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Writers Zone
Welcome to the Writers’ Zone
In this zone you will find all the information you require to get started using the Inklings site. Read this information carefully as we hope it will make it easy for you to access the site.
• Becoming an Inkling
Registering, & Pen Names
• Getting Started
What you need to get writing
• Submitting stories
How to send in stories, writing blurbs
• Moderation
Not causing offence
• Criticising other work
Giving practical criticism of published stories
Becoming an Inkling
For security reasons I do not wish to publish work under the real name of a writer, so you need to provide an alias that you would like to use. Have a look at the ones in use already to get an idea. Try to think of something unique, you can not use a duplicate name in the same community
If you wish to register as a Freelance send an email to stories@inklings.org.uk You need to state your full name, your Pen Name, your date of birth.
What is a Pen Name?
For security reasons I do not wish to publish work under the real name of a writer, so you need to provide an alias that you would like to use.
What kind of story should I write?
The Inklings site is primarily interested in action and adventure, check out the genres in the Resource Zone. Your Community Administrator might have a specific story genre that you will be working on, or if you wish you may write about anything you want. We won’t be supporting all genres with resources as some will be very difficult to find suitable material for, but that doesn’t mean you can’t write them. When you are writing your story, you need to select a suitable genre from the available menu.
Getting started
There are several ways to get started.
1. The Inklings project grew from us using tabletop wargames to create a narrative that could be fleshed out into a proper story. Writers use the visual and tactile stimuli of wargames such as WARHAMMER to create situations to appear in their writing. By the very act of playing WARHAMMER you create a narrative. You can then turn your game/s into your story, by adding all the details that get missed out in game play.
2. You could use the Story Basket function in the Resources area, just pick your genre and fill a story basket with the ingredients you wish to use for your tale.
3. You can just go for it and let your pen or fingertips take you on a storytelling journey. (CAUTION writing stories without knowing where you are going often leads down many dead ends and the road to madness)
When you are ready to start writing in the website, log on and then click on Write New Story in the left hand menu.
You can write straight into the database when you are logged on at inklings.org.uk However you would be better off writing in WORD, you can then use the tools like SPELLCHECK which can’t be used in the database. At present you have no choice over presentation so don’t get hung up on fonts and flash things it wont show in your story on the website.
Remember to save your work regularly. You can edit your work as often as you wish before you submit it.
Submitting stories
When you wish to submit your work you need to check it thoroughly, then check it AGAIN! Don’t rely just on a spell check as these always miss homophones or misused words. Get someone else to read your work or print a copy and read it carefully. Remember you Administrator is not likely to mark or edit your work so you need to make it as accurate as possible. You then need to check the guidelines for moderation and make sure you have not included any material that is likely to prevent your work being published. When you are happy that your story meets the requirements for publication you should click SUBMIT Please include a brief 'blurb' for your piece (No more than twenty five words) as this will be used to encourage readers to choose your work. (This process will change soon, to allow you more choice as to how your story will appear ) PLEASE NOTE by submitting your work you are stating that it is entirely your own work and that you own it.
Moderation
The Inklings project is a serious endeavour. I only wish to publish work that is appropriate for both young writers and the people likely to read it. All work published will be moderated before it is posted, by your administrator, to ensure there is no inappropriate content. Before submitting work you should check carefully to ensure that the content is acceptable. Things to avoid include:
Unnecessary use of expletives (bad language) Whilst it is important that characters sound right we must take care not to offend your readers. In some genres; Sci-fi, fantasy etc there are plenty of alternatives
Graphic sexual references.
The stories you are writing are action stories, sci-fi and high fantasy. Characters will interact in many ways, some of which will be and should be romantic, but on the whole these interactions should be few and limited in depiction. Unless they move the story on the are best glossed over or avoided completely. Yes kissing is fine!
Gratuitous (over the top) violence.
Now I know what you are thinking… "But this is fantasy, how am I supposed to write this kind of story without being violent?" I am not asking you to not include combat and violence, after all the whole genre revolves around it. I want you to think carefully about the depiction of combat and other action and make it as exciting as possible. This does not include going overboard with the level of violence or description of the results. Remember LESS IS MORE!
Religion.
You must be very careful when making religious references, it is very easy to offend people when dealing with religion. Of course if you are writing stories set in unreal worlds, you can refer to made up religions with out worrying too much.
Moderation will NOT improve your stories. I am not marking your work or giving it a grade. That is down to the other INKLINGS and yourself. If you include material that is deemed inappropriate it will be returned to you with the area of concern highlighted so you can make any alterations.
Sorry but THE MODERATOR'S DECISION IS FINAL.
Criticising other work
You may wish to make a comment about a piece of writing submitted by another Inkling. You MUST be logged on at inklings.org.uk before you can make comments. When you have finished reading a story there is an invitation to comment about it. Firstly give the piece a rating out of Five (Five being GREAT, One being POOR) You can then add some comments. Comments should, on the whole, be positive, if you think a piece of work is not as good as it could be make practical suggestions as to how it could be improved. When you have completed your comment, click Submit Comment. It will then be sent to your administrator who will approve it, just like a story. This means it is moderated and unsuitable comments will be returned. You can only comment once about each story, and it is impossible for you to comment on your own work.
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