Holly Lisle’s Writers’ Boot Camp Community Membership
The following are the terms and conditions of membership in the Boot Camp Community. In order to be a member of this community, you must agree to and abide by these terms.
General Posting
You own your own words. That means that you and you alone are responsible for the content of your posts and any consequences of those posts. With that in mind:
- Treat others with courtesy and respect.
- Don’t ask for location, age or other personal information to or about another member of the site.
- Discuss issues, but do not point fingers. “That is a stupid idea,” is an acceptable post, though perhaps not a particularly well-thought-out one. “You are a stupid person,” will result in me or a moderator removing your post without warning. People who use name-calling, harassment, or abusive language toward other members will be removed from the boards.
- Do not leap into the flames. If you see an inappropriate post, DO NOT RESPOND TO IT. Notify a moderator about the post and the moderator or I will deal with it. Do not respond to it — the only effect that will have is that your post, too, no matter how erudite and well-thought-out, will vanish with it.
- If you wish to discuss in a reasoned manner something that is going down in flames elsewhere, do so in a separate post with a similar title. That way people will be able to find your post, but it won’t be deleted or get you into trouble on the boards.
- This is a forum for very specifically targeted paid writing courses, not a general writing community. I will strictly enforce standards of behavior here because students are paying to be here, and all students have the equal right to enjoy civil, intelligent, and well-thought-out discussion free from harassment, hostility, and personal attacks.
- While some discussions may drift into esoteric areas of writing, certain topics may ONLY be discussed impersonally from a research perspective, and without personal interest or bias. These subjects are politics and religion.
EXAMPLE: You may ask a research question regarding the tenets or platforms of various religions or political organizations, and other students familiar with those organizations may post objective information answering your question, without offering opinions about the value of the organization.
- You may not ask another member what religion or political party he belongs to, nor may you in any way proselytize for your own.
Workgroups
Your goal in any workgroup topic is to learn how to refine your own work, or to discuss ways in which you have done so that may prove useful to other writers.
Workgroups are as much for brainstorming as they are for getting feedback on work in progress. While you can send sections of your work to fellow students via PM if you choose and they agree, DO NOT post actual work to workgroups. Use them to discuss the problems you’re having, and to find folk who are working through the same problems you are and who would like to exchange crits.
If you request comments or crits, give them in return. Crits are given on a one-for-one basis as value for value, and you and the person with whom you are exchanging crits must determine what each of you will consider and acceptable exchange beforehand.
Giving A Crit
- Critique the writing, never the writer.
- Never say, “You are…” or “You should…”
Instead say, “The writing is…” or “The story should…” - Find what is right in each piece as well as what is wrong.
- Critique the story as it is, not as it would be if you were to write it.
- Remember that subject matter is personal. You don’t have to like a project to give it an objective critique.
- Remember what your biases are and comment around them.
- Remember that you are judging the product of another human being’s mind and creativity. You are not dealing with pixels on a screen. You are dealing with a person. Be objective.
Things you may not say while critiquing.
“That’s awful.”
“That’s stupid.”
“You couldn’t write your way out of a paper bag.”
Receiving A Crit
- Read your critiques carefully. The person who has written them has taken the time to study your project, and wants to help you find ways to make it better.
- Explain only if necessary. Don’t rebut.
- Be willing to make changes. (It’s great practice for working with editors). Conversely, don’t change anything you feel must remain in order to make the story yours.
- If you are here, I assume and your fellow students assume that you serious about learning to improve your work, whether you want to be published or not. Don’t join use workgroups if you are not interested in trading work for work, or in hearing what problems other students find in your work.
Things you may not say when being critiqued.
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries.”
Forum Membership Is A Privilege, NOT A Right
I reserve the right as the site owner to remove any student from the boards for any reason.
You can be warned, or banned temporarily or permanently. I hate having to take drastic measures, but I won’t permit individual students who cause problems to ruin the course experience for those who don’t. If you value your access to the boards, please remember why you are taking your course or courses and what you hope to accomplish from learning the skills you’ll learn here, and behave accordingly.
So with that in mind, have fun and write with joy. You are among those who love what you love.
Legal Issues
Broadly, don’t do anything illegal in here or your board access will be revoked. More specifically:
Respect people. Don’t harass, stalk or verbally abuse anyone.
Respect the law. Do not use these forums for the illegal sale, purchase, or exchange of any form of contraband.
Respect copyrights. Don’t post anything for which you don’t own copyright, and don’t copy anything for which you don’t own copyright.
Holly Lisle
Site Owner
Date: 12/9/2011