Hey everyone. I really need suggestions. I'm wondering what types of things would you like to see on a writing site? You can probably guess which one (The Writers Hangout). I'm looking for possible things that guests or members would like to see or what would encourage them to sign up. I'm pretty experienced with the vBulletin software but have not had much experience running medium-large sized communities or developing them. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated! :)

Maybe some kind of system that will let your members submit their work on your site. Like writings they have made etc.

Do we get a kick back if our idea makes your site a hit? :p

But seriously, I would think something like a blog system where writers can submit their work and people can post comments on it. So really, what Derek said.

Also, it would be interesting to have different writing styles (of great authors) compared. Basically, both these styles are radically different but each still has enormous power. Why?

Yes, articles that look into writing styles would be nice. It would take more work than just having a blog system, but it would also provide more valuable content that would set you apart from other sites.

I have run sites with lots of writing involved, and people do not always enjoy reading as much as they write. So on one hand you have people who just like to write and are looking for an audience, but then you would also get the people who are serious about their craft and are trying to grow as a writer. Finally, I would imagine a writer's forum would also gain attention of READERS.

For that reason, perhaps you could have an area where people submit works (short stories, whatever) in different categories (for easier browsing), and once each month your site picks the best and makes it a feature story. This feature story would be easy for a guest to find and read, and being an above par story, it would also attract them to possibly sign up (as opposed to if they had read a really amateur but well intended story first). This featured story section could also keep a history, so people could have at hand a list of recognized stories that they could read up on.

This could be a very great honor for the writers and give them something to strive for. This would also require less work than constantly writing articles (which would be more similar to scholastic reports...who writes reports when they don't have to??).

Yeah, I like your idea about the featured story. You could archive them and have a list of all of the featured stores, just like vBulletin's board of the month kinda.

Great idea Neeto. I think your breakdown of the two types of users is vital.

My board deals with dance. But when it started I had the problem that no advanced would log-in because they already knew enough about dance and didn't want to read much, and beginners had nothing to read as there were no advanced dancers to answer their questions. So I had to find a hook for both audiences.

I think it would be the same with a writers forum. Some people would just like to write and would not be too fussed about reading. While there would also be a lot of people who aren't writers but would love somewhere to go and enjoy the work of others.