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This is post 27 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.

The Library - For Writers and Readers.

Welcome to my newest initiative - The Library. A brand new, writing focused curation post. Coming out of the ideas and discussions generated in the Seeking a Community of Writers post, I wanted to be able to pursue that idea even further. I know there are writing communities on Discord (of which I am also a member), and there are also curator blogs on Steemit. So this idea is nothing new. But I want for The Library to be a curator post focused solely upon writers, and the world of writing.

I intend to post this once per week, and dedicate space for other writers out there who are writing stories, blogs about writing, even blogs about books and reading. The more I explore Steemit, the more I come to realise that there is still so many bloggers out there who I have not encountered yet. People producing quality material, but not always finding the audience they deserve.

This idea is founded with those principles in mind. It's to help share the often disconnected writing worlds here at Steemit with each other, in the spirit of support and creative encouragement.

This is in no way meant to indicate the best (or worst, by omission) posts on Steemit. These are the ones that I saw - and that I liked - during the previous week, taking several factors into consideration, such as number of days since it was published, whether it is a series or not, and the overall quality of the writer's other material.

I can be contacted via DM on Discord if you see a writer who you believe needs to be brought to my attention for future editions of The Library (it may be yours, but I will give more weight to those who recommend other writers).

To start with, the writing groups on Discord that I frequent are:

The Writer's Block - how to join. Their Steemit address is @thewritersblock
The Isle of Write - how to join. Their Steemit address is @isleofwrite

If you know of any others then feel free to mention them in the comments section.

The Writers' Workout: Characterization and POV Exercise

@thewritersblock have started hosting a series of writer's exercises, to help writers to hone their creative writing skills. The first in the series was on Characterisation and POV, and the follow up exercise continues this exploration by looking at deep POV.

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The Gift

@guytmartland has released a new story just in time for this next edition of The Library. I had inteneded to share one of his last posted stories which had been posted 5 months ago. Obviously well outside the voting time frame, the story is so well written that I wanted to share it and at least possibly introduce @guytmartland to some new readers.

However, seizing the opportunity wonderfully, a new story appeared at his blog, and having just read it myself, I can say that it is a worthy addition to this edition of The Library.

The Gift is a wonderful alternative point-of-view story. Read it, change your perspective, and see if you find yourself looking at cats just a little bit differently.

The earlier story I mention is Space Cold. I wont describe it. I'll just suggest strongly that you read it and see for yourself.

Little Owl

I have been a fan of Autumn Christian's writing since I stumbled onto her blog many months ago, which can be found here: @snowmachine. Having already had both full length and short fiction published, the quality is certainly some of the best you will find here at Steemit. Her writing tends to be to the darker, more surreal side, but evocative, and written in a beautifully unique voice.

Little Owl is a suburban nightmare. Written as subtle horror, it tells the story of a woman trapped in world that she doesn't belong to. A world that is as eager to spit her out as she is to flee from it.

I wrote a book review post on one of Autumn's novels called Crooked God Machine, for those who may wish to follow up on her published material.

STRUGGLE #02 - Dealing with the pain

@multi4g has published a well written article looking into one of the very real issues that writers face on a regular basis - rejection. This is part of an ongoing series of articles looking into the issues facing creative people. In this episode he discusses the nature of rejection, and makes suggestions from his own experience about how to deal with it.

How Poor Worldbuilding Destroyed Talentless Nana

@cheah discusses the art of world building, and looks at several examples of where it has been done successfully. He then turns the focus to the manga Talentless Nana and how it was let down, ultimately, by a failure to grasp the significance of world building. This is an interesting break down of the topic, and a great primer for authors, and budding authors who wish to delve deeper into their study of this topic.

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Adventure Reading Contest - Dressing for a Date With History

@winstonalden has provided an amusing and entertaining entry for @therovingreader's contest. Going beyond just delivering a story, he has packaged it in such a way as to draw the reader into it. The medium itself has become as much a part of it as the content. Take a look and see for yourself.

5 SBD Flash Writing Contest

@aschatria has another writing contest hosted by both the Die Hard Steemit and The Isle of Write Discord groups. Details can be found at the link, if you fancy testing out your short form writing abilities. For the sake of full disclosure, I have an entry in this weeks contest, but the more the merrier.

Pandemonium

@jeffways addition to the free write exercise has produced a gem of a story this week. Short, and to the point as these stories often are, this one really packs a punch and delivers a compelling story.

Book Review: Trainride Elsewhere (A Poetry Collection)

@poetrybyjeremy has delivered a book review worthy of inclusion in this second edition of The Library. Sharing some of author John Thompson's work and going into details about his own thoughts and feelings about them, this post acts as an invitation to delve deeper into John's work, and explore the creative vision that is contained within.

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Thank you for choosing to spend some time with me as we explore a selection of the writing talent that has been delivered over this past week here at Steemit. I encourage you to explore all these entries if you have the opportunity, as I work diligently to help expand the writing and reading categories, and develop a broader readership for the authors here.

Images sources from unsplash.com and used with permission.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow.