About
Established in November 2004 by Nate Caldwell, The Young Writers Society is a creative writing site exclusively dedicated to young writers ages 13 to 25. By promoting creative writing as a pasttime, the site seeks to encourage creative thinking, proper grammar, and better writing.
Today, the Young Writers Society is proud to boast well over 3,000 members, over 10,000 poems and stories, and a review to story/poem ratio of nearly 6 to 1. The average age on the site is 17.5, and the site receives over 400 posts per day on average. There is no other site for young writers on the web that even comes close.
For Parents
The Young Writers Society has three main purposes. First, encourage creative writing as a pastime among teenagers. Second, promote good writing skills. Third, build one's confidence in their skills. A key skill in any profession is the ability to write clearly and concisely. It is far better to learn this skill at 15 rather than 30.
Safety
Due to the young age of many of the users, the Young Writers Society is an extensively moderated site. Three site administrators - Nate, Firestarter, and Meshugenah - handle the day to day tasks of administrating. Ten moderators ensure a general civil and friendly tone around the site, and twenty junior moderators ensure that all work is rated appropiately.
The Young Writers Society also has a strict policy against obscenities of any type outside of a literary context for two reasons. One, most people find them offensive. Second, the use of obscenities in a casual context demonstrates a poor grasp of grammar. However, we do their permit their use in stories and poems. Thus users are required to change the rating of their work to 'R' if it contains profanity.
For Educators & Librarians
The mission of the Young Writers Society is three fold: (1) Promote Creative Writing As A Pasttime (2) Promote Good Writing Skills, and (3) Build Confidence In One's Writing Skills. No matter what profession a teenager chooses after high-school or college, being able to write well is an absolute necessity in order to succeed. Knowing implicit differentiation will get you an A in calculus, but knowing proper grammar can often be the difference between a cubicle and a corner office (with a window!).
If you are interested in using the Young Writers Society for your class, please contact Nate at webmaster@youngwriterssociety.com. Nate will create a hidden forum for you class where you can post announcements, and where your class can hold discussions, post their work, and critique. Alternatively, you can always use the Young Writers Society as is. Please be aware, however, that each student must register with the site first, and they will need parental permission if they are under the age of 13 as required by the U.S. Child Online Protection Act of 1998.
About The Webmaster: Nate
Nate Caldwell, age 24, runs and administrates the Young Writers Society from Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Saint Mary's College of Maryland with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Math. For two years after college, he worked as a Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill, and he is currently attending the Colombus School of Law at Catholic University. Although most of his writing time is now devoted to law school, he is working on one novel and three young adult books.
