Got notification the other day that the writers' forum Authors by Design will be closing up.
Authors by Design emerged after the shutting down of My Writer Buddy forum, which ended oddly and somewhat abruptly. AbD had a couple owners/managers over the years, but with the advent of twitter and Facebook and more, it wasn't able to keep up. And running a forum takes a lot of time and commitment, and I appreciate those that stepped forward to keep it up and running.
What I especially appreciated was that AbD supported private crit groups--online crit groups whose forum section was only accessible to the specific crit group members (and AbD's admin team). This allowed the works to be 'unpublished' as they were not viewable to the public, including regular members of the forum.
It was where I moderated Planet Ink, a SF/Fantasy based crit group for four years, and was a member of and eventually moderated Elysian Fields for over ten years. Good times, good memories, great people and many fond memories.
The community of AbD was always friendly and supportive, even if small by many writer forum standards.
It'll be missed by not so many, but the intensity of the felt absence will make up some for that, I am sure.
Anyway, like everything...one will have to move forward, but keep those writing lessons and memories stored away...or at least I will.
There are some long-closed websites and forums I still miss for the sense of community and the friendships (even though long distance.) Perhaps another site will appear? I hope so for you. Thanks for visiting my blog tonight. :-)
ReplyDeleteThere are some I visit, but none are exactly the same, Roland. I enjoy reading what you have to say so I visit your blog pretty regularly :)
DeleteSorry to hear your forum is closing. Crit groups are of major importance. I used your outline of a good crit group when we formed one in our community. Great advice. Hope you find another online forum you trust. I would never underestimate support and encouragement from other writers. This is a good opportunity to say Thank You, Terry!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Phyllis! I'm a member of other forums, but each has it's different community and environment, benefits and weaknesses. AbD was small but quality.
Delete