XENITH

Speaking from personal experience, this website works. My writing has improved greatly in the last three plus years and I feel that a lot of that is owed to my compatriots here at Xenith. Getting feedback on your writing is a very valuable thing, and too often it’s easy to forget how amazing it can be. So, because critiquing is such a wonderful service that we all provide, I’m testing a new idea, site-wide. I would like to introduce the trial run of the Xenith Critic’s Rewards Program: a system in which you will have an incentive to critique the works of others. I know it seems like a sales pitch or some kind of trick, but the genuine aim is to increase the amount of critiquing that goes on here at Xenith. We need to get back to our roots, so to speak.

The program works like this: for every honest, well-thought-out critique you give (ie: avoiding the “I like this piece. It reminds me of capers” or the “This poem smells like cabbage”), you will get a point. Each person who reaches twenty points by February 1st wins a book of their choice (provided it’s available at Barnes ‘n’ Noble), shipping costs covered (if you’re outside the US, it might have to be a smaller book that I can mail because UPS is totally expensive overseas). This isn’t a contest: everyone who reaches twenty points wins.

Please keep in mind that the goal of this is not for me to give out books, but to encourage thoughtful critiques on the works that people post. As Xenith’s temporary slave driver, I reserve the right to refuse the prize if I think someone’s comments have been half-assed and pointless. In the interest of fairness, I’ll discuss it with other members beforehand.

Also, if this program goes well, then it will be repeated each month. I do want to advise, however, that the point requirement for winning may increase over time due to obvious reasons.

Also.2–you win a prize for every twenty points you get. So if you double your critique output, you get two prizes. Triple? You get the idea.

Drop by and discuss it, or just jump in and participate!

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