If anyone's going to write an honest review about Prose, it might as well be its unofficial reviewer, right?

Prose is a website likely established less than two years ago and has since became an ever-growing community of experienced and kickstarting writers, as well as people who enjoy writing as a hobby, such as yours truly. What can I say about Prose? As usual, we gotta go over the positives; and believe me there are plenty of positives. 

Obviously the biggest is its community. You will meet some of the most talented and interactive folks on any website. I've been on two other writing sites before and their members could not compare to this. Your posts will always get some kind of feedback whether it's a like or a kind comment from somebody; and the feedback is one-hundred percent awesomely kind. Well maybe 99% to me, that's because some a-hole really disliked my content. But I didn't take it to heart, especially when I know some extraordinary members who enjoy what I write about. Other than that the people here, or Prosers as they're called, will always give you positive feedback and a little constructive criticism that helps you along as you improve your writing skills. 

Another thing I like about Prose is the challenges. The administrators here usually create a challenge per week but they've also allowed its members to create their own challenges. You can set one in any portal you choose and have it at any word length you'd please. And the challenges that everyone comes up with are genuinely amazing. It gets the Proser to come up with some clever posts and lets them think outside the box. I love reading what folks have come up with.

Prose has its content separate into different genres that they call portals. These range from Education, LGBT, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, etc. I generally stick to the Review & Fiction portals when it comes to posting content. Trust me, whichever portal you click on you'll find some amazing stuff.

But no website is without sin. What are some honest negatives that I can think of? Bugs happen commonly on the site, which is why it is important that if you find a bug that you report it to one of the admins right away. It wasn't too long ago that I noticed that I could not add any chapters to my books and I informed Sammie (Prose Admin) about it.

Also when I first signed on there was no limit to the how many words you can have per challenge you create, and now they've set it up that every challenge generated must have a minimum word length of 15 words. Yet this does not affect you if you're a Prose Partner? What the hell, Prose? What the hell? Please, as I am down on my knees and begging, remove the word limit.

I don't think I can add anymore to say about how awesome Prose is other than you'll have to find out for yourself. I'm very happy to be apart of this community, and I am happy Prose has given me a chance to write again. I'm also happy that my reviews are entertaining some folks, and I'm honestly happy folks are enjoying my 'Sins of the Father' stories. I've honestly had some Prosers of religious faith tell me how much they've enjoyed reading about the devil being a father figure. Either people are as crazy as I am or I'm doing something right. Whatever the reason, I keep coming back every time, and I love reading whatever everyone posts on this awesome website.

Final Grade: A+

So yeah, I did it. I reviewed Prose. What are your thoughts about Prose? What do you love about it? If you're new, what do you think so far? What's your favorite portal? And if you're not a member, are you considering joining? JOIN US! JOOIIINN UUUUUSSS! As always please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out all that is posted right here on Prose!

In all honesty, Prose has sparked my interest into writing. I was never the one to get an A on an essay, in fact the highest grade I've gotten on an essay is a solid B during my junior year of high school. I used to write poetry when I was a freshmen, but I stopped due to my lack of passion in writing. However, when I first came to prose, I took an extreme liking to many individuals such as: @JamesMByers @sandflea68 @MilesNowhere @AmandaCary and so many others! It's thanks to them that I actually want to write stories and poems again. And it's all thanks to the brilliance of Prose! They created an environment that's filled with great people and great challenges. And they give us Prosers opportunities to win MONEY, which is awesome!! All in all, I'm very much addicted to prose at this point. I have to come on here everyday to see the brilliance of everyone on here! If you are looking to ignite a spark in your creative interest, come to Prose!

A year back, I came across Prose which some one had mentioned as the facebook for writers. It was through a micropoetry challenge and I didn't even bother to go into the details about the portals, language etc. I just randomly posted a poem in Hindi (my mother tongue) and I got a revert from @DaveK and @RGold asking for a translation. 

It was then that I took the portal seriously. Somebody did try to find out what I had written. It was unlike Facebook. People did not just like and passed by without even a glance. I started posting and reading posts. It was a small sea of beautiful words. 

I was encouraged to write more. The challenges were unique and I learnt new forms. 

Flash Fiction, Haiku, Haibun, Tanka were all words new to my writing dictionary. People like @RubyPond, @Firdaus, @Soulhearts, @PhynneBelle, @Sandflea68 @PaulDChambers @JimLamb @DeRickiJohnson @RichWithey and many others became unsaid mentors and inspiration. And before I realised I even was dragged into writing Erotica which I never even dreamt I would ever pick my pen for. 

The good part about Prose, I realised is that there was so much more to learn. And you learn while you have fun. It is not about being perfect. It is about expressing. It is about practice. It is about opening your eyes to so much more in the beautiful world of words.

But there was a flip-side!

Of course I can't be too sweet. It would give me diabetes. 

The flip-side for me was feedback. Maybe the team is working on it. But a place like Prose should also be about feedback - relevant feedback from Prosers across.

This I believe can be constructive.  Though it may not be possible on every post but should be encouraged at both ends - readers as well as writers.

Secondly, since the time I joined the number of people and posts have increased. This causes in many good writings being missed out by readers. Sometimes you are luckily tagged by a friend or two. Re-post is an option but some over-enthusiastic Prosers re-post almost everything and the problem remains the same. 

I know being a part of the family, I should not only point an issue but also suggest a solution. Unfortunately for this I can't think of any. I am sure if I come up with an idea @sammielee46 will always be there to listen. 

The Coins and Juice is an interesting addition. It definitely gives writers a boost in confidence and a chance to earn from their precious words.

Overall it has been an interesting journey and I am glad to be a part of it.

I came here out of curiosity after finding Prose on Twitter.

I stayed for this reason...it is a place for every sort of writer from the emotionally disturbed, the eccentric, the silly, the serious, the romantic, the almost suicidal,

the highly educated, the barely understandable, the "plain and normal", the boring,

the fun, the clever, the not so clever, the experienced, the inexperienced writer,

the old school, the new school, the rhymer, the non rhymer.

No one holds any prejudice here, no one judges, no race, no religion, no creed matters, gay or straight, God fearing or Satanist...everyone is welcome as long as they abide by one unwritten rule and that rule is be friendly, be supportive, be part of the community that is Prose.

Prose is that place you come to let it all out from the deepest darkest parts of your mind and the dustiest part of your heart, it is the place you come to when you want to whisper or when you want to shout.

Prose is all about what writing should be, it is a space to create, a safe place to be yourself.

And there are some damned cool people here, who become your friends and mentors.

Prose, a place for any writer to grow and receive honest feedback with a caring touch. The Prose, is becoming my world through words of sharing with a great group of writers. A place to release all emotions, thoughts, ideas freely! Writers of all sorts can choose from posting in challenges to show their skill or just share & share again!

What is The Prose? If I had to describe it I would say its a place where you can pour your heart out, straight raw emotion in what ever style or way you prefer without fear of judgement. There is no ugly, bad, or weird as it is your imagination. It's the Instagram of emotion. You don't know the other users, you don't know your followers but yet you get read them, sometimes you read posts and you just feel what the author is feelings, its raw, its bold, its amazing. Most social media sites you become numb, some of the posts actually make you feel like you lose brain cells, but on this site that will never happen. You dont have to write to be a part of it. You can spend hours on this site and still find pieces that take you places. There are so many talented users on this site. If you are anything like me writing is a coping mechanism but sometimes you just don't know what to write about? Well you just go to challenges and there are writing prompts in every subject matter. You learn and grow, you learn different styles of writing. You get likes, and comments from other amazing authors. It helps you grow in ways you'd never expect from a social media site. 10/10 for The Prose. I wish everyone was into reading and writing. I wish everyone knew that there was such a place on the internet; a place where you just put yourself out there but you are invisible at the same time. Whether you are new to writing or you've been doing it for ages The Prose is the place for you. 

A simple disclaimer before I get harsh: I have not read any of the other posts, so this is all based off of my view of the challenge itself.

I think the judging of this challenge would itself be a challenge. What with all the "To be honest" and "truth be told" and "ever since I started on Prose", how can you decide who is actually being honest and who is simply wishing to get 500 coins.

Here's the thing, I do not doubt that these people are being as truthful as they can, but there will inevitably be those people who spew out their guts to impress you. And part of this problem is that people naturally conform to a group idea or identity whether it is in a click, gang, political party, or Hogwarts House. It is human nature to try to fit in, and that idea will bleed over into writing reviews.

Why am I being so harsh and cynical? Because I am trying to be honest.

And here is where I will seem to be a hypocrite, but won't actually be one. I will write as honest a review of Prose as I can and escape hypocrisy because I was not bashing the idea of writing a review but rather I was bashing the idea of turning reviews into a competition. So without further adieu; my review:

I find Prose to be an interesting place filled with interesting things. It is a place that allows me the freedom to let words flow from my mind onto the screen of a laptop. I have written a little until now and then but never to this extent. I think it is because I have not had a reason to write. Prose gives me that reason in the form of its Posts. I can write and hit publish and Voila! I have put my words out into cyberspace for others to read and, hopefully, enjoy.

I also hope to one day complete the book I am working on. Currently Prose is the thing that is encouraging me to write more in my book. Other items I am going to try to write include more poetry (something I had never written prior to "Prose-ing"), plenty more short stories, and hopefully a good old choose your own adventure book.

All that being said I find the Prose community to be somewhat distant. I think this has to do with only communicating primarily through books, poems, and short stories.

C.G.

Prose is a place where people can write their thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, nightmares, insecurities, roadblocks, love, hate, jealousy, and just about anything they want. The great thing about Prose is that you don't have to be a great writer to participate. It is an extremely supportive community, and a lot of people reach out to let others know what they liked about each other's works. Sometimes sharing work can be frightening and vulnerable but this place gives people the motivation to keep writing in an encouraging environment. Sure there is a contest once a week where people can win money but really they're just really good writing prompts that keep people writing. As a writer, writing everyday is important and prompts help expand your writing and genre as well as allow you to flex your creativity.

I'd like to thank all the Prosers who have read my work including @Harry_Situation @dark @sandflea68 @JamesMByers. Knowing that someone is reading my work makes writing more enjoyable and forces me to push myself beyond what I already know and improve. 

N.B. I don't want to win this review challenge. I just wanted to review prose :)

#review #prose 

Elaborate as you can—It is a Golden idea.

I’m new. I don’t even know what 500 coins means yet. ($5 naturally I’ll take as much as anybody.) These two humble cents I’d like to leave… To me it’s like tiptoeing backstage… Among other Very Important Prosers, all editing material to the very max (x-ing out the extraneous, carefully considering cliches, etc.). In short, practicing a very noble craft. And not in vain. Friendly souls are reviewing the literary-sweat of countless revisions … It feels good. Real. Challenging. Alive. Like we’re all contributing Parts to the Eternal Play. Prose On!

I've been on Prose for less than a week - a major newb, *lol* - but so far, I've loved being here.

For one thing, I'm totally addicted to Facebook, so the format of Prose is perfect for me. I also really like the Portals. But the best things, I think, are (1) the actual feedback from others; like a few others have mentioned, I too have put my writings on facebook, but they rarely get attention and even when I monologue via Newsfeed, they get scant attention. It also seems to be difficult to really make a name for oneself on blogging sites. Here, though, almost everything I've written has had feedback. So far, it's all been positive, but I'm certainly open to constructive criticism; I'm currently working on a novel for young people - which I will not be posting here, lest it gets turned down from publishers for that reason - so I really like getting a feel for how people take to my writing. It lets me know if there are things about my writing I may need to work on when it comes to my novel.

Also, (2) I love, love, love reading what others have written. I have so many books at home, I could near'bouts open a bookstore or library and as much as I love reading those books, there's something even more wonderful about reading the work of others like myself. Whether amateur or pro, I can FEEL the love of writing that my peers have. Obviously, authors love it, too, but their works are so complete and polished by the time they hit the shelves that it's sometimes hard to get that from someone like Steven King or Dean Koontz (two of my faves, obviously). Also, since many of these writings are true stories, I get way more emotional here than reading any novel (even the Twilight series, *lol*); I can actually sympathize and empathize and I greatly treasure this feeling of community.

Lastly, I LOVE the challenges! I actually found this site because I was searching Google for "free writing contests" and I've looked nowhere else since I found Prose. Even though very few of the challenges I've seen have cash (or "juice") prizes, that's ok, as I enjoy the...uh...challenges (*giggle*) that they involve, as I'm sure they're helping me to sharpen my writing skills, the better for completing my novel. Plus, they're just plain fun! And so creative! I love nothing better than to have a good idea that I can run with. Prose is like a gym for writing muscles!

And did I mention that I LOVE reading what others have written? :-D

I know I should probably add something negative, as well, but I've got nothing. Maybe because I'm still in the honeymoon phase, here, *lol* <3