Hey Cal, your avatar seems awfully big. I thought the max was 80x80 pixels?

The last post was a touch off topic, and random. I will admit I have been wondering the same thing.

I don't know, being open to all styles is important and I understand you want the forum to be open, and it is. However, despite fan fiction being a type of writing, but it is extremely unprofessional, and often badly done.
BUT that is simply my take. Which is always a bit different than most.

Hmm. Well, maybe I'll replace it's mention with something else. They can just find it when they get here.

It is bigger than 80x80. It is, in fact, 180X180. Does that bother you?

And Trampstamp, please remember that not ALL fanfiction sucks. Admittedly, a lot of it does, but it is a nice way to start writing, I think.

No, not really.

Have you already done the fliers? I would recommend to post online instead of fliers in the street or so. I mean, maybe inside some campus you may actually find a fair number of writers, either people who do it (or plan to do it) in a professional way, or people like me, who do it because it is fun, and would be more than willing to participate on something like that.

I am sorry, but I am a mathematician, and in particular an analyst, so, I tend to analyze everything. How many people around you do you know that write stories? And I don't mean people you know through the web, but people you know personally, who you have talked face to face? 10? 5? 2? I would be surprised if you tell me that is more than that. And if you think about it, you probably have met a couple of thousand people. Why would it be different if you post fliers somewhere? I mean, probably just one out of every hundred or so of the people who picks a flier would actually sign up for the forum, and further more, probably just one of every twenty that actually sign up will become active members, so, you will be probably waisting 1999 out of every 2000 fliers.

Now, on the other hand, it may be way cheaper (probably even free) if you just look in yahoo groups or some other groups like that (that are mostly email based, instead of an online forum) and ask the moderator to post some ad in those lists, indeed, you may ask for permission to post once every month or so.

I am including some groups that could be a good start point.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Beta_Readers/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NovelMent ... g_Warmups/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/practicing-writer/

I hope this helps.

David's plan makes a bit more sense, at least from an environmental standpoint.

Indeed, but I don't think anyone on those groups are looking to join a new forum if they already have one there.

One out of a hundred is still more than what we're getting now. I still want to put my fliers up at the local pool, coffee shops, grocery stores and high schools.. if not around town. I know it seems futile, but it seems like a good way to get local people interested.. local people who may have a few friends to recommend.

Well, it depends on the kind of list it is. I am certain that on those three email lists I suggested, there will be at least a few people willing to join, as neither of those is a forum properly speaking.

Beta Readers: It is a community where writers look for... well, beta readers, those people who read your first and second (and sometimes third) drafts. It's not actually a discussion forum for writers.

Novel Mentor Writing Warm Ups: It is a group where you post a story a day (if you are among the more active) or whenever you want to, but it has to contain a dayly phrase that the moderator publishes... so again, it is not a discussion forum.

Practicing writer: This one is indeed a newsletter for people who want to get to know projects, competitons, etc. So, as you see, this indeed could be a great starting point.

Now, these are the ones I know because I belong to each one of them, but I am sure there should be many other around. Again, probably you are right, that if someone has a discussion list, they may not be totally thrill about joining an online forum, but a lot less than half of the list out there are general discussion lists about some topic.

Do you think we should have a few of those sorts of ideas incorporated here? I think they'd do well, actually.

Why not! Though, I suggest to wait a while, at least to a moment when there are more users around, so, things as the Warm Ups have some sence. About the beta readers, well, I suppose we may have a subforum to ask for such kind of services among us, but that implies somebody already has something that wants proofread! The newsletter... I don't think that it's a good idea for us now.

If we wait to have at least more than a hundred users, I volunteer myself to handle the Warm Ups.

Okay. I really like the idea of warm ups and beta readers.

Do you know if you can set up a section (like this of Suggestion and Comments) where only the moderator can post new topics, but anyone can post replies to the topics? If so, I would be glad to start with the warm ups whenever you want!

Ups! I didn't see you had already set up the section. Do you know if you can set it up so that only I can post a topic. The idea of the warm ups is that the moderator writes a topic to write a short story, or a sentence that has to be contained within the story, and everything else is free, so, I think that every thread would be a topic or sentence, and people would write on that topic... so, it would be better if only the person in charge can start threads (new topics)

I'll look in to it.