Writing.com

Ever think you're in a rut? Don't think your writing is any good? Want to try a new genre? Check out Writing.com's contest section. It's a great way to test your writing chops, flex those unused writing muscles, and get helpful criticism. Submissions can be anywhere from poems to novellas, though most fall into the 1000 - 2000 word short story category. Check them out, I think you'll like being part of the community.

All writing sites have good and not-so-good points. Any level of writer can benefit from the site by just using those things that are helpful like getting others to read and offer comments as you polish your work. There's places for all genres and collaboration, and you can have a blog (at a Upgraded membership level). For those not interested in a social scene, you can skip that part of it and still progress your writing. It may not be perfect for everyone, but any writer can find it useful.

So long as you are interested in writing as a whole, I think this site would offer a fairly nice experience. It has a competent set-up and more or less allows for any type of writing, regardless of genre or maturity, so long as you've marked it correctly. If I had to mention an issue I have it would be the minimum ways of commenting on something. The only means are through either reviews or personal messages, which whilst they may let you get your message across, leave a bit to be desired.

This site is different in many ways, some writers appear to be pros and others are just babes tasting the milk. Either way, I have enjoyed this site for, ten yrs and I will continue to support it and the writers that come and go!

Jane

The best writing community I know of. Could build community more, but I see you are trying. Need to have more reviews and back and forth communication

My review is back and forth. I love writing.com but I'm disappointed by the community there at times.

I was an active member of this site for a year while I wrote my novel's first draft. At the start of that year, I decided I wanted to write a book and looked for a community to be part of to help motivate me. With writing.com, I used it to get feedback and input from folks that didn't know me or my work. In that regard, the website is invaluable as there a lot of people there and if you are a brand new member, you get a lot of feedback in the first six months. Well... if you can get them to read your stuff. You do have to reach out to people, join contests and such to get attention. My writing improved over the course of twelve months and I couldn't be happier with Writing.com for that. There are also contests and little badges you earn if you win the contest, which is nice. I can't say enough nice things about the website and all that it does. There is a lot of time and effort put into making it work and I think that is awesome.

But there's a price. Kind of.

I'm not talking about the website subscription, but the website currency used to get folks to review your work. It's easy enough to earn with weekly goals, reviews, or contests. And you can use it to "garner" services from others like reviewing your work. Or I should say *if* you can get them to. Trying to get someone to read your stuff is half the battle on Writing.com. The incentives that they have are noteworthy, but it's never a guarantee you can get what you are looking for with feedback. Depending on your content, a lot of people will turn down requests you send--which is fair. Sometimes other will stumble onto your work and leave a review, but most do it to earn the website currency. A few reviewers of my work did it for that reason and only skimmed my writing. Afterwards, they left some really weird reviews not even relevant to the story. Either that or they're not native English speakers. It's hard to say. They also leave ads to their stories at the end of their comments which take up more space than their actual review.

Also, depending on the genre/content of your story, you won't be able to ask for reviews in the common review forum. I posted a request there and because there is profanity and violence in my story, a site admin removed it and sent me a message explaining why. Afterwards, I tried to request reviews for those that had reviews open, but 90% of the time I never got a response. After a month of that, I became disheartened and left the website to join a writing group outside the computer where I could get some guaranteed feedback once a week.

Despite all that, I am still a member of the website. I go back to really admiring everything the site does. If I'd written something more PG friendly, my experience would be different. I hold out hope that someone will find my work or accept a request and give me feedback on what I've done. Just got to hang in there!

This site is great but it is very hard to get reviews. This is not the sites fault but where to get reviews from are very unclear. There are no set rules either for these sites. I think the site would be better if some groups were site run.

I was a little disappointed that there were two items that I could not order. It says items are unavailable.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE written by Agatha Christie, is a perfect masterpiece for crime readers.
It is a creativity that flows through people who adore crime.
Best selling novel.

I have found this to be an incredibly useful site, and I have gotten so much out if it. There are numerous writing competitions and activities to stimulate your creativity, and challenge your writing skills. As with anything, you only get out what you out in - so the more active you are on the site with writing and reviewing, the more views your work is likely to get.
I have found members to be very supportive, and I would recommend this site to anyone with a love of writing, regardless of skill and level.

I found something that makes me think and create. Giving it a try to see if I actually get a book started or other writing products. It is in there, I can feel it. Just getting it out of my head and onto a paper takes major brain surgery.

No bad things to say on using this website. No complaints and satisfied even as a member. Thanks to website I have a new hobbie.

I have to say that I've been on and off with writing.com but all in all, it is one of my favorite outlets with creativity and words. I have to admit that from my side, I didn't give much time to explore the many many options and tools in this website, but I know they are there. I use it mainly to post poems (and in few times before I did post other articles and stories), so in that venue it is just enough for me.

Couldn't be any better. Recommend it for everyone who is literate and wants to stay that way. Excellent service no matter what! Wouldn't want it any other way.

I just started but am already "into the writing zone".
Just signing up is a creative rush. System is a bit complex
And could use a kindly yet humorous guide like a Yoda
Or Splinter the sensei for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Not cartoonish but the right mix of humor and seriousness.
I am sure there are writers out there with ideas.
I am partial to cats, Albert Einstein and Wolverines.

The site is very large and complicated. It's been around a long time with lots of members. So it's easy to get lost amongst everything. But the community is OK and if you just want to post some writing then it's great.

The site itself is good. It's members that make a writing site uncomfortable. Problems on web sites such as this arise when people join for reasons other than being serious about their writing and improving it. If they cannot take criticism, perhaps they should avoid these sites. I notice that some writers join only to rant or vent, which I believe are inappropriate reasons to join a creative writing site. These types of 'writers' perhaps could join psychology self-help sites or face book. There must be many other sites for people who don't 'get' that writing sites are for creative writing. I find the managers of the site responsible and helpful.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am a moderator at WDC. As such, I do not get paid in any way for volunteering on the site. Nor do I expect any compensation for this review.

I joined this wonderful site in 2002, and things are constantly improving there. Is it perfect? No. What website is? But one of the best things about this site is that members have a lot of control over its content. Members are free to post writing on any topic at all in their portfolios without any censorship, so all readers can find something that might interest them, whether it be erotica or poetry. Site staff is available to answer any support questions that arise. When you speak to the Storymaster, you are speaking to the man who founded, runs, and maintains Writing.com. On what other writing site do you get one-on-one help from its founder?

Another strength of this site is that it is for everyone, in all phases of their writing careers. There are novice members writing alongside published authors and even publishers themselves. The community is one of sharing and growing.

Although the site may seem overwhelming for new members, I encourage everyone to give it a try for a few months before deciding whether or not the site is for you. There are always other members willing to show newbies the way around. Most of the extremely negative comments I have seen here are from members who clearly never took the time to experience what the site has to offer. As I said, a site such as this one can be strengthened or weakened by the attitude of its members.

I've been a member of writing.com for many years. I've only recently (a year or so) really dug into the community and explored. That's on me, not the website. Work, life and mostly procrastination kept me from doing anything sooner. I've read several negative reviews on here and admit there are smidgens of truth in each one but not like you might think.
SELL T-SHIRTS: Yes, they sell memberships, t-shirts, pencils, pens etc. You pick something dealing with writing and they probably have it with the logo splashed across the surface. None of it is forced down your throat, nor are you inundated with requests. Something noticeably absent from the review is the mention that the website is the livelihood for the operators; its their jobs. So yeah, they'd like you to purchase things so they can pay bills like everyone else. Its a business folks. At least here, even if you don't want to pay anything, you'll still get something out of it.
POOR REVIEWS: I agree somewhat with this review. I've received extremely honest critical reviews before that have helped educate me and given me a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I've also received reviews that were nice and filled with fluff. Its sad, and I wish there were better ways of filtering those types of reviews because it is someone simply trying to boost their review portfolio. But, I read it, I immediately recognize it for what it is and move on. I'm intelligent enough to know when a review is legit or not.
TAINTED CONTESTS: There is no way anyone can verify if a judge is biased or not. For anyone on here to claim such a thing is entirely absurd. I'm more inclined to believe the angry reviewer was nothing more than butt hurt that their piece was passed over for what they perceived as an inferior entry. I claim this because anyone who knows writing.com would be well aware that although their contests are entertaining and many times helpful, the prizes awarded are all in-house; meaning nothing you win would get you a sit down with an agent or publisher. Its usually free reviews, an extended membership, logo'd product, etc. So someone complaining about a contest that's only rewarding within the community is someone that is either a fool, or well... no, just a fool.
BAIT & SWITCH: This one is a crock. Yes, you absolutely get bonus attention when you first join the site. And after a set length of time, that attention is no longer lavished. The site owner explained this easily and correctly. When you first join, you are made to feel welcome and the time is taken to show the newbie how joining can be beneficial with reviews, tools and links. This is a limited timeframe with the hope that by the end, you will have joined a group or two. The reviewer that was negative about this never mentioned he bothered to join anything. That's on him, not the website. I immediately sought out the fantasy groups and became a member of them. I've since enjoyed reviewing and being reviewed on a regular basis. Its not the website's responsibility to find like minded groups for you. You're just lazy.
MY ISSUE: I will wholeheartedly agree with one reviewer who complained about the system tools used for posting, writing, etc. It is difficult getting the hang of how the system runs although once you get active with your portfolio, it does get easier. It's more of an inconvenience in the long run. Example: If I copy my work from WORD or Pages, the text will appear extremely basic. Any indentations, bold print, italicizing, etc. are gone. You have to go back through and redo any and all of these things to the pasted item. Yes, this can be infuriating if you're posting a long entry that contains a lot of these additions. To that I 100% agree.
But overall, the website is excellent. The community is very supportive and every genre is represented in multiple groups, in multiple fashions, so there are plenty of peers and likeminded writers available to help you grow in your writing. They have an excellent pre-NaNoWriMo course that has been more beneficial to me than any other writing course, program etc. anywhere. So sure, there are "kernels" of truth in the bad reviews, but in no way do they come close in accurately depicting this website. People will complain for the sake of complaining otherwise, they'll never have a voice that gets noticed. That's sad for them. You get out what you put in. These reviewers didn't put in squat. And that's what they reaped.

Writing.com is a wonderful place to meet, learn and expand your writing skills. There are many writing activities to explore and the site is managed by some wonderful people.

LOVE(x1000) the site. HOWEVER. When I give a gift membership to someone, I expect them to receive the benefits of that membership from the powers that be. I don't expect the recipient to tell me they can't access the promised features of the membership level. Example: they are unable to access all the "writing.com tools" features.
If a problem presents itself it should be handled in a professional manner, the member should not be banned simply as a "I have the power and you don't" by the GOD with no opportunity to ever get back into the denied areas.
And if they are not going to allow reentry I should be reimbursed my money. Not points but the real money I invested.

P.s. There was no "personal whim" clause in the contract I agreed to when I invested that kind of money. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL...

I have had a Writing.com account for a long time. It is a site for writers of all skill levels. Like many user generated content sites, the content itself can range from great to... well... indescribable in polite company. So my review will not be of that content, but of the site itself.

Their original interface was a bit of a pain at times, but very useable. The revamped one is far more useful and they are slowly adding to it. It allows you to store your items in a very organized manner. The free accounts get paid for by ads, but for a small fee you can drop the ads and store more stuff. They have an internal monetary system which can be used for contests, trading, and so on. It is theoretically possible to win enough points to pay for your account that way, but the results will depend on how well you get other users to like your writing.

It is possible to develop a set of other amateur writers as compatriots through this site. If you take the time and do this, you can get some quality reviews of your work. However, this will take time and effort.

Again, realize that I am only reviewing the site, and not the content of the authors. If I did that, I would have to write one review per author, and that would just take too long.