QueryTracker Blog

Helping Authors Find Literary Agents

Monday, March 16, 2009

RallyStorm - Taking the World by Storm One Forum at a Time

What is Rally Storm?

Whether writing related or not, we all have forums we love to spend time on. Some forums have the power to change lives. One of my favorites is the QueryTracker forum. It is there that I met Patrick, the owner of all things QueryTracker. (I also met the awesome gals I blog with.)

Patrick also owns a most amazing site called RallyStorm. RallyStorm is a combination social networking site (such as MySpace or Facebook) and group site (such as Yahoo Groups and Google Groups.) By combining the features of both of these concepts, RallyStorm offers a complete platform where you can contact and interact with others. Groups take the form of forums. These forums can be public, private, or any degree in between. To add the icing to an already delicious cake, RallyStorm is completely FREE! It's simple to join. All you need is a user name, email address, and password.



What types of forums can I create?

  • Your favorite hobby
  • Work-related sites
  • Clubs and organization
  • To keep in touch with friends and family
  • Writing and critique groups
  • Any type of forum you can dream up!

Imagine owning your very own forum. You can choose your own private members or open it up to the public. You can create the boards within your forum and easily upload photos to share with friends and family.

Let me tell you about the family I grew up in. Seven kids. Seven! The youngest is in college, and the oldest is, well, me. (I'm wearing the orange plaid shirt in the photo.) With so many kids, Mom finds it hard to remember who she's told what. Entrer RallyStorm. Our Online Family Room forum is the place we go to offer support, share news, and upload photos. Mom doesn't have to worry any more about who's heard what. Each child has their own board where they can start multiple topics.

Now imagine your dream critique forum. With private forums and easy pasting and editing of your work, RallyStorm is a great place to turn your little lump of coal into a multi-faceted diamond. Critiques are so easy to read, you can glance through other member's work and learn at an accelerated pace. There are several critique forums on RallyStorm if you'd like to join an existing one. Or come on over and create your own! RallyStorm is so easy to use, even a child could navigate it with ease. (Please note, however, RallyStorm is for users ages 13 and up.)

So join RallyStorm and then come check out the QueryTracker Blog Activities Forum. Many QTers have begun posting their work for critique in the Showing vs. Telling board. (Mary wrote a great post about the subject.) Here are a few pics to help you find your way around and give you a feel for the simplicity that IS RallyStorm:

This is what the QTblog Activites Forum main page looks like. It lists all the different boards that are in this forum:

And here is what the Showing vs. Telling Board looks like. It lists all the topics in this particular board:



Here's the first post in the Topic Overview (don't you just love Mary's splat frog?):


Now you know where we dwell when we're not here on the blog. Come hang out with us! We would love to get to know you better. (Psssst... let me know when you've arrived. I would love to give you a special online "gift" to welcome you! (More about RallyStorm gifts in the near future. *wink*))

Suzette Saxton's idea of a perfect day includes a picnic lunch, laughing children, and her laptop. When she's not writing books for kids, Suzette can be found gardening, doing finish carpentry in her home, or walking in the canyon in which she lives.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I joined Rally Storm. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Mary's splat frog is becoming quite a celebrity!

Great post--I already joined rally Storm but I fear I don't spend enough time there. I should be lost for hours at a time.

Mary Lindsey / Marissa Clarke said...

SPLAT! I love him. The embodiment of all I am.

Elana Johnson said...

Oh, Ash. You would never come out, my dear. RallyStorm is awesome!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

I joined Rally Storm a long time ago, but I haven't done anything there... *blushes*

I should go over and poke around! I think I'm Lady Glamis. :)

Suzette Saxton said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone! This was a really fun post to write because RallyStorm feels like my home away from home.

Bethany Wiggins said...

I love rallystorm!!! Thank you so much for showing it here. The only problem... I spend too much time there!