Welcome to The Writers Bloc, the home base for theOtaku.com's beta-readers and a place for writers to come with questions and learn some new tricks and methods of storytelling, writing, or pretty much anything involving this mutt of a language we call Modern English.

Our Current Pool of Editors and Beta-Readers Includes:


If you have a story, essay, or any written work that you feel could use the assistance of a beta reader or editor, choose a beta-reader from the above list and PM them for availability.

As well, be sure to come visit every now and then to take part in writing workshops and discussions. And of course, if you have your own questions, don't be afraid to ask them here; we're neither teachers nor betters, but peers hoping to help.

The Weekly Schedule:

  • Monday: SomeGuy's Workshop (SomeGuy)
  • Tuesday: Rotating Guest Post (Various)
  • Wednesday: The Wednesday Word (SomeGuy)
  • Thursday: Beck's Workshop (NightBeck)
  • Friday: Updates and Open Questions (All)
  • Sunday: Becky's Writers' Block Busters (NightBeck)

So once again... welcome to The Bloc.

(Banner Design Courtesy of Red Tigress - thanks Red!)

The Wednesday Word: Paterfamilias

paterfamilias. noun. The head of a family/household. While going into words with classic origins, let's scoot over to Rome for a bit. As can probably be suspected from the parts of the word, paterfamilias...

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SomeGuy's Workshop: Session Seventeen

Since I'm seeing a lot of this kind of stuff in Fan Word submissions and they're kinda bugging me, let's talk about the past! I'm All Kinds of Tense Tonight! If you talk abou...

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Becky's Writers' Block Busters, Session Sixteen

Hey guys! It's been a while, but what do you say we give this another shot? Here are your standard reminders before we start this week's fun. Remember that these prompts are not specific questions to be answered. They are just words, phrase...

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Updates And Open Questions

Hey guys, remember these?

So I've been going back to work in the evenings, so I need to either start writing these earlier in the day or else they'll keep getting time-stamped for the next day. Ah well. I'm finally making my way back into the groove of things over here, though on a whole it kinda feels like things are easing up around here.

That's fine, though. Everyone's still getting into the swing of fall and all that. Becky and I are still getting settled into our local-world routines and all, but we'll get there!

But hey. Once term paper season starts up again, you know where you can all go for help, right? Right!

So that's that. Onto the other half of these posts; as always, in case you need 'em:

  • Do you have a written work you'd like a beta-reader to look over? Comment below!
  • Do you have any specific writing questions you'd like to have answered? Comment below!
  • Can you answer any of those questions? Comment below!
  • You have a writing workshop idea and would like to do the upcoming week's Tuesday Guest Post? Comment below!

Don't be afraid of asking big questions, either. If a question would require more than just a comment answer, we can always use them as ideas for workshops over the next week.

Remember, none of us here are teachers, professors, or professionals (well... not just yet, anyway). We're all just members who love to write, hoping to help out other members and their own interests in writing.

The Wednesday Word: Laconic

laconic. adjective. Using few words; concise; terse. I know, it's mostly Thursday already. But hey, all things considering, better a day late than absent yet again, right? I'm willing to believe that this...

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