LitReactor Is a New Writer Website With Online Classes, Workshops, Content. Is It Worth The Money?

Writing can be a lonely task. It can be tricky to motivate yourself, and without proper feedback, it's hard to know how to improve.

Several websites already exist to encourage writers, through classes, workshops, online forums and more.

Tomorrow, a new site called LitReactor adds its name to the list. Created by the team who built Chuck Palahniuk's website, which itself has hosted writing classes and more, LitReactor uses a combination of engaging content and smart gaming mechanics to encourage writers to gain both new skills and new trusted friends.

LitReactor's intended audience, according to co-founders Kirk Clawes and Dennis Widmyer, is people "aged 24 and up, and a 50-50 gender split, [whereas] the audience of most writing websites is 55 and up, often women."

The Huffington Post was granted an exclusive look at the workings of LitReactor. Here's what's there, and what we think about it.

Access
The first thing to know is that while some of the site's content is free, but most is hidden behind a paywall. Membership at launch costs $9 a month, or $45 for six months - that's more than Writer's Digest, one of the site's leading competitors, which costs $19.99 for 12 months.

On the site
LitReactor is broken down into four key areas:

• Classes
• Writers Workshop
• Craft Essays
• Magazine

As well as a personalized Dashboard containing updates and more, and profile pages.

Main Features
Classes
The online classes, which have individual price tags, involve lectures once or twice a week, weekly writing assignments, and small-group work. Some classes will last 4-6 weeks, while others will be weekend webinars, and they are open to both members and non members. Paying members get a discount on class rates, and can also sign up earlier than non members.

The cost for a class will start at $295, depending on the length of the class and the profile of the tutor - Chuck Palahniuk has promised to teach a course in the future. Class sizes will be strictly limited, and students will be able to see each others' responses to assignments, to aid in further discussion.

Writers Workshop
A members-only section in which writers submit work for feedback by the community, who can leave detailed responses along with star ratings for Concept, Structure, Characters and Dialogue. Non-members will be able to see the titles and synopses of submissions, but will not be able to download them or read feedback.

This is where the most interesting aspect of the site comes into play. In order to submit a piece of work to the Workshop, users need a certain number of points. Points cannot be bought; instead, they are awarded for helpful comments on others' work.

This, say the team behind the site, limits the contributions of those who are "takers not givers". At launch, it will take five comments that are rated "very helpful" by writers in order to generate enough points to make a fresh submission. (Users get one submission free when they buy a membership.)

As with commenters at The Huffington Post, badges are also awarded by the site for various 'achievements', including first comments and first uploads.

Craft Essays
These are resources about the craft of writing, finding and agent, etc.

Magazine
Content about books and writing. They aim to post an article or more per day about famous authors, literary news and more.

What we think:

Overall, LitReactor has some smart ideas to try and encourage skills-based learning and community engagement for writers. It offers a well-designed system that seems easy to use, and is designed with simplicity and community at its heart.

Some will balk at the idea of having to pay to access crowd-sourced feedback, however payment for peer critique has become quite common in sites such as these; in return, users can usually expect a more moderated, and considerate feedback space. A community is only as good as its members, but the points and badges systems, borrowed from videogaming, are a great way of encouraging good behavior.

As for the classes, they can only be judged by the individual needs of their students, and the skills of the teachers, so we can't really comment. A writing class can either be a great way to inspire better work, or an expensive distraction from it. All we can say is that the website that underpins it all seems to be solid, clear and easy to use. The launch selection of content in the Magazine also looks engaging and interesting, too.

If LitReactor gets enough of a critical mass (no pun intended), and a decent archive of useful content, then it could become a great resource for experienced and amateur writers. The big question is, will enough engaged members pay their dues and stick around, in order to make it work?

See below for images of LitReactor's key features:

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Comments

[Don Glenn]

12:01 PM on 10/03/2011

It is nothing more than a business to capitalize on wanna be writers who don't read enough books or write enough words. You learn to write by writing not paying.

[Howard53545]

06:35 AM on 10/03/2011

Sounds like a good idea but it will fail. People are not disciplined enough. They need the hammer over their heads.

[kinogod]

12:22 AM on 10/03/2011

Inspiration!

[kinogod]

12:22 AM on 10/03/2011

Blank screen!

[kinogod]

12:22 AM on 10/03/2011

(sound of crickets)

[Blarg]

09:03 PM on 10/02/2011

Quite expensive. There are already forums and plenty of them that provide writers with feedback for free and have accumulated resources and example submissions, and sometimes articles, that new visitors could spend years before getting through.

The seminars sound potentially attractive for someone with a lot of spare cash lying around, though. And it's fair that for the work that a writing teacher/workshop leader puts in, he should expect to get paid. Especially since it's so time-consuming and can lead to difficult to deal with emotional reactions on the part of writers.

This would be a little more exciting for the average person if money weren't at the core of so much of it, though. Right now it looks like a pretty exclusive club. But I suppose there are people who prefer that, too. I doubt it will be much of a reflection of the quality of members, though. Just of the flexibility of their pocketbooks.

Perhaps people should take a good look at the free options around the net first.

[Edward Woodfolk]

08:05 PM on 10/02/2011

I am not bragging or boasting, but I have already written a fiction manuscript that appears to be a great story that flows from beginning to end. And I am at least 50 pages into writing my second manuscript. I am trying to purchase an online editing software (having difficulty since I have been unemployed for two years and living hand to mouth), but what I need is for someone to introduce how to properly submit fiction manuscripts to literary agents outside of what I have been already doing. I have enough fiction stories to introduce to the public but need a little help getting them published. Will be willing to share some of the money made on book sales to anyone willing to invest in my fiction. (Even go as far as creating a contract.)

[zingdaddy]

01:37 PM on 10/03/2011

Ed,
What feedback are you getting from agents? If no responses, chances are your formatting is incorrect, you've got spelling/punctuation/grammar problems, or you haven't paid attention to the agency's requirements (submitting fantasy to a house that only represents horror, for example). Also, how's your pitch? If all those are solid, then it might be your book needs more work.

Programs like Scrivener will properly format your manuscript for you. There may be free programs that do this. Otherwise, you can do it by hand. Google for "manuscript formatting", or surf around the web; many agents and authors have blog posts that cover this subject (also many posts on pitching your book).

A sneaky way to meet agents: find a local writer's conference where agents will be in attendance. Go hang out at the hotel bar with your laptop or notebook, and strike up conversations (Stick to non-alcoholic drinks). You won't get a reading, you won't get to do a pitch, but you can learn a lot, and you can pick up names and business cards. (Don't forget to bring your own and hand them out!) You might not get to talk to an agent, but you can connect with people who can help.

You can publish your book as an e-book these days. Surf around for posts on online book marketing, or check out titles at your local library or book store. Seth Godin has some interesting marketing ideas. Donald Maass is also helpful.

Good luck!

[c-tom]

07:41 PM on 10/02/2011

Do we really need more writers. I already can't get through the 500,000 new books published last year.

[bridgesandballoons]

08:40 AM on 10/02/2011

haha
i think that
mankind should be
freeze dried

[madcityy]

04:36 PM on 10/01/2011

GO FOR ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[RLaitres]

12:53 PM on 10/01/2011

If you want to learn to write, first learn to read and understand your subject. Blathering out words is not "writing", no matter how correct are the mechanics of language used. Those who know their subjects, provided that the audience has an open mind and is interested in that subject as well, will have no problem getting their ideas across. Of course, if the object is only to "sell" books and "make lots of money" any old subject, as long as it is properly laced with "emotional terms" will do. Or, the modern "quick way" is to get people to write things for you, compile them into some "book" and publish. Some of us find the latter rather cheap and ridiculous but hey, everyone is free to produce whatever they choose, even if it is garbage.

[Satirist1]

02:55 AM on 10/02/2011

Tedious writing style. Banal ideas.

[branchisole]

12:26 PM on 10/01/2011

After ten years of writing (and selling books) I have learned some valuable lessons:
1. EVERY 'assistance contact' offer or relatonship you have; potential agents, writing sites, pr firms, etc. are all in business to make money from you and your writing.
2. Most media outlets and (the vast majority of general public) readers are interested only in celebrities, gossip and fluff.
3. Writing is the easiest part, editing takes the most time, and marketing is the key to exposure and sales.

But don't worry, ebook technology will soon put publishing houses out of business and literary agents out of work. If you have quality writing, a good web site and the long term tenacity to find your voice and your readers, you can learn the process and you may even sell some books.

[TomHunter]

02:26 PM on 10/02/2011

I would not agree with you about agents. Their role will change. I spent four years on 22 drafts of my now-published novel "The Butcher of Leningrad". My agent was mostly helpful in giving me insights on the refinement of my book, pointing out how I had dropped minor subplots and a few mistakes I had made. So, really, agents will return to being editors. They are worth every penny of their 15% in that role.

[TomHunter]

08:59 AM on 10/01/2011

As a writer, the vast majority of your time must be spent in writing original pieces and rewriting the hell out of them. You must read fiction intensely. You must learn your craft. Having attended lots of in person writer's workshop including a long stint in Iowa City, I assure you this will be another backwater that encourages superficial analyses and does nothing to facilitate the writing of quality prose fiction.
This is merely another way to drain money from writers much in the way that Writer's Digest offers thin gruel in exchange for significant cash. If you need feedback from readers, there are much more efficient ways of acquiring it--and this social network is just another waste of time.

[alteredstory]

09:29 AM on 10/01/2011

I think you mean it's another way to drain money from people who WANT to be writers.

[mburgh]

06:17 AM on 10/01/2011

This looks like another ponzi scheme to extract money from writers. Hey, you wanna write a short story? Here we go:

1. The main character has to want something. How the character gets it or not, is the story.
2. The short is about the most important day in that character's life.
3. A short story has a beginning, middle and end.
4. Start whimsical, end lyrical.

Novel:
Same thing, only it's the time frame is longer, and the desires more dire.

Read James Joyce's Dubliners, Chekov's short stories. You want a perfect novel: Pride & Prejudice.

All the above is the easy part. Writing a viable piece of fiction is another story.

[Ariel Bonzai]

03:17 AM on 10/01/2011

Reading and discussing the text are tremendously useful tools for earnest writers because you are not writing for you-- you write for readers. That's why the solitary writer myth is so ridiculous. Pope and Swift were close friends. Hemingway used to mock Fitzgerald who he ironically referred ro as a "rummy" ..sure youve heard about the ALOGONQUIN ? and you know how little Salenger's work mattered after he dropped out of life.
A very famous writer I know uses Huffington Post for developing dialogue in his movie scripts. He is avid about research and it shows. He knows that brilliant dialogue of his isn't going to fall out of the sky, so he finds it and provokes the kind he needs. Some people are just gifted as he clearly is, but I have no doubt that he struggles and works very hard at writing. His weakness is plot. The formulas are a concession his creative spirit probably resents yet my guess is the structure makes him more creative because his last novel was both brilliant and discombobulating ---because it wasnt show biz but literature, he was not reigned in. The time frame of November's event offers writers a very valuable opportunity to develop a routine. But I think writing 50000 words means very little else until you go back and do the hard part. REVISION

[Edward Woodfolk]

08:15 PM on 10/02/2011

I really appreciate what you have written and it is very helpful to what I am trying to accomplish when trying to get my manuscripts published, at least to get to an agents desk. Thank you, Ariel Bonzai, wish I could get more of your help :^)