So, don't you think this could be the beginning of something that will flourish in the near future? I mean, we have some resident writers that have been learning and honing their writing skills, and especially a Tryst with Destiny which is adhiraj's signature story, that has been here for a long time already and is getting ever better each new chapter. That's my first question to you.
You haven't reached the critical mass of population to truly flourish.
CK keeps calling recent times a Renaissance, but this is like the population during the waning days of prior ages.
This is in no way a Renaissance, and I mean that without insult. You need more people writing, period.
During the heydays, 3/4 or half a complete page of thread listings could be updated in a single day, more even, and they would be bumped or posted in by different people, not just the same user.
And more engagement. I saw the 20 people post you made. In older times, those would all be actual users, and there would be fewer guests.
I see a ton of the same writers posting multiple stories and commenting in each other's stories.
This is how people get burnt out. There needs to be new blood to keep up the energy.
As for writing skills, if you're asking for general tips, here are a few:
Character-Based Narrative: Worldbuilding. I don't mean the cheat tool.
Think about the world the characters live in.
What class, creed, color and more that people belong to, and how they react and interact with people of difference, institutions and foreigners.
Think about how your society functions and the pillars of their society. Think about culture and how people in that society express themselves.
Think about how geography affects a culture and its values.
Comedic: A lot of people think they're funny when they really aren't.
Comedy heavily relies on two things: timing, and a knowing audience.
If your audience is mostly grade 5-12 (according to ScarletKing), then tailor your humor accordingly. Some other basic rules:
-If you ever have to explain a joke, you've failed.
-Sarcasm bites up, never down.
-Innuendo is great, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
-Stereotypes based on traits people can't change are lazy.
Moreso than that, between private groups of friends who accept each other, that's fine,
but trying to take it public and expecting laughs for it is really, really dumb to the furthest degree.
General:
Write ONE story, stick to that story as if you were handcuffed to it, and just do it. Think Nike.
My second question to you: If you have been watching the new stories, could you say a few words about them? More importantly about what they have that you deem good things? It would be really nice to get your overall opinion about some of the popular stories that have been written from 2014 to now. Well, I don't know much about prior to 2014, but don't feel restricted if there is something that deserves your review before 2014.
adhiraj.bose is the shining star of this generation.
I've seen some of it and if this were another age and if the population were greater,
A Tryst with Destiny would be the
flagship story that inspires and draw users to the subforum.
I'm particularly impressed because it's a story about India, a very good one at that,
because from my perspective, it's written from a place that's raw if that makes sense.
That, and it's India. That's a tough sell to a primarily culturally Anglo-American (this includes Canada) audience and the weird fetishy Rudyard Kipling types
(the modern equivalent being Japanophile weeaboos) no longer exist (not that you'd want them as an audience).
Also, I'll retract my previous statement about no longforms having emerged. Just a brain fart at the moment of writing the other post and I can't believe Tryst slipped my mind while writing it.
Here in America, we have sort of the same problem, but it's different. Here, we're so Anglocentric that we ignore pretty much everything that isn't about America. It's really sad that we learn more about the role of women in the colonial Backcountry economy than the Napoleonic Wars and Ancient Persia COMBINED.
mrrandomplayer and Lone Wolf stories are great (although Lone Wolf has been here since the Foundation Era), and they fill a sobering ecological niche.
It was a while back ago, but in this same era, but I remember Kinkaz's Argentina story being nice to read. I won't comment on comedic stories; they're rarely my thing, but I recognize their importance in building community.
Anyways, when is the opening post going to be changed? I've shared as much insight as I could about past ages.
Because we are so small, the addition of every person is much more important than if we were massive. We're actually growing.
. All of this last item may be summarized: I want CIV S&T to flourish, and I've been trying to help it the best I can, which, for a non-writer, can't be done by writing, but instead by participating.
and I'm certainly flattered, thank you 
