The point of the site is to provide a forum for amateur writers to develop their writing, critique others and receive genuine criticism of their own work.
The following is not meant to sell a product to everyone. Rather, a set of ideas is presented here so that those reading might determine if this would be an environment to which they would respond well.
It has been tentatively established (without the luxury of practical experience) that the site should consist of sixteen to twenty-four people at any given time. These need to be people who have a sense of commitment to their writing and, therefore, to this site as a constructive tool. That said, it should be pointed out that the site isn't looking for the twenty absolute best writers it can eventually find. We are each some degree of amateur. Nor should someone think that they aren't eligible on account of their present inability to write prolifically or well. That's what the site is trying to help with. It should not, however, be an ego-nurse for those people more concerned with "being a writer" than they are writing well; being a part of this site doesn't automatically put you a step closer to glory. What the site IS looking for is sixteen to twenty-four people who appreciate what this site can hopefully provide them and who are willing to actively and enthusiastically participate.
For the most part, the members write straight fiction. There is not too much in the way of genre such as Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery.... This is not to say the Members view genre as a bad thing. And if something along those lines is occasionally submitted to the site, it would be read and critiqued. But it isn't really the focus of the site. Instead, the submissions are primarily fiction stories (or, more often, parts of stories), essays, re-worked journal entries, thinly-veiled fictionalizations of real life and sometimes even poetry.
This site, like any other tool created to help amateur writers, is meant to provide two things:
- criticism of the writer's work
- encouragement to write
This, alone, would be no different than a classroom, a regular writer's workshop or a group of friends committed to their writing. And for many people, these types of a setup work. But where they often fail is, in a way, directly linked to why they initially succeed. In other words, these groups draw people together and provide the difficult service of getting each of them to write when they might otherwise let it slide. However, the group generally either begins as a cluster of like-minded friends or they become friendly and comfortable over time. The criticism then suffers. People become concerned with hurting one another's feelings and don't point out those things that become primary causes for not succeeding. Conversely, if the group is not a gathering of friends, the sense of community is often lost, individuals may end up feeling alienated and the whole thing crumbles. A large group could potentially overcome some of the disadvantages of everyone being friends, but it becomes difficult to assemble when everyone in the group is required to contribute every time.
There are, of course, probably many other sites dedicated to posting and critiquing work. Some likely encounter the problems relating to their vast size such as alienating their participants, the problem of posting work and having it get lost in the sea of other postings never to be critiqued, or the dilemmas posed by setting no standards for who is to participate. So the conception of this site seeks to balance the strengths of many of the above scenarios while eliminating their failings as much as possible.
The solution, it is hoped, is quasi-anonymity.
Having this forum as a website took care of a few problems. The site is always there so everyone can participate whenever they have the time even if there are twenty people working on it. This will hopefully maintain the sense of community that helps impel people to write. It also means that the members can be anywhere instead of all in the same city (…like, say, Portland).
Having this as a website with limited access took care of a few other problems. You can submit whatever writings you might entrust to the other members without worrying too much about anyone else reading it. More importantly, it means that the obligations to the site (see "The Rules") must be fulfilled because the threat of being kicked out for failing to meet those obligations is very real.
But the true strength of the site comes from the quasi-anonymity it employs. Simply put, it is not the intention of this site to foster a group of best friends. A major factor in making this site an effective tool is that each member will not know about three quarters (maybe all) of the other members except as fellow members. This is not to say that they will remain completely alien to you. Over time, each identity as presented through the site will become familiar and, in some cases, even valued. But the nature of your relationship to them will always be through the context of the site, so the primary concern is always for each other's writing. This idea has been likened to a bunch of people around a coffee table with paper bags over their heads pushing notebooks at one another.
In this way, all members can consistently generate genuine criticism for the writing. There is no incentive to soften what may need to be said because you'll have to hear the other person pout over lunch for the next week or because they are your sister's boyfriend and so on. You are there to provide them with the best objective criticism you can; they are there to do the same for you. Each member will likely receive some criticism they dislike or feel is in error. The format of the site is such that it is very simple for any member to respond to the criticism as well as to the initial work. There is also be a separate posting board for general conversation. Ultimately, though, the main purpose while participating in this site is to provide the most objective criticism possible so that the members will want to continue writing for the site to give and receive such criticism.
The quasi-anonymity thing also works its way into writing. It is secondary, but may end up being an important element, as well. While the idea of this site was still in its early stages, a conversation arose regarding the ethics of pseudonyms. Although neither party will admit they were swayed, what resulted was the addition of a feature to the site allowing for the use of a pen name. It was agreed that, whatever you may feel about the duplicity or authenticity of writing under a pen name, if the author is previously known by their readers, their subsequent work is tinged by said previous work. The "established name" aspect of this is nice for cultivating a reader-base when you are publishing, but limits the degree of experimentation allowed to you by your audience. Of course, each member is starting out as an amateur and probably possesses little if anything of a reader-base. But as submissions are offered up to fellow members of the site, those members will similarly become acclimated to an author's style of writing and naturally begin fitting the individual works into the concept of a greater body of work. As amateurs, this can pose a problem if a type or style is being assigned to you when one is not yet desired. In fact, it can be extraordinarily limiting. Therefore, a way has been developed whereby writing will be counted toward your periodic contribution (again, see "The Rules") regardless of what name the work is posted under. Effectively, for those members who wish to, a couple of different pen-names may be used depending on what style they choose to write in or perhaps a different name will be given for each and every piece. This will hopefully encourage not only more writing, but different writing by the members.
Although there is strength in quasi-anonymity, pure anonymity would have drawbacks. The site is also designed to get its members to simply write. Many who want to write have difficulty sitting down and doing so. It is as if they need to provide their mind with some excuse to do it. This site is also meant to be that excuse when needed. There will undoubtedly be times when writing becomes too much of a task to consider bothering with. This tends to trigger a dearth of creative output and this site operates on the philosophy that a writer needs to be writing regularly to become better - even when they don't entirely want to. If the site were purely anonymous, there would be no sense of community and the members would eventually cease to care whether or not they remain a part of it. This way, the members know most of the others as a community of identities presented within the context of the site, but only in that context - not as friends. If a member comes to respect some or many of those identities and considers them a part of their own development as writers, the threat of being removed from the site suddenly has very real consequences.
Basically, this site is for amatuer writers who want to write more than they have been, write better than they have been and receive more objective criticism than they feel their face-to-face friends might be able to offer. It is meant to be kept relatively small and, in that sense, personal, but removed enough to allow for real criticism. And above all, it is meant to be constructive.
If, after reading through the above descriptions and The Rules (on the adjoining page), you feel our philosophies appeal to you and want to be a part of this format, please let us know by emailing us at the_management@shotgunmuse.com .
-The Management