New to Steve? Here's what you do to get started...

1. If you haven't already, tell us about yourself in the introductions thread and a bit about what you like to write.

2. Create a Personal Progress Thread. The PPT is the heart of Steve. Here is where you will mainly interact with other members, list your monthly goals and tasks, and interact with other members. Think of it like a writing journal that...everyone can read. This is where you cry, plead, moan, fail, and flail at your novel to get it to work and ramble, doom and gloom to your heart's content about how this is the worst story ever tell us about how brilliantly your work of genius is shaping up. Stuck for ideas? Write about those fits of manic panic that! What you write on your thread is up to you. If you are more self-directed but just like a sense of community, feel free to share your to do list and then chat about how your day's work went, and how it's going. If you are taking part in challenges, here's where you can tell us how it's going. Your PPT is also like a scratch pad -- if you need to use it to ramble and formulate your amorphous, ungainly plot bunny into something resembling a clear shape, by all means do so! Members are also encouraged to interact with other members by posting on their PPT, because this is where all the cool people (i.e. all of us :-D) hang out and slack. See this thread for more details.

3. Sign up for challenges. This isn't mandatory, of course, but if doing something each month (sorry, slacking doesn't count as a challenge) is your cup of tea, head over to the Challenges board to see what's happening. Most challenges have a thread of their own which you'll periodically update with your progress, usually a word count, a percentage, or a quick line. For more detailed, vague things, or longer descriptions, you can always ramble on in your PPT.

4. Declare your goals for the month in your PPT. Your goal can be as simple as 'win x challenge'. If you've signed up for challenges, you don't need to explicitly state your goals again. This is only if you have other tasks that are not part of a challenge. It's recommended that Steve members set goals and objectives at the beginning of the year and every month.

5. Have fun. Seriously, madness is mandatory. :-D



As ever, if you have any questions, you can always ask an admin. For site issues, please drop a line in the Help Thread.