Suggestion Box

Hi, I'm pretty newb here, but I would suggest that maybe you create different genres on the submissions threads?
Fantasy and sci-fi
Criminal
Suspense
General
That type of thing. Not sure if other people are as narrow minded as I am when it comes to reading, but it would ensure that I at least limit myself to the fantasy type writings.
could also be used to see what writers like to read?

OK, so, first off, let me apologize for taking so long to respond to this. Usually I try to be snappy about such things. The thing is, I've been debating what to do about this. Well, I've chatted with Nat and bit and we've come to an agreement.

Here's the thing: one of our goals here at To Boldly NaNo is to get people to open up their reading/writing horizons a bit, and separating everything into such categories kind of defeats the purpose.

However, since we want posts to be headed with a rating and perhaps some additional information anyway, it would be no problem to add genre in there as requested information as well. Yeah, you'd still have to click on it, but you wouldn't have to actually read it if you didn't want to. Or they could stick the genre in the description (as a number of people have already) so you wouldn't even need to click. Of course, we can't guarantee that everyone will post such preceeding information every time, but we can--and will--ask.

I hope this is an acceptable compromise for you, and helps to limit any unwanted reading thrust upon you.

Miss Elisha

Hmmm...perhaps I should explain my reasoning behind the request.

I read a lot of fantasy and to some extent sci-fi. I believe that people that read a particular genre do so because that 'something' appeals to them. Either on a mental level or because of the writing style.
Personally I was never blessed with a load of patience. I also find that fantasy appeals to me more than any other genre because of the content and writing style.

Thus should my writing ever improve and I get to a point where I would consider trying to get published, it would be in the fantasy field.
Which means that people like myself would have to buy and read my work.
In other words, my reasoning behind my suggestion was the following: who better to critique than the same people that buy and read your particular genre.
Perhaps I am alone in being a fantasy only type of person, but I doubt it. Fantasy readers look for something specific in the first three or four pages. Something that a murder mystery/courtroom drama/action etc etc reader would prob not mind not being there. They would look for something different again.

I want to tweak my writing so as to appeal to people that read a lot of fantasy and have definitive ideas of what they want in a fantasy story.

I hope that explains my point better.
I agree that it would be good to expand ones reading environment, but I can't read murder mysteries. They do not hold my attention for long enough.

Thanks again for the advice.

Could we get a Brain Storming subforum or something similar in GenDisc? I find Brain Storming with the aide of others is more productive than doing it on my own.

Ask and ye shall receive!

I have just added that- sorry it took so long.

Hi,
I would love a writing prompts message board as well- a free-for-all that people could add to.

In the Critique board: It would be nice to know what sort of genre you are going to be reading about before you click on the title- some sort of filter or separate message boards for each genre type. One day, I might feel like a mystery and can browse through the mystery board. Or, I feel like reading a fantasy, so I'll check those out today. (it would really help to be able to just look at a bunch of stories that you are interested in at any given moment and it gives you a heads up about the type of stories to expect.)

Is there anyway that we could have more guidance in the Open Critique board? (Maybe the author's could provide us specific instructions or maybe a general rule- 'this is the type of feedback you'll get at this board' rule).
Do people want specific feedback/suggestions? What kind? How much? I love people's stories and I don't know what things they want to hear about it.
I go on what I'd want to get for feedback: 1.) Let me know every place where you felt 'tripped up' as a reader. 2.) And if you happen to think of any, please feel free to give me ideas/suggestions that would help clarify/strengthen/deepen my story. But, am I the only one who wants that? This is my first writing group/community so I don't know what's expected in this environment.

1) Under "Rules and Guidelines" section, there is an entire topic discussion for how to critique.
It is here. <link>
Feel free to join in, suggest ways, or use those listed.

2) As for the genre placement, I believe that miss_elisha addressed that previously in this forum, including the reasons why there isn't a genre-specific setup.
It is a few up, and quotes:

3) And as for a peer-suggested writing prompt forum... I will leave to the other admins. I am not sure if there is some sort of structure/reason behind it.

I saw all of those things. I still chose to add the above post as a way of casting my vote. Maybe one person indicating that they want something isn't enough. Two people might not be enough. But possibly if you start hearing from a lot of people wanting the same thing...? But how are you going to know if it's a popular idea, if we submit something and you immediately shut down the idea by saying "that's already been discussed" Maybe you should add a subtitle? "All decisions final so don't submit if it's already been addressed".

Anyway, 1.) I will try adding some feedback prompts, as you suggested. 2.) I still think genre boards would be nice to have and would lend some organization. (Right now everything is jumbled together and it's frustrating.) The way I see it, if people aren't interested in reading other types of stories, they aren't going to read it. However if a person wants to be exposed to lots of different things (like me), this organization would help us to find the types of stories that we want to check out. My opinion is this would be a WIN-WIN. But, as I indicated above, two people with similar opinions might not 'sell' the suggestion but it would be nice if we could at least be allowed to submit them. 3.) Hopefully, you will consider opening up a Writing Prompt board rather than having people submit them to the moderator for approval/review. One idea at a time, if it doesn't happen to inspire you, just isn't enough. Plus, what are you afraid we would say?

hi Here'sHoping.

have you considered that there's actually at least 3 different writing prompts going at the same time (daily, weekly, monthly)? combined with what's in the archives, there's enough to get creative juices flowing for a long time i'd think.

I did see it. (It's just my feeling but they seem so formal). And they're off in another section of the website. If they were part of the regular message boards, I could add it to my notify list and know when anyone adds to them. But it's okay- I just wanted to cast my vote.

Here'sHoping,

First off, my apologies for taking so long to respond to this issue. Natalie and I have been away doing RL stuff (including meeting face-to-face for a bit, a rare treat for us). Please know that we have been thinking about these issues and have not simply been ignoring you.

Also, I apologize if we ("we" meaning the TBN Admins, but mostly me) have come across as dictatorial in our statements/organization/guidelines/etc. We truly do want to take the opinions of TBN members into account while managing the site and all of its various pieces. After all, if it weren't for the community we've formed and are still forming here, there wouldn't be much of a site at all. Suggestions from members have already helped to improve the message boards, and I believe will continue to do so.

However, we must reserve the right to make decisions on where and how pieces of the site are situated and promoted, and in doing so we take into account our initial vision of and goal for the site as a whole. This is not to say that we will never again review our decisions, or that our opinions won't change in the future, merely that we are attempting to make the best decisions for the site at any particular moment. If the needs and wants of members change over time, we are of course willing to change the site to reflect that--to a certain extent--while still maintaining our primary objectives, direction, and purpose.

To your individual points:

1. A writing prompts message board is a fine idea. I will add that to the Brainstorming forum momentarily. Please note, however, that Natalie and I will not be posting regular prompts there, and our purpose in adding such a forum here is to allow members to post prompts on their own. We will continue posting daily, weekly, and monthly prompts as we currently post them--on the main site. Our reasons for this are a) there are those who use the prompts but not the message boards; we have a largely uninterrupted (by posts, comments, etc.) list of prompts available there for anyone who wants it, not just the one we post daily, but all of the prompts we have posted since day 1; c) the blog format of the current prompts allows them to be added to RSS feeds; and d) we want TBNers to use the entire site instead of just the message boards.

We are working to improve the flow of the site so that the different sections are more user-friendly and more easily navigable, particularly between sections, but as neither Natalie nor I is a programmer and we don't have funds available to hire one, it's been slow going. But a redesign is in the works, and hopefully the site will be more convenient for everyone at that point. If there is something overall you would like to see added to/changed about the site, please send either Natalie or myself an email or PM and we will take it into consideration for our redesign.

2. Unless the poster specifies what type of critique they would like to receive, you should feel free to critique in any way you see fit (as long as you're polite about it). The more feedback the better, IMO. The feedback you described sounds very helpful, and I cannot see a writer who is actively seeking feedback being anything less than thrilled at receiving such helpful commentary.

As for your own posts, please note what type of feedback you would like to receive, and ask specific questions of the readers when you are looking for that type of specificity. Everyone reads and reviews in different ways, and most people find it difficult to leave "proper" reviews/critique. Giving guidelines and asking questions gives the reviewer something to look for and work with, and gives you more of the answers you seek.

3. For the moment, we will not be filtering the Open Posting or Open Critique boards by genre. We have asked that posters note the genre of the piece either in the subtitle or in the introductory information, but we cannot force them to do so.

As stated elsewhere on TBN, we feel that good writing is good writing, and even someone not familiar with a particular genre can judge whether or not the posted piece is quality work and can offer overall impressions and suggestions for improvement. Also as stated elsewhere, we want readers and writers alike to explore other aspects of our craft and step out of their comfort zones. Exposure in this sense is a good thing. I personally have read and enjoyed a number of stories there that are not within my normally preferred genre.

Also, at this point I (and I will take all of the blame for this judgment call myself) do not think that there is enough material to warrant reorganization, particularly not by genre. There are currently 30 topics in the Open Critique forum. A quick glance down the list (having read every post at some point) shows me 1 ghost story, 2 or 3 suspense, 2 or 3 gen lit, and 20 or so fantasy posts (including fantasy fanfic and the one fantasy-related essay). I don't feel that 30 topics is such an exceptional lot that it requires further organization, especially since the vast majority would be under one genre and other genres would have very few, if any, posts. Once we reach a more cumbersome number of posts or a wider variety of genres, I would have no problem separating them (and probably would have done so at that point even without it being suggested).

If the majority of TBNers feels that the site would benefit from a genre filter at this point, Natalie and I will take that into consideration.

If you have any other questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to either post them here or contact one of the admins.

Elisha

Know I've mentioned this to two of three mods, but a forum for a reading club would be super neat . . . er, cool. Awesome, even.