As writers, we all like to know that we’re headed in the right direction. Online writing communities are a great resource for aspiring writers to get feedback on their work.

Having family members or friends read your writing isn’t always helpful. Often people you know will praise your work, but how reliable is their opinion? Perhaps they don’t want to offend you, or maybe they haven’t read enough to be able to give a good critique. Either way, I find that having other writers read my work helps me to get good advice, they have a better idea of what to look for, what works and what doesn’t in the fiction that they’re reading.

Be it poetry, short stories, scripts or novels, these sites will help you to get objective opinions, tips and advice on your work.

Writing.com

This is my favorite writing community. The site works on a system of Gift Points (GP’s) that encourage writers review works. The more you review, the more GP’s you earn and the more GP’s you can offer to people who review your work. You can open a basic account for free or pay for upgraded features.

www.writing.com

Critters Workshop

This site is aimed at horror, science-fiction and fantasy writers. Opening an account is free and easy, and you’re guaranteed to get critiques from like minded writers.

http://critters.org/

My Writers Circle

This is a great forum for all styles and genres. You’re able to get feedback on your writing, have questions answered and find job opportunities.

http://www.mywriterscircle.com/

Critique Circle

Another forum geared at general and genre specific writing. They have a selection of tools to help you with your writing such character generators, submission trackers and name creators.

http://critiquecircle.com/

With these online resources you’re sure to get useful feedback on your writing. Don’t forget that all these systems are based on everyone chipping in with the work load: the more you review the more your work will get reviewed. It’s not as bad as it sounds because learning to critique other writers’ work will give you a better perspective on your own.