by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: January 31, 2009

The Writing.com community site is actually a major reason why I'm writing professionally now, so I definitely have a high opinion of them. I actually found them by accident about two years ago, and at the time I hadn't written anything beyond college papers for several years.

What I found was a great community of experienced writers who were willing to challenge me and help me grow. Initially there were two or three key people on the site that basically became my writing mentors, and I even got to meet one of them in person when she went to visit her dad who lived in my city. The encouragement and feedback kept me going to the point I later started trying paid writing websites such as Helium and finding other ways to make money from my writing. So if you're looking for the core feature of the site, it's not anything technical. It's the people.

Some technical things you need to know about the site as a new person are very simple. You start out with a free portfolio where you can post 10 items. Your portfolio color will be a light gray, indicating you're a member but have no published work on the site. When you post your first item, your portfolio case will turn black. The number next to your name will also become a 1, which is a community point. Generally the more points a person has, the longer they have been on the website. You get these various ways-staying active on the site, winning merit badges through contests, and reviewing other people.

Yellow cases are preferred authors, which you can become if someone recommends you for consideration, and you have a solid portfolio of work. Blue and purple cases are moderators, which are good people to go to for help. If they don't know the answer, they can at least refer you to someone who does. Red cases are site staff, which are the first people you should go to for help, especially the designated help portfolio.

The two sections of the site you should focus on as a new person are the "Autorewards" section-where you can get a lot of gift points for reviewing other people who need help, and the "Contest Listing" section found under "Things to Do and Read." Have fun and explore the other areas as well-the site is very massive and has a lot of variety once you look into it. It just takes some time to initally learn everything.

I hope you've found these tips helpful, and feel free to contact me through Helium if you have any questions about Writing.com. I'll try my best to answer them for you.

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