RWC Prompt Group Rules
Welcome to the RWC Prompt Group. PLEASE take a moment to review this message before you
begin posting. It's a long message, I know, but the rules are numbered and just scanning down
and reading the first line of each rule will probably be enough, unless you are new to e-mail
lists or new to one of the rules for this list. Once you understand the rules, feel free to post an
intro to the list if you like, so we can learn about you and your writing. If you have any
questions or problems let me know. (If you need more details or info about one of the rules,
check the rule page for the
Main RWC Group, where there's a section of more detailed rules on
trimming, sig files and more. Note: Some rules
and info there apply to that group only.)

                      Need to contact one of our moderators with a question, click here.


How the list works and what we do:

I send a writing prompt each Monday. They are all fiction prompts that will encourage you to
write a scene that would fit in a romance novel. Members write a scene in answer to the prompt
I send -- up to five scenes per member per weekly prompt. One scene per message. No scene
should be more than 2000 words long.

This is free writing, fun writing, so ONLY POSITIVE, encouraging comments like, that was really
great, or I love the path you took with that, or that piece really grabbed me, ect... are allowed. In
other words, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. This is the place to write
without fear, without editing, without second-guessing yourself. This is the place to let the
words pour, to have fun, to take what I start and just write what ever comes of it. Nothing can
kill free writing as quickly as knowing someone is going to try to edit it or critique it for you.
Don't get me wrong, I think critiques are very helpful but a prompt list just isn't the place for
them.

Mostly the writing done here should be done for yourself, to help you write something new, get
back in the swing of  things, or just to have fun. Sending them in here lets members see where
others took the same prompt. It's fun to see how one little idea can be turned in so many
directions.  

RWC does have a critique list for those romance writers who are looking for critiques. To join
send a blank message to.
RWCcritique-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

There are also lots of other critique lists and groups out there. As well as the chance for one on
one critique partnerships through a listing I send out to the main RWC group each Saturday.  
To join the main RWC group send a blank message to.  
RWClist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com


Now The Rules:

1) No flames! NONE! Never! In other words, play nice. Members should feel free to post to the
group without fear of flames. No put downs, personal attacks, insults, ect... No posts that
would be thought of as inflammatory, degrading, disruptive, malicious, bashing of anyone or
anything, ect.... No posts on religion, politics, ect...

2) Trimming. Highlight and delete! It's easy. Trim any post you reply to on list. What should
be in your reply is your text and little else. The little else is a few short lines from the body of
the message your reply is to, and the single from line that let's us see the name and or e-mail
address of the person that message was from.  Untrimmed messages won't be posted to the
group. So trimming saves the moderators from having to send you a reminder and you from
having to resend your message. It's a win/win. (Also, please make sure if you do leave some of
the text from the other message in, that it's clear which part you said and which part came
from someone else. We don't want to make it look like someone said something they didn't.)

3) Subject lines. No message should be sent without a topic header in the subject line.  If you
reply to a post, but change the topic, please change the subject line. If you are on digest, you
ALWAYS have to change the subject line if you hit reply.

4) No Copy & Paste! Do not copy anything from a newsletter, website, or another e-mail list and
post it to any RWC list without asking the author first. The no copy & paste rule & copyright
law works both ways. So, please,  never copy a message or part of a message from any RWC
group and forward it, post it to your blog, put it on your site, or share it anywhere without the
full knowledge and consent of the writer or writers of that message. It's against RWC rules,
Yahoo Group rules and copyright law.

5) No Spam! No ads! Not Any! Please don't place ADS or SPAM on the list--even those dealing
with writing. No harvesting of e-mail addresses. No blatant promo. This group is for writing
prompts only.

6) No Chit Chat -- If you like to be social with other writers, RWC does have a sister group just
for that. So you don't have to give that up. To join, send a blank message to
RWCsocial-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

7) No Off Topic Posts -- This means messages should be a scene done from the prompt starter
that was sent in, or a reply to one.

8) Signature (sig) lines. No sig file should be more than the generous six lines we allow. The
first line should be your name (first or nickname is fine) and e-mail address. (We all like to
have a name to use when we reply to a message, even on list. And we need the address in case
we want or need to reply off list.) Please set up your sig file in Plain Text. If not, you will have
to use a much shorter sig file, since lines might double or split. The six line count goes by how
the message comes through to the group, not how it was sent. (By the way, messages should
not be sent through to the group with confidentiality notices or such attached to them.)

9) You can not send in chapters or any writing other than a scene to the week's prompt starter
to this group. This group is for romance fiction only. You can also not do critiques here. This is
a group for fun writing. We do have a Critique list though, for posting chapters and getting
critiques. To join, send a blank message to:
RWCcritique-subscribe@yahoogroups.com


Breaking of the Rules -- I know, I know, a lot of e-mail lists send a welcome message full of
rules when you join....but you soon notice that no one in the group seems to follow them and
no one says anything about it. That is NOT the case with any of the RWC lists. RWC is a
really large group, so rules are important if people are going to enjoy being members and not
get overwhelmed with messages. New members are set to moderated when they join...which
means a moderator has to okay each message that is sent before it goes to the list.  This helps
block spammers too...since we don't let their messages get through. If a new member does
break a rule, like not trimming, moderators almost always correct the message and send it
through, then send that member a reminder message off list letting them know what was
wrong and how it was fixed so they'll know the next time. (If a moderator has to correct a
message for you, like trim it, trim your sig file, or remove a section that is promo or off topic, it
will be done so at the moderator's discretion.) Sometimes a moderator will even do this a
couple of times or so for a member, since we really want you to enjoy being part of RWC. But
after that, we're going to reject the messages that come in from that member breaking the
same rule we've explained to them. Once the member corrects the message, following group
rules, they are free to resend.

If a message is spam, or flames, or such, then it gets rejected right off. We reserve the right to
remove members from the list for spam, flames, or refusing to follow group rules. If a member
post messages that show they know the rules and are here to take part in the list, and not
spam or flame....then they might be removed from moderated after a time. (Sometimes
members are left moderated just because it's hard to always keep up with who has posted
correctly how many times.) If any member breaks the rules, or seems to like to post flames or
stir up trouble....they will be set back to moderated without notice.....if it's because of flames
or spam...they may even be removed from the list, though moderators will bend over
backwards and try their best to work with everyone.  Moderated is usually good enough...since
then we can check any message from that member before it hits the list. The only time you
will send a message that isn't put through, is if it breaks a rule or is something that should
have been sent off list to a moderator.

Please know that our goal for RWC is to have as few members set to moderated as I can. It's a
lot more work for moderators if a member is set to moderated, but since there are a number of
moderators helping out now, sometimes it's just hard to catch who's been good. Smile. It
shouldn't be a big deal though, since there are a number of moderators over each group,
message usually get posted pretty quickly and any message that doesn't break a rule is put
through as soon as possible. During the day that might mean within moments of it being sent
it has been approved. Of course sometimes Yahoo holds on to things for a bit. Just one of
those glitches.

Please Note: If you break a rule and we catch it...and we usually do...you ARE going to get a
reminder from one of the moderators, either off list or on. Please take it as a helping hand as it
is intended, not as a slap to the hand. If you break the rule again, or another rule, you are
going to get a reminder. If you've gotten a reminder and you still break the rule, your message
is going to be rejected and sent back for you to correct. This isn't being mean, it's just a matter
of numbers. There is about one moderator for every few hundred members, so you can see
why each member has to do her part and follow the rules.

To learn more about the RWCprompts group, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCprompts

To start sending messages to members of this group, simply send email to
RWCprompts@yahoogroups.com

If you do not wish to belong to RWCprompts, we would hate to see you go, but if you must...
you may unsubscribe at any time by sending a blank email to
RWCprompts-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

You may also visit the Yahoo! Groups website to modify your subscriptions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups

I give the below info in case you ever need to resub...or have a friend who would like to sub.....
To subscribe to this group, send a blank email to
RWCprompts-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Regards,
Charlotte Dillon
www.charlottedillon.com
Moderator/Owner, RWC lists
RWCprompts-owner@yahoogroups.com
FAQ About The Prompt Group
1)  I sent a message to the group almost an hour ago, but it hasn’t shown up yet. Should I
resend
?

Not yet. Almost always, any message sent goes through. Sometimes they don’t show up in your
own in box, but reach the group page and everyone else. So the first thing to do is to check the
group page and see if your message is there. If not, wait at least a few more hours. Sometimes
Yahoo has glitches that can slow down messages by hours. If you wait and notice that other
messages seem to be coming in to the group fine, then it’s time to resend. This shouldn’t be a
problem that you have to deal with often. More often than not messages pop through to the
group within a reasonable time with no trouble.


2)  Can I use
e-mail commands to change my membership settings?

Yes, sure can. Simply take the sub address for the group… RWC
prompts-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com and change the command word in the middle of it to fit the
command you want. So if you want to stop getting messages for a while, you would send a
blank message to RWC
prompts-nomail@yahoogroups.com.  If you want to switch to daily digest
you would send a blank message to RWC
prompts-digest@yahoogroups.com. If you want
individual messages you would send a blank message to RWC
prompts-normal@yahoogroups.
com.


3)  What is
digest?

With daily digest instead of getting each message individually as it is sent to the group, you will
get about 25 of them in one message file, usually only once a day. It makes it really easy to
scan through subject lines and pick which messages you want to read or skip for those who
have very little time for an active group like RWC, but still want to take part.


4)  I tried to
send a file through to the group, but it didn't work. Why?

All RWC groups are set up so that no HTML or attachments can be sent through them to
members. This is a safety net to protect members from computer viruses.


5)  I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks and need to
stop getting messages. Can I do this
without leaving the group?

Yes, you can by going "no mail". You can change your mail setting from the group's home page
here,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWCprompts, or with a simple e-mail command. See
question number 2 for info on how to use e-mail commands.


6)  The rules say
no flames. I’m new to on line groups, so what is a flame?

A flame is an attack on a person or their opinions. A flame is a message sent with heat to it,
anger, or sharp words.  It’s a message sent without thought or caring for the person you are
replying to or for others in the group who will have to see it. Tension isn’t a good thing for any
group. RWC is a warm, friendly place for writers, so flames are never welcome.


7)  I have a new e-mail address.  How do I change it with my groups so I can get messages at
the new address, or even at more than one address?

You can do it the hard way, and unsub from each group with the old address and resub to each
group with the new address, or you can do it the easy way. (I always say go for the easy way if
there is one.)  The easy way: Go to any Yahoo Group home page, sign in, then click on My
Groups. The link for it can be found near the top of the page. Next you click on My Email
Preferences, then Add Email Address. You can follow the directions on the screen to add your
new address, a second or third address, or even remove an address. To pick which address you
want each group's messages to go to, you can click on My Groups, then on Edit My Groups,
and then use the pull down menus there to pick which address or addresses you want to use,
and even to pick how you want those messages delivered. When done, don't forget to click on
Save Changes.  By the way, the address for a Yahoo Group's home page can be found at the
bottom of any message that comes through to that group.


8)  Why does it matter if I
forget to trim sometimes, or if I trim only half way?

A few reasons. One, tight trimming is the rule ALL of the time. Two, as many members as
RWC has, if even half of them start forgetting to trim sometimes, it would be a mess. Three,
those untrimmed or half-trimmed messages make the digest a real pain to get through, and we
have lots of members set to digest. Four, there are new members often, so think of those new
members who have their messages bounced back to them for not trimming, and then right
after their message is rejected, two messages come in that aren't trimmed or that are only half-
trimmed. That has to make those new members feel like they are being singled out or picked
on--and it doesn't make me feel very good either since I'm the one who has to reject messages
or send those reminders.



9) Can
I send in a prompt I made up?

Sorry, but I'm the only one who sends in prompt starters. I send in one each Monday unless I
send in a note saying there won't be one.


10) What
kind of writing can I send in?

This is a group for romance writers, so any scene sent in should be fiction and fiction that
could fit in a romance novel. That leaves a whole wide range of types of writing open to you,
since romance novels cover everything from paranormal to suspense and all kinds of stuff in
between there.
Going to a big writing conference and want to spot other
RWC members and make sure they spot you? Then
get
your very own RWC member button
so you can find
each other and say hi face to face. (Smile) Just click on
the button to go to a page where you can buy your own.
This is something brand new for 2008.
Get Spotted & Say Hi
Thank you so very much for reading the info on this page -- I know it
was a lot -- and for making things easier and quicker and much less
stressful for all of us!  I hope you enjoy being part of RWC.  That's really
my goal for every single member.  If you ever have any questions, feel
free to drop me a note. There's a contact link at the top of the page.

Thank you again for helping make things easy for our moderators and
me -- and for being part of RWC!
Copyrighted by Charlotte Dillon