A helpful how-to? Yeah right!

Hey there! Hey, it's me! You remember me, don't you? Always talking about some super cool site called Writing.com or something? Yeah? Oh, you do remember! What's that? What? What do you mean, I never shut up about it? I do too!

Look, that's beside the point. The point is, I must have intrigued you enough that you joined up, and that means that my incessant nattering...er, I mean, careful diplomatic discussions about the merits of Writing.com worked!

So, now you're here, you're most likely wondering what the heck you're supposed to do. You're looking around, and you're just a teensy-weensy, ever-so-slightly, little bit confused. I know. It's a lot to take in. But that's what makes this place great!

Okay, first things first, you need to create your first item. That will change your portfolio icon from gray (meaning a Registered User) to a cool, slick black (meaning a Registered Author). How do you go about this? Weeeeeell...there are a couple of ways. The easiest is probably to go up to the top of the page where there are all the many, many links. Above that, at the very tip-top of the page, there are four links. These are Getting Started, Reading, Writing, and Reviewing. Now, you might think you should start at Getting Started, but that's boring and far too much like reading the manual for that new tool/electronic device/spaceship you got for Christmas, and we all know how much you hate doing that. I mean, sure, you could start there, but where's the fun in that?! No, I suggest you jump right in and create an item without delay! So, instead of clicking on Getting Started, click on Writing.

Now that you've done that, you're looking at a page with, oh, a couple hundred different item types...well...maybe not that many, but it can seem that way at first. Your job now is to decide what kind of item you want to create. For poetry and short stories, I'd use a Static Item, found up at the top of the page. If you want to write a longer piece broken into episodes or chapters, and you have an upgraded membership, you might want to look at the Book option. For now, let's assume that you want to create a poem or short story. Go ahead and click on the Static Item link...go on! What're you waiting on? There we go...

Now, you have quite a few more confusing options. You can start at a couple of different places...sometimes I like to start with the title, at the top of the page, and sometimes I like to scroll down the page until I get to Section 4: Item Body, which is of course where you write (or, if you wrote it in another word processor, copy and paste) your poem or short story. Now that that's completed, on to the other options!

I would return to the top of the page and work your way down from there. If you've already entered the title, then you're faced with the folder you want to place the item in. As this is you're first item, you haven't created any folders. Simply leave this on the default setting, which is to place it in My Portfolio. No, not my portfolio, yours! But it's called My Portfolio. I don't know why, I guess Storymaster and Storymistress really appreciate all that I do here...

Then you come to Item Type. Aha, I bet you'd already done that! But this is a bit like a sub-type. There are lots of options, and you'll really just have to decide which one fits your item best. Something to remember here, a lot of people look through items on this site by searching for various item types. If you leave your item on Other (the default), not as many people will find it, as most people don't search for Other.

Then there's the Brief Description. Trust me, this can be harder than it looks! 90 characters is not all that many, when you get right down to it, so nothing overly-wordy. Keep it simple, but descriptive. If it's too plain, it won't inspire someone to read it.

Then you come to Section 2: Content and Access Control Settings. You should take the time to go over the Writing.com Content Rating System, and then rate your piece accordingly. You don't want a kid to come along and read something not suited for them, do you? I didn't think so. This is important!

Then there's Access Restrictions, this should be easy enough to understand. I trust you can handle this one on your own.

Below that is where you can enter a passkey. If you have your item set to private, and set a passkey, those who have the passkey will still be able to access your item. Very useful. If you have your item Access Restrictions set at Preferred Authors, and have a passkey set, then all Preferred authors will be able to access your item, as well as all Registered Authors and Registered Users who have your passkey.

Then there's Group Edit Access. Unless this item is for a group to work on, you probably shouldn't mess with that.

Then you come to Section 3: Genres and Keywords. I see a lot of people leaving the Genre on Other, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you do. Not as many people will find your item, and it's just not as welcoming. So take the time to think your item through, and pick two or three genres. And don't worry if you can't fit your item to three different genres. But just don't leave it on Other.

Now, Keywords. This is pretty simple, really. Anything that you can think of that people might be able to find your item through the Search function should be entered here.

Skip Section 4, as you've already filled it out (remember? The Item Body?), and head to Section 5: Item Preferences. Here's where you set a few things that can change the way people can rate or review your item, and also whether or not you wish to give reviewers a reward for reviewing your item. All of this is up to you.

Section 6 is where the copyright information is displayed, and also where you can save your item. Go ahead and read the copyright information...(waits three seconds) Okay, now that you've 'read' the copyright information, you can save your item. Save and View will save it, and take you directly to your item, which is nice sometimes. But really, any of the three Save buttons will work. This time, just click on the Save Item button. That'll take you back to your portfolio.

There! You did it! Now you have a shiny new Black Case! You're a Registered Author! Congratulations!