Once, while visiting a very old lady, a relative of ours, she asked me, "You used to write poems in your younger days. Are you still doing it?" I was jolted — I had completely forgotten. Now that I was free after my retirement, why not take this up again?

I discussed this with my sons. I did contribute a poem to a website where it was published, but we soon learned that the site was not reliable. Then, through my elder son's American friend, I came to know about an international and reputed website that published poems and stories: Fanstory.com.

It didn't take long for me to register as an unpaid member. The latest posts on the site were impressive. I slowly learned how to navigate through the site. Since unpaid members could post poems but could see only three reviews, I penned a few over the next few days. I already had a sizable collection, but I mostly wrote fresh ones. After all, who in the world would be interested in publishing poems from me?

After seeing some reviews of my poems, I felt encouraged. As time passed, I noticed that some members and reviewers always seemed inclined to encourage newcomers, and maybe that's how I got some good initial reviews! This also gave me a false perception of my non-existent poetic skills.

The site operated like this: there were both paid and unpaid members. I became a paid member after a month or so. The poems were peer-reviewed, though there were a few professional reviewers as well. Two poems could be posted every day, and one could also post stories or even series. For every review, you earned points or sometimes certificates. If I remember correctly, a good rating for your own poems also fetched points. The membership fee could be paid by redeeming these points, which were also used to promote your poems.

If you liked someone's writing, you could register as a fan, so all that person's posts would be notified to you. You could send private messages to them or your own fans. Usually, the fan registration was mutual.

To be continued... 21. Parallel Universe - Digitally Speaking - Part 3