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FanStory.com is the primary support id for the site. Contact us with any questions. |
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FanStory:
Writing a script is fun and challenging. It's also a great way into the business of making money with your writing. FanStory needs more script writers. Last year we only had 16 ranked script writers. Compare that to the 700 ranked poets. So this year we are going to do our best to encourage writers to get involved. We are starting off our campaign with a writing contest for script writers! It only takes four scripts to get ranked. So make this your first. We'll have more contests after this one. Check out our new script contest. Have fun!
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 January 4 at 11:56PM
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michaelcahill: I'm in. Really, that's where the money is when it comes to writing.
Scripts should be the hot corner here!
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January 4 at 5:48PM
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Brett Matthew West: Script writing is both challenging and rewarding. Script writing is also, as Michael and Tom stated, probably the best way to make money as a serious writer.
I am currently in the throes of creating a daily Talk Show here on FanStory called Cracker Croakers (Featuring Candice and Colton).
So, I can vouch for the work required and the enjoyment of writing scripts.
I invite you to check my Talk Show out some time at your convenience.
I have also inquired of Tom as to the possibility of having a Script of the Month like FanStory does everything else. Be interesting to hear what his response is.
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January 6 at 2:28PM
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Alexander Vasa: Dear Mr Ens, I haven?t heard from you and you have emptied the message from my sent box, so here it is again, and I will screen shot my outbox immediately.
Dear Mr Ens, I have done some research of your site over quite a sustained period of time, and I regret to inform you that I think you are a scam, one hundred per cent, and unless you take action about your site FanStory, I intend to write a review for Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission as you are a business, and I think you are misrepresenting the consumers when you present yourself as a literary site.
There are practices at FanStory that go on that should not be happening on a literary site that claims to help writers. I will be showing hard evidence that I have printed and screen shot about everything I state in this correspondence below. But rather than just write to them first, I would like to give you the opportunity to address these issues first.
I?m aware that the writer must agree to the terms and conditions of the site and you spell these out in some detail to cover yourself, but what you fail to do is enforce those terms and conditions, so it is a fair playing field for everyone, and the consumer is getting what they pay for. You are misleading as you really are purely a commercial venture, and do not enforce the terms and conditions you make authors sign. In fact, have several ways of stopping this from happening which will be explained below. I feel that you should adhere to your own terms and policies which is what you fail to do and that is the gist of my complaint. I have listed below some of my findings of your site, which will be shown in any correspondence I write to government or secular bodies.
Your number one poet for 2018, Gloria, has a friendship with Nordic Girl and Michael Cahill that always ensures Gloria gets at least six six-star ratings from the one writer per week, almost ensuring that she will always be on top. And this has been going on for a very long time. If you take the time to look at Nordic Girls account, you will notice that she lives to review these two poets to the exclusion of everyone else, which leads me to believe it is a scam on the part of this poet/poets. I indeed find it most suspicious. And it is straightforward to acquire two email addresses and pay for two subscriptions to your writing site. So, given the fact that Nordic girl has been doing this for eons, I think Gloria you should be suspended and lose her title for cheating her way to the top. Also, you should implement something that stops poets from reviewing their own work, or arranging with friends to do so. If you want to be taken seriously as a literary site, I think Nordic Girl?s account should be suspended or she should stop reviewing only Gloria and Michael Cahill to the exclusion of every one else. Or, something put in place, so this practice doesn?t bring the tenor of FanStory down. Because, believe me, it does.
The second thing I found is Easy Everett, and others, don?t review at all (or thank any reviewer for their time and effort, btw) and is effectively buying his way to the top, a most unliterary practice wouldn?t you agree? But that aside, he also repeatedly publishing the same poems again and again. He also has two accounts that have all the poems he?s published some time ago, being published again in his new account. Something that is against the terms and conditions.
Easy Everett in his present account has also published the same poems again and again within his newest account. For example: Today he has a poem on the homepage in the top ten called ?Reclaim your Right of Light to Find?, but this poem has been published in the same account not long ago as ?We know the Price Children Pay?.
I also think, just like Gloria, that he is reviewing himself and has a few accounts, even if it is to check up on people that have squelched him or that he has squelched because he got a rating he didn?t like. And he is vindictive and rude to people that give him less than five-star ratings and is also responsible for pushing people off your site with a campaign of hate by using the words they use in their poem and turning them around into hate poem the next day. I watched a poet fade away until they eventually stop posting at all due to Mr Everett.
Easy Everett?s hatred and victimisation is not the end. He also breaks all the rules when it comes to people that review his work by trying to convince them to change the rating if it is less than a five or six. At times using other people?s reviews of his work to say another reviewer is wrong to give him less, thus haggling for them to change the rating. Bad practice again, and also against site regulations. But when anyone complains to you, you do nothing, so he does it again and again. He was doing it years ago when I was first on your site.
Here is an example, and I have many:
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2019
Well, I am glad you were jarred by something in this quite intentioned to be jarring poem. I personally am a bit more jarred by hate, religious bigotry, the death of children and the subject matter of this poem in its totality.
But, shit, Sam, maybe I have had my decency degraded so deeply by the current occupant of the White House that I think shit was a perfect fit for describing it. Thank you, Sam, for a great review. ee
A thinly veiled attack, wouldn?t you agree?
He also defends his reviews in the most high-handed of manner.
Example:
Comment from Jaye Bennett
Good
The poet has followed an abab rhyme scheme in the body of the poem with the chorus using an aabb. As far as the poem goes it's well-formatted and all that. The only thing is, I can't figure out what in the heck you are trying to say.
Comment Written 04-Jan-2019
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reply by the author on 04-Jan-2019
I think this reviewer states what the poem is about better than even I can my friend. Hope this helps. Ezra Pound, the great poet and critic, said: "A poem need not be understood to be appreciated for its poetic value."
Excellent
Such a Masterpiece that honestly deals with what hatred is doing to our world. It's time to take it seriously and move forward together. Encourage our children to ban together and be a generation of loving, accepting human beings and not tolerating hatred in any form. Your words flow in such a way that I feel like I'm marching with those children, I feel strength and patriotic, I feel empowered as I read your words. It is all so simple; the truth is there in our faces. We need to get up off our butts and be ready to fight for good in all forms. This is a glorious piece of work. While reminding us of the harsh realities of today, you also give great hope for tomorrow.
Apparently, he has quite a high opinion of his talent, ?a msterpiece in fact? but he gets away with everything because he pays you to post his poetry, even though what he is doing is against site policy and should be properly dealt with so that the people that are his victims, and I have been one, don?t just leave the site with their confidence in tatters, unable to write again. And it seems ridiculous on a literary site that someone should get a five-star excellent rating with errors as obvious as Mr Everett?s below. (Huge error in the title.) Mr Everett was told repeatedly about this error by reviewers but didn?t fix it up, I imagine because he is so busy posting his 2 poems a day in the race to the top.
Excellent
A poem.
A Hindi Paryer (Prayer)
by easyeverett1
And this defence of a poet?s poem is from ramadevi, a recognised reviewer:
Deep and Elevating
by rama devi
Good
This has some positive vibes to it, but mostly I felt it read like a list of modifiers. A little bit of a generalisation. And I really think "sky words" is rather trite. People have always likened things in the sky to be special, but this is not always the case.
by beatpoet on 18-Dec-2018
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reply by the author on 18-Dec-2018
Thanks for your honest comments. Please be aware that 'revenge reviewing' is not allowed on this site. So if you make a habit of awarding fours after receiving fours that piss you off, someone might report it. I will not report it...but I do plan to mute you due to your behaviour. Glad you felt the positive vibes. Sorry you did not like 'sky-words'.
This also goes against site conditions and yet Rama Devi is a recognized reviewer, but here she is accusing someone of a revenge review in defence of her work. In defence of a four-star rating which is ?good?.
On a real writing site, what is wrong with a four-star poem? Why does everyone on this site consider four stars beneath their poetry or a revenge review? Because there seem to be only two ratings on this site, a five and a six star, and this brings down the tone of the site down again and makes it a bear pit rather than a literary site where you can share your work in a safe environment.
These are all examples of writers in breach of the terms and conditions, but instead of upholding the terms and conditions we have to agree to, you do nothing, or just make it so the person making the complaint can no longer see that person in their ?find a member? option. I think the site is not administered to the terms and agreements because it is all about the money and that makes you a business. So, you come under the umbrella of BBB. I think you won?t get rid of anyone that?s paying, only if they say something against you and your site. You just make it so the complaintive can?t see the person anymore, and you say, ?squelch them? quite often. Which I don?t think is compliant with the terms and conditions you lay out for writers, meaning you don?t administer your business correctly.
And you also take posts down in the forum or discussion on the site if they say something too negative about the site, effectively denying them their freedom of speech. I have had this happen to me personally.
Then there is the interesting man called Wabigoon who is so totally rude and vulgar to some of the people that have taken time to review him, even saying explicit sexual references. (Which you removed so the writer couldn?t have any come back.) But he is rude when they don?t? understand what he is saying, and if you read his work you will find it is extremely cryptic, so they do have a right to this reaction. It is my reaction to his work also.
And this example is outrageous on a literary site. Gloria again:
reply by the author (beatpoet) on 01-Jan-2019
Thanks for the review, Gloria. I'm surprised you're looking at my work, though. I thought you muted me.
reply by Gloria .... on 01-Jan-2019
I did mute you to save myself the lost time and aggravation of possibly being on the receiving end of one of your two star reviews as you have clearly stated your disdain for most of the ranked poetry. The ranking game has restarted for the new year, so that is no longer a concern. :)
This is also against the terms and conditions, as Gloria shouldn?t be squelching people just because they could possibly give her a two-star review into the future, can she? She states that the other person is, ?no longer a concern?? Why? Is this woman squelching people that give her a low grade? Is she so powerful on this site, so perfect, that she can dictate why and when she lets someone review her poetry? And sees a genuine review as ?aggravation?. I thought this was a literary site where we all shared our thoughts in a friendly way. But it isn?t, is it? It?s a race to the top, with phony money, for people with egos so big they don?t care who they hurt to get there. And writers are sensitive. And I am sure someone else has written to you about Gloria, and what was your advice, squelch her? Or did you just remove Gloria so that the grieved party could no longer see her when she/he hit ?community?, and ?find a member? option? Something you did with Nordic girl.
But the ranking system has from 1 through to 6 for exceptional, so in a good writing environment, we should see a range of these grades throughout their entirety of FanStory. But at FanStory, there are really only two grades, 5 or 6, and for everything else the gloves come off with so many members, especially those at the top, and the abuse starts.
Example:
Comment from Harry Smith
Average
The reader really did not understand what is being said in this poem that really didn't have any imagery or emotions. The reader really didn't enjoy this poem.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 28-Apr-2018
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reply by the author on 30-Apr-2018
Harry--
Even if you did not get or like the poem that is an extraordinarily low rating. The poem is full of imagery, is nothing but imagery and certainly there are emotions associated with slaves down in the hold of reality rowing away toward a world catastrophe?
Best
Wabigoon/Jeff
Wabigoon is defending his review from the reviewer. Why can?t there be 3 stars? The site allows for a three-star review as average, and average means that there should be a lot of people getting this rating. I?m very average at times when I write. This is non-compliant behaviour, one of the hundreds that go against the terms and conditions for writing, not to mention all the copywrite infringements. He is defending his work from a review.
And again, this man does not even appreciate a four-star review:
Comment from Rasmine
Good
Hello,
I have had a few prophetic dreams too. They are off at times -- you know, dream your aunt dies and instead it is your uncle, stuff like that.
I found a few typos:
A week or so ago I posted "My Genesis Project" in which I describe creating a "world (World) Center" here where I live. The purpose of this center was and is the recovery of our original selves and power from The Fall of human kind (humankind) described in Genesis in the Bible. How does it work(a semi-colon or the use of the word 'and'), benefit humankind? "Yes, Certainly (small 'c')," is my immediate response. The last dream or vision flash (this is just a suggestion, but maybe 'vision-flash') I have this night just before getting up is very upsetting, sets the tone for the day. As I recall the plane is not moving very fast, but I hear someone shout "prepare for impact (capitalise the 'P')" just as I am about to get up.
Hey TC,
Nome
Comment Written 22-Apr-2018
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reply by the author on 22-Apr-2018
Rasmine--
Your mark sucks, but thanks for the corrections, some of which I will attend to. Yes, prophetic dreams are not necessarily accurate. That is why I include the entire process of...slowly identifying what this is, was, with numerous dreams, "intuition help," vast, many year experience, a good sense of irony and a willingness to hold back, not jump just because I hear about a plane crash. I did not know who the people from the airplane hanger were until after the event, in case you didn't notice. If you are a fluent dreamer you should do something with it, learn how to differentiate between the true and false dreams.
Thanks for the read.
Wabigoon/Jeff
The review sucks!!!
Terms and agreement say we shouldn?t do this. Where are you allowing these infringements, Mr Ens? This stuff hurts people if you have been at the other end and giving of your time to review someone. And I?d like to point out that Wabigoon is not alone. Things like this go down all the time by a lot of people. I have so many screen shots to use as examples. And that maybe why a lot of the names in your community of writers are redundant, with no writing, or they stop writing quickly because of what happens to them on your site, and I?m one of them that has sought help, and legal advice for my pain and suffering because of this type of infringement of your own terms and agreement. And I?m not alone, am I?
More FanStory Complaints & Reviews
? Fanstory.com - Biggest Scam ever [10]
? Fanstory.com - An ugly, unwholesome little nightmare [8]
? Fanstory.com - Don't drink the Fanstory Kool Aid, or you will regret it [5]
? Fanstory.com - Rigged contests/ranking/fraud [2]
? Fanstory.com - I think these are really just nothing more then creative ads [1]
? Fanstory.com - Poetry reviewing and manipulation of vulnerable people [1]
I can particularly relate to the last one about manipulating vulnerable people.
I was one of those and had to seek phycological support. (I have receipts)
But what about the terms and conditions you are supposed to be upholding? That everyone signs and agrees to, but which the site administrators don?t enforce. Why not? They are to protect people from people like Gloria, Nordic girl, Easy Everett, Michael Cahill, and Wabigoon, a nasty group, just to name a few. People that are too competitive like those I?ve shown as examples above and there are so many of them.
I think you need to do some severe muting of these egocentric poets that do not allow for anything other than a five, or six-star rating, or formalist poets bagging out more modern or free verse poetry, and it is hurtful.
I think you should put a stop to the cosy little relationships going on with friends, or even worse, reviewing themselves, so they can remain at the top, (Gloria, Nordic Girl and Michael Cahill?s threesome, for example, who I believe have more than one account and are suspicious.) I mean, doesn?t that appear suspicious to you, Mr Ens? Again yesterday, Nordic girl gave Gloria another six-star review, so she is always on top. Gloria is competitive to the detriment of others, and Gloria should be removed for cheating with a message posted to act as a deterrent to other over competitive writers.
All of the above is not good literary practice so please don?t pretend to be in the top 100 readers digest sites for writing, because if they knew of these practices, I don?t think they would think it is very literary at all.
I could go on and on, but I will say that I have printed out, or screen shot evidence of all the claims I have made above and many more. So that I can present them to the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission as proof of you being a scam rather than a positive and sound literary site with good and fair BUSINESS practices towards individuals, and the English language, for that matter.
And if I do not see these business issues addressed, I will feel compelled to forward the material I?ve collected to Readers Digest, and to other sites on social media, and Government agencies that look into fraudulent practices in business, such as the two I have mentioned above. Companies that are not what they claim to be. I have been deeply hurt by things that happened to me at FS. It destroyed my confidence as a writer, and you did nothing because you are only in it for the money. Fair enough, you are a business, and thus can be treated as such. I cannot personally sue the poets that abused me on your site, but I can inform the correct departments to make you uphold your own terms and agreements. You are in breach of these terms and conditions, and it is wrong because you should be enforcing them.
In the meantime, I advise you to stop the abuse on your site and the victimisation of members by people like Gloria, and Easy Everett and Wabigoon.
I have come to these conclusions after keeping myself informed for the last 12 months as a member, so they are not something I have done lightly. I am writing to you from another account for anonymity, as I don?t trust that you would not just get rid of me and my work. And I am so disturbed by what I saw on your site over my time there that it has prompted me to try and do something to stop your scam, as the site demographic is old and not very well off, and they think the site is a genuine one, when in fact, it isn?t. It is a vanity site scam due to all these things that you ignore. Practices that go against your own terms and conditions, making you a business that does not, in fact, provide what you say what you?re going to provide. A scam in other words.
In the interim, I hope you address these issues, and if I find I?m blocked from my account, I will discharge my conscience and do what I said I would do. And I will send these as complaints, not reviews so that they cannot be removed from sites like BBB. And you and your business will undergo scrutiny from outside, from governmental trade departments, because if I make this complaint, they have to look into the problem to find out if my claims are right.
And just to remind you it?s not only me, I?m sure you?re familiar with this article written by a professional editor:
? ? As an extensively published, well-known writer and magazine editor for decades, and a one-time ''Top Ranked Number One Author" on the Fanstory site, I can tell you with authority that Fanstory is NOT a legitimate writing site. It's a narcissistic little online reality show run by spiteful, cowardly, no-talent schoolyard bullies. With a few notable exceptions, most of the writing there is pure unpublishable garbage.
Fanstory's owner and Supreme Ruler For Life, Tom Ens, is a despotic, draconian internet scam-artist who rules his little fantasy kingdom through fear, intimidation, repression of intelligent thoughts and ideas, and the deliberate encouragement of competitive discord between members??
And I say ?yes, I agree? to everything this editor says.
Yours sincerely, the anonymous account holder for privacy reasons and to protect my work. But you can contact me here as, Helen Balnaves.
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January 7 at 4:32PM
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Alexander Vasa: And a real writer and editor wrote this about FS.
As an extensively published, well-known writer and magazine editor for decades, and a one-time ''Top Ranked Number One Author" on the Fanstory site, I can tell you with authority that Fanstory is NOT a legitimate writing site. It's a narcissistic little online reality show run by spiteful, cowardly, no-talent schoolyard bullies. With a few notable exceptions, most of the writing there is pure unpublishable garbage.
Fanstory's owner and Supreme Ruler For Life, Tom Ens, is a despotic, draconian internet scam-artist who rules his little fantasy kingdom through fear, intimidation, repression of intelligent thoughts and ideas, and the deliberate encouragement of competitive discord between members.
A big part of his well-developed strategy is to divide and rule, just like a dictatorship, keeping members in line under the constant threat of Big Brother watching. This maniac has gone so far as to imply that he monitors the private email accounts of members, in order to revoke their membership for violating his ''site terms'' and speaking out about his atrocities, even in private.
Fanstory is an Orwellian nightmare. It's owner works his malevolent little con-game through obvious favoritism to a few no-talent cronies and the iron-fisted enforcement of all sorts of arbitrary little rules, regulations and ''site terms'' which are exclusively and entirely subject to his personal interpretation.
Like the Wizard of Oz, this creep has been able to get away with terrorizing his shivering minions from behind a curtain of anonymity for years now. Most of the members don't even know that the draconian "Tom" who threatens them with expulsion for the most petty of infractions is a real person. In his narcissistic little fantasy bubble of illusory omnipotence, this money-hungry weirdo and his unfortunate subjects seem to have lost touch with the reality that there are real consequences in the real world outside of Fanstory, where unprincipled scam-artists like this can and will be held accountable for their crimes.
I, for one, am in the process of initiating a lawsuit against this abomination of a ''writer's site'' and its owner, Tom Ens for the many absurd outrages committed against me and my work during my time as a ''Top Ranked'' member there.
If you're looking for a real, legitimate writer's workshop online, avoid Fanstory like the Black Hole of Calcutta. Its advertising policy borders on criminally misleading, and the whole thing just stinks to high heaven.
Don't drink the Fanstory Kool Aid, or you will regret it.As an extensively published, well-known writer and magazine editor for decades, and a one-time ''Top Ranked Number One Author" on the Fanstory site, I can tell you with authority that Fanstory is NOT a legitimate writing site. It's a narcissistic little online reality show run by spiteful, cowardly, no-talent schoolyard bullies. With a few notable exceptions, most of the writing there is pure unpublishable garbage.
Fanstory's owner and Supreme Ruler For Life, Tom Ens, is a despotic, draconian internet scam-artist who rules his little fantasy kingdom through fear, intimidation, repression of intelligent thoughts and ideas, and the deliberate encouragement of competitive discord between members.
A big part of his well-developed strategy is to divide and rule, just like a dictatorship, keeping members in line under the constant threat of Big Brother watching. This maniac has gone so far as to imply that he monitors the private email accounts of members, in order to revoke their membership for violating his ''site terms'' and speaking out about his atrocities, even in private.
Fanstory is an Orwellian nightmare. It's owner works his malevolent little con-game through obvious favoritism to a few no-talent cronies and the iron-fisted enforcement of all sorts of arbitrary little rules, regulations and ''site terms'' which are exclusively and entirely subject to his personal interpretation.
Like the Wizard of Oz, this creep has been able to get away with terrorizing his shivering minions from behind a curtain of anonymity for years now. Most of the members don't even know that the draconian "Tom" who threatens them with expulsion for the most petty of infractions is a real person. In his narcissistic little fantasy bubble of illusory omnipotence, this money-hungry weirdo and his unfortunate subjects seem to have lost touch with the reality that there are real consequences in the real world outside of Fanstory, where unprincipled scam-artists like this can and will be held accountable for their crimes.
I, for one, am in the process of initiating a lawsuit against this abomination of a ''writer's site'' and its owner, Tom Ens for the many absurd outrages committed against me and my work during my time as a ''Top Ranked'' member there.
If you're looking for a real, legitimate writer's workshop online, avoid Fanstory like the Black Hole of Calcutta. Its advertising policy borders on criminally misleading, and the whole thing just stinks to high heaven.
Don't drink the Fanstory Kool Aid, or you will regret it.
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January 7 at 8:25PM
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| Alexander Vasa: Just for the record, Mr Ens removed a post of mine today, an article, very renound and literary, explaining to writers why they should not post on sites such as FS, how you may lose rights and their are some sites that won't remove published material. I don't think it particularly applies to this site, but it was informative for writers, but Mr Ens obioulsy felt threatened enough by this article to deny my freedom of expression on this site as a fully paid member.
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January 9 at 2:51AM
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Alexander Vasa: No one writes scripts properly on this site. So if you want to go where the money is, the producer will discard your script if it is not formatted correctly, something I have not seen here once. So here is a link for you to see how it is done properly, and remember, scripts are read by actors, not an audience, so learn how to write them properly. The scripts on this site will not pass muster, and the script still needs a 'call to adventure' ' answering the call', etc, the nine stages of a proper story. But for scripts, the formatting is extremely important and if you don't do it you will go straight to a slush pile that is not read. So if you want to learn, you won't learn it here as I haven't seen one that would pass muster. So try this link so you're not wasting your time.
https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting/
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January 9 at 5:24PM
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| Greg Powell: Murder in L.A. Lower Alabama Is actually published and is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,wwwRosedogbookstore
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January 26 at 12:30PM
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| Sally Saffer: I have just joined this group and am a little overwhelmed by the amount of information available. I will need to spend a little time browsing through the site to determine how I can best enjoy the many options available. Thanks for the welcome!
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February 18 at 1:02AM
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FanStory:
Our new trophies are custom designed. That includes names and ranking information engraved by laser (right onto the trophy itself). If you won a trophy you should receive it by Monday of next week. 
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February 8 at 5:32PM
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| Mustang Patty: My hubby just sent me a picture of mine. It is awesome!!!
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February 8 at 6:19PM
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| FanStory: Good to hear. :)
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February 9 at 3:37PM
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| Trudi Perkins: That's awful sweet of you to do this. Many thanks.
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February 14 at 5:45AM
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| Dorinda Palmisano: What a handsome trophy. What a wonderful token of accomplishment.
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April 11 at 1:08AM
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| Angela Hayes: Thank you for the information.
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May 6 at 3:57AM
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| Henry King: Thank you for the head up.
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May 8 at 4:16PM
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| Timothy casarez: I hope to get one of these one day..Timothy
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June 1 at 3:38PM
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| Urial: Thank you! It supports my writing!
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June 26 at 2:42PM
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| Urial: Thank you for the consideration!
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August 14 at 2:41AM
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| krys123: It's a beautiful trophy, metaphorically I associate this monumental achievement, as a paradox financially. It's a financially challenging achievement to acquire, but still beautiful as ever.
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August 20 at 12:07AM
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| BeasPeas: Thank you for the information. Marilyn
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October 3 at 10:44PM
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misscookie: It would be grand if I earn that honor
Copokie
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October 18 at 3:25PM
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| HarryT: Im old but I was not around January 1900.
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December 5 at 7:31AM
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| Pat Fleming: It said 7 day money back guarantee, it is not past 7 days according to my Bank Statement that money was deducted from my account on the 31st. Today is the first.
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January 1 at 9:07PM
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Alexander Vasa: A.C. Crispin - 40 - Giving Your Work Away?
Sometimes, I can?t think of anything to post about in this blog. It?s a distinctly anxious feeling, rather like the experience of the newspaper editor protagonist of Terry Pratchett?s Discworld novel, TRUTH, when he looks at the giant printing press, just squatting there waiting, waiting for content. ?I must feed it,? he thinks, half in a panic, and, grabbing his notebook, races out into the night in search of a story.
Gotta love Pratchett!
Anyway, this time when I couldn?t think of anything to post about, I asked someone in the Aol Authors Lounge if she had a suggestion. ?Why not write about those sites that get people to post their work for free?? she suggested. ?Write about how that can compromise their publishing rights.?
Well, BINGO!
Great idea! Thanks!
There are tons of ?post your work here? sites on the internet. Some are incredibly sleazy, others are a little nicer looking. The main things they have in common are these:
1. They will post anything, no matter how poorly written. There is no editorial gatekeeping involved.
2. They tell you that the feedback you?ll get from posting on their site will help you become a better writer.
3. They all ask for money from you, the writer (or reader). Either in the form of donations, or as a subscription.
4. Some actually go so far as to imply that posting your work for free on their site, or even paying to have it placed there, will increase your chances of finding an agent or a publisher.
5. They all post your work in such a fashion that it?s easily accessible to the public. Anyone can read and comment on it. When you post on such a site, most commercial publishers would regard your work as ?published? even though you weren?t paid for it.
I reviewed a few of these sites in order to write this post: www.fanstory.com, www.blogit.com, and www.your-poetry.com. One site, www.voxtango.net, I?d run into previously, due to complaints from authors who?d posted there.
Here are the problems I?ve noted with such sites, and some advice regarding them.
1. If you think you might EVER want to try and sell a story or a book to a commercial venue, then DON?T post it on one of these sites, especially in its entirety. The feedback you get as an unpublished writer can be seductive, I realize, but posting on such a site can, if publishers want to be picky about it, ?use up? your First North America rights. (Remember?publishing rights are NOT the same thing as copyright. See my earlier post on this subject.) If a publisher deems that you?ve published the piece, even though you weren?t paid for it, then the best that you can hope to get for it is the payment for a REPRINT. Which is a fraction of the money the piece would be worth as a first-rights sale. And since these sites don?t pay the authors in the first place?well, I think you see my point. If you want to get feedback on a piece that you have no intention of ever submitting, or a small excerpt, that?s probably okay, though IMHO it won?t be all that useful.
2. The feedback you receive is from other unpublished writers, even those who style themselves ?reviewers.? In many cases, this amounts to the blind leading the blind, sorry. One of the pieces I reviewed on fanstory.com had five stars and was rated ?publishable.? I beg to differ. The writing was purple, and the story logic just didn?t hold together. The chapter rambled, and the writer obviously hadn?t done his research into police procedure, ballistics, and forensic procedures. And yet this writer is posting every chapter of his detective novel, and getting these five star reviews. By the time he?s posted the whole novel (thus effectively rendering his book a reprint, see above), he?s going to think he?s really hot stuff. He?s in for a rude awakening. Also, some of these ?reviewers? get their ego-boo off trashing the writing of other aspiring authors. Most distasteful.
3. When you put your writing up on a site like this, it may be hard to get off. I?ve been told by several authors that Voxtango.net, has refused repeated requests to remove stories or poems they posted there. The site owner seems to think they have the right to have the pieces there in perpetuity. When you consider that newbie writers might post there on impulse, then later change their minds and decide to try and submit their work elsewhere, this can be a real problem.
4. These sites often try to imply that posting your work for free on their site will not only help you become a better writer, but that agents and publishers could see your work there. Yeah, right. And Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny will offer you publishing contracts, too. I can?t stress too strongly that legitimate agents and publishers just don?t have the time to go searching for more slush to read. They have all the slush they can handle ? and more ? delivered straight to their office via the US Mail every week. Ask Miss Snark, and I?m sure she?ll back me up on this one.
Now, a word before I go. There are a number of legitimate online magazines. Some pay, some do not, but they are well respected for their content, and they do editorial gatekeeping.
There are also password-protected online critique groups that are NOT the same thing as these ?we post everything for everyone to see? sites. Critters is one such group. I think Zoetrope has another. These sites are designed for writers to workshop pieces, just as they would in a real-life writing workshop. The public can?t wander by and access the stories, because they?re password protected. The purpose of these sites is not to allow just anyone to read the story posted, but for a select group of other writers to read it so it can be workshopped..
These sites are not the kind of sites I?m talking about.
I?m also not talking about fanzine sites. Fanzine sites are where writers post stories written in someone else?s universe. These writers can?t possibly sell their Star Wars, or Star Trek or Alien story, so they post it so other fans can read it. (This is in violation of copyright law, of course, but most franchises ignore the practice as long as the authors don?t try to make any real money off these writings.)
Fanzine writing can have its own problems for aspiring writers. It can be seductive, and so much fun that the author never does move on and write in his/her own universe, despite earlier avowals that that?s what they wanted. However, as a hobby, for those who either want to indulge themselves for a while and play in someone else?s sandbox, or fans who really don?t have any desire to establish a writing career, then fanzine writing can be fun and harmless. Just make sure you don?t make money at it! (Some fanzine writers, publishers and artists do actually make some money at it, but they keep it very much sub-rosa, lest the franchise holder find out and shut them down.)
So?write on, write well, and resist the temptation to give your work away!
-Ann C. Crispin
Author: STORMS OF DESTINY/Harper
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January 7 at 6:39PM
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FanStory:
We've updated our club page! Now all clubs are shown ordered by the most recent events. The date the club event was added is also shown. Now it is easy to see which clubs have new events that you may want to enter. More active clubs are naturally listed first. View the club page. Also, check out the new Grammar Club!
Club owners if your club stops having events your club will automatically be removed from the club listing (roughly 90 days or more with no events).
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January 31 at 6:23PM
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| flylikeaneagle: Thanks, Tom, and fans. flylikeaneagle
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January 31 at 11:55PM
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| Raul1: Would love to have trophies like that one someday. Nice.
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May 9 at 7:30PM
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FanStory:
We had many requests for a 5-7-5 Poetry Contest for Valentines Day. So we made one available. You can view it here.
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January 28 at 1:54PM
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FanStory:
What was the most popular poem to write in 2017? It was the 5-7-5. It's a three line poem with a set syllable count. It's fun to write and challenging. To celebrate the new year and the new 2018 rankings we've announced new 5-7-5 poetry contests. We have a 5-7-5 poetry contest in January (deadline is next week) and one in February, March, April and one in May! We promised more contests and we have already delivered! All have cash prizes. And look for new 5-7-5's in our daily writing prompts. Good luck!
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January 3 at 3:23PM
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FanStory:
Thank you for a wonderful 2017! We had a record number of posts and reviews!
Reviews In 2017Reviews Written: 474,301 or 1,303 per day
Replies: 570,749
Number of reviewers: 1,751
What We PostedPoems Written: 27,990
Everything Else: 13,337
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December 30 at 5:31PM
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| Gloria ....: Congratulations for a most successful year, Tom. Happy New Year to you and everyone at FanStory!!
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December 30 at 6:25PM
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| CD Richards: Happy New Year, Tom - and the rest of the Fanstory family :)
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December 30 at 7:58PM
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| damommy: Thank you for sponsoring this website. I love it here! And thank you for always being kind and gracious.
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December 30 at 8:13PM
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DR DIP: wow that is amazing
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December 31 at 2:22AM
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nancyjam: Happy New Year, Tom. Congratulations on a great 2017!
I'm sure this next year will be just as
successful. You've given us all a voice -
an outlet for creativity and it is much appreciated.
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January 1 at 2:07PM
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FanStory:
To celebrate the New Year and to thank everyone for their support in 2017 we just announced a new 5-7-5 Poetry Contest with a cash prize. Deadline in less than two weeks! Good luck!
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December 30 at 3:06PM
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FanStory:
Check out the new club called "Shout Outs to the Lord" for 5-7-5 writers. View the club listing.
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November 3 at 4:13PM
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| damommy: Great club and great folks.
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November 11 at 12:12PM
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claritodefrancia: "Write now, right now!" Those are just four words to remember and understand. Good luck to those who could and could not.
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November 20 at 7:17AM
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FanStory:
A new club is available for fiction writers. View the club listing here. Contact us if you are interested in hosting your own club.
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October 11 at 10:46AM
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Brigitte Elko: I believe strongly that writers and potentially great writers become discouraged frequently. A club that promotes only positive comments and suggestions of encouragement for the craft would be a welcome addition. Would love to host...
Respectfully submitted,
Brgitte Elko
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October 14 at 11:41AM
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pbomar1115: Brigitte Elko, I'm with you on the positive comments and all; however, occasionally, I might receive a suggestion that does not sit comfortably with me but I've learned to shake it off, realizing that members are well-meaning.
Phillip
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October 24 at 10:40PM
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Lisa Rachel Tremback: I am refusing any more reviews. Had one guy who went into my poetry to find a bad one to thwart,because I didn't write a good review on him. I am not into attacks in chat rooms, always have avoided them in the past and now is no different.
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October 28 at 2:07PM
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| Lisa Rachel Tremback: You can look at my replies. He just had to get back at me for my review. He claims he didn't, but my psychologist husband believes it was an underhanded attack. I am a ptsd victim and don't want to be involved in reviewing anymore if that is what hapoeens.
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October 28 at 8:38PM
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| Lisa Rachel Tremback: You can look at my replies. He just had to get back at me for my review. He claims he didn't, but my psychologist husband believes it was an underhanded attack. I am a ptsd victim and don't want to be involved in reviewing anymore if this is what happens.
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October 28 at 8:39PM
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Lisa Rachel Tremback: Not bad Lisa but you seem to be all over the place with your rhyme scheme. For a person who is quite partial to rhythm thought the set out of this poem could have been better and it was hard to get into any sort of flow with the words.
Some of the rhyming and near rhyming words seemed forced but overall worth revisiting. I think with a bit of restructuring of the verse it could be better than a good poem
dip
This happened after I gave the guy this review...
With respect Lisa it was prose not rhyming verse. Prose doesn't normally have a rhythm to it as there is no rhyme scheme in prose to create a rhythm or beat. If you are at all interested, please visit my other 3000 posting all done in rhyming verse.
I hardly ever write prose as a matter of fact it's probably one of about 5 if lucky written in free verse.
Please show me an example of a poem in free verse or prose that has a created rhythm.
Thanks for the average review much appreciated. I don't think I've ever been given a three so there's always a first for everything and you are the lucky reviewer to do it.
dip
very underhanded, but still it was done.
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October 29 at 12:59PM
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FanStory:
If you haven't already, check our our new writing clubs. Want to host your own club? Contact us with your club idea.
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October 9 at 12:39PM
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| Linda Engel: This is a great idea and I hope it allows those of a feather to gather together. Thanks Tom.
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October 9 at 3:43PM
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FanStory:
Only 8 entries so far for our first screenplay writing contest. The deadline is only 6 days away. Terrific odds right now! A good chance to try something different and have a chance at the cash prize! Details.
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June 9 at 12:44PM
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| Marvin Calloway: Thanks for the reminder. I'll check it out.
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July 1 at 9:54PM
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Ellen Evans: I am very frustrated. I spent $100.00 to post this entry for comment. How could this be expired. Please help me with this. Feedback is critical for my writing. What do I need to do to get this read?
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July 22 at 5:52PM
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| pome lover: will see if I can come with one. first effort.
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July 26 at 9:29AM
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| Possummagic: Do I understand correctly that you can't vote for yourself? ( I didn't by the way)
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August 2 at 5:29AM
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| Possummagic: This may be a silly question but I can't find the answer on line. Can a person vote for themselves in the booth. I have not done so before but just wondered what the rules are. Thanks - Marie
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August 14 at 2:26AM
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Auto-Manic: Hi all. Never wrote a screenplay, looked up the format, WOW...that takes talent. Is there a specific format that needs to be used? If so, please advise and maybe I'll give this a shot.
Thanks all
AUTO-MANIC
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August 25 at 5:50PM
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FanStory:
We've updated the welcome page to give you a quick look at contests that you can enter. In addition there is no longer a restriction to the number of daily writing prompts you can enter each week.
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May 27 at 8:06PM
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| damommy: That's nice. Thank you.
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May 27 at 11:41PM
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| Hamiel: good.thank you.
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June 24 at 4:45PM
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| Daphne Molson: Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in your Nonet Contest and any others. I hope you have many more contests to try to do. I paid Fan Story for two or three years of contests with my credit card sy $2.14 a month to have some fun writing poetry so please send my website all you have I can do also for free and for wins. Thanks Daphne Molson
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October 10 at 7:15AM
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| zekeziemann: I tried to enter the War contest and at the end discovered that my story had been posted previously and, I guess, is not eligible. But the entry cost me over 10 member dollars. How can he member dollars be deducted when the story is not available for readers??
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December 15 at 3:21PM
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FanStory:
The contest page has been updated. Now it should be easier to see the contests that have deadlines rapidly approaching. View the listing.
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April 24 at 4:11PM
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| damommy: Thank you.
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April 24 at 8:18PM
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| Lindagail Hall: I feel very honoured to have been given joint third place in the Etheree contest. Thank you.
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May 14 at 10:32AM
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red6560: Its great to come share third place. Thank you.
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May 15 at 7:11AM
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| Teri7: Thanks!
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June 6 at 8:26AM
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| JDRBAR: Great
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July 2 at 3:41AM
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FanStory:
April is National Poetry Month. So we invented a poetry type to celebrate. Enter the Napo poetry contest! A Napo is a poem with four stanzas. Each stanza has four lines. Each line has four syllables. Details.
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April 3 at 5:55PM
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DR DIP: You invented 4 line, 4 verse rhyme?
I never knew this Tom lol
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April 4 at 1:58AM
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| HarryT: Have entered.
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April 5 at 10:36AM
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Bucketlist: Okay thank you for the info
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April 12 at 8:44AM
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FanStory:
We have a new sponsor. Please consider this offer for any publishing needs.
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February 22 at 11:29AM
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DR DIP: Is that reasonably priced?I have no idea.
That would be $19 US ? I am in Australia the dollar is not as strong and this equates to just under $25 aud
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February 23 at 7:43AM
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| FanStory: Yes, if you click on the banner you can find out more and also contact bookbaby directly.
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February 23 at 8:13AM
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| damommy: Very reasonably priced. Must take a look. Thanks for posting this.
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February 24 at 2:03PM
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| bmethner: How do I submit a poem once I have joined Fan Story
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February 26 at 9:44AM
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| webfoot: Book Baby is good. Lots of people I've met in other writing groups are using it
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March 20 at 10:53AM
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No writing posted. 
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None yet.
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No writing posted.
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None yet.
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Up For ReviewStand Out WritingAdditional Reading
