You Can Improve Your Writing Skills Free at IWW

Whether you need to improve your communicating skills, or are a professional with years of experience, improving your writing skills enhances your chances of success.

Additionally, whether you're a beginning writer, or are thinking about becoming a writer, in today's publishing world you need all the help you can get to be successful.

One of the best online writers organizations is free ~~ Internet Writing Workshop .

Greg Gunther, one of the current Administrators (Admin) of the lists, said, "We have a History page on our website that says how we go back to 1986, and have run continuously since then. All the more amazing, since it has always been free and run by unpaid volunteers."

How good is it? Members include every level of writer, from the new and aspiring to publishing professionals like Gary Presley, who also serves as an Admin. This unique mix benefits members who contribute thoughtful article critiques and participate in enlightening discussions about writing issues. All things considered, regular participation can help writers acquire skills they would learn in college writing courses.

IWW writers, now and in the past, claim membership and regular participation gives writers more skills than a college writing course, in part because of tips and information members share about publication and marketing.

Hosted by the computer department at Penn State University, the IWW group provides this free service to writers from all over the world. Check out IWW Showcase of Successes .

Writers routinely give each other valuable feedback about their writing, and confront the pros and cons of every conceivable writing technique. Writing Discussions (DICS) include topics like self-publishing, writing software, grammar, ebooks, etc.

When I determined to improve my writing, I looked around for places to get feedback, and came across that fascinating online community. I had authored three books, and you'd expect that between me and the editor my publisher assigned, the books would be error-free by the time they were published (1982 and 1991), but that's far from true.

The day in 1996 I joined Internet Writing Workshop ,Nonfiction, Writing, was the day I began learning not only how to write. Perhaps more important, as a member of MarketChat, I learned how to market my writing. Access The World and Write Your Way To $$$ resulted and became the ultimate online resource for writers.

IWW requirements are minimal, a combination of four submissions (SUB) and critiques (CRIT) a month. Ie: writers offer helpful suggestions (critiques) to improve another writer's work in exchange for receiving helpful suggestions to improve their own writing.

Of course this takes some getting used to, and that's actually one of its benefits.

·       By offering critiques to other writers, you gain practice as an editor.

·       Reading a wide variety of writing and seeing what other writers suggest broadens your thinking.

·       The experience changes writing from an isolated activity to a shared one.

In today's rapidly fluctuating publishing world, up-to-the minute information is vital to a writer's success. During its 18-year existence, Internet Writing Workshop evolved from a handful of writers besotted with the web potential to interact with writers worldwide to offering specialty lists to everyone who chooses to join. They include:

Critiquing Lists: Fiction; Lovestory; Nonfiction; Novels; Poetry; Practice; Prose/Flash-fiction; Script-writing; Child/Young adult .

Discussion Lists: Writing; Creative Nonfiction; MarketChat; and SFChat.

For example, Creative Nonfiction Discussion list (CNF-D) is a list you should join if you like analyzing the personal essay genre.

IWW has the distinction of being one of the first writing workshops on the Internet and ranks among the top free workshops for writers, and it ranks among the top free writer's lists.

Learn more about, and/or join, here: Internet Writing Workshop. To become a new member, send a message to writing-workshop-request@lists.psu.edu with a copy to pvgreg@cox.net, or gepresley@gmail.com, following directions on the website.

Now, let's talk about a few basics. "Here's how it works," Greg said. "You will select the lists (groups) you want. After sending in your application, you will soon begin receiving emails. You may see so many emails that they seem like a blizzard. New members may experience annoying parts of the IWW that need getting used. We have several solutions. The first is to understand what the emails are about, and to delete the ones you don't want."

List Admins welcome questions, help smooth new member's experience, and direct them to detailed instructions, a needed. New members find it easier if they join one list and get used to interacting before joining more lists.

Jerry Waxler, non-fiction list member, says, "I actually look forward to scanning the submissions and critiques, which I keep in a special folder away from the normal flood of email I get from everywhere else. Many people adapt to these emails and actually look forward to them. As a long time member, when I go to look at my IWW inbox, I feel like I'm relaxing with my writing friends."

Rather than receiving numerous individual 'Writing' emails every day, I elected to receive 'Writing' in digest form, which lets me quickly scroll through a single daily email.

Greg said, "My job in the workshop is primarily to add new members. Gary does that as well, from time to time. If I were unable to serve, he would take over. Our jobs are basically to keep the machinery running smoothly.

"We can always use new members. We encourage our members to promote IWW in any way they can, and truly appreciate their help."

This week's Yahoo list of members' successes is now up on the IWW Blog. (Scroll down.)

Pam, a nonfiction member in Hawaii says, "The huge benefit of having your work critiqued, and of learning how to write better by critiquing the work of others is the greatest. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a group of critiquers to raise a writer to a higher skill level. And it takes a group of critiquees to raise the bar on their own work. Each critiquer offers different insights on ways to improve a writer's work."

The Yahoos members share often include thank yous to their genre group, such as, "I wouldn't have had my article accepted by the magazine without this group's editing help," and "IWW has done it again, gotten me an acceptance instead of a rejection."

Writing skills are highly prized in today's jobs market. Join Internet Writing Workshop today to begin polishing yours.