Review Prose, You Say?

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