Great Writing is a new website for creative writers regardless of age, skill level, and taste in neckwear. We've arisen from the ashes of the BBC 'Get Writing' community, and in doing so we've become unshackled from the tyrannies* of the media superpowers. Having said that we know that moving house is a not insignificant arse, so we've decorated a bit and knocked up a few stud walls in such a way that you should feel right at home.

Right now, we're in a phase of our lifecycle called 'public beta'. Pay this no heed if your experience on this site goes swimmingly. On the other hand, if some features perform suboptimally then simply (altogether now, 1...2...3) blame it on the beta. Now is the time where we corral any gremlins and bugbears before beating them mercilessly with hammers. We pray you'll help us in this task by reporting any issues you have in our super-special 'Beta' forum. We also want to hear about anything you'd have us do differently than the kack-handed way we do it now. We remain, after all, your humble servants ready to do your bidding had we only a to-do list and sufficient persuasion.

In case you were wondering, Great Writing is totally free to use. Of course, if y'all repeatedly land upon this spot (which we'd love you to do) then it's conceivable that we may need to install a few money-grubbing funnels about the place. Bandwidth ain't free, y'know. Rest assured, should it come to that then we'll be chasing the advertising dollar (and any other forms of corporate support) long before we start tapping you, dear reader, for the bus fare home. That is, of course, unless you're reading this from the swanky offices of Penguin, Hodder, Waterstones or somesuch. In that case, please get in touch with details on how we can plaster your pawprint about the place in exchange for a few measly competition prizes.

Now then, if all our grandstanding is what you're interested in you can find more of it here. However, you're probably keen to get started exploring this site and anyway, I've got chicken burning. The best thing you can do (of you haven't already) is sign up for a free account. After that, chew over the work that's already been submitted and please, please give it the courtesy of a detailed, balanced review. If your brain is full, you can free some space by submitting a new work. Please do this also. It will get you valuable feedback on your work and bring a blessing upon your house. And then there's always the forums where you can develop supportive friendships with kindred spirits, or offload your vitrolic jibber-jabber. Either one, really.

Building this site has been a labour of love, frustration, a bit of hate, and few forgotten motives. We seem to recall that we didn't set out to seek personal fortune and glory. In fact, I think we came over all altrustic at the start; wishing to provide shelter to those online citizens the BBC left stateless. We've been on this journey a little while now, but yours starts here. And that's the one that counts. Without you,we're nothing.

So excuse our dust over the next few days. We'll be tidying up some bits and bobs as we go. But don't get up - we'll hoover around you.

Here's to some great writing!

*At least, I think that's how you spell it. You know - "It's goodnight from me, and goodnight from him" etc.