29 Comments
User's avatar
Kostia Dmytriiev's avatar

That's a super cool idea. I really love it.

David T Etheredge's avatar

Thank you - we already have our first victim author signed up!

https://inferencestories.com/p/write-club-round-1

Hello, I'm Human's avatar

I love this idea so much! Such a great way to connect with other writers, improve, and support. Thank you for getting this started!

David T Etheredge's avatar

Thank you! I hope you can join us for a Write Club session soon. :)

Randy M's avatar

What is the participation mechanism? Your chat? A daily post with comments? Or comments on that particular author's pub?

David T Etheredge's avatar

We do the chat on the Write Club discord server (writeclub.chat). We tell people who are joining as readers to like, comment and share the authors story on their publication if they wish.

Jackson Rich's avatar

Would love to join but I've heard that hackers can put disturbing stuff on your computer through Discord servers and Discord can't stop them. Do you have any suggestions or safety measures to ensure that I don't end up with russian animal porn loaded onto my laptop? It sounds like fun but I'm paranoid about Discord.

David T Etheredge's avatar

I believe based on both experience and research on the web that simply joining and reading messages in a Discord server like Write Club cannot put malware on your computer.

Discord is generally very safe and is used by millions of people daily to host communities. Hackers cannot infect a computer unless you choose to download an unsafe file from an unverified source, but that’s no different than email or any other social media platform.

Jackson Rich's avatar

I appreciate your timely response and info.

Isn’t it a platform that keeps getting people busted for CP and stuff that was mysteriously and quite suddenly found on their account? I’ve read some articles and news reports to that effect and it has me spooked. I’ve been warned by some knowledgeable computer friends that Discord is one platform to be avoided like the deep web.

I will certainly take it under advisement. It sounds fun!

Thanks again for your quick reply!

David T Etheredge's avatar

I think you just have to avoid going to sketchy servers.

There are Churches that use Discord for community outreach to shut-ins. So its not the platform, its the community.

The Liminal bond's avatar

love this idea, i hope it gets the traction you’re wanting

David T Etheredge's avatar

We're 35 days into it and its working so far. Thank you!

eggsavior1001's avatar

This sounds fun!

Monica A Leyva's avatar

I love the whole premise of this. So exciting.

David T Etheredge's avatar

We'd love to have you submit a story! :)

Monica A Leyva's avatar

Sounds fun - any theme?

David T Etheredge's avatar

Narrative fiction of any flavor. We’ve had SFF, Horror, Romantasy, Humor, Parenting (Drama & Tragedy), Slice of Life, Slicing to Death and Slices of Pie.

Love, Khaeli's avatar

hey! when you say that you'll talk about the story with the author for 30 mins 7pm est, does that mean voice calls or just chatting directly in discord? I'd love to join and maybe soon send one of my writing, but i'm a little worried about this cause I'm shy lol. thanks!

David T Etheredge's avatar

We are currently just doing text chat to protect the innocent. And the author chooses what level of criticism they want, from none at all (just what people liked about the story) to full frontal critique (anything goes as long as it’s constructive).

We may give authors the choice of voice or video in the future.

If you join the Write Club discord (http://writeclub.chat) you can review the transcript for the first one which was last night and see how it went. :)

Love, Khaeli's avatar

Awesome, thanks David! I'll definitely check out the discord. Hoping to send my stuff soon!

Gonz Paoli's avatar

Hey

HEY

I'll have you know

MY MOM is a VERY SUPPORTIVE PERSON

David T Etheredge's avatar

We are very pro-Moms around here.

Mercedes de Santiago's avatar

I'm in too. The post, does it have any limits in the time of publishing? I mean, could it be from 6 months ago or a year ago? Thanks!

David T Etheredge's avatar

The post can be from any time! Drop me a note in direct chat with what piece you want to feature and we’ll coordinate what date you want to go. :)

Saengard's avatar

Can it be an excerpt from a published work? Or does it need to be a completed story and what is the length? Im looking around for where your rules are posted...

David T Etheredge's avatar

Cheers. Needs to be published on Substack and be less than 30 minutes to read (10 - 15 minutes is preferable). Fiction or narrative non-fiction is best. I’ll drop the full submission criteria in a chat.

Zack Harmes's avatar

I’m game. Can always use the practice and improvement.

David T Etheredge's avatar

Drop me a message in direct chat with a link to your story and we’ll get you scheduled in!

Vesper L. Rayne's avatar

well this looks like fun, I'm in 😊