Hello!

[SarahC]

Just wanted to say hello. I've just joined after having a go at Pop-Up submissions, which was good craic and inspired me to rewrite my entire first scene, which I hated, but couldn't figure out why. Now I harbour slightly less animosity towards it, so that's always good.

I write YA, largely because I have thus far failed to evolve beyond the young adult state, despite my departure from the official age category quite some time ago.

“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams once claimed. As an Irish person, I can categorically confirm that this is incorrect. There are few things a well-baked potato can't fix.

Apologies for the ramblings, it's been a long year.

 

[Barbara]

Hi Sarah,

good craic

We like a good craic here.

Welcome to the Colony! Any questions about the site, please message me. I'm one of the Guardians and always happy to help.

Do check out the Colony Notices to familiarize yourself with how the site works – The Prime Directive is the foundation of our ethos. For literary chat and general socializing, Café Life is THE place to be. We also have a Flash Club to stretch your writing muscles, and a poetry area, plus much more.

So get stuck in. You'll see that the more you put in, the more you get out. You'll learn a lot here.

Great to have you on board.

 

[Hannah F]

Hi Sarah

Welcome to the colony!

I've had a potato or two in my time, being from the south-side of the Emerald Isle border, and a couple more now I'm living in Scotland. You'll enjoy the craic here for sure, and there's plenty of us permanently adolescent YA writers hanging around the Litopian threads.

 

[RK Wallis]

Welcome @SarahC Glad Pop Ups helped. Good on you being brave enough to go on the show. You should come to our next Huddle, next Saturday. Read about them here.

 

[Steve C]

Hi Sarah. There's a few potatoe eaters here so you should feel at home.

 

[AgentPete]

Nice to have you here, @SarahC !

 

[Jonny]

Here, whatta bout ye? @SarahC

A warm welcome to the Colony and hope you enjoy it here.

There's plenty to do and we have lots of people happy to give and receive advice on works in progress. You'll get the most from the Colony with a two-way exchange and you'll be pleasantly surprised how beneficial offering critiques on the works of others is for your own work.

Litopia is a friendly and supportive community. The best thing to do is dive right in. You'll find a very helpful intro here How to guide which will point you in the right direction, and the Writing Workshops Directory WWD is a great place to road test your opening pages, chapters, blurbs & synopses etc.

If there's anything you're unsure about please drop me a message and I'll be happy to help.

PS What did Douglas Adams know anyway? My Ma swore by spuds so she did.

 

[Emily]

Hi Sarah As Barbara said, we love the craic, and as a fellow Irish person, I concur 100% with your spud declaration:

As an Irish person, I can categorically confirm that this is incorrect. There are few things a well-baked potato can't fix.

Welcome! *insert fantasy spud emoji here*

 

[gbhunt]

Hi, @SarahC , great to meet you! Looking forward to sharing some of our writings!

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Welcome to the Colony!

 

[Ancora Imparo]

Hi, Sarah, and welcome! Well done on submitting to Pop-Ups and well done again on doing the rewrites – we all know that pain! I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for here in Litopia – it's a very friendly, supportive place for writers of all kinds, especially those of us who haven't, as you say, "evolved" beyond YA. I left that age behind me decades ago. Still love YA books, though

 

[SteveWhy]

Sarah. Welcome. I joined myself a few months ago. I like this community for how civil and supportive it is. The crits you get in the workshops are worth taking seriously; many people are generous with their time and will go through your WIP line by line. Giving feedback is worthwhile, because others will recognize it and reciprocate.

 

[KateESal]

Welcome to the colony, Sarah!

Litopia is a friendly place, please just dive in

Also, do keep joining us for Pop-Up Submissions on Sundays — it would be good to have your thoughts on other people's submissions, especially now you've been through the process yourself! Subscribe to the Litopia Youtube Channel and you won't miss it.

Look forward to seeing you around!