# What do writers most want or need?



## Black Dragon (Oct 22, 2011)

We're always trying to improve Mythic Scribes in new and creative ways.  We want this site to become something far greater than just a writing forum.

In doing so, it's helpful for us to think outside the box.  Your ideas and suggestions play a vital role in this process.  So here's the big question for you:

What do you, as a writer, most want or need?


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Oct 22, 2011)

Well, I really just use the forums, so all my "wants" are about that; please forgive me if that's not the kind of suggestions you're looking for, but that's all I've got.

I'd like it if when I log into the site through Facebook, the site would leave me logged in for more than an hour. I typically leave my browser open for weeks and come back to the site ~3 times a day to check new posts. Having to go through the login rigmarole each time is a little tiresome. (It's not a huge deal, just inconvenient.) Also, it would be cool if it was possible to configure "New Posts" to ignore certain sub-forums, e.g. if I don't want to see any posts from the (for example) "Introductions" forum.


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## Amanita (Oct 22, 2011)

I really like the side the way it is. 
And think that it's one of the best fantasy-writing forums out there. Seriously. 



> Also, it would be cool if it was possible to configure "New Posts" to ignore certain sub-forums, e.g. if I don't want to see any posts from the (for example) "Introductions" forum.


I'd like to have this too. 

Something else that might be helpful: The "Writing questions" forum could be divided into a sub-forum for general discussions such as "What makes a good villain" and one for author-specific questions such as "Is it realistic that this character does X when Y happens."


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## Lord Darkstorm (Oct 23, 2011)

What I like is being in a place with other writers.  I think the best thing going for the site is that it is clean (not overly complex to get around).  Well, and the nice people who are here as well.

While there might be more things people might want, you have a lot already.


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## Devor (Oct 23, 2011)

I've only been on these forums a few times now, but something I've noticed is that people feel very protective of their ideas and sometimes only share broad details about what they're actually doing.  I think, as someone who is aspiring to be a writer, that what I really need is a place to feel comfortable about sharing even some of the most specific details I'm working on.  I find that when I'm faced with actually presenting my ideas to someone I will suddenly see things in an entirely different light - before they even react.  Being able to share with people who've been thinking about similar ideas would be immensely helpful, regardless of their input, if only I and they weren't so scared of having their ideas stolen.

So that to me is the problem that you should work on.  I'm not sure how.


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## Black Dragon (Oct 23, 2011)

Thank you everyone for the feedback thus far.  

We'll see what can be done regarding the Facebook login and the new posts.  There are certain limitations to the software that we have to work within.



> Being able to share with people who've been thinking about similar  ideas would be immensely helpful, regardless of their input, if only I  and they weren't so scared of having their ideas stolen.



Hmm...  I suppose that the problem is this: the possibility of having your ideas stolen is a real one, and I'm not sure that there is any foolproof way to eliminate that.  So yeah, we all keep our best ideas to ourselves.  I know that I do.  

What about entering into a collaboration with another writer on a joint project?  Perhaps under such circumstances people would be more willing to share, since they are working together on a common story.  We have toyed with the idea of creating a mechanism or a forum for matching people up with potential collaborators.  But is that something that people really want?

Also, would people be interested in creating a novel as a group collaboration at some point?

Keep these ideas coming, folks.  You never know what may spark someone's imagination, and lead to the next big idea.

Also, don't limit your responses to issues related to the forum or the blog...  or even the internet, per se.  We want to think outside of the box.  So let us know what you would most want or need as a writer, even if you weren't using the internet.


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## Elder the Dwarf (Oct 23, 2011)

Black Dragon said:


> We have toyed with the idea of creating a mechanism or a forum for matching people up with potential collaborators.  But is that something that people really want?
> 
> Also, would people be interested in creating a novel as a group collaboration at some point?


Yes and definitely yes.  I think I would do much better on a collaborative work, but as I don't know anybody that would be interested in the thing (also, I'm a closet writer at the moment.  If I published something today, I wouldn't tell anybody in my every day life).  However, for me to collaborate in something with another author, I'd have to at least finish something good myself first, because as of yet I don't trust my writing ability completely and I can't see why someone else who considers themselves a legitimate author would trust it.  In the event of a group collaboration, I would love to participate and play at least a minor role.  I may not end up deserving co-authorship, but a mention in the credits perhaps.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Oct 23, 2011)

What about workgroups?  I actually was part of one earlier when I started writing.  It did quite a bit for me.  Having a smaller group that can interact and help each other, and maybe someone more experienced to help push them along?


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Oct 23, 2011)

Black Dragon said:


> We'll see what can be done regarding the Facebook login and the new posts.  There are certain limitations to the software that we have to work within.



Fair enough. I'm a web programmer by day, so I'm well aware of the kinds of limitations you mean. ;-) That said, I would imagine that the login timeout is probably a single config variable that can be changed somewhere.



> Hmm...  I suppose that the problem is this: the possibility of having your ideas stolen is a real one, and I'm not sure that there is any foolproof way to eliminate that.  So yeah, we all keep our best ideas to ourselves.  I know that I do.



I'm less concerned about this, I think, because frankly, story and character and world-building ideas are a dime a dozen. It's the hard work of creating a story, characters, and world that are consistent and _interesting_ that has value. Think about it this way: If you'd said "boy wizard goes to magic school" to any number of writers in the early 1990s, how many of them would have come up with something a tenth as interesting as Harry Potter? You could even have tossed a whole bunch of plot points and character biographies at them, and most people still wouldn't be able to knit it into anything nearly as well as Rowling did.


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## Codey Amprim (Oct 24, 2011)

Edit: In answer to your question, I would say: "A useful, and valuable education." Why else have we come to this forum? *To learn from each other.*

Here's an idea: An Online Fantasy Writing Academy. Throw Mythic Scribes in the mix and you've got yourself something quite nice, something I'd like to partake in. Could the site offer something like this? Maybe a collaborative effort amongst the members, especially with dealing with guidelines?

This may be a bit on the large scale, but it would definitely be something unique. My university barely offers anything fiction, but its the closest and most convienient for my situation. A college all about fiction, primarily fantasy-fiction... could open some doors.

Thoughts?


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## Ghost (Oct 24, 2011)

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> Also, it would be cool if it was possible to configure "New Posts" to ignore certain sub-forums, e.g. if I don't want to see any posts from the (for example) "Introductions" forum.





Amanita said:


> Something else that might be helpful: The "Writing questions" forum could be divided into a sub-forum for general discussions such as "What makes a good villain" and one for author-specific questions such as "Is it realistic that this character does X when Y happens."



I like these two ideas.



Devor said:


> So that to me is the problem that you should work on.  I'm not sure how.



We have groups, so it would be awesome if there was an option to make group discussions private for group members and moderators only. That way, if you like someone's attitude, you can invite them to your group and talk about ideas you don't feel comfortable discussing openly. I'm not sure how easy that is to implement, but it doesn't make sense to me to have separate work groups, friend groups, and private forums. Just categorize them differently and use the same tools so the site doesn't get cluttered.

What I'd like for the forum is more users to bounce ideas off of. I know you guys are already working on that, so I'm content.


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## Devor (Oct 24, 2011)

Ouroboros said:


> We have groups, so it would be awesome if there was an option to make group discussions private for group members and moderators only. That way, if you like someone's attitude, you can invite them to your group and talk about ideas you don't feel comfortable discussing openly.



That sounds like a good start, almost like it should be a given.

I think another idea would be to certify certain members as kind of "top contributors," people who share a lot of good and creative ideas with the community and might be given access to a special forum for sharing specific ideas to people who vow to help improve them instead of steal them.  I think if there was a subcommunity of people who are more open and trustworthy it would help to motivate people into being a little more open in asking for input.


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## Codey Amprim (Oct 24, 2011)

Another idea (I'm not sure if posting more than one idea on this thread would be appropriate) would for all leading members of the forum/site collaborate on making a Fantasy Writing Guide. I have two already, and they are helpful, but some of the content is either useless for me or is lacking just that extra umph.

I think it would be a great idea, let alone a great start for some of us. PLUS, and the best part, is that it would contribute to our community.

Again, just a thought, but I think that'd be great. This can easily be elaborated, but for time's sake I'm keeping it brief.


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## Devor (Oct 24, 2011)

Here's an idea - and I'm sorry if I'm overposting or overstepping - but I think sometimes people come looking for inspiration.  I know there's work on the Mythic Scribes Archipelago, and I think it would be great if it could be expanded and viewed from different angles.  For instance, right now there's post upon post of the different countries and islands in the Archipelago.  I think it would be better if there were one post about the nations - where each reply is a different nation, and they follow a certain template structure - and then another post about characters or organizations or magic systems.  That way, if I am looking for inspiration about characters, I can pull up the Archipelago post and read two dozen very different character entries.  Or I can read about a dozen different nations while skimming through one post, or then magic systems.

Without meaning offense, I think that would be more helpful to a writer than the nation-by-nation structure in place now.


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## Ghost (Oct 24, 2011)

Devor said:


> a special forum for sharing specific ideas to people who vow to help improve them instead of steal them.



Heh, I know it's stupid to be paranoid that someone will steal my concepts, especially since that person wouldn't come up with the same treatment and my ideas aren't that good to begin with, but I've seen people on this forum say they're going to use another poster's idea. It boggles my mind. It seems like a rude to do. At least they're honest about it? lol

Perhaps it could be put in the rules that people shouldn't poach other people's ideas unless they ask for permission. I'm not talking about threads where people brainstorm to help a poster solve a problem, but the ones where we share details about our stories. It's one thing if an idea inspires you to do a different take on it, but it's another thing to take a very specific idea just because it was, like, so totally cool. I'm sure making it against the rules wouldn't deter some people, but I'd still like to see it there.


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## MichaelSullivan (Oct 25, 2011)

I think the site is very well organized. My only suggestion is to add a top level folder for "Writing Tips". (Similar to World Building). I have a ton of information I could post along those lines but really don't know where best to put them.


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## Johnny Cosmo (Oct 25, 2011)

I think streamlining would help encourage focused activity and strengthen the community. It's probably a controversial idea, to cut forums, but some could be combined. 

There are other ways to strengthen the community. A platform for collaboration and chat spring to mind, but these are things that have been discussed (and each have complications).


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## Legendary Sidekick (Oct 26, 2011)

Lord Darkstorm said:


> I think the best thing going for the site is that it is clean (not overly complex to get around).


I'm new here, but I strongly agree with this^.

I used to spend a lot of time posting to writers' forums on a self-publishing site (which I'll leave unnamed), until changes were made and the site became a chore to navigate. I decided to join here because the forums are easy to navigate, not cluttered with cutesy GUI... yeah, like Lord Darkstorm said, the site is clean.


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## myrddin173 (Oct 26, 2011)

Devor said:


> Here's an idea - and I'm sorry if I'm overposting or overstepping - but I think sometimes people come looking for inspiration.  I know there's work on the Mythic Scribes Archipelago, and I think it would be great if it could be expanded and viewed from different angles.  For instance, right now there's post upon post of the different countries and islands in the Archipelago.  I think it would be better if there were one post about the nations - where each reply is a different nation, and they follow a certain template structure - and then another post about characters or organizations or magic systems.  That way, if I am looking for inspiration about characters, I can pull up the Archipelago post and read two dozen very different character entries.  Or I can read about a dozen different nations while skimming through one post, or then magic systems.
> 
> Without meaning offense, I think that would be more helpful to a writer than the nation-by-nation structure in place now.



This was done deliberately.  Different people work on different things in different orders.  Also since posts due of have a character limit it would eventually lead to posts of the same island being separated.  Eventually, once the Archipelago is significantly fleshed out, we (or at least I) hope to have a wiki of the information to make it more easily accessible.  By the way it has been decided that the Archipelago is low-magic so there are no magic systems to speak of.


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## Devor (Oct 27, 2011)

myrddin173 said:


> This was done deliberately...



Let me put it another way, since I think the point was lost, and fairly so, because I mentioned the Archipelago, a work already in progress.

As someone aspiring to be a writer, what I think would be useful to me is, if I'm struggling with characters, to sit and read through a post where every reply is a radically different character.  Or if I'm struggling with countries, to read a post where every reply is a very different kind of nation.  Or the same with magic systems, religions, governments, organizations, or heck, shop keepers.  It would help to see what others are doing to figure out something for yourself.

Of course there's a fine line between inspiration and theft, so it wouldn't do to have the characters and nations and religions be from our own worlds.  Nobody would contribute.  So unless we were going to type up sample characters from our favorite published authors (a viable thought?), it would be best to do it with some kind of shared world project.

When I was thinking about it, I didn't start with the Archipelago and say "Hey, that's not right!  You should do it this way!"  Rather I inserted here, and this time I'll leave it out.

What we could do is draw up a blank map with round edges and lots of space, tack it to a grid of some kind, and run a contest to have people fill it in with their own nations.  Then you could run the contest again and have people create organizations, characters and the like, possibly adding the twist that it has to build upon someone else's nation.  A few people who already work well together could put the pieces together and smooth out any conflicts.

And if the contest involved filling out a simple template (edit, I only mean subheadings and a font hierarchy), and the entries were posted in a single thread (with a separate thread for voting), it would make it a smooth and useful read for newcomers looking to flush out their ideas.  And each thread could by itself be heralded as a worthwhile contribution to the mythicscribe community.

Just some thoughts.


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## Hans (Dec 3, 2011)

Maybe there could be something like a forum digest, a place where the best or links to the best postings are collected?
There have been some very useful posts on various subjects, but they are not easy to find. It would be a pity if these are buried somewhere below lots of other posts.
Of course that would need someone to decide what a good posting is.


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## Erica (Dec 5, 2011)

Maybe a place outside of the actual forums to post stories members have written or are working on and need critique on. It's always fun to see what other people are working on, and it can be valuable to get feedback from readers.


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## Kelise (Dec 5, 2011)

Erica said:


> Maybe a place outside of the actual forums to post stories members have written or are working on and need critique on. It's always fun to see what other people are working on, and it can be valuable to get feedback from readers.



Do you mean other than the Showcase section of the forums? If so, how would it differ or what would you like it to include?


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## Philip Overby (Dec 5, 2011)

I like the idea that someone else mentioned of having a "Writing Tips" section.  From what I understand, most of the writers here are amateur and probably come here to talk to other writers.  It would be good to have a forum to share ideas about what works and what doesn't work.  Some stuff I'd like:

1.  Advice or links from pro writers or blogs  
2.  Writing books that helped you out.  
3.  Good habits in writing.
4.  Exercises/games that help .

Maybe stuff like that?

Another thing I loved about one site I used to go to was a place to share flash fiction.  Most of what people work on here in the Showcase section is longer novels or stories.  I always find flash fiction is fun to write, easy to read, and can help spawn larger ideas.  I wouldn't mind sharing stuff if I thought other people were interested in sharing short stories I could read in one quick sitting.


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