A For Effort 1,009 members · 276 stories

A For Effort

The Main Idea

I designed A For Effort as a group for all authors, new and old, to get some much needed or well deserved attention on there works. I also wanted authors to receive feedback in the form of reviews. I mixed the two and this is what I got.

How story submission and folders work:

The user (You) submits one of your stories to the "Under Review" folder. The Reviewers then, within a reasonable amount of time, will read and review your story. The reviewer will leave a comment on the story with any and all information you'll need, and will move the story to the either the "Needs Improvement", "Good Reads", or the "Excellent Stories" folder. Stories in the “Needs Improvement” folder have two weeks to meet our passing standards before they are removed entirely. Moreso, due to under staffing there will be a 100 story limit in the "Under Review" folder, and users may only submit up to 3 stories at a time. Upon reaching 100 stories, the Submission folder will be locked until returned to 25 stories or less.

For Reviewers:

Stories are judged by the Reviewers based on this template:

1) Grammar and Spelling: No more than 10 mistakes are allowed per 1,000 words. Otherwise the story instantly fails. Because Grammar and Spelling are the foundation of literature, reviewers are encouraged to be especially harsh towards errors in their grading. (I.E. 9 errors for 1000 words = 6/10.)

2) Originality: A story must be built on the foundation an original idea, or at least a well-polished trope. Should a Reviewer find the story to be boring or droning, regardless of grammar and spelling, the Reviewer may turn down a story for being unimaginative.

3) Characters: A canon character must be in character or given good reason within the story as to why they would act any other way. Should one write Rarity as a selfish hag or Fluttershy as an belligerent brute, there should be sufficient reasoning behind it.

4) Pacing and Storytelling: If a story feels like it is progressing too fast without reason or has poor transitions, then the author should grade appropriately. Such errors in storytelling can cause a good idea to become a terrible story quickly.

5) OC's: OC's are allowed as long as they are not Gary Stu/Mary Sue stories. The exception would be stories that use Gary Stus/Mary Sues for comedic effect. I.E. Saitama of the One-Punch-Man series.

Important Note: Review Well! Do not be afraid to give harsh reviews. If a story has multiple errors or flaws in more than one category, it should never be rated a 9 or 10. A good rule of thumb is for each category a story has flaws in, lower the overall grade by 1. If those flaws are glaring, lower it by two. If a story has an overall grade of 5 or lower, it fails.

Here is a template of how reviews should be done:

This review is brought to you by the group, "A for Effort".
Name of Story:
Total Score out of 10:
Pros:

Cons:

Additional Notes:

If a story fails moderation, place it in the failed folder and PM the author, do not comment.
It is also suggested that Reviewers only review one chapter of the story they are reviewing to keep the work load small, as often authors will make consistent errors in their works that can be traced all the way to the start. Unless one truly wishes to read all the way through or the author demands it, keep it simple.
... It is also highly suggested that once one receives a review that one thanks the reviewer. Otherwise one may come across as ungrateful. :ajbemused:

The Rule Book

#1) Be courteous to your fellow members. This means keep arguments to a minimum(or in PMs), and more importantly don't be unnecessarily harsh in your reviews if you are a reviewer. Keep it constructive and polite.

#2) No spamming threads. Questions are allowed, 10 posts about the same question are not. And try not to ask redundant questions. If you see someone being a nuisance, tell an Officer and we will handle it.

#3) Stories with over 100 votes are not to be submitted. Stories that have reached over 100 votes after review will be kept and/or moved based on level of prestige.

#4) Do not post in the "Story Claiming grounds" thread unless you have been given permission by an Officer.

#5) Reviewers must review three stories a month. Reviewers will be checked by the Offierss regularly to ensure they are doing their jobs. The reason why this group died originally was slackers who refused to review stories, so this rule is to avoid another stagnation.

#6) NO NSFW content. This is a Woona-friendly environment, and any submission of explicit stories will be heavily reprimanded. (Mature without Sex or Gore tags are acceptable, as are Teen stories with Sex and Gore, but not Mature with Sex and Gore. Swearing is fine in any case though.)

Penalties For Breaking A Rule:

1st offense - A stern warning.

2nd offense - All of your current stories are removed from the group, as well as a demotion if ranked as an Officer or Reviewer.

3rd offense - Kicked from the group and a message to Site Admins if offenses are severe enough.

PM all major complaints to Alexander Ericson and I'll see what I can do to resolve it.

Now that you know exactly what this group is about, go introduce yourself in the Introduction Thread. If you like. No one is forcing you.

~A.E.

Comments ( 74 )
  • Viewing 55 - 74 of 74

433240
I don’t know

This group is like, mega dead. Props to DualSoul for trying to resuscitate it, but you can't CPR a corpse.

I tried submitting a story to the 'No Preference' folder, but it says that the conditions haven't been met and that I need permission, but I don't see anything about that on the group rules.

Is this group still alive?

Hi there! I had a question about submitting a story. I joined the group and went to submit my fic, The Meaning of Harmony, for review, but I got a message telling me I lacked permission to submit it. At the time, I figured the folder was simply full, but over the months I've tried several times and I never managed to add it, making me think I probably missed something in the rules which would result in me not being able to post.

Is this just a matter of the submission folder being locked, or did I miss something and is there something special I need to do before being able to submit a story? Thanks!

430767
For now, yes, please remove it.

Come back in a few weeks, though. By then, there will be some space in the folder for your stuff.

430766
Alrighty. Will do. Thank you for even considering me in the first place. Should I remove the story?

430765
I’m actually not accepting new stories right now because the number of stories in my folder is already past the max limit I set. You can wait a few weeks for some of the stories to clear.

430764
Thank you. Currently the first chapter is the only thing that's up. The second is complete, but is in the process of being edited. If you are interested in it, I posted it in your under review folder. (I hope I read the group rules right, and I am so sorry if I didn't.)
Right now I'm looking for info on how I'm doing with the story, and how it can be improved. It's been in the planning stages for a few years now, until I finally decided to just write the dang thing. I do hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it. ^^

430211
Hey there! I’m not the prime administrator of this group, and I understand that it’s been a long time since this question was asked. But maybe you’ll still be receptive.

Multi-chapter stories do not have to be complete when they are submitted, but the general guideline in A for Effort is to review only the first chapter. I don’t personally agree with this policy, so the way I conduct things is a little different.

If your multi-chapter story is incomplete, I will attempt to read all chapters that have been published until that point. (If a story is downright terrible, however, there is a small chance I will refuse to finish the whole story.) I then write a review based on the chapters I read. When your story finally becomes complete, you have the opportunity to ask me for a follow-up review, where I judge the remainder of the chapters.

Hey there. I have a bit of a question about submitting a story.
Does the story have to be completed in order to be reviewed? I saw in your rules that you only review the first chapter, and I just recently submitted one of mine. So I wasn't sure if I would be allowed to submit it.

Just happened across this place for the first time in awhile. Is it still alive?

415477
The guy who resurrected it, Alexander, got an admin to make him the owner. So yes, we're functionally reborn here. And I'm loving being a part of it.

Just want to say hello... hello all!

JackRipper
Moderator

410421
It's alive again. :twilightsmile:

It's more of a Frankenstein's monster situation, but it's back.

JackRipper
Moderator

415467
Well, take your time. I'm sure it'll be excellent. :twilightsheepish:

415466 I got another in the making which has an interesting concept I want to implement. It's based off of a Power Lottery, but that alone isn't what makes it interesting. Most people that use the power lotto don't limit any of their abilities, some even going so far as to make them actual gods, now though I've created a handful of characters that work this way but each ability was limited severely. Not sure when I'll have it completed and ready for submission though.

JackRipper
Moderator

415465
You could always submit any other fic with a lower rating. We'll be happy to look at it for you. :twilightsmile:

415461 Understandable, well can't say I didn't try then. Though I'm not that surprised you don't know what Wakfu is as it is a french game/show, the game has some very interesting mechanics based around what species you choose and each of them unique. When I saw unique I mean it quite literally as there are no humans or elves or orcs, each one is completely original while taking some attributes from the basic classes to keep it feeling somewhat familiar. The show is a bit of a different matter but I find it interesting, anyways have a good day.

JackRipper
Moderator

415457

Glad to see this chat is being used again. :twilightsmile:

And no, I'm afraid we can't make an exception for your story. I'd also normally review it under my personal blog, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the crossover that your story is associated with, so my review of it wouldn't necessarily be as accurate as it could be. :twilightsheepish:

  • Viewing 55 - 74 of 74