Introduction
One of the many benefits of the Internet is the new forum it presents for writers, and particularly for those beginning to write. There are a large number of online magazines, literary journals and websites, available to anyone with an Internet connection. As a result, people with an interest in any aspect of creative writing such as poetry, short stories, genre fiction, and novels, have access to websites that cater for their interests. Whatever your literary bent there is bound to be a website (or more likely, many websites) that will be of interest to you.
Prior to the advent of the Internet, aspiring writers were constrained to submitting to print publications. Due to the costs involved in establishing and running a print publication, the number of such magazines, especially in a small country like Ireland, were, and continue to be, relatively few. It was rare, then, for new writers to have their work published and commented upon. The Internet, however, by virtue of its ubiquity, its ‘borderless’ nature and the relatively low costs of establishing and maintaining websites, provides a particularly apt environment for such publications. That this is the case is evident in the number of such magazines in existence.
Due to the interactive potential of the Internet, many of these sites provide areas, such as bulletin boards for example, whereby people can comment upon your work. All of this means that people beginning to write can derive experience, useful criticism and gain in confidence, as their work is displayed and commented upon. Some print publications also have an online presence, where a selection or all of the content of the printed material is made available on the Internet. Many of these websites offer writing tips and suggestions, and some time spent browsing the Internet can be extremely rewarding.
In this guide we will examine how to submit some creative writing to a website, and we will suggest some websites that should serve as a starting point to your own browsing.
The Internet has become a great source of information about writers. There are an ever-increasing number of websites devoted to authors. Whoever your favourite writer, no matter how obscure, is bound to be the subject of any number of websites. In fact, if the author in question is living, they are likely to have their own ‘official’ site. The purpose of this guide is also to show how to find information about authors, to suggest a number of websites and to provide some examples of how to do this.
After completing this guide you will be able to find and submit your creative writing to websites as well as read examples of creative writing by others online. You will also know how to find information about your favourite authors and books.
