For those of you interested in creative writing, there is a glimmer of hope shining on the horizon in the form of websites that provide a potential showcase of your work. The slush pile for many publishers is not only getting too high and too much for them to physically deal with, they seem to be wanting to abandon it altogether. Many large publishers aim to get new writers from agents instead. Not good news for aspiring writers whose work is destined never to be read.

• YouWriteOn.com is a website started in January 2006 that allows people to submit their writing for review by their peers. After five reviews the work is entered onto their ranking system and the top five are given feedback from professionals.
• Harper Collins has a similar type of website authonomy.com , which acts as a potential source of new writers.
• If poetry as well as stories is your thing then abctales.com is a place for poets to read, share and discuss poems and short stories.

So there’s nothing to lose and the worst that can happen is that your writing can improve. I might even dust off my science fiction novel that has been festering under my bed for the last six years…