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: Chimerical

chimerical. adjective. Unreal; imaginary; of or related to a chimera. Everyone who has read or watched Fullmetal Alchemist should know what a chimera is. If you don't, it's a monster/creature made up of different parts...

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SomeGuy's Workshop, Session Four

I must say that I'm very excited to see how much interest people are taking in this World, and I love that we're getting so many requests for topics (even though that means they need to be stretched out over the course of the month). Anyway, ...

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Open Questions

It's Friday. Let's have a nice Q&A period!

  • 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: Eviscerate

eviscerate. verb. To remove the entrails from; to disembowel. This is a brilliant word. It's Latin-based: from viscera (itself also a nice, graphic kinda word) meaning "guts", "internal organs" or "int...

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SomeGuy's Workshop, Session Three

I've decided to postpone the final part to the Mike Ireland Big Three, as it's actually an extremely detail-oriented kind of thing that would serve a better purpose at a later time. At present I'm sure people would be far more interested with...

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