by Sandra Piddock

Created on: December 15, 2009

I'm a member of both Helium and Triond, but Helium is my writing home. It's where I learn more, it's where I earn more, and it's where I enjoy myself more. Here at Helium, I feel part of a community of writers. At Triond, I'm very much on my own. I still have articles posted on Triond, which earn me a few cents a month, but I hardly use the site these days.

The main problem I have with Triond is that, despite the low payments, the site insists on original content. I can post my Triond articles to Helium once they've been accepted, but I can't return the favour and post my Helium articles on Triond. I realise the site wants quality content free from plagiarism, but I think Triond's admin people get a little over enthusiastic at times. I used a sentence from a response I made on a discussion site as the opener for an article, and the whole piece was rejected because that one sentence had appeared on another site. Even though it was my own sentence, I couldn't use it again as a tiny portion of an article. As I didn't want to waste a good article,  I published it on Helium, where it continues to perform well in the rankings and earn each month.

At Triond, you decide what you want to write and they decide where it will be posted. Some people may welcome that freedom, but I enjoy the discipline of writing to a title. It helps me to focus on the project in hand. I also enjoy reading other writers' takes on the subject before I make my own contribution, and the channel and title grouping system at Helium makes it easy to do this. In short, I prefer the structure at Helium to the sometimes haphazard approach at Triond.

Through the rating system on Helium and feedback from other members, I can evaluate how my articles are received and make necessary adjustments. On Triond, people can say they 'like' your article and leave comments, but most don't bother, and some of those who do don't leave very helpful comments. Here at Helium, we take our writing seriously and offer support, advice and encouragement to other writers. That sense of a writing comunity is missing at Triond, despite the fact that they have a dedicated writing site, 'Writinghood.'

I write because it's something I have to do, and I continually strive to improve my writing and earn recognition for it - and, hopefully, a little extra cash as well. Helium gives me the encouragement and support I need to spread my writing wings. For that reason alone, Helium is well worth my writing time.

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