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Posted By: andiweaves Aug 06, 2003 - 11:12 am

Sorry, guys, I seem to be full of questions here (can't help myself).

Anyway, I know it is usually recommended that writers let other critique their works, and that can easily be done on the internet by another author or writing buddy, but would you recommend doing such a thing online? That question might sound kind of stupid, but I'm kind of anal about doing such a thing. I know I should let someone else read my work, and it's not that I fear what they might say, but I fear they might steal my ideas. I guess you could call me extremely paranoid. lol.

Have any here done such a thing, or how would you recommend going about letting someone critique your stuff? I'm also extremely shy about asking even my family & friends to read my stuff, so I think having a stranger or another writer read my work would be better.

Okay, I'll shut up now and try not to ask as many questions for awhile.

Posted By: Ariette Aug 06, 2003 - 11:22 am

It's always smart to be a bit paranoid about stuff like someone plagarizing (i know i spelt that wrong) your work--or even being accused of plagarizing. Personally, I am not in to posting my work online for others to read...I am more inclined to give my stuff to family members or friends to read and critique for me, because I trust them more. Just because someone says you can trust them with your things doesn't mean you actually can---people can be incredibly two-faced.

Anyways, it's basically share at your own discretion-you know the risks, and hopefully your work will land in the hands of someone not interested in ripping you off.

Posted By: Ding_man Aug 06, 2003 - 03:39 pm

People on this site never make fun of writing and/or steal the ideas. I have been inspired by other stories, but have never taken the idea or anything near that.

Posted By: SirJill Aug 06, 2003 - 08:19 pm

I will edit/critique/whatever, if you would like me to. As I'm sure Ding man will attest, I have high moral standards (yada yada yada, I sound like a college proffessor here!), and utterly refuse to steal ideas. that's one of the reasons I stopped reading Amelia Atwater Rhodes, I copied her style of writing. I hated myself for it and said I was never going to copy like that again. I hate it when people do that and (inner secret alert) I hate fan Fiction and have never even attempted to write it. But, I must warn you, I am tough, and will bust you on anything I see that I don't understand. *jumps off soap box and feeds Py a sausage* whew, glad that's over with!

Posted By: manji Aug 07, 2003 - 03:48 am

well ya don't really have to worry about your ideas around other writers who consider themselves real writers 'cause it's just a instinct in the mind to look at someone's story compared to the one you have now and say 'yeah, but it's not as good as mine!' so if someone writes all the time the chance of them actually liking your idea that much is slim to none.
one time i was trying to get coauthor just to see if i worked well with others and this one guy said he'd help and once he found out that we were both writing it he said he'd steal it.
man i quoted everything in the copyright book, the author's bill of rights, and any threat i could make up to scare the bastard enough to crap his pants and quickly apologize.

Posted By: Eleika Aug 07, 2003 - 08:18 am

If you like, a few of us have formed a critiquing mailing list, comprised solely of SV members. You'd have to be willing to give feedback on others' work, but if you're looking for in-depth criticism, it might help.

Posted By: Ariette Aug 07, 2003 - 08:40 am

Just out of curiousity, as I seem to be the only bitter one here, has anyone other than me had their work copied? Or been used solely for their ideas and then not given any credit? One of my ex-friends did that to me on several occasions--it took awhile for me to drop her.

Obviously I'm biased on the issue because of bad experience..trust is a big issue for me sharing my work with others; but I also admire the fact that you guys can be so trusting with your work.

Posted By: andiweaves Aug 07, 2003 - 11:17 am

Eleika - if you could point in the direction of the SV mailing list, I'd really appreciate it! I'd love to join, and perhaps it might help me to open up a bit and let people will see what I'm writing. Right now, I'm way too paranoid, esp. after some of these horror stories everyone's talking about! lol.

~Andrea

Posted By: Bmat Aug 07, 2003 - 12:36 pm

It should be clarified that Eleika's list is not affiliated with SV. Neither The Master nor I are involved in it.

Good luck, and I hope that the list works out for you.

Posted By: Ding_man Aug 07, 2003 - 12:43 pm

It has been working quite well for everyone Bmat and I'll be glad to read your writing there Andrea.

Posted By: Bmat Aug 07, 2003 - 01:33 pm

I was assuming that it was, Ding_man and I am very glad to hear that it is.

Posted By: Ding_man Aug 07, 2003 - 05:19 pm

Posted By: LightBrigade Aug 07, 2003 - 07:58 pm

A topic can be presented by millions of elementary intelligent people.

Writing is a little bit different. That's why writers are not afraid of anyone stealing their ideas. Prudent one is to be.

Nobody can develop one's idea better than what one's particular talent can. For one who finds that the opposite is true, the best line of action is to seek entertainment elsewhere.

Like few others, this Web Site also is open to receiving text, I am aware, and a number of members of proper academic standards are in absolutley good will eager to express amateur and/or professional opinion, as requested.

I am also aware some are willing to sign the critique for reference. Which is undoubtedly significant.

This activity in this Site itself has proved helpful in that, upon occasion, in the commercial field.

Of course, any friend's circle can do critique. Qualifications may be abundant. The special weight and the resultant reference is not the same.

One can contact a member by e-mail or ask the Moderator to mediate if posting a sample or whole text is under reservation at first. The more critique, the better is a useful tool.

Posted By: Eleika Aug 08, 2003 - 12:11 am

Hi, Andi (and anyone else who's interested) ... just drop me a line, my email is in my profile. I'll add you in. You'll need a Yahoo profile and have to be willing to reciprocate.

Yes, this is an independent venture, started a few months ago, but I don't bring it up much because I don't want to flood the message boards with it, nor do I want to waste Bmat's time, since it's not something she has duristiction over. However, I *do* only let people from SV join. A sorta catch-22, but then, it's also easier to manage the list when it's small, and we have a common base to work from (the Discussion Forum).