View Full Version : The 2010 Literature Update
I mentioned in a few other posts that I've (re)started work on creating a much better system for submitting and critiquing literature. My last attempt fell apart for various reasons. This time, I'm building it from the ground-up, and I'd like it to fix all the suggestions which members have raised in the past.
I'll be using this thread to show updates to demonstrate what's to come. All of these features are works-in-progress.
Don't expect updates to come quickly. This will be the most ambitious project I've ever started for the site. I'd rather do it slowly and get it done right.
The first feature I want to introduce is Collections. These will be like folders that you can use to group related submissions together, for easy access. A feature like this has been suggested by members in the past.
Creating a Collection is easy. Just like creating a thread, you can give a Collection a name and description:
http://i40.tinypic.com/zsu5mq.jpg
You will be able to have multiple Collections. Each member will have a page that lists all the ones they've created:
http://i44.tinypic.com/zmf89j.jpg
Clicking a member's Collection will list all the submissions they've added to it.
http://i43.tinypic.com/i5p4yx.jpg
More to come!
This update came much faster than I expected.
The new Literature forum will be much simpler than the current one. 15 sections have been simplified to seven:
Short Stories
Novels and Novellas
Poetry and Lyrics
Reports and Essays
Scripts
Other/Experimental Writing
Art and Photography
http://i42.tinypic.com/flkrjm.jpg
Members-only sections are no longer necessary. When submitting something, you will choose whether or not you want it visible to the public (for every single section). This means, for example, that all short stories will now be displayed in the same list - the only difference being that members-only stories will be hidden from guests.
Fantastic and Realistic submissions will also be displayed in the same list. When submitting something, you will be able to select its genre. This genre will be visible in the literature lists, similar how it was shown in the previous update (http://i43.tinypic.com/i5p4yx.jpg).
If there comes a time when there's so much literature that seven sections is not enough, it will be very easy to split those sections by genre.
Time for a little update.
When submitting literature, you'll be able to use a new feature called "Paste From Word". This feature allows you to copy and paste text from Microsoft Word into your submission box.
http://i40.tinypic.com/34zwodi.jpg
Unlike our current Literature forums, it will preserve the text formatting:
http://i41.tinypic.com/5eybn8.jpg
For now, it only preserves bold, italic, and underlined text, making it handy if your submission is full of characters who like to think in italics. Unfortunately, it does not preserve color (at least, not on my version of Word), but I will try to add that functionality.
Quietus
04-15-2010, 12:45 AM
I'd like to say that these updates seem like they'll be very helpful, and make things much less complicated, especially chapter postings.
One question though, with the new "Paste From Word" feature, is that any word processor or just Word?
For now, only Word, though I will certainly be looking for others.
This editor can also accept some simple HTML. So if you export your document as a web page, you may be able to transfer its formatting that way.
Just a bump to let you know this is still my #1 priority on the site.
Exam week is coming up, so this thread's not going to have any updates for a little while.
Quick update on Collections.
I added a preview button so you can see what it looks like before you create it. Also added the ability to sort whatever submissions you add to it.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2vskbyp.jpg
Majyk
05-22-2010, 10:24 PM
I really like the idea of collections. Quick question on them: Will we be able to move chapters that we have already posted (or post before the update is complete) into a folder? Or will it be only for the threads that we submit afterwards?
I really like the idea of collections. Quick question on them: Will we be able to move chapters that we have already posted (or post before the update is complete) into a folder? Or will it be only for the threads that we submit afterwards?
Not sure yet. The update will completely detatch itself from our current post/thread system so that it won't be affected by future vbulletin updates.
On the other hand, I might make a converter, so you could type in a thread number and create a submission that's an exact copy, which itself could be added to a collection.
Amour
05-23-2010, 06:36 PM
Wondering if anyone else thinks poetry and lyrics shouldn't be put together, unless there's two separate subboards or something?
Poetry and Lyrics will have their own queues. They'll be separate.
Today I'll show you how you'll submit literature once the update is done. As you'll see, it's gone through a lot of changes.
http://i46.tinypic.com/2qnnu4h.jpg
First, you choose the title. Nothing new there.
After that, you'll select the Queue - or category. As you can see, this one page will be used for submitting ALL writing. You won't have to go to a particular forum anymore. Next to each option is the number of credits/point you need. If you don't have enough, you won't be able to select it.
Once you choose a queue, you'll be able to choose the Genre. The neat thing is that the Genre menu will change depending on what Queue you choose. If you selected Short Stories, for example, you'll have these Genres:
http://i49.tinypic.com/2v2jiuc.jpg
You can see the current Genre list here. If you can suggest any improvements, please do:
Short Story,Novel/Novella, Scripts
Action/Adventure
Biography
Children's
Comedy
Crime/Mystery
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Mainstream
Romance
Science Fiction
Speculative
Other
Poetry
Dramatic (drama as poetry)
Epic (lengthy narrative poem)
Lyric (rhythmic, emotion and thought)
Narrative (tells a story)
Prose (poetry written as prose)
Satirical (insults in verse)
Other
Reports and Essays
Research (lots of cited information)
Informative (tells reader about a topic)
Persuasive (take a side and defend it)
Reflection/Commentary (interpretation)
Critical Analysis (critique of something)
Other
Other/Experimental Writing
Scribbling (trying to get ideas)
Experimental (for writing outside the box)
Other
Art/Photography
Painting
Drawing
Sketch
Computer-Generated
Photography
Other
Music and Lyrics
Blues
Country
Electro
Folk
Hip-Hop
Jazz
Metal
Pop
Punk
R&B
Rap
Rock
Other
Next is the Subgenre. If your submission spans multiple genres, or if you chose "Other", you can specify it here.
Collection: If you have any collections, which were already described, and you want to add your submission to a collection, you can add it here.
Guest Viewing: You can choose if you want guests to be able to view your submission.
Oh, there's more.
http://i50.tinypic.com/9rocw7.jpg
The standard box for typing your submission is there.
There's two more, meant for author notes. If there's something you want people to know before or after reading your stuff, you can mention it in these two boxes. You could include a brief plot summary, or maybe list specific questions you want answered by the critiquer.
I just finished the ability to create, edit, and delete submissions, so it's time for an update. Today I'll show you what you'll see if you click a link to someone's writing.
http://i47.tinypic.com/16q7w8.jpg
First, there are three buttons at the top. Obviously, if it's not your submission, you won't see any "Edit" button. And if it IS your submission, you won't see a "Critique" button. So, moderators are the only ones who will see all three.
There are also three tabs. Clicking one will change what you see on the page. The first one shows you the author's writing, and any notes they've written about it. There's also a small box with detailed information about the submission.
The second tab will have a list of all the critiques given so far.
The third tab will have a list of comments. If you recall, comments are meant to be brief, like crit tickets or discussion. They don't earn points.
I'm not sure if the FINAL page will look like the image. I'm particularly not happy with the submission info being stuck in a box on the side, but that stuff needs to go somewhere. If anyone can offer any suggestions, I'm eager to hear them.
Spacepirate
06-01-2010, 10:19 PM
This is massive. Be warned.
Firstly, this is awesome.
Most of these changes are amazing, and you can really see the effort/positive difference. Not to mention the sleek shiny blue edges, that I love. Everything just looks slicker and much cleaner.
The queue feature is a really good one so kudos, but I'm wondering where the "Submit things" button will be? Will it be at the top, just floating generally? And how will co-op come into this? Thread-box even?
Okay, so some of the problems occurs, IMO, regarding genres.
I'm guessing (well you said it, so I'm just repeating :P) that if you're story is cross-genre'd then you need to choose an overriding genre, then sub-genre. And what if you select "other"? Do you get to write in your own genre?
What I do like, that I noticed, is the 90 credit points. Is the limit of 30 going to be raised then. I think that's a good thing because some people who crit a lot might be wary to crit when they reach 30 since they won't get anything in return. They'll probably wait until they write something, post it (spend the points) then resume critting which creates a sort of irregular pattern. I know I do that. So I dunno?
Obviously, if you don't plan on raising the limit above 30 then the new points can stay as is (you've made everything less, any particular reason?). The thing I would worry about is the 4 points for Experimental Writing. I think you've given 6 points to the 'big things' that might take up a lot of words. I'd argue that experimental writing may be deserving of 6 points purely because
I don't like the idea of "scribbling ideas" being worth 4 points, and taking a place of its own.
I did sorta mention this in the suggestion thread that really really small things (less than 500 words, ideas, plot bunnies, characters, general planning stuff) should get a thread (section, whatever) without any take/gain of points. Just a place to bounce ideas off without the need of die-hard LBL crits.
So basically a place for things that aren't stories.
Which then kinda makes the "other experimental" genre/section a little bit redundant. There's only two real categories in there ("other", I'm putting under experimental), and if you take away the "scribbling ideas", you could just as easily place "Experimental" under the Short Story section and be done with that.
On the topic of crit points in general (I'm just gonna spam my suggestions in here).
The problem with really short pieces is that, most of the time, there often isn't that much to say. If I post an idea for a story up for crit, there isn't anything other than "Yes, I'd read this/Interesting idea/Good character" ... and crits themselves can't really be in-depth if there's nothing to crit.
Another thing with having a special section devoted to short-ish work is the fact that more people will be inclined to crit there since it is easier to crit and gain points with shorter pieces. A pattern that I, and many others, have seen is the fact that a lot of very old pieces of writing keep getting critted, and those pieces are usually very short (couple paragraphs) and have a lot of crits in the first place.
I have no idea how the new-gaining-crit-points work though, so maybe this will solve itself.
You also need to sort out the process of critting Art/Photography. Most people post a whole load of photos in the first place (and only spend one single set of points) and then people crit with "This is good blah blah blah" over a cycle, horde the points then post in the short story section.
Maybe decrease the amount of points you get from critting, AND increase the amount of points you need to spend to post stuff?
Nothing wrong with the story genre place, although I wonder if anyone writes Biographies? You also might need to clarify some of those sections. Does Children's encompass YA/Teen or not? Another thing is that I'm miffed that there isn't a Literary genre. But that's more personal preference. I'd argue there is a difference between Literary/Mainstream, but that's for another thread. :P
One of the biggest concerns is the poetry genres.
I have no idea what half of them mean. And they look the same to the ones on YWS, and that was one of the reasons why I didn't like the poetry section over there. I mean if you want to have them then you need definitions. Define "epic"? Dante Epic? I wouldn't even know where to begin with Satirical... or how to write that. Prosetry seems very close to Experimental. And the differences between Dramatic, Narrative, Lyric confuses me. Especially since every poem 'should' be a story that gets across an emotion.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but further clarification may be needed otherwise I just wouldn't know where to post my poetry. What might be an *interesting* idea is theme-based genres? Meh. Midnight thoughts aren't much good. EDIT: Theme-based genres is a HORRIBLE idea. Ignore me.
For the art/photography, I might be tempted to put Sketch into Drawing, and add the sub-genre of Multi-Media. That could open the door to films/animation and whatnot.
What I do like is the fact that you can post before/after comments. Saw that on Critique Circle and loved it. It would allow a much more focused crit, not just dealing with grammar and so on, which would be good.
I, again, quite like the idea of "Critique/Comments/Story" being separate. And I agree that the little box is a bit obtrusive. My first thoughts is that it could *hover* whenever you moved your mouse over the title, if that's even possible? If "hovering" is an option, perhaps add a little line as a synopsis, or something to tell what the story will be about (like a hook) before you actually click/read it. Other than that, fantastic job!
NOTE: Will you be changing the groups much?
That probably makes no sense.
I'm pooped, and I've written too much. And I have a chemistry exam I'll fail tomorrow. FML.
Just note that a lot of what you're seeing so far isn't finished, and Shaun and I still have some details to discuss. All the following is my own current opinion, but any of it can be changed if members feel strongly about something.
The queue feature is a really good one so kudos, but I'm wondering where the "Submit things" button will be? Will it be at the top, just floating generally? And how will co-op come into this? Thread-box even?It'll probably be 1) At the top of each queue page, and 2) As a link in the Writing drop-down menu at the top.
And how will co-op come into this? Co-op is completely different from the rest of the literature. It does not use points, does not require critiques, and involves many authors. So, I will probably move it to the main page, with the other writing forums there. It is better suited as a forum.
I'm guessing (well you said it, so I'm just repeating :P) that if you're story is cross-genre'd then you need to choose an overriding genre, then sub-genre. And what if you select "other"? Do you get to write in your own genre?A genre is always required, even if you just choose "Other". Subgenre is always optional. You can leave it empty or not.
What I do like, that I noticed, is the 90 credit points. Is the limit of 30 going to be raised then. I think that's a good thing because some people who crit a lot might be wary to crit when they reach 30 since they won't get anything in return. They'll probably wait until they write something, post it (spend the points) then resume critting which creates a sort of irregular pattern. I know I do that. So I dunno?Ahahahaha. I just set mine to 90 so I can repeatedly submit things (while paying points) for testing purposes.
This is one thing Shaun still need to discuss. I approve of removing the points cap. My main concern, though, is keeping a balance between submissions and critiques. What I do NOT want to happen is for someone to, say, do 2 critiques and 1 submission for an extended period of time, and then accumulate so many points that they can submit their writing without the need to do any critiques for months. If something like this were to happen with all the long-term members, then the newer members would not be getting as many crits as when the older members were racking up points. It's an imbalance.
I've been on other writing sites with point systems, and they take measures to ensure the points don't get too imbalanced. One of them essentially doubles the cost of submitting something if you already submitted something in the past month, and triples it if you submit a third, etc. Another resets the points at the end of every month.
What I am proposing is this: People can accumulate as many points as they want. But at the end of every month, everyone with more than XX points (say, 100), will have their points reset to 100. They'll still be able to submit their writing for the foreseeable future, but there won't be a huge imbalance. In addition, I want to have some sort of contest, where the people who had the most points before being reset get some sort of status and privileges, like Members of the Month.
Again, of all the changes, this one probably deserves the most discussion. Nothing is set in stone, and I will be asking for member input as well.
I don't like the idea of "scribbling ideas" being worth 4 points, and taking a place of its own.
I did sorta mention this in the suggestion thread that really really small things (less than 500 words, ideas, plot bunnies, characters, general planning stuff) should get a thread (section, whatever) without any take/gain of points. Just a place to bounce ideas off without the need of die-hard LBL crits.Sounds fair. We could make a new forum for just bouncing ideas around - stuff that really isn't ready to stand up to rigorous critiques.
Which then kinda makes the "other experimental" genre/section a little bit redundant. There's only two real categories in there ("other", I'm putting under experimental), and if you take away the "scribbling ideas", you could just as easily place "Experimental" under the Short Story section and be done with that.Okay, so "scribbling" could be taken out. Then I could subdivide it and make some new genres. Even strange writing has different kinds.
Experimental writing isn't necessarily a story. It could be a list, for example. A list doesn't fit in any of the other categories. Experimental deserves its own section.
Maybe decrease the amount of points you get from critting, AND increase the amount of points you need to spend to post stuff?It will be at least a 2-to-1 ratio of crits-to-submissions, for any section. This assumes the critique is of a resaonable length. Very short ones (less than 100 words) will earn no points.
You also need to sort out the process of critting Art/Photography. Most people post a whole load of photos in the first place (and only spend one single set of points) and then people crit with "This is good blah blah blah" over a cycle, horde the points then post in the short story section.Shaun and I have also been discussing photography/art, possibly making it a less-serious section, with comparatively less points required/earned and shorter critiques expected.
Nothing wrong with the story genre place, although I wonder if anyone writes Biographies? You also might need to clarify some of those sections. Does Children's encompass YA/Teen or not? Another thing is that I'm miffed that there isn't a Literary genre. But that's more personal preference. I'd argue there is a difference between Literary/Mainstream, but that's for another thread. :PSounds reasonable. What do you mean by "literary" though?
I have no idea what half of them mean. And they look the same to the ones on YWS, and that was one of the reasons why I didn't like the poetry section over there. I mean if you want to have them then you need definitions. Define "epic"? Dante Epic? I wouldn't even know where to begin with Satirical... or how to write that. Prosetry seems very close to Experimental. And the differences between Dramatic, Narrative, Lyric confuses me. Especially since every poem 'should' be a story that gets across an emotion.The menus for poetry have brief descriptions. I don't recall if I said so earlier.
http://i50.tinypic.com/15q7lex.jpg
Again, poetry isn't my strong point, so if you can suggest some more appropriate genres, please do.
For the art/photography, I might be tempted to put Sketch into Drawing, and add the sub-genre of Multi-Media. That could open the door to films/animation and whatnot.Okay.
What I do like is the fact that you can post before/after comments. Saw that on Critique Circle and loved it. It would allow a much more focused crit, not just dealing with grammar and so on, which would be good.:smart:
I, again, quite like the idea of "Critique/Comments/Story" being separate. And I agree that the little box is a bit obtrusive. My first thoughts is that it could *hover* whenever you moved your mouse over the title, if that's even possible? If "hovering" is an option, perhaps add a little line as a synopsis, or something to tell what the story will be about (like a hook) before you actually click/read it. Other than that, fantastic job!Yeah, hovering is an option, but the link to the collection needs to be able to be clicked. I'll still play with other ideas though. Compared to the rest of the changes, this one is extremely easy to change.
Thanks for all your input. Very appreciated, lots of good ideas. I'd love to see other members' input too. *wink wink wink wink*
Spacepirate
06-02-2010, 06:30 AM
Just a little splurge, which I was musing over.
I saw the description of the poetry genres but even still, I'm not too convinced, It might be better if you split it into genres of "Form", "Free Verse", "Nonsense", "Prosetry", "Comedic", "Epic" and "Other" instead? That might be easier, and make a little bit more sense for everyone. Possibly...
And to the hovering option, you could just turn the "View Collection" into a section of its own next to View/Critiques/Comments/Collection?
http://i47.tinypic.com/16q7w8.jpg So like another white clicky-boxy thingymajig.
---
Anoooooother cute little thing to have could be like a Remainder thing, for posts/crit tickets. I was thinking a little icon at the top of the View section and if you clicked on it you could set it to remind you to "crit the piece" in how many days or so. How viable would that be? Maybe I should stop with the ideas XD
Meh. Other people's thoughts would be great *I iz alzo winkingz*
Majyk
06-02-2010, 02:32 PM
(I don't want to post here after Spacey's suggestions. Mine looks so small and useless. xD)
Maybe the little box (submissions info, that's what you're talking about, right?) could go next to the "edit/critique/comment" buttons. http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp12/Nitier/YWOnewliteraturesection.png There's a big white space otherwise, and maybe putting the box there would make it seem less detached? On the other hand, then you would end up with empty space where the submissions info is now.
And a quick question. The title of the example piece is "Verture -- A Poem." Is that just what you used to test it out, or will all sumbissions have "a novel" or "a poem" etc. after them?
I do like the reminder suggestion, if that's possible. And this entire update is looking really good.
Anoooooother cute little thing to have could be like a Remainder thing, for posts/crit tickets. I was thinking a little icon at the top of the View section and if you clicked on it you could set it to remind you to "crit the piece" in how many days or so. How viable would that be? Maybe I should stop with the ideas XD
Meh. Other people's thoughts would be great *I iz alzo winkingz*
The crit reminder can be done later. It's not essential, and anything that requires storing information (like that) will take some time to do. I've got a list of neat things to add once this update is done. They're not critical, but like your suggestion, can be convenient.
(Maybe the little box (submissions info, that's what you're talking about, right?) could go next to the "edit/critique/comment" buttons. http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp12/Nitier/YWOnewliteraturesection.png There's a big white space otherwise, and maybe putting the box there would make it seem less detached? On the other hand, then you would end up with empty space where the submissions info is now. good.
That's a good idea. And there wouldn't be any empty space there. That box is the only thing making it so high.
And a quick question. The title of the example piece is "Verture -- A Poem." Is that just what you used to test it out, or will all sumbissions have "a novel" or "a poem" etc. after them?
Definitely not. That was just part of the title, for testing.
One of the new additions to the literature update is the way writing is displayed. The current forum software is not suited for writing due to the way it stores text. As you're probably aware, it can be confusing due to the way it does not separate paragraphs. This update will fix that.
Depending on what type of writing you submit, it will be displayed differently. Since structure is so important for poetry, poems will pretty much be unchanged. All spaces between lines will be preserved, whether it's one or three.
http://i50.tinypic.com/33nx6k5.jpg
Essays and stories work differently. Paragraphs should be indented, and the space between paragraphs should be consistent. Whether you put a blank line between paragraphs or not, extra spacing will be removed, like so:
http://i46.tinypic.com/2a7aqs3.jpg
Lastly, scripts. The space between stage directions and dialogue is consistent, and reverse-indented.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2zzojfc.jpg
As you can probably guess, the update will have its own version of the current portfolio page (http://www.youngwritersonline.net/portfolio.php?u=1), so members can see all their writing in one place. I finished it this morning, and it should look somewhat familiar:
http://i45.tinypic.com/30bl46g.jpg
It now displays much more information about your writing, such as word counts, genres, and its queue. I've also added the ability to sort by these things. It's not too useful if you only have, say, three things submitted. But as you add more, it should become more convenient.
EDIT: I'm still working on critiques, but once they're done, the portfolio will display whether or not you've critiqued a submission.
Same as we have now, the Recent Writing page will have a list of the writing most recently submitted by members.
http://i49.tinypic.com/hs127n.jpg
Couple of new things here. First are the images to the left of the title. They indicate:http://www.youngwritersonline.net/lit_functions/no.png Paper - Writing that you have not critiqued
http://www.youngwritersonline.net/lit_functions/yes.png Paper w/green check - Writing that you have critiqued
http://www.youngwritersonline.net/lit_functions/mine.png Paper w/gray circle - Your own writing
There are also two smaller icons to the right of the title. These are:http://www.youngwritersonline.net/lit_functions/star.png Gold star - A members-only submission. Guests cannot view these.
http://www.youngwritersonline.net/lit_functions/stop.png Red sign - At some point, you might think your writing has gotten enough critiques, and that getting more won't be very useful. Or that you don't plan to work on it ever again. You can edit your submission to prevent people from critiquing it. If you do, a red sign will appear next to it.
I plan to add these to other pages as well. Portfolio, the queues themselves, etc.
I earlier showed you what viewing a submission would look like, but it wasn't yet finished. Now it pretty much is.
The page will have three tabs. One to view the submission, one to view critiques, and one for comments. I shrunk the images so I could get them all onscreen at once.
http://i50.tinypic.com/173gon.jpg
At the top is a box with information about the submission. The two icons from earlier are there, and if the author added the submission to a collection, you can click the book to view that collection:
There's also space for a small advertisement. Nothing new. The literature theads we have now also have an ad. The ad here will probably be more YWO-oriented, like a link to our store or Amazon shop instead of the random ones you see on all the threads.
http://i50.tinypic.com/acrhfq.jpg
Clicking the Critiques tab will list the critiques a submission has received. To reinforce the idea that they're supposed to be long, each one has a link to view the entire critique.
http://i48.tinypic.com/102urn9.jpg
Last, the Comments tab. Here you'll have a box that lets you quickly post a comment. Remember, they're meant to be short, like crit tickets, and they don't earn points. Below that are all the comments the submission has already received. When you submit a comment, it automatically appears below.
(http://i48.tinypic.com/102urn9.jpg)
Added notifications for when your writing receives new comments or critiques.
This was a feature I was really hoping would be possible, and I'm glad it wasn't too much trouble.
http://i46.tinypic.com/11jopwl.jpg
EDIT: Okay, I did something that should have been done a long time ago. Remove unnecessary notifications. The next time you get a message, or anything, you'll only see the relevant ones.
http://i49.tinypic.com/and4dw.jpg
As far as the update goes, I'm working on critique stuff now. Submitting critiques. That's the one big thing left to do. And after that, I just need to go through everything else and make sure it's shipshape.
Quick update today. Maybe you noticed a strange button in the earlier updates:
http://i48.tinypic.com/2z8xkes.jpg
Clicking it activates full-window mode. You can use the entire browser window to edit your critique. Click it again to change it back.
http://i49.tinypic.com/5334ub.jpg
The zaniness is due to me having an exam tomorrow. And now I must recollect my seriousness.
Shaun
06-18-2010, 07:44 PM
I'm bumping this because I don't think the other thread should be the first thing people see...
A lot of the pages are nearly complete, so I'm going back and polishing them up. Making sure they look nice and that their programming is efficient.
Here's just one. The Poetry queue. Changed the look of the New Submission button, added multiple-page navigation, alternating column colors, and you can hover over those icons to see what they mean.
http://i48.tinypic.com/2upw9hz.jpg
If it works and looks professional, then it means I'm done with it. ^^
Which person has earned the most points so far this month? How many critiques have they given during their entire time at YWO? There's finally a page that lets you know.
http://i46.tinypic.com/vhgci1.jpg
As you can see, Shaun is a massive cheater, who somehow earned 90 points without doing a single critique. :P But maybe that's just so he can help me test things.
And if you're among the top twenty, then your name will be highlighted. You can click the number of critiques to view that member's most recent critiques.
I would personally like to award people prizes based on how high up they are on this list. But that's for another post for another day.
I've changed some of the genres based on people's suggestions. I considered changing the poetry ones, but they seem to be the most common genres associated with poetry on the internet, and I can't think of anything they omit. I made their descriptions more specific too.
Poetry
Dramatic (the speaker tells a story involving him/herself)
Lyric (expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet)
Narrative (tells a brief story)
Epic (a very long story, usually in several parts)
Prosetry (poetry written in prose)
Satirical (insults told through poetry)
Other
Other/Experimental
Rule-Based (writing according to a rule, like only using 3-letter words)
Algorithm (typical writing that is mathematically altered, like by removing every third word)
Experimental (tries to redefine what literature is)
Other
Art/Photography
Drawing
Painting
Computer-Generated
Photography
Video/Audio
Other
With the update, you'll be able to give two kinds of critiques. Click the (Critique) button, and you'll be given a choice.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2wg9o93.jpg
The simple critique is easy to understand. Type your critique into blank text boxes, and you'll get points based on the number of words.
The inline critique works differently. The author's submission will already be in the text box. All you need to do is select a font color and type your critique within the author's text. Points will be based on the number of words you typed (that are colored).
Critiques won't need any [QUOTE] tags anymore.
Okay, forget that previous page that ranked users by points. Made some changes.
http://i47.tinypic.com/o0yq8m.jpg
Also, I (personally) am starting to feel like work on the update is winding down. Critiques are the only thing that remains to finish. Submissions, collections, and a whole slew of other things are 100% complete. Everything is almost fully functional now, and I guess you could say it's now in the "editing" phase.
Just like submissions, critiques will be divided into 3 parts: an opening, the main part, and the closing. This should help critiques be more structured, especially for newer members. It also emphasizes that critiques are meant to be looooooong.
I've made a little toolbar that will appear at the bottom of your window when writing a critique. It has five functions (for now).
http://i47.tinypic.com/14cqjyc.jpg
The first will take you to the beginning of the submission. For longer submissions, this should reduce mean a lot less scrolling between it and your critique.
The second does the opposite: takes you to the top of your critique.
Third is a word count tool. You can check how long your critique is at any time (and how many points it will earn).
Fourth is a feature people have been wanting for a while. You can save a draft of your critique at any time. Save a draft, log off the site, get ice cream, log back on, and your critique will be just as you left it. If you saved a draft of the same submission earlier, it will be overwritten. I'll also add a page where you can see all the drafts you haven't completed yet. But unless you're critiquing multiple things at once :rolleyes:, you won't see more than one draft.
I'll try to add automatic draft saving every few minutes. Should be doable.
And the last button just moves the toolbar to the top of the page, in case you prefer it there.
Oh, and ignore the text above those boxes. They haven't been edited since...ever.
Yesterday one of my summer courses finished, so I should be able to get everything ready for beta testing much sooner.
EDIT:
For now, I've completed comment functionality. Submitting and deleting works fine, and bbcode is 100% functional too. Doing this was FAR easier said than done.
http://i30.tinypic.com/2r2u83r.jpg
So comments can now be crossed off the to-do list. That leaves critiques and drafts as the only two things remaining.
I've added a ninth queue for Audio and Video, as discussed in this thread (http://www.youngwritersonline.net/showthread.php?t=5385). The final Writing/Literature main page will look like this:
http://i29.tinypic.com/b8r5mx.jpg
The genres for Audio and Video will be:
Reading Aloud
Animation
Music
Performing Arts
Talk/Discussion
Podcasting
Other
J.L.A.Montoya
07-10-2010, 07:36 PM
Just a quick question;
I like to critique by highlighting in red what I am targeting, with my suggestion on how to fix it in blue.
Considering points may be rewarded based on the amount of colored words, does this mean I'll essentially be cheating and should change how I mark the target, or no?
Just a quick question;
I like to critique by highlighting in red what I am targeting, with my suggestion on how to fix it in blue.
Considering points may be rewarded based on the amount of colored words, does this mean I'll essentially be cheating and should change how I mark the target, or no?
I wouldn't worry about it.
We're increasing the crit-to-submission ratio and there's a cap on the number of points a critique can earn. So it will not be as big an impact as it is for the current system.
Unless you're really abusing it, like highlighting two paragraphs and then typing a few words, then I don't see a reason for a mod to step in.
Saving drafts is now fully functional. As well as the page where you can view your saved drafts, and open them so you can finish them.
View Drafts Page (http://i27.tinypic.com/ajm2z4.jpg)
The link to this page will work like the link to Who's Chatting. If you have drafts, you'll see it. If not, it won't even be visible.
I'm 90% done with the ability to post Simple Critiques - one of the two kinds of critiques supported by the new update. So here's everything you'll want to know about it.
Please note that this screenshot was shrunk.
Typing Up Your Critique (http://i27.tinypic.com/2aan047.jpg)
This is the main page you'll see when typing up your critique. The submission text is at the top (along with the author's notes if they added any).
Below that are the three text boxes in which you can type your critique. They are meant to help structure your critique: one box for opening comments, one for the main part of your crit, and the last one for closing comments.
And always at the bottom of your screen, is a small toolbar. It will let you save drafts or check your word count at any time. This critique is a measly 136 words long.
Preview Your Critique (http://i27.tinypic.com/33zfde9.jpg)
When you're done typing, you can preview your critique. Make sure it all looks right, and if you want you can go back and edit some more.
Submit Your Critique (http://i27.tinypic.com/b7j1c9.jpg)
Finally, when you submit your critique, several things happen. The critique is saved. The author is notified of their new critique. And you earn however many credits your crit was worth. Typically there's 1 point for every 100 words, so this critique only earned 1 point.
There's still a few things I want to iron out, ("1 points", for example) but for the most part simple critiques are done.
As I mentioned before, the new literature system is very close to completion. Right now I'm mostly going back and making sure everything is in working order, and streamlining code so it will be easier to update and edit in the future.
All submissions and critiques will have a mandatory preview page, to reduce the odds that someone will accidentally submit something that they weren't finished with. The preview page for submissions has been updated to look nearly identical to what you'll see once it's finished, with an information box at the top. Underneath there are 3 parts: one for your introductory notes for people writing critiques, one for the actual submission, and one for closing notes. At the bottom are two buttons, one to continue editing it, and one to finally submit it.
The Preview Page (http://i25.tinypic.com/2e3opxv.jpg)
When you do submit it, a confirmation box will appear, mainly to prevent the possibility of double posting. You wouldn't want to spend twice the points to submit something twice.
Final Confirmation Box (http://i26.tinypic.com/262be48.jpg)
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