Feb 24, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool: Focus on Fiction

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

This week, we’re carving out a space for those of your who write fiction. Whether your entire blog is a novel in progress or you’re making your first foray into flash fiction, use this post to get feedback. Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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    1. Hi, read your story and the comments as well and I agree with your readers, you seemed quite hurried to get to the end…in any case, if the ending is making you feel pressured, how about starting from there, the last conversation the dad had with the mom before she became a Dragon and find another climax to your story… Or maybe not saying that the mom turns into a dragon right from the beginning so that it its still your climax and leaving the reader in suspense for the rest of the conversation but it would be very nice for you to paint us a picture in detail of all that’s happening, what does the barn look like, does the little girl have any special features that would have been inherited from the dragon state of the mother… Does this make any sense? Hope this helps a bit 🙂

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  2. My blog is mostly non-fiction, all about daily life in the greater Dublin area but from the beginning of the year I’ve taken to posting short stories about a fictional character.

    Zach has taken on a life of his own… if you’d like to read some of his tales and comment I’d be only too happy to see how he’s accepted among new readers…

    http://ouchmybackhurts.wordpress.com/zachs-life/

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  5. I’ve always wanted to showcase my fiction online, but I’m worried about the idea of plagiarism, and someone “stealing” my ideas. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on the matter? It would be much appreciated. 🙂

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    3. Liam! I don’t put my whole works up for everyone to read. As for stealing ideas, well my thought is this. If they are low enough to do it, it will never turn out as well as it would if you did it yourself. And even if they steal your idea, how likely is it that it would turn out the same? none. I never noticed but do you have a copywrite statement on your blog?

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      4. I’ve had a look, but I’m still concerned about plagiarism… Thanks for the link though, Jackie! I shall have a think and find a way that means pesky people that might “steal” my idea don’t…

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      5. well you could also privatize those particular posts and only let the ones you want to read it. Just a thought.

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      7. Plagiarism, everybody does at one point. I was ask to look at 4 different theories explain what I thought about them sighting what I thought and how their theories fitted into child care.

        Now they were not my ideas, but copying them and using them could be classed as plagiarism, as they were not my ideas. But ask yourself does plagiarism really exist. As the words have been said million times before, ideas have been written down million times before, storylines have been written before at some point, at some time in many life times. Nothing is really new!!!

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    4. Plagiarism exists but I think you will find that “great minds think alike” is also true. Strive to be unique and don’t let fear paralyze you.

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    5. Sadly it is a risk we have to be sure we are willing to take when we post on the internet…creative commons is good! Aside from that we can only count on people’s ethics and rspect for other’s work… Don’t stop writing because of it! 🙂 good luck

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      1. I write privately at the moment, only letting my friends/family read and critique my work… But alas, it seems as though writing online has it’s problems…

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    6. Liam, i think there is always a risk as regards plagiarism through the internet. I always think someone could copy my whole blog (and get printed!) and then say its his/hers and that my blog is a copy!
      Internet has many issues to take into account but there is also this chance to show your work to the world… something very hard to do when u need lots of money to get published.
      I would say….. dont put EVERYTHING online… !!!!!
      Cheers!

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    7. If you don’t want someone to take it off the web and make it their own, the only way to be certain is to NOT post it on the internet. There are copyrights that can be used,but they do not prevent theft, they only provide a legal recourse if something is stolen.

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    8. I recently posted a reworking of Dr. Suess’s “Green Eggs and Ham,” set to the healthy theme of my blog. It got very popular (for me, being shared 100 times on facebook and twitter), so I googled it out of curiousity. Turns out someone else had posted it on their site!

      I told them I didn’t mind as long as I was credited. They obliged and said they’d meant to do it but it hadn’t worked for some reason. So I guess it can happen, but I’ve heard more often than not that people will take it down or credit you. I figure if I put it on the internet I want it to be shared so as long as my name is attached I’m happy.

      If I don’t want the world to see, then I don’t put it on my blog.

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    9. By all means put a copyright notice up (although if you wrote it, it’s yours already), but you can’t really protect from plagiarism once a story is in the public domain. That said, it’s rare, My view is, once a story is up, you’ve lost the ability to fully control it, and it’s also been deemed “published” so a lot of places will no longer accept it. However, it can be useful to showcase your work and give readers a taster, so it can still be worth sharing a story. On my site, I have a couple of pre-published stories (for which I still hold copyright), but personally I would not sacrifice e.g. a lengthy novel excerpt, or anything I wanted to sell on.

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    10. Liam,
      I don’t know if anyone mentioned it yet but you can register your blog for free at http://www.myfreecopyright.com/ and each time you write a post, it is automatically assigned a copyright code. You can use the site to find out if your work is showing up elsewhere too. I have a badge on my blog which serves as a warning. I believe there is another similar service called CopyScape http://www.copyscape.com/ and then, Jackie P gave you another option. Mysoresoul made a good point that at some point, we are rehashing other points of view and ideas we gleaned elsewhere… At least, with some protection, you might deter all but the brazen from lifting your work. 🙂
      Eliz

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  7. Bibles Be Trippin’ is a collection of ten short satirical retellings of the most popular bible stories. It is cleverly modern, socially relevant and provides an interesting and playful understanding of the Holy Bible like never before. It is not intended to be sacrilegious but does encourage open minded and objective viewers.

    Here is an excerpt from Cane and Abel:

    https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1119718

    We would like to know if you find it to be a good read, interesting, funny, if you’d keep reading.. If you think given a specific target market, it would sell. Really, your overall, constructive feelings towards it. Thanks!

    – JI

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  8. My blog is all about fiction. I’ve been trying to write a novel but have never really gotten to it so I do lots of short stories instead. I’m thinking of turning one of my series of short stories into a novel. Input on which would be the best to use would be appreciated and as you read through, constructive critiques are welcome as well.

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    1. Hi Malcolm,
      I checked out your blog and enjoyed the short story I read; the suspenseful ending had me wanting to know more. That said, I’d encourage you to write your novella or even a book of stories as your stories flow beautifully and should find an appreciative audience. Plus, bro, we need more fresh voices and writers from the continent. Chimamanda and a few cohorts are holding up the fort and could use some company. 😆 Keep it up! 🙂
      Best,
      Eliz

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  9. My blog is all about fiction. I’ve been trying to write a novel but have never really gotten to it so I do lots of short stories instead. I’m thinking of turning one of my series of short stories into a novel. Input on which would be the best to use would be appreciated and as you read through, constructive critiques are welcome as well.

    http://www.saymalcolm.wordpress.com

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    1. Short story collections are lovely, and the ones that do well tend to have a theme that binds the stories together. E.g. Nik Perring’s NOT SO PERFECT which is all about human beings’ quirky bits, their flaws and eccentricities, so although the stories are all different, they share that common underlying theme.

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    1. Superbloggerboy,
      I read your post and left you a comment there. I like what you wrote and I admire young people who make a commitment to develop a skill. We only get better by practicing our craft over and over again. Keep on writing! Explore other WP blogs under the fiction tag and make some blog friends… Enjoy the process too. Best wishes! 🙂
      Michelle, I was just thinking that it would be lovely to feature young WP writers sometime; it’d give them a chance to connect with each other and give the rest us a way to encourage their writing. TY! 🙂
      Eliz

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  14. I don’t write fiction, but I just started a blog! I’ve put some work into it and would love it if you all checked it out. Leave me a comment if you’d like! I need more blogging friends on here. Thanks!

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    2. Hey Scotty, I just checked your blog out – one thing that i noticed was the lack of ‘like’ button on your posts – If there is one somewhere then i couldnt find it easily. Some people prefer to avoid the ‘like’ button but in your case with your posts being extremely short it may be a good idea to add one. – your choice of course. Hope that helps a little 🙂

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      1. Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely take advantage of the “like” button. I have no idea why I never implemented it into my blog. Thank you for checking out my site. I enjoyed reading the stories about your kid on your blog!

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      1. Great! I’ve been thinking about adding categories, but I’ve been having trouble categorizing my random thoughts… I’ll have to add some sort of organization to my site in the future. Thanks for the suggestions and visiting my blog. Your posts on your site are quite insightful and interesting to read. Nice work!

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    4. “My Pickled Opinions” is very catchy but it feels like an ad. It may be the dorm effect ;). Hang a few pictures and personalize it. A pickle header… Some boots & cacti maybe.

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      1. I decided against including pictures in my blog to give it a simplistic look. I might look into spicing it up a bit soon, though. I definitely need more pickles, too! 🙂 Nice articles by the way. Very helpful! Thanks for checking out my blog!

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      1. Yes, I’ll for sure do that. Getting myself involved in the blogosphere will be quite beneficial for me and my blog. Thanks for the tip!

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  19. This is my blog: http://www.peris1404.com/ Almost all the posts are sci-fi short stories written in Spanish. I’d like to know your opinion about the web layout and design and, in case you know Spanish, the stories…
    I’d really appreciate your suggestions and comments…

    …yes, I know wordpress is better… ;))

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      1. Hi Melina,
        Look into adding a “Translate This” tool button on your blog. It would open doors for more readers to appreciate your beautiful writings. 🙂

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  24. I wrote this short story years back and have recently worked on it and put it up on my blog for people to see for the first time. It’s basically a result of the many trips my parents have taken us for to jungles in India, particularly Ranthambhore. I was thinking of working further on it and developing it into something more, maybe a full fledged novel. Looking for some honest feedback. Thanks!

    http://sakshidayal.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/the-flight-2/

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  25. My First full length novel is for sale on Kindle. “The Chance” is a sci-fi fantasy novel about a human that finds out she was never really human at all and where the discovery takes her is a wild ride and she has to save an ancient race from an ancient evil. Check it out! It is also part of Kindle’s lending library. Let me know what you think, please?

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      3. lol…I’m sure VideoPress doesn’t have anything against Canadians. I had a couple of people try it to make sure & they said it seems to be working fine. I don’t know what to tell ya. Maybe Canada has banned it. HA!

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      4. Well Canadians are weird, but don’t think they are that bad! lol. I’ve had problems looking at other peoples videos, I don’t know, maybe my new computer has something to do with it. It seems to think everything is dangerous! ha!

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    2. The images and music are beautiful; however, after watching more than half the clip, I still have only hints as to what the story is about. Are book trailers usually so vague? If not, a focus on the “main events” might help tell what kind of story it is.

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  27. Hi I’m currently writing a novel, working on Chapter 6. Its called Ghostwatching. Even though I have had people liking and some comments I haven’t had no real constructive criticism. I would love to hear some real views on it. I’m thinking of doing a lot of editing to the first Chapter, so if any one would like to check it out I will return each and every review. Thanks 🙂 http://ghoststoriesfiction.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/ghost-watching-part-one/

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    1. The overall look appears neat and astute. The random post I found could have used an image to break up the words. Images inside posts also give visual clues as to what the content might be.

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    1. I wanted to check out the writing tips, but could not locate them. The cloud and categories being at the bottom of the page meant that I had to scroll a lot to even discover if there was something there. You have a menu at the top of the blog, perhaps adding a tab for writing tips will make them easier to find.

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