dA has a thriving literature community. Yes, I mean you. And you. But what dA doesn't have anymore, and what is sorely missed by some older members, is a workshopping forum: a forum where a writer can post his writing (even though it may still be a work in progress, or an early draft) (and for a good writer, EVERYTHING is ALWAYS an early draft; at some point you just abandon it) and receive very specific feedback on it from people who attempt to help the writer improve the piece.

But the Writers' Vineyard is much more than just a workshopping forum (and a few other forums slapped on for good measure). One of the things that will set it apart from other writing-centred pages is the idea of "vintages". Every now and then, the community comes up with a theme. Then we all write something somehow related to that theme; at the same time, we workshop what other people have written so far around that theme. The aim is to come up with a collection of poems and short stories around that theme which are highly polished and will make good reading material for someone randomly happening across our site.

The Writers' Vineyard has opened its gates today; we're young and we're ebullient--bubbling with energy (well, =PinkyMcCoversong is bubbling with sparkling cider, really, but we won't tell).

We have found that such communal writing efforts really do motivate the writer, and once you think of it as "our collection" of literature, you'll invest extra effort in helping the other writers make their writing look good too.


The Writers' Vineyard is run by `cooper and =Bringa. Everyone is invited to join us and write with us.

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~Coffeehouse is getting back to basics with two key projects based around openmic events and seeing dA writers in print.

openmic
~Coffeehouse is hosting openmic sessions every Saturday from 8pm BST. The schedule is pretty relaxed and there's no obligation to read anything. You can just show up and listen, or make requests for others to read poetry or extracts of prose.

To join us at openmic you need to download the TeamSpeak client and hop into #coffeehouse either on IRC or dAmn and we'll give you the server details and help connecting.

This week we might even hear some slam

in print?!
We are just tweaking the final plans for a project that is going to get dA lit writing! Keep an eye on the news for details