Best SYW material you've read... [moved from novels]

Hmm, I get the feeling like this is gonna be a bad idea. lol

I can't remember the names, but I've read some good stuff in memoir SYW.

Um, I actually don't like this idea.

1) If you bump old SYW posts, people are going to invevitably comment, which can make the SYW forums a mess.

2) I'd prefer that loads of random people aren't connected to my work (not that anyone is going to choose my stuff as their favorite; I'm just saying...). Most of the people in the SYW forum are there to give advice and suggestions; it's a give and take. I don't post things for people to just read for enjoyment.

Anyway...

I like the link story now that I noticed it. Good opening paragraph.

This isn't a great idea, SYW is password protected so no one who isn't logged in can read what's there (that means no copying&pasting into this thread). A good number of the people who post there are already nervous about getting their first honest feedback - it's hard enough to work up that kind of nerve without the possibility of that work being held up against others' when all the poster wanted was some honest feedback.

It's also not a great idea to discuss the concepts of pieces people post in protected areas in places that aren't protected. While it may not matter in the long run, the people involved may not want their pieces discussed in open forum at this point.

I get that you want to single out the pieces you think exceptional, but that doesn't mean the author is ready for it on a piece that hasn't even been submitted anywhere yet.

Yeah. I have to agree with the two PP's.

IMO, the best way to show your appreciation for someone's stuff in SYW to comment directly on their thread.

Damn it, I was about to out like 10 people.

firedrake said:

IMO, the best way to show your appreciation for someone's stuff in SYW to comment directly on their thread.

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I agree. And rep points are always welcome, too.

As usual, I find myself tempted to play the Devil's advocate...

Cyia said:

It's also not a great idea to discuss the concepts of pieces people post in protected areas in places that aren't protected. While it may not matter in the long run, the people involved may not want their pieces discussed in open forum at this point.

I get that you want to single out the pieces you think exceptional, but that doesn't mean the author is ready for it on a piece that hasn't even been submitted anywhere yet.

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Then consider it a list, rather than a discussion topic. Perhaps each post could include a link with a brief reason for why they believe this particular piece of writing is exceptional, without referring to specifics (place or character names, plot points, etc...)

Everyone appears to feel that this thread could potentially dishearten those whose work isn't cited. This isn't a competition, but a means to compile a body of writing that AW's members feel is worthy of special recognition.

If you're featured, then be damn grateful that even in its early stages your work has managed snare the interest of these anally-retentive Book Throwers. If not, and you're still receiving feedback for your work anyhow, then pack your whining and continue your writing!

It does my head in when writers complain about negative feedback (indirect, in this case. No news is bad news) yet repeatedly shove their work under everyone's noses each time they finish a new paragraph in the vain hope that their 'victims' will eventually proclaim "Genius! Put me through to the Chief Editor at Random House for we have a winner! A winner, I tell thee!"

I posted a short story in the NaNoWriMo forum last year, just to get things started. You know what? Not a single soul replied to that topic. Did I lose any sleep over the lack of acknowledgement for my two/three days of hard work? Not at all. Come to think of it, no news truly is good news!

Providing that people still continue to receive feedback and this thread doesn't draw attention away from their queries, I'm 100% in support of this idea! If you're merely disappointed that no-one has placed your writing up on the podium, then you're really not cut-out for this business. Which is exactly what it is: a business.

Now, after that wee rant, I'm ready to commence my daily writing! I know I'll probably get rep-stoned for this post, but somebody needed to tell it straight.

I'm not going to mention names or the story, but there was one that stands out in my mind, in the YA SYW section many months ago. It was intriguing (and for me to read past the first paragraph, it has to be. I'm easily bored ) and well-thought out. She got an agent to rep her from the finished ms.

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to link to places around the internet where the work of AW members appears, and congratulate the finished pieces rather than the works which haven't been polished? I'm not going to link to any SYW pieces precisely because I don't think that unfinished work represents the best work a person has done. There are some amazing stories in SYW, but using them as a barometer of talent is flawed.

OddButInteresting said:

Everyone appears to feel that this thread could potentially dishearten those whose work isn't cited.

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No. I don't think that's what anyone has said, at all. We're not concerned about the pieces not cited; we're more concerned about those pieces that are.

But the reasons for rejecting this idea seem illogical. People don't want their work being commended before it's completed? Then why on Earth have they posted it in Share Your Work? If praise is awarded in this thread then it can only be beneficial to the morale of the featured writers.

At the end of the day it's all subjective, as BigWords appears to have suggested; this isn't a means to develop a paradigm of tried-and-tested quality. We're merely sharing our favourite writing from the Share Your Work forums.

If you have issues with the size of your penis, then don't pull your trousers down in a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon. Share only with your beta readers if you're that concerned about uncontrollable and unquantifiable exposure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but clicking on the links requires outsiders to enter the password anyhow. Your babies are safe and sound.

OddButInteresting said:

But the reasons for rejecting this idea seem illogical. People don't want their work being commended before it's completed? Then why on Earth have they posted it in Share Your Work? If praise is awarded in this thread then it can only be beneficial to the morale of the featured writers.

At the end of the day it's all subjective, as BigWords appears to have suggested; this isn't a means to develop a paradigm of tried-and-tested quality. We're merely sharing our favourite writing from the Share Your Work forums.

If you have issues with the size of your penis, then don't pull your trousers down in a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon. Share only with your beta readers if you're that concerned about uncontrollable and unquantifiable exposure.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but clicking on the links requires outsiders to enter the password anyhow. Your babies are safe and sound.

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Now you're just being offensive. And for absolutely no reason.

The whole point of Share Your Work is that the pieces AREN'T READY to be seen anywhere else. And for a large number of the posters there, they're barely able to get up the nerve to stick their toes in the water. When they do, they post because they want feedback - and that's it.

They've posted behind a password protected area because they don't want their work discussed in open forum. (Think of it like an expectation of privacy.) It's not what they signed on for, and it's not how that forum works.

Many of them are new or young writers who rabidly protect their "ideas", and while there's little chance of those ideas being swiped in total by another writer, they aren't willing to take that risk. They go to SYW for help, that's all.

I do agree with different aspects on both ends of the argument. I think people got up in the poster's face a little too quickly, but I also see what they're saying.

Ultimately I feel SYW speaks for itself. I feel comfortable shouting out user names until the sun comes up (oh, come off it, I don't give a damn if I embarrass you ) but I agree it might lead to complications if we link specific stories.

Ultimately I think it's a moderator's decision and none have bothered to take the thread down yet. As a user, I'd rather not be linked, personally.

I keep the links I'm interested in sending readers to in my sig-line (don't make me beg).

That doesn't mean others don't feel different.

What happens in SYW, stays in SYW.

Good intents or not, I'm not liking the idea of this thread. SYW is for help, not generating shout outs.

Betas don't have threads saying so and so is a great writer, ask them for a sample. Just b/c you can make a link to SYW, doesn't mean you necessarily should.

Charissa said:

And I don't want potentially brilliant writers out there to disheartened, now do I? All I want is for them to get a little bit more recognition... Because they deserve it.

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I understand and respect your reasons for starting this thread. I do think you had good intentions.

The problem with your statement above is...well, what about the potentially brilliant writers who get disheartened because no one mentions their thread in SYW? <--- This is why "shout-out" threads are discouraged at AW. We used to see an abundance of "Who's your favorite/the funniest/the sexiest member?" threads, especially in Office Party, but someone is always left out. Feelings always get hurt. So we don't do them.

If you loved something a poster wrote in SYW, send them a PM and tell them. Send them a rep and tell them. Tell them in-thread while offering some feedback. Public pats-on-the-back generally mean less than a genuine, personal, private message.