i'll have to investigate whether we can alter that...some of those templates are set by XF
Suggestions and ideas
- Thread starter big soft moose
- Start date
OK, so when we come to the competitions, may I suggest for the short story and flash competitions, we change the lengths to 1000 for flash and 7500 for shorts, to match the limits of most venues? I know 7500 is long, but if you enter something that long and no-one reads it... that's something you need to take into account.
Also, how about a Storytelling subforum under Writing Craft, when we get round to it? Lots of forums and courses have writing advice on how to build worlds, characters or plot etc. But few places teach people how to actually tell a story, how to make it compelling and engaging. I'm not sure how much advice one can give here, but it's a thought.
Also, how about a Storytelling subforum under Writing Craft, when we get round to it? Lots of forums and courses have writing advice on how to build worlds, characters or plot etc. But few places teach people how to actually tell a story, how to make it compelling and engaging. I'm not sure how much advice one can give here, but it's a thought.
Well, what about we add 'Ernest' to the Icons? What if he's the Cowboy Emoji?
Because when used, he shows up with beer for you. 
(I did also wonder about the beer emoji and age.) But yeah, I think commemorating Ernest as an Emoji (who bring you beer) is an awesome idea.
Maybe we could take a poll? Personally, I prefer the shorter lengths
I started writing Flash to a 666 word limit, but I kinda like the 500 from the old forum. I'm verbose, so imposed discipline* helps.
*spank me daddy!
I suggested the longer lengths just so that it matches publisher standards. It's a maximum, not a recommended, so everyone can, of course, post shorter work. The sweet spot for shorts is still 2500-4000.
I'd also suggest the same limits for the workshops.
Of course, a 7500 story is long for a forum and I dunno if the software will allow posts of that length. If not, 5000 words is still good.
How about a microfiction (100 word) comp as well?
The longer length may scare away potential readers and voters.
This is something that might fit in the proposed Members Writing Challenges forum
My thinking is that, if publishers want it, it doesn't hurt to allow it. Most stories don't even reach the 5000 word limit in any case. Maybe a note saying 3000-4000 is the recommended word length?
I would even go with making this the maximum length
Would probably cut me out from participating in most of them though.
Maybe this discussion should have its own thread before the new comps are established, so it doesn't dominate here and stop people from posting other ideas and suggestions.
This is not my comfort zone, took me half an hour to adopt profile pick and discover, then rediscover, how to edit my profile, but there's a bunch of ticks you can untick for notifications and emails regarding posts to threads on which you've posted, separated into threads you started and threads you just joined. I imagine you can untick them all as standard, then choose where you want notifications therafter.
I know, I have to do whenever I join up on a new forum, then if I forget, my inbox gets flooded.
All you need to do is hit reply on the posts you want to reply to with your cursor where you want to quote to appear. You can be mid post and insert quotes. It's pretty intuitive I think.
Yep. The new forum is like the old one because it uses the same software. But it uses the updated version. So it's probably a hundred times better!
Sorry, I haven't read through the other suggestions and ideas above, but I have a request based on my experiences on other sites.
Personally, I like a clean interface with less sub-forums for different genres so that traffic and help are not dispersed. Ie. I have come across many inactive and dead pages because a romance wrote in the romance sub-forum for the workshop and getting zero replies, zero views looks bad for the site and those who look to seek help. Even generalized help is better can encourage writers to continue to learn and also show support to others.
Personally, I like a clean interface with less sub-forums for different genres so that traffic and help are not dispersed. Ie. I have come across many inactive and dead pages because a romance wrote in the romance sub-forum for the workshop and getting zero replies, zero views looks bad for the site and those who look to seek help. Even generalized help is better can encourage writers to continue to learn and also show support to others.
Have you tried using the New Posts page instead? (What's new -> New posts, or just What's New)
