Submission Guidelines
Content on inkpop may contain strong themes and elements, but should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Submissions must not contain any sexually explicit, disparaging, defamatory, libelous, obscene or other inappropriate content.
- Any depictions of violence, nudity or sexual activity, or drug use or the inclusion of strong language should be justified by the narrative or documentary context of the piece, including a consideration of the intended audience, and not be gratuitous or exploitative.
- Material that promotes or incites or instructs matters of crime and/or violence is not permitted.
Tips for Writing A Good Review
Remember what helped you. Have you ever had a friend or a teacher comment on a paper, and help you fix it? Maybe they showed you that your descriptions were fantastic, but your transitions were rocky. Sometimes remembering what kind of comments helped you in the past can help you shape your own words.
See the good in others’ stories. If something captures your imagination—and you think a character or moment works—don’t be afraid to offer a positive comment! Often we think of editors as people who fix problems in writing, but they’re also trained to see the diamonds in the rough, first draft. You, too, can help bring out the strong and imaginative elements in someone’s story by telling the writer what you really liked.
Be honest but not unkind. You might have been taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all, which is a good rule to follow in general. When commenting on people’s writing, however, if you’ve got a valid criticism, don’t be afraid to share it. Just make sure you don’t confuse critiquing with insulting. Criticism is fine, good even, as long as it’s constructive.
Back it up. Never say you don’t like something. Instead, say it didn’t seem to work in the story and then explain why. If you can’t back up your opinion, it won’t be helpful, and it could be hurtful.
Pick your battles. No need to pick at typos and dissect another writer's grammar at this stage. Everyone wants to tell a better story—and we're all here to help each other do that. So always take a step back and ask yourself, is my comment useful? What would make this even stronger? How can I help make this story the best it can be?
Vocabulary counts. We're all writers (and editors) here, right? We all know how to carefully phrase our thoughts, pick exactly the right words to explain what we mean…so there's no reason we need to resort to profanity, insults, or sweeping generalizations. It's not just the thought —when you're writing a comment, every word counts, too. Choose yours carefully!
What if it was you? Before posting a comment, always imagine what it would feel like if someone else had written that comment about your story. Would you think it was a) awesome, b) interesting and maybe useful, c) confusing, or d) evil! If your reaction would be choices c or d, skip it! Remember that these other writers are working just as hard as you!
Compare rather than condemn. Just because two stories are different doesn’t mean one writer is better than the other necessarily. It could be a matter of taste, or the writers may just have different points they need to work on. The best way to compare two writers is to say what each of their strengths are.
Make suggestions that make sense for the story. It’s great to be creative and constructive! The best way is to pick out something you liked in the person’s story, and suggest that they do a similar thing in a different part. For instance, “I love how you describe the sky in the opening paragraph. Maybe you could describe the setting more in the other parts to make this stronger.” Don’t suggest ideas that are wildly different from what the writer is trying to write. Save those ideas for yourself instead!
