For the last several days, I have been posting and reviewing poetry at Urbis
and I have to admit that I've become quite besotted with the site. Why? Because it is one of the better writing communities I've found out there in my travels on line since 1997.
Yes, I think it's that good.
Urbis has a system of rewarding your reviews of other's writing with credits, which you can then use to unlock their reviews of your writing. What this creates is a website where your comments and critique are valuable, are a form of currency. This results in thoughtful reviews of your work. It also challenges you to come up with more than a mere “I liked it!” when reviewing the work of other writers. This is bound to develop your critical reading skills.
So far, I've posted three poems from my archives, and found ways to improve them. I'm finding this invaluable, despite its addictive qualities. Work that has languished in my files for years is being dusted off and given new life.
Poetry isn't the only thing you can post at Urbis. Short stories, essays, non-fiction, journalism, blogs, novel treatments - there is a category for nearly every known form of writing.
Now let's talk interface, because there's nothing worse than a great resource with a bad interface. Thankfully, Urbis has a clean user interface. It loads quickly, and is extremely intuitive. To submit your writing, you click "submit". To review the work of others, you click "review". When there is a new review for you to read, you are emailed. To "unlock" your review, you click on it, and if you have enough credits, it opens up for you to read. If you don't have enough credits, simply click on "review" and give a few critiques.
It's simple. I like me some simple.
