Here are some tips to get new writers started right in the WRITING conference:

DO...

...read the message traffic and get a feel for what transpires in this
        Virtual Tavern.

...learn to spell, capitalize, punctuate, and write with clear grammar
        and understandable syntax.

...learn to use a library, along with its reference section.

...learn to research your topic.

...buy a good dictionary and a copy of Strunk & White's _Elements of
        Style_.

...read _Writer's Market_ for basic "how-to" info on manuscript
        preparation, copyright, cover/query letters, and choosing
        markets for your work.

...feel free to ask anyone in here if you still don't understand
        something from the above references.

...feel free to join conversations-in-progress if you think you have
        something to add, a question about the topic under discussion,
        or a humorous comment.

...stay if you wish, or leave _quietly_ if you don't like it.  We don't
        care about your parting shots.


DON'T...

...post your work to "share" it.  See the rules for excerpt protocol.

...post poetry.  There are better echoes, even though they're verse.

...debate the "perpetually off-topic" list from the rules.

...come in here and tell us to change a successful area to make it
        better fit what YOU were expecting.

...get into personal arguments, throw flames, etc.

...whip out a list of publishing credentials and expect us to fall to
        our knees in worshipful adoration.  Your behavior here
        determines your acceptance.

...use gratuitous obscenity since it reflects ill on your ability to
        communicate.  Most of us aren't prudes, but overuse of
        bathroom-wall words is a sign of immaturity or mental incapacity
        in a writer. When the language is appropriate (as a part of an
        excerpt) it's okay, but throwing it around when unnecessary
        dilutes the language and detracts from your message.

...assume the worst-possible interpretation of messages.

...jump in to "defend" someone unless you know for sure they are being
        attacked.  Irony, overstatement, understantment, and just about
        every other figure of speech you could name are much-used literary
        tools in here, and many folks who know each other well will say
        things that may look horrible to the uninformed. Don't assume
        everything you read is meant to be taken literally.

...say anything bad about birds, horses, or Texas.


                        by George Willard, Virtual Moderator Emeritus


--- MBUTIL 1.27+