Absolute Write Water Cooler

Here's the spot to introduce yourself. C'mon in and say hi!

A gathering place for members from around the world.

Official announcements regarding the Water Cooler, including upgrades, changes and general bacchanalia.

All that stuff you're wondering about how AW works? The answer is probably here.

Guidelines, scheduled events, suggestions, and feedback regarding the AW IRC chat room

For active community members to post press releases, events, and marketing announcements publicizing their work.
Don't spam us. We can tell the difference.

A place to check in, post an update about your other regular internet haunts, or set up a temporary refugee camp during outages elsewhere. No talking smack about other message boards or moderators, though, 'kay?

The Library lists AW members' publications. There's a 50 post minimum before you can list a publication. Please visit AW Library Helpdesk for posting guidelines.

There's the AW Contests and Projects Room for genre-bending, board-wide, AW contests and projects, and Writing Contests, ElseWeb for external, unaffiliated posts and links to writing contests elsewhere.

Writers goofing-off, making friends, and getting to know the community

Discuss your writing goals and how you’re reaching them.

Where flame wars and thread collapses get booted and buried.

Tales of woe and methods for dealing with rejection.

Writer's block is a reality for many writers. This is a place to discuss methods of coping with writer's block. It's not a place to debate the existence of writer's block. Read the Guidelines before posting.

Basic Writing Questions (BWQs) are perennial questions asked by writers just getting started, or when they reach a new stage. BWQs are usually general in nature rather than about a specific plot element. They include questions about how to write, what to write, or even why to write one way or another. This is not a crit forum. Check the Introduction and the other Stickies.

Just what it sounds like — for those committed W1/S1 writers: Here’s a place to spread your wings. Whether it’s a novel a year or a flash piece a day —write one, sub one.

Picture books, middle grade, chapter books this is the place to discuss reading and writing childrens' books.

Blogging, podcasting, social media, and paid content writing.

Here's where to check in and share about publishers, agents, and producers. Be sure to check the Index before starting a thread.

Honing our craft and sharing what we've learned.

Post here to find experts and research resources. Be sure to search for similar topics before posting.

What are royalties? What are standard contract terms? What does this line in my contract mean? How do I find an agent?

Our guest literary agents answer your questions.

Informed choices. Hard truths. No us-vs-them.

Publishing trends, royalties, contracts, finding a publisher—the business side of writing.

Writing for magazines, e-zines, and newspapers

Editors, please post paying opportunities for writers here. Please include the pay rate inside [ ] in the thread title

Editors, nonpaying markets belong here.

Sweet love stories, historic romance, contemporary or category romance, women's fiction—what are you reading? What are you writing?

(See this board for sub-genres.)

Feathers, Fins, Fur and more....

World War II changed the world's perceptions of life and culture. This is the literature—fiction, poetry, and drama—that continues to reflect and shape our own ever-changing world, while refining our understanding of the world beyond our own borders through the works of authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Haruki Murakami, and Gillian Mears

We love our digital tools (computers, smart phones, tablets and digital pens). But there’s a lot of utility and love for analog tools, whether fountain pens, ink pens (ball point, roller ball or gel), pencils, ink, typewriters (manual or electric), and paper. What analog tools do you use, and how do you use them? What do you love?

Talk about that book you just couldn't put down.

Please see the room expectations stickie. What are you working towards, hoping for, and how do you hope to change the world? Go gently with each other.

Writing about recipes, restaurants, reviewing, and food in general. Harriet Van Horne said, "Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all."

For crafters, artists, photographers, wood-workers, basket-weavers...and for writing about what we love to do.

Games, Gaming, Writing for Games

Writing about or writing from non-heteronormative perspectives, situations, and characters. Read the Sticky before posting.

Writing perspectives, situations and characters by and about People of Color. Discussions focussing on race/cultural-concerns, topical news items, and other miscellany may also occur at random. Read the Stickies, especially this one.

What are you listening to? What are you writing?

NaNo 2016! Are you game to write a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30? Are you motivated? Are you crazy? Go for it, and find lots of support and commiseration from similarly obsessed writers.

Interested in writing, critiquing and selling stories that are 1000 words or fewer? This is the forum for you!

Writerly games, including prompts to start your muse, Flash Fiction and other writing-related challenges. Come try your skill, or join a game in progress.