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It's easy to sit down at your computer, or with a notepad and pen, and write. Whether you're writing short stories, poetry, or even working on a novel, the hard part is knowing if you're on the right track. And the even harder part is finding an audience to read what you've written.
Below is a list of social networks where you can share your creative writing, whether you're looking for a friendly community to interact with, or you're looking for a serious critique. What stands out with all of these sites is their sense of community - once you have put in a little bit of effort and interacted with the people on the site - it will become a very rewarding experience.
ABCTales
On ABCTales, signing up for a free account gives you a profile page which lists all of the pieces that you have posted on the site.
After you have posted your writing, you can receive comments from other users, and if you want an in-depth critique, you can always post to their forums requesting one.
A group of anonymous editors read all of the work submitted to ABCTales and they "cherrypick" the very best, highlighting it for others to see.
Other features of ACBTales include a story and poem of the week selected by the editors and is featured on the front page, as well as a weekly inspiration point to help you out if you're suffering from a case of writer's block.
Pick ABCTales if you're looking for a simple portfolio, and are more likely to interact with people on forums.
The Heel Press
The Heel Press used to be open only to people who had university email accounts, but has long since abandoned that idea, and has opened up its doors to anyone who wants to join. Like ABCTales, you get a profile page featuring your latest work, but the page itself is more elaborate featuring more information such as your favourite authors, books, music and websites.
Another significant difference is that The Heel Press also accepts photography and art submissions to be added to your portfolio.
Other members can comment on your work. rate it, and add it to their favourites. The Heel Press is more of a social network than ABCTales, making it easy to follow other members work by adding them as your friends.
The front page features art and writing by members, that has gone through a critique panel, as well as a list of the most popular content - as judged by user ratings.
There are two ways you can submit your writing. You can submit it straight to your profile or portfolio, which means it will not appear on the front page, or you can submit it to the critique panel, where it will be judged by other users, according to the kind of critique you request.
If it receives a high enough rating, it will be displayed on the front page. The anonymity of the critique panel allows other users to give an honest opinion on your work.
Other features on The Heel Press include a forum, groups, and you'll often find competitions to enter on the site.
Pick The Heel Press if you're looking for a more elaborate critique, and a social network experience.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is well known as a place for photographers and artists to share their work, but it also has a significant writing community. Despite the fact that paid subscribers can ask for an in-depth critique of their work, in our experience, we've found that DeviantArt is not the best place to go if that's what you're really looking for.
Signing up for a free account gives you a profile page on which all of your submitted work will be displayed.
Like The Heel Press, your profile page on DeviantArt is much more elaborate, allowing you to share more information about yourself, and you also get a space to update your own DeviantArt journal.
Like The Heel Press, DeviantArt has a strong social network aspect to it, where you can add other users work to your favourites, as well as add them as friends on the site.
The front page features the latest work, as well as Daily Deviations - works which are selected by the site moderators on a daily basis, singled out as the best on the site, one of which is always a literature piece.
Pick DeviantArt if you're looking for an elaborate profile page and a social network experience.
If you're suffering from writer's block, be sure to check out our Writer's Guide to Free Apps for Organization and Inspiration, and if you're a Mac user, we'd highly recommend using OmmWriter to get all your creative writing done before posting it to these sites.
Do you have a favourite social network where you share your creative writing? Let us know in the comments.
Image credit: Derya