Us writers who are here to be seen, read, enjoyed or detested are not here because we cannot get published elsewhere; quite the contrary we are here so those that cannot afford our books or stuff we write they can never see, has been made possible through what used to be the BEST ON-LINE WRITING SITE out there, as far as I was concerned. I now am beginning to feel the pangs of doubt upon me.
I have made over 100 good, real, people as GREAT FRIENDS some I even have had the pleasure of talking to by phone and realizing they are in areas I visited once or twice, or right near where I grew up as a small child. It is fascinating, fun and profitable without using the gift-card option.
I am thrilled that many of my friends and connections just happen to be fabulous writers who are gifted in so many ways able to express their good fortune through wonderful writing. I am addicted to writing, sharing, teaching and learning and if you are just here at gather to socialize without real attempt at helping re-shape America through citizen journalism, then I am sorry because that is NOT my main concern, although necessary when creating rapport between writer and avid reader wanting something great to sink their teeth into.
But if you are just here to social network, don't be so bored or let a writer know they are boring because you just want someone to 'chat' with. Gather is most noted for connecting at an intellectually-stimulating level that involves writing prose, poetry, short stories, novellas and even a few chapters of the next best novel. We, as writers, are not meant to be boring but some social butterflies just want to play instead of play and learn . . . or even teach us through a few of their creative expressions found in the literary achievement they strive to succeed at !
I am published and working to be published many more times, but gather is a great community and I don't want to see it dwindle away in the ashes where FaceBook or mySpace is headed . . . It is pure hell to be in there and make sense of anything !
So better than complaining, bashing, ranting or screaming . . .
INSTEAD !!!
www.gather.com We used to have a very professional homepage . . .
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 15
With the operative words being "used to be".
More Comment Graphics
Thank you for posting / writing / publishing this.
It prompted me to think about my own definition for what a 'writing site' is, and I concluded that I have never looked upon Gather in this way. To me, a 'writing site' implies that constructive feedback on published writing is the norm. That has not really been true overall for this community, therefore I consider Gather to be much closer to a 'blogging' (or even PTP) site than anything else.
A 'blogging' site, typically NOT even close because it takes citizen journalism to a whole new level, it adds the related sites relevant to persons article AND gives us insight into the writers mind about what she or he is writing about. Typical 'blog' sites are mostly a daily journal, or something close; however, blogging is encompassing many different windows to attract readers and that of course is what a writer wants.
At this point the writers are no longer the sole strong point of gather. It is moving in a different direction.
As long as I enjoy it - I'll stay.