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Working Title has 19 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on Working Title. Jump to review form?

Beth_ gave it on 22nd Feb 2009 and said:
This is the first review I've done! ;D

Layout
My first impression is that your site looks tidy and I love the colour scheme! :) The colours go brilliantly with the layout as a whole. The roll overs are cool too! It give a whole notebook feel!

When I look closer I can see you don't have much padding on the left of the sidebar text. This is really bothering me! You seem to have more padding on the right of the side bar.

Your site works in the most common browsers and has a quick download time.
I ran your site through the XHTML and CSS validators. Congratulations on having no errors on the CSS however there are a few on XHTML. They can be easily fixed though!

Content
All your pages seem fine to me.

I love your stories! Blood bound is amazing!

That is all right now. This is my first review so they will get better! ;)
Hope it helped you!

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inadream gave it on 27th Jan 2009 and said:
FIRST IMPRESSION:
I cannot really tell how I feel about your layout. I think it is common, but not unique at the same time. It reminds me of Aisling's website but you have the sidebar separate from the notebook which I really like because it allows you to add color and make it look more like a whole desk and not just the notebook. I will say that layouts like this have been done before, but yours is still a unique twist on it and is pleasing to the eye.

Your text is large, which is really nice, and everything seems to be easy to find. Oh, and I really like the footer - how it looks like a piece of paper is sticking out from the notebook. That's really cute!

Overall: Everything looks functional and organized. Your colors are great. Your layout is a little typical, but it has enough originality to make me want to see more.

BLOG:
Your posts are interesting and well-written, which is as to be expected from a writer. I like to write as well, so I find what you're writing about especially meaningful and insightful. I definitely could take a lot from what you have to say and your entries have a specific theme/purpose, which is nice because the reader is never left wondering what the next topic could possibly be. It's somewhat predictable, but it allows you to draw in people that actually care about writing and weed out those who do not.

ABOUT:
Wow, first of all what you said about having a "bright" imagination because you were a lonely kid rings so true for me as well. I guess I never looked at it that way. Anyway, this section is to the point and it fits well with what I've already seen. I think it would be nice to read more, but you have the bare minimum to keep me satisfied and you did provide links to other places that may be of interest to the reader.

PROJECTS:
To be honest, I'm not a fantasy fan. I read "What Will You Do When I Die?" and "Leon and TÃ©a" which were both very good. I didn't read the others because I don't think it would be fair for me to critique something I don't enjoy reading to begin with. I'm sure they are good. Sorry I can't say anything further.

FAQS:
Simple and straightforward, just the way it should be.

DOMAIN:
Just like the FAQS section - I found nothing wrong with it and it provided all the right information.

LAST IMPRESSION:
I think your website is well-organized and everything is very polished and complete. I noticed you don't have very much information about yourself at this website or at your main blog, which was a little dissapointing, so if you could add more to one or the other, that would be really great. I find myself saying that to pretty much everyone I review, though, so perhaps I'm asking for too much. I guess I just like reading about people more than the average person does, or something. Who knows.

I think you have done a great job and I will most likely check back from time to time.

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starmonkey gave it on 20th Nov 2008 and said:
Layout - I LOVE the layout! It's clean, simple, colourful - what more can I say? It invites you to browse further through the site.

Blog - Looking at your latest blog 'Almost There' i feel a little confused as I dont really understand what you're talking about. Maybe if I had read your previous blog/s i may but you just need to make sure that new visitors know what you are referring to. Is it a school project? Personal project? I don't know i'm confused!

Content - Ok now I go to the projects page and now i understand your blog! Maybe on your blog you could have written 'Click here for more info' and a link to the projects page. (Something along those lines.)

Overall - You have a lovely site - i really can't falter any of it! Just make sure you try to view your blogs from a new visitors point of view but thats just a tiny pointer. I look forward to visiting your site again!

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Soph gave it on 16th Nov 2008 and said:
My first impression was wow! I love the layout idea and the colors. Bright and funky is the style I like, The little post it note navigation is just so cute and I love the notepad blog and everything is just wonderful. I have just fallen in love with it. The only bit that is kinda annoying is that the notepad repeats a bit weirdly. But thats easily sorted by chopping a little bit off the image.

Now it's time to read your blog :P I love the way you have taken on board what reviewers have been saying and actually doing something about it! Some people just ignore reviews if they are not what they want to hear. Anyways, I love the fact that the header is in keeping with the layout and the bottom smaller header is also in keeping.

Onto the About page, It is obviously well written and very neat and tidy and there is nothing bad I can say about this page really!

FAQs, Well... I like the way you decided not to use WAK's ask & answer script coz that is about as safe as cutenews. The only thing that surprised me that was the categories & recent posts tab just disappeared.

Projects, I don't feel like I have a right to review your writing, But I must say I absolutely love it! :) I am also very glad the tabs don't disappear here.

Domain, Yet again the tabs disappear but I noticed that there is one tab with links on, Which is actually a brilliant idea. So yeah, It is all very well written and I am so glad you credited for all your plugins used, Coz I know alot of people who don't.

Overall, It is a really good website, very well written, It just needs a little bit of tweaking where I said. Thanks for the great novel!

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DollieKizz gave it on 15th Nov 2008 and said:
FIRST IMPRESSION
Wow is my first impression, lol. I love the range of colors, I love how the navigation pops up and even though this is my first time viewing your site I'm tempted to look at more of the pages.

LAYOUT
The layout is simple - but it works so well. I love how you've used that kind of messy notebook look. The layout is really original, neat and well put together. However, the home link looks a little too much to the side. You should bring it in, or like someone else said make the title 'working title' click able to your home page.

CODING
I can't see anything wrong with your coding! You've made the link hovers look really nice. And it's great how you've incorporated ALL these colors and still manage to make it look neat and not messy. I think that's great. I really love the headers and all the pages at the sides!

CONTENT
I love how you've added stories! I like to write too. I won't read them yet but I'm going to bookmark your site so that I can read your stories later.

The domain page looks really neat and nicely layed out. I think it's really cool and professional how you've linked out simple things like 'notepad'.

Overall, your site is great. I actually have nothing bad to say about your site at all. Just keep it up, lol.

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zai gave it on 15th Nov 2008 and said:
Layout
First impression: WOW. Seriously. In agreement with pretty much everyone here, I love the refreshingly bold colours which are bright but not an eyesore. Wonderful navigation links. The pop-out effect is awesome and entertained me for quite a while (oh the joys of hovering and unhovering).
Despite all the images the layout did not load too slowly.
The layout would be even better with a background. Something relevant and tying in with your overall theme would be cool, like perhaps dark wood to represent a desk?
I think it would be more effective if the Categories section of the sidebar was above Recent Posts, but that's just me.
Also in the sidebar specifically on the Domain page, I only just noticed on my 2nd or 3rd visit that there is further navigation there. But maybe's that's just my general inobservance.
On your Projects page I was quite confused by the variety of headings used (bold with a dotted border as well as just bold). I guessed the dotted border meant that that heading was clickable, and discovered the cool pop-out box.
Lovely font choices. I like the clear differentiation between the headings, main text and links and how your content predominantly uses purple, white and black even though you have plenty of colours included in the layout - this contributes to the cleanness and simplicity of the layout. It works well. So, in short, I love your website's amazing design.

Content
You've definitely tapped into a niche, if that's the right phrase. I don't think I've seen another website of this type before so well done for the originality.
I enjoyed browsing your website, perusing extracts from your stories. Using the Internet as a means of displaying your writing is great, but I know that a lot of people prefer reading a novel they can hold in their hands.
I like the use of the q&a to interact with your visitors, and to possibly inspire them to write too.

Overall your site is well-presented, and great for people who want to keep track of your novels. Good luck getting published - chase that dream!

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Sillyish gave it on 15th Nov 2008 and said:
Heyo.

Layout :-D
Like the idea, a few things I would change about the layout, and the main thing is that everything feels very flat, and yet the style suggests a very exciting, colourful layout. I don't know if that makes sense, but basically, I feel like the tabs ought to have some shading to them, and the font, and the body ought to have a textured background of some kind. Maybe a corkboard. I don't know.

And I agree with some of the other comments on the spiral. It looks flawed :P

I liked the sidebar setup, although the background hover colour on categories was way too greeny to me. A light yellow or light green I think would look nicer.

The navigation on the top - It might be cool if they're just flat tabs along the top of the main content, barely peeping out, and then when you hover them they pop open with the name of the section they link.

I thought the "posted at..." was just a hair too small...

Content!!!
Love love love the about page. Enjoyed reading it. Wouldn't mind knowing more about you,because you mostly talk about your writing, but it was still good.

...After saying this I noticed that your domain page had changed the sidebar with related links, but your about page does not. It's too bad. I'd love more related links :D (okay, I know. I shouldn't talk, I say shit all about myself on my site..)

I read through some of your fiction (the first chapter, I suppose), and I like the idea, and the writing is good, although I honestly think that it still needs revisions. I feel bad saying that because I'm hardly an expert, but it just felt a bit awkward at parts. Overall though, great idea, and with editing and time, I can see it blossoming.

...
Hopefully I said something helpful. Content wise, probably not, but layout, at least? :)

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Enzo gave it on 14th Nov 2008 and said:
I love your layout! The contrast between the colors really makes things pop out. However, I think that there is a bit too much white space on the bottom part, just between the navigation and the footer. This is also my problem in the about page. Too much space on the bottom! I think that if you lessen the things on your sidebar, then, it would look much better.

I also like the font you used for the header and the links, by the way. It really suits the notebook theme going on.

I would suggest just a little bit more line height on your text since things are looking quite squished up.

I also suggest tweaking PAI a bit so the title it displays on the title bar would be uniform to the other pages since it only displays "Working Title" and the rest displays something like "About | Working Title".

Overall, I think that this is a nice site, with nice content. I would definitely be going back one of these days and check on the progress of your work. Good luck! :D

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Roxy gave it on 12th Nov 2008 and said:
At first glance, I'm in love with your solid color choice! It all goes very well with the other and not one is either blinding or too dark. Well done!

I like how your website's title is prominent in the header and the font used. Makes up dearly instead of having a graphic header.

The navigation rollovers are cute too, it would be nice to see them in "full height" when you are currently on the page though. Just a suggestion. Also, I think it would be better to have the 'projects' and 'FAQ' pages flip flopped, because this website is half about your written projects, no? Why have the FAQ page before that?

The only thing that bothers me about your sidebar is the 'category' section. Why does it fall short from the rest? I think it should stay consistent and be the same width as the ones above it.

Onto content!

About: Straight to the point and I like how you incorporate outside links based on what you are using and like. Very nice.

FAQ: Not much to say about this page, but I like the organization.

Projects: Your writing is very interesting and when I get the time, I'll be sure to read more of it. Right now, I like how you give a detailed description of your current novel. It would be nice to see a short summary for each of your short fictions, give me a gist of what I'm about to read!

Domain: Simple and to the point. Not too little and not too much.

Overall, I was really impressed with your site for just being about writing. Sometimes people have problems getting every element to go well with each other when they focus on one topic, such as writing, but you did an excellent job on this site and you gained a new visitor on top of it! Well done. =)

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worldangel gave it on 12th Nov 2008 and said:
Positives:
Love the color coordination. Bright enough to attract attention, but not too bright to hurt the eyes. I like the contrast between the bright colours for the tabs and the black background. It also looks very neat and together. The font is well-chosen to tie in with the "notebook" theme. It is clutter-free, with the sidebars placed appropriately to help visitors navigate around the website.

Negatives:
I find that the box given for FAQ is a bit too small. Maybe make a bigger box? Same goes for the name, e-mail and website boxes.
The codes for the XHMTL is in a gray shade which makes them difficult to be read.

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shroom gave it on 12th Nov 2008 and said:
First of all, I'd have to say that I love your notebook layout! While the odd pattern of the notebook spiral bothers some people, it reminds me a bit of my own notebooks. I can never keep my notebook spiral straight, so this gives me a nice cozy feeling.

I love how neatly organized your site is. The sidebar doesn't have too much or too little, and it stands out without being distracting. Your navigation is definitely very original, and I like the way you've organized it.

You sound like an extremely interesting person, and I wish you luck on your first novel! It sound terrific, and I love vampires.

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Kaylee gave it on 11th Nov 2008 and said:
The first thing that bugs me (and others have already mentioned this) is the notebook's spiral; I think it needs to be consistently one ring without those odd clumps.

There could be a tiny bit more padding on the left of the content area; the text is a little too close to the spirals and it feels off-center because of the more generous padding on the right.

The domain page would benefit from just having the orange and blue sidebar boxes. It's inconvenient how the page is being stretched out with all that white space due to the other boxes. I don't feel those extra boxes are particularly essential/relevant to the domain info.

The background colour on the sidebar hovers is a little too dark for my taste, but it's not a huge issue. I wouldn't want it to be too light, either ;)

I prefer clickable site titles (linking back to the index).

The Name, Mail, and Website comment-input boxes aren't long enough.

Oh, and your purple bullet arrows are not the same shade/brightness as the purple you've used throughout the layout D:

If it's not obvious, I'm really nitpicking here. Your site is nicely designed and I can see your attention to detail paying off. "Working Title" is definitely fulfilling its purpose.

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Clem gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
I don't actually love notebook layouts that much, but I love yours. I think it's because you've done it differently, with the cute sticky notes. I really love the colours, though you didn't choose them yourself, and the layout is simple and accessible while still being interesting. It's also bright and colourful without being blinding.

There are three minor things that I don't love about your design: 1. The notebook repeats a little bizarrely down the side. 2. I'm not a huge fan of your link hovers. It just seems too purple, like you haven't really paid attention to the other colours. 3. There's too much space underneath the footer for my taste.

Other than that, you've done a really nice job with this design, making it simple yet memorable. I love it.

ABOUT
The second paragraph describes me really well. I still have an incredibly overactive imagination, and I love playing imaginary games with little kids, haha. As expected, there were no issues with this page other than the fact that there's too much space between the second to last and the last paragraphs. Overall, an interesting, concise, and informative section.

FAQs
Would it be possible for you to tweak this so that it shows the most recently answered questions by default? Most people probably won't take the time to click the "most recent" link and will just exit this page. Also, on this page, the sidebar just sort of... disappears. It looks so much nicer when there are more colourful sections, and there's only one here!

PROJECTS
Another very good page - you give just enough information, and the extracts are a nice addition. Ugh, this is making me realise that I really need to get started on writing the summary for Faceless!

DOMAIN
Meh, basic domain-related stuff, nothing much to comment on. I find it strange that the sidebar extends so far past the main text, though! Also, thank you SO MUCH for the links page. It's super helpful!

As you probably know, I really love your website; it's what inspired me to start up my own writing blog. I look forward to the publication of your novel (because it WILL happen), and I really enjoy reading your writing blog. There were a few minor issues, but nothing big enough to detract from your score significantly!

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Tohru gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
The first thing that attracted to me to your site was the cute little thumbnail image on your profile page. On arriving at your site I was not disappointed.

The design is unique and quirky. I like how it looks like a writers journal and it really illustrates the purpose of your site. The rollover buttons are great; I like how they look like little post-it notes underneath your notebook. Another good thing about your design is that it is neat, the navigation links are easy to find which is good because I frustrated when I have to search around for content links! I like how you've included a categories section for your blog too.

Your 'About me' page is well written and quite entertaining! I agree with you on the whole, 'hate writing about me pages' thing.

A 'FAQ' page is very useful and I'm glad you've included one. It takes quite a while to load though. I don't know if that's just me or if it's because of the script; I suppose I'm just being impatient!

Wow the novel sounds really good, I think I'm going to favourite your site. I love vampire stories and yours sounds brilliant so far. This section is organised and easy to navigate through so I have no problems to point out.

I like the short piece of writing entitled 'The Ghost'. I think that is a powerful piece. The use of short sentences adds to the impact, 'She does not know that he loves her' 'Yet'. I really liked that story, it was easy to read and entertaining. You can relate to the ghost character and how he is longing for someone to love him back. Aw, poor guy!

The 'Domain' page was informative and I like how you've included background information about your site's name; It's Greek, like my name. It is also good that you have included links to the programs you have used; this is helpful for visitors interested in web design.

Overall I have really enjoyed looking around your site. I couldn't find any errors at all. I think it is well designed and your writing style is brilliant. I will be visiting again. Good luck writing your novel. :)

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Diana gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
Hey, oh my goodness! This layout is adorable! The typeface (handwriting?) in the header completely ties the whole unique/personal/playful theme you've got going. The subtitle is funny and I like how you elaborate on what the site is about as I scroll down a tiny bit farther. The look is well thought-out and excuted. The only iffy part is the footer text touching the notebook's rings.

Your About page is extremely thorough and interesting to read. You sound like a fascinating person. The FAQ is great, albeit thin. You leave nothing for me to wonder, which is great.

The blogs are fun to read, just so you know. I really can't review your writing past that, but original content is always A+.

I really appreciate your archives being so accessible. You even put the categories in the sidebar! Awesome. But now that they're there, it seems weird that monthly archives aren't. It's fine though, I'm sure no one reads blogs by month. I think it's just a safety feeling issue like the second Google button no one uses.

Overall, I love this site tons! I'll most definitely be subscribing and visiting again~ Good luck with your novel, by the way!

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Bruce gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
Disclaimer: I'm using Mozilla Firefox 3 with a 1680x1050 resolution. All of the following is just my own (unprofessional) *opinion* and I'd like the least amount of grief and drama about it as possible.

Oh.. another notebook layout. This one is nicely done as well. I really love the navigation hover, but for some reason the gray isn't sitting well with me (and I usually love gray!) It looks especially awkward on the side bar links. Why doesn't "Catherine" turn black on hover like the other links in the sidebar? Another thing that bothers me is that categories width isn't aligned with the rest of the sidebar.

I can't really say I like the header image. It's huge and unnecessary. I think it would look a lot better without a header at all in fact. The site is about writing and the actual content so there's no use for such a big header image.

On the about page, the page seems to stretch far too long. I could understand it stretching to the bottom of the sidebar, but it stretches far beyond that and seems weird.

The CSS on the footer on the "FAQs" page is broken and the links are blue and underlined (default) instead of purple. I'm assuming it's because you're using PHPAskIt on this page.

The about page is extremely relevant for the type of site you have running, so kudos on that. The FAQs page looks a bit bare but I appreciate it being there simply because it's useful. The projects page is very informative and I love the hover over on Blood Bound-- but to some it might be considered superfluous because they're on the page reading about it already! I don't like the fact that the "short fiction" pages are written as entries as opposed to just on normal pages like the excerpts. The domain page is rather short and to the point, which, like I said before, is appropriate for the site.

I wish I could say more about your site but at this point I would just be grasping for straws and being needlessly verbose. I think, generally, the content is appropriate for the site and the layout is nice, but not great.

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Aisling gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
Your layout is super cute. :) I love notebook layouts, and yours is no exception. .. I can't really find anything I don't like about it! The side of the notebook kind of repeats oddly. :S I don't know how to fix that... maybe try to chop the image so it is more even? I love how the little post-it-y page markers pop up. So cute.

Your About page is obviously well written, which is unsurprising to find on a literature blog. Your FAQs page is interesting-- I can't believe your parents think you are wasting time writing! My parents always want me to start writing again, but it just doesn't interest me enough to hold my attention! I can't imagine. That must be hard for you since you are clearly so passionate about your craft!

Your novel sounds SO cool. I'm not usually a fan of fantasy beyond Harry Potter, and vampires certainly rank low on my list of favourites. I've read Interview... but I don't plan on picking up Twilight any time soon. Still, your story sounds very intriguing, and sounds like something I would love to read. Let me know when it gets published so I can grab a copy! :D

Your domain page also serves its purpose of informing the viewer of what exactly the site is, although if they haven't caught on by then, they must be rather daft! Amynta is a really pretty name. Your links page is useful, especially the Agent Links bit, because I would have absolutely no clue where to find one of those, normally!

I think your site is great, and it's clear that you've put a lot of work in it. The only thing I really disagree with is the term you use to describe yourself: "aspiring writer." You ARE writing, you ARE a writer. Good luck!! :D

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Sewwy gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
I'd like to start by saying that I think your layout is terribly cute, and very appropriate, being a writer's blog. I'm assuming that the coloured tabs are supposed to be Post-its, and that makes this layout even cooler. The sizing works well, not too big, not too small. I would suggest perhaps making the "WORKING TITLE" text mildly smaller, it seems very dominant and slightly overpowering at the moment.

The blog entries are VERY good. I like your writing style, and you're quite skilled. It certainly is a change from personal blogs, and I think this gives your site a bit of a flair of its own. Furthermore, it's nice to see the ideas of a writer and their progress. It's inspiring, and encouraging to other writers.

Your about page is a little short and vague. You could perhaps work on it a little more by including more about yourself, perhaps what got you into writing, authors you draw inspiration from, even fellow writers you know of... It's nice to learn about the owner of a website. However, I must give you props for your kiwi-dom. Represent!

With your projects page, it may be worthwhile to further subdivide it. You've got some subdivision already, but perhaps move your major writing project into a sub-category of its own. The way you've organised the page kind of makes it seem as though Blood Bound is your only project, whereas if you had individual pages for each specific project it may make it seem like there are more projects, which there are.

Overall, it's a well thought-out site. Well named, well designed. Keep writing!

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Hannah gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:
I really, really like this layout. It has a rainbow-like color scheme (like my blog!), cool hover effects on the menu, fun fonts and a notebook-y look.

The first thing I notice that you could perhaps change is that there isn't as much padding to the left as there is to the right where the notebook is. I'd add more padding to the left to even it out.

The more I read the more I notice that your line-height is just a smidgen.. scrunched. It looks great at "75%/1.5".

Actually, looking at the navigation, it would probably look cleaner if you dropped the "home" link and had the "WORKING TITLE" text linked home, and had a fun hover effect for that too. That's purely a preference thing and isn't something you definitely need to change, though. It's just a habit of mine to click on the site title to get home.

I can't really review your content since the pages you have besides your writing is fine... and it wouldn't feel right to review your writing.

That's all I have to offer; sorry I can't help any more. I really do like your layout, though! :D

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