What's this forum for?
Getting feedback, giving critique, and kickin' ass. You're in the right place if you're looking for:
- Draft feedback before a mainsite post (just post the sandbox link, possibly a short description of what you're looking for and you'll be good)
- A place to give feedback on others' draft (or even just look at how other drafts are being reviewed)
- Somewhere to talk about your draft (don't be afraid to talk to critics if you just want to make sure you're on the right track.)
- Help regarding specific parts of your draft (feel free to mention concerns about readability, conceptualization, etc. you have that you'd like the reviewers to pay attention to when reviewing)
Tips, tricks, and more!
The comprehensive Rules and Guidelines for this forum, written by Aelanna, can be found here. If you’re not familiar with the rules/expected behavior, read this before you post!
For the Writers
- I've got a draft! Time to chuck it onto the forums? Make sure you've got a sandbox page! Don't post your draft directly into the forums. Also, spell check. If your draft has a ton of grammatical and spelling errors, fewer people will bother to review it.
- I made a change to my draft! Time to tell everyone? Only major changes warrant an update. You don't need to post every time you fix some typos. Try to fix everything your reviewers tell you about before you let people know you've got an edited version up for new eyes.
- No one's posting! Can I bump? No. That's spammy. The forums tend to move slowly. Try the IRC chatroom for real-time feedback.
- I can't get to chat! And people still aren't posting! You can message a staff member and ask them to direct chat attention to your thread. People who are currently on chat/online will be asked to post on your thread.
- I don't understand how to fix something… Someone bring up a problem that you don't know how to fix? Talk to them about it! Talk to someone else about it! Talk!
- Someone was mean to me! I'm new and it's not fair! Talk to a staff member, and they'll take care of it. Do not make personal attacks or call out the person yourself. Keep in mind that most writers here have college-level or above writing experience, and the standards are set very high for quality work here. The site's a tough place to get started in, so make sure you've read the How to Write an SCP Guide before you dive in.
- Can I ask for help on my own work in someone else's thread? Don't. As common courtesy, threads should focus on the work of the original poster. Rather than asking someone in their own help thread if they can review your thread, send them a wikidot message.
For the Reviewers
- Make sure you're saying something. Whether your post is short, long, or whatever, remember to actually give an opinion on the draft as a whole.
- Explain your criticisms. If you have a problem with a draft, tell the author why you don't like it. Suggest a way to improve it.
- You're not obligated to be sugary sweet. But you are obligated to be helpful. Try pointing out specific examples of things you liked or things that need work. If you're going to direct someone to a guide, try telling them which section in particular they should read.
Many thanks to Azzleflux for his work on this.
And of course, if there are any other questions, feel free to post here or PM me (Zyn). Happy forum-ing!