I read all my usual news sites, I scrolled through X, worked on my band website a bit, and then I ran out of diversions, so I pulled up the Absolute Write forums.
AW used to be my writing bible. As a new writer, I knew absolutely nothing. Less than nothing. I didn't even know there was a manuscript formatting standard. I assumed you just wrote it. I was still using two spaces after a period. I had no idea one could query agents ~ I didn't even know what a query was. I also read a lot of queries people posted for feedback and thus was privy to a lot of nasty comments. I suppose some of them were helpful to the OP; no idea.
I rarely go there anymore; only if I'm supremely bored. What I realized today is that it's not a diverse place, as in diversity of opinion. Almost all the members (the ones who post) are eerily like-minded. They're mostly middle-aged women who toss around the same points of view, ad nauseum. The place is very insular. And don't even get me started on the political rants. I take it the membership is mostly upper class urban dwellers, who have time to moan about their liberal causes. I actually walked away from the site a few years ago, when I couldn't take any more. Now I know enough to steer clear of any political discussions. It's like a junior high hallway full of mean girls.
And honestly, I take nothing away from my rare visits. No insights or even useful tips. It's like the music forums I used to frequent. A bunch of boring, inane chatter.
It seems that the current obsession on the site is with AI, in the respect that it's going to steal everyone's intellectual property. Hey, just an idea ~ don't use it! Are these people pasting in passages from their unpublished manuscripts or something? Paranoia is but one manifestation of the liberal mind. Sad, really.
I probably won't pull up AW again for a long time. If I'm really that bored I could maybe watch old reruns...or sleep.
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