

I just ran across a site called Royal Roads Legends. It's mainly for original fantasy works, but there's also other genres there as well. Seems interesting.