Friday, February 11, 2011

Will Readers Turn the Page?

So my brother texts me from an airplane, telling me to check out a website.

Technology is scary cool sometimes.

The site he wanted to tell me about is The Page 99 Test and I thought it might be a fun site to share for all my writer friends. Essentially, how it works is that published or unpublished writers post page 99 of their books. People then drop by, read page 99, and say whether or not they want to read page 100.

Anonymous feedback from strangers who have nothing to gain from lying?

How sweet is THAT?

This site is one of many if you're a writer looking for feedback. Some of them charge. Some of them don't. Some of them are by writers, for writers. Some seek writers to cater to readers. Others are built for genre/series fans, allowing anyone to post stories to an already captive audience. I personally can give that way of writing a little plug, since it's the only kind I've done and nothing motivates you to write like a virtual audience stalking you and drooling for your next installment.

It's very validating.

I did my stint on the discussion boards at fox.com. I don't even know if they have those pages anymore... *goes to check*

THEY DO!

Under the community section of every show, there is the ability to write fan fiction. If you have a show you like and wish you could write an episode for, this is the place for you. And trust me, there are people waiting to read an alternate storyline. Promise. I did mine at least 5 years ago, including several daily installments (maybe an embarrassing number since I ended up posting over 55K in alternate storyline). But I couldn't help myself! Writers can be inspired to do crazy, crazy things when comments start surpassing the 10,000 mark on a thread. It's like writer crack to have that much interest, and you are compelled to feed the beast.

Point being, sites like these can be great for writers looking for honest feedback, new friends, and maybe some cheerleaders (who might even nickname themselves to declare their fan-dom for you... Mine called themselves "sheep" and "baaaaa"-ed when they liked something because they got sick of finding new ways to praise. It was actually quite hilarious... and I kind of miss it... If any of you found me here--which would take a miracle, since I never shared my name--I MISS YOU!).

As you move forward on your writing path, one of these options might be just what you're looking for. Or not. Either way, just thought I would throw it out there.

Happy writing!

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