Young Writers Project is a free, online community of writers and artists, ages 13-19.
SIGN UP FOR AN ACCOUNT
- If you are 13-19 years of age, join YWP by clicking on the "Sign Up" link on the homepage of our website, youngwritersproject.org.
- "Create New Account" will pop up with a streamlined account registration page.
- Choose a username that you like. Don’t use your own name or another person’s name. And choose a password that you can remember.
- Use your personal email, not a school email.
- You'll be prompted to fill in some personal information – which YWP keeps private. Make sure it is accurate and complete so your account can be approved.
- Read the Terms and Conditions: This outlines YWP's publication and privacy policies. Once you've agreed to the terms and conditions, save the form.
- YWP staff will review your information and approve your account if everything is in order. This could take 1-2 business days. We appreciate your patience!
WELCOME TO YOUR DASHBOARD
- Once your account is approved, you can log in and start creating!
Your avatar on the top right of the homepage will take you to your dashboard (or profile landing page) which includes quick links to create writing or visual art. Different blog forms will pop up for writing or visual art. You can also link quickly to challenges and contests from the dashboard. And you’ll see the latest in “Tiny Writes” and the “Book Club” and you can join the conversation directly from your profile page.
POST WRITING OR VISUAL ART
There are two main ways to post your work on youngwritersproject.org:
- Click Create and two choices will appear: Writing or Visual Art. These are stand-alone posts – freestyle, not connected to any challenges on the site. The blog form is simple, asking for title, genre or medium, a space for your writing or an image upload option.
- Or click Respond under any challenge. Using this path automatically associates your post with the specific challenge.
- Both types of posts can be considered for publication in YWP's in-house and partner publications.
- All posts are automatically considered for publication unless you specify "no" at the bottom of the post.
Every year, YWP creates new, inspiring challenges – also known as prompts – to spark your creativity. All challenges can be found in one central “Challenges” page: Weekly Challenges, Contests, Opinion & Commentary, Great Artists, and Great Poets.
CONNECT WITH YWP COMMUNITY
- When you see a piece of writing or art that you like, let the creator know! Click on the little speech bubble at the bottom of the piece, leave your comment in the comment box and save. Please be encouraging and kind. And be honest – constructive feedback with specific detail is really helpful. Relating the piece to your own experiences can sometimes start a conversation.
- Private messages are a great way to get in touch with someone on the site – whether it be a mentor, staff member, or other young writer or artist. Private messages are housed completely on the site, so you don't have to reveal any other personal information about yourself. These messages are great for starting a collaboration, asking for feedback or clarification, or finding out how someone learned a skill that you admire. Whenever you see someone's username, you can click on it and you'll be transported to their profile page. On the left side of the page you'll see a link to message them. You can also link to your own messages on the dropdown from your avatar.
- Tiny Writes: An interactive chat forum where you can connect with other YWP writers and artists about your work, your favorite authors, artists, musicians, what's going on in your life, anything you want to share with the YWP community.
- Book Club: If you love books, this is a great place to give and receive book recommendations and reviews.
GET PUBLISHED
YWP's staff reviews every piece of writing and art that is submitted to youngwritersproject.org – some 10,000 each year. Find out more about the opportunities to get published with YWP.
BUILD SKILLS
Young Writers Project is a creative and supportive community of aspiring young writers and artists. It's also a place where you can learn and build your skills through mentoring, feedback, and online workshops. Watch the site for announcements of workshops, events, and opportunities through the year.
ACCESSIBILITY
YWP strives to be accessible to any teen writer or artist who wants to join us, so we have made improvements to the accessibility and usability of our website. This includes clear and contrast-free typeface, fonts, and colors; alternative text; easier site navigation.
EDITORIAL POLICY
Young Writers Project strives to create a safe, respectful, positive space for young writers and artists. We encourage, within the bounds of respect and civility, the active exchange of ideas and viewpoints, however, as a matter of policy and common publishing practice, we exercise editorial discretion and reserve the right to remove from the website any material we deem inappropriate. Such material would include but not be limited to:
- Content that portrays or encourages intolerance, violence, cruelty, or self-harm;
- Language that is threatening, defamatory, discriminating, bullying, hurtful, uncivil, or unkind;
- Content that is not your original work. No plagiarism or “borrowing” from other writers or artists. And no AI.
YWP's guiding rule is: Be respectful. Respect keeps YWP an oasis of civility on the web. This applies to all posts and interactions on the site. Posts that stray from the basic tenet of respect will be removed from the site. The writer's account may be suspended temporarily, or permanently, at YWP's discretion. Above all, we trust members of the YWP community to keep YWP respectful and positive.
CONTACT US
Questions? Contact Susan Reid, YWP executive director: sreid@youngwritersproject.org, (802) 324-9538