The idea behind the new Claw & Quill is to be a community site for fantasy and science fiction writing. There will be deliberate bias toward urban fantasy and use of anthropomorphic themes, but no formal content restriction.
§ For Writers Unlike a more conventional story archive, C&Q will have aspects of a writing workshop, where draft work can be posted and critiques offered by fellow workshop participants and leaders. When stories are ready to be published, authors can build “bookshelves,” their own web pages, to display their work.
In addition, C&Q will have editors, and some stories may be promoted to be site features after going through an editorial process. Workshop participation requires approval by a site editor, as does the creation of a bookshelf. Individual stories will likely not require separate approval for publication.
§ For Readers You can keep track of your favorite authors and their bookshelves individually, as well as search for stories that may be indexed in multiple ways. Stories can be marked as favorites, and C&Q will offer recommendations for new reading based on your preferences.
§ For Conversation Discussions can be tied to stories, both published and in draft form. In addition, users can start conversations in “kaffee-klatsches” around the system.
This overview only scratches the surface of Claw & Quill’s concept. We’re keeping a lot of things close to our vest, both to avoid tipping our hand too soon and to try and avoid the “overpromise and underdeliver” trap.
Unfortunately, what we’d like to deliver will require essentially from-scratch coding rather than an adaptation of an existing platform. We hope it’ll be worth the wait—but we’re confident it will be.
We hope to set up an announcement list or news blog here soon, but in the meantime, just check back every once in a while.
© 2008 Watts Martin