STORYTIME

what the Storytime list is, and how to participate

CONTENTS:
1) What is Storytime?
2) IMPORTANT Plain Text Info
3) How to Encourage Critiques
4) Storytime Guidelines And Procedures

1) WHAT IS STORYTIME?
Storytime is: 1) An informal workshop for writers and poets who want critiques and feedback in order to fine-tune their work. 2) A place for aspiring authors to get a feel for things, a comfortable place to take wing. 3) A place for people who simply enjoy writing for the pure joy of it. No pressure, no judgement, no rejection.

Please note the following:

• Storytime is for all levels of work, from in-the-rough, to polished, and from amateur writers to professionals.
• Posting on the Storytime list does not designate a work as published. This is a private list, so don't be concerned about exposure.

To subscribe to Storytime, send an email to Adrienne or Bob stating you read all the information provided, and want to subscribe.

To participate in era-storytime use this email address:
era-storytime@erotica-readers.com

To unsubscribe from era-storytime:
send a message to era-storytime-unsubscribe@erotica-readers.com 
and respond to the resulting Confirmation email
If you are receiving era-storytime in digest form, send send an email to:
era-storytime-digest-unsubscribe@erotica-readers.com 

Storytime Weekends start on Wednesday and end on Sundays (midnight Tuesday through midnight Sunday, US Eastern Standard Time). Please note:  Sundays are reserved for Flashers and poetry. Do not post stories on Sunday. Comments/Critiques are welcomed at any time.

Need help with time? 
Official US Time: www.time.gov
World Clock: www.timeanddate.com 

Storytime Forms include the following: Please remember to include the correct subject line information.

Quickies are under 1200 words
Put QUICKIE and Title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., QUICKIE: Hot Nights)

Stories over 1200 words.
Put STORY and Title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., STORY: Hot Nights)

Novels (works in progress) are limited to 1 chapter per Storytime Weekend, and 1 novel per author at a time. The initial posting should include a short synopsis of the work.
Put NOVEL, Title and Chapter # of the work in your subject line
(i.e., NOVEL: Hot Nights, Ch 3)

Flashers are sexy stories written in 200 words or less. As an exercise, Flashers help authors tighten up their writing by eliminating wordiness. Flashers are posted on Sundays.
Put FLASHER and Title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., FLASHER: Hot Nights)
Details at: Flasher & Poetry Sundays

Poems: Poetry is posted on Sunday.
Put POEM and Title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., POEM: Hot Knights)
Details at: Flasher & Poetry Sundays

Themes / Events:  For theme and event related stories.
Put THEME or EVENT and title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., THEME Holiday Tales: Hot Christmas Knights)
(i.e., EVENT: Erotic Romance: Passionate Nights)
Details at: Themes/Events Description & Schedule.

Mainstream: These are non-erotic works (any genre of fiction, non-fiction, or essay). Incidental sex scenes within a non-erotic plot would be considered Mainstream.
Put MAINSTREAM and title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., MAINSTREAM: Saturday Nights)

Crit (short for critique) is a catch-all word for comments, critiques, replies, thanks yous, or any response to Storytime works.
Put CRIT and title of the work in your subject line
(i.e., CRIT for Hot Nights)
Critique details at How to Encourage Critiques

Before participating in Storytime, I strongly suggest every subscriber read the information in:  The Art of Critiquing, Sexy Writing Partnerships, Themes & Events, and Flasher & Poetry Sundays 

By now you're probably confused and a little overwhelmed. Don't worry, we post weekly reminders so everyone is riding the same wave as to what, when and where.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Many of the stories shared during Storytime Weekend are featured in the Erotica Gallery on ERWA website. We ask authors privately (off-list) for permission to feature their work for one month in the Galleries. Note: Because stories are featured in the gallery for a limited time, editors/publishers often don't consider ERWA gallery stories as previously published material. However, editors/publishers of Best Of anthologies do consider gallery stories as published material. Bottom line: it's always best to inquire.


• Editors/publishers looking for content may NOT approach authors requesting works posted to the Storytime list. This is a private list, and not a place to troll for content. However, editors/publishers looking for content are welcome to 1) approach authors in the Galleries on ERWA website, and 2) send Adrienne guidelines for posting on era-admin.

2) PLAIN TEXT INFORMATION
Post works in plain text only—anything but plain text will bounce. This is an important restriction for the list as it prevents viruses, attachments, images, advertisements and other annoying stuff from making it to the list, and also provides a standard that all email clients can read. The following links explain the plain text issue in detail and provide information about how to configure email programs to send in plain text.

Why plain text email messages are best in today's Internet.
www.mail-list.com/list_owner/plain_text_email.html

How to Send Emails in Plain Text
email.about.com/cs/netiquettetips/qt/et070103.htm

PLEASE NOTE: Word programs are automatically set by default to use "curly" or "smart" quotes. However, these quotes do not convert well in plain text email, resulting in funky glyphic for quotes and apostrophes. For example, you type this:  "Do you recall what I don't know?" and it shows up as this:  â€œDo you recall what I don’t know?”

Details about how to turn off Word's smart quotes:
blogs.techrepublic.com.com/msoffice/?p=1547
ezinearticles.com/?Turn-Off-Smart-Quotes

3) CRITIQUES
If you post works for critiques, you must state so right up front otherwise subscribers will assume you don't want critiques on your works. 

BE SPECIFIC! State exactly what you want. Chances are if you ask, you'll get what you want; if you don't, you won't. Do you want tough honest crits, or do you want gentle remarks? Perhaps you want to know if the plot works; if the grammar and structure are correct; maybe a scene needs help; perhaps the Flasher doesn't flow, or you need help with the poetry form; you're having problems with the dialogue, or the ending is giving you fits. Maye you want a general overview. Not sure what to say? Here's a few ideas:

• I'm submitting this story to So&So call for submission and would appreciate serious in-depth critiques...
• I'm shy (first time posting a story, nervous, etc), and would like gentle input on...
• I'm posting for the fun of sharing an erotic story (flasher, poem) and would like readers' comments. No critiques please.

Please don't ask for critiques if you don't plan on revising your work, ask for general comments instead. And if you do ask for critiques, please don't complain when you get them. 

Important! If you post works for critiques, please return the favor and help other authors by critiquing their work. Everyone should make an effort to critique at least two works, more if time permits. If you want in-depth critiques, you should give in-depth critiques. 

4) STORYTIME GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES:

Guidelines:

• The no-nos:
  No underage characters: no characters under 18 allowed in scenes where sexual activity occurs. This is a legal issue, so no pushing the envelope on this one.
  
  No rape: After-the-fact 'consent' is not acceptable. However, non-consent is one of those foggy areas where you can stretch the boundaries if the story line demands it.
  
  No incest: Meaning no brother/sister or parent/off-spring sexual activity.
  
  No bestiality: No domestic or barnyard type animals. However, sentient creatures, fantasy/magical beasts and such things are good to go.


• Authors can post one of each form every weekend: one short story, one quickie, one theme related story, and one chapter from a work in progress.

• On Sundays, up to 3 Flashers per author, and unlimited poems per poet. (see Flasher & Poetry Sundays)

• Do not post revisions during the same Storytime weekend as the original posting. Wait at least a week before sharing a rewrite. This will give you time to sift through all the crits for the most useful information.

• Please categorize stories. A simple 'this is a sci-fi (romance, horror, lesbian, homosexual, BDSM, etc) story' is fine. If authors feel a more detailed explanation is necessary, that's fine also. 

• No Attachments! Place your story in the body of your email. If your story or chapter is longer than 4000 words, send it in parts. For Example, Hot Nights Part 1 of 2, Hot Nights Part 2 of 2.

• Never post works that are not yours. Do not post collaborative works that include non-subscribers. No exceptions allowed.

• When responding to a work, delete as much of the original message as possible, leaving only enough to reflect what you're replying to. Also include the ----Original Message---- portion that includes title and author of the work you are referring to. This will establish the date for the original posting, so subscribers can tell if they're reading a crit for a story posted during a previous Storytime Weekend.

• Always copyright your work! See below for an example of how to include a copyright notice.

• Format Standard: left margin justified, one blank line between paragraphs, copyright notice.  See below for an example of how to format your work.

Example of ERWA formatting standard for stories/flashers

Title
by (author's name)
Copyright (include year and email address)

Everything left margin justified, no indentations and no tabs. She bitched constantly about formatting errors. Sometimes he just wanted to take her keyboard...

On a final note, one blank space between paragraphs. 

Copyright (date) (name, email address). All rights reserved. Content may not be copied or used in whole or part without written permission from the author.

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