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  1. Inkie

    Inkie New Member

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    A child has wandered into your website.

    Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Inkie, Oct 31, 2014.

    Yes, I am very small in comparison to most of you. I'm fourteen and a responsible adult should probably escort me to the NaNoWriMo Young Author's site. No, not really. I'm staying. Hah.

    I certainly don't write as much as most of you due to school, among other responsibilities, but I actually waste loads of time in school thinking about what I'm going to write. What irony.

    Scoff at me as you like, but I am attempting to write a novel - as if you haven't heard those words out of a hormonal teenage girl. To be fair, though, I recently hit 25k words, halfway to the "big 50k," as I've heard some of you real writers calling it. I can't tell you what it's about, actually. I will risk telling you, though, that it was inspired by the Sherlock Holmes chronicles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, written in the same short-story format.

    Anyways, this little girl is here to stay. I am always ready to learn from those of you with something to teach, and writing advice is always appreciated. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you silly responsible adults with your published books and your fancy teas and such.

    Cheers!

    -Inkie
     
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  2. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Hi, welcome to the forum. We like young authors here. Sorry there's a bit of rough language from time to time but other than that, we encourage young people to join in.
     
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  3. SocksFox

    SocksFox Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    First, welcome to the forums:

    However, don't make age an issue, and give these folks a little respect. There are several young writers on these forums and they seem to do just fine. As a community we embrace writers of all ages and a large contigent here have been writing since they were your age. Give us some credit for having a few manners. Attitude can flay on the raw, so please treat the forum members with the respect they deserve.

    Sorry if this comes across as a little pissy, but the tone of your intro caught a sore spot. I respect my fellow writers and readers, to have someone assume I don't is a major pet peeve of mine. I know the work that goes into it and I know the frustrations. Most adults think it's a waste of time, well you joined a writing forum, whole different demographic.

    I have been writing since I was nine. Don't doubt our abilities or your own. You won't be written off just because of age.

    One piece of advice: Writing isn't about the word count; it's about the journey. Lighten up and enjoy the trip.

    - Darkkin, the Tedious
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 31, 2014
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  4. Inkie

    Inkie New Member

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    Well, first off, I apologize for this. I wrote this paragraph late at night with little time to spare, and I was of course very tired. Not going to deny responsibility for my actions, though. Looking back on it, I'm editing my first post. This really doesn't sound like me at all.

    And in particular, sorry for assuming the community wouldn't accept me. I've attempted to speak with adult writers outside of the internet many times, and have had some rather poor experiences. Knowing I would be around grown adults on this website was the most frightening part about joining, and presenting my writing and myself as a writer to adults makes me very defensive. I was not expecting the community to be this open and will rewrite the first post ASAP. Sorry you had to be the one to call me on this.

    EDIT: Apparently I can't edit it. Well, this is embarrassing.
     
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  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    :confused: Kind of, yeah. Not sure what 'tone' you read but I didn't see/feel it.

    Don't let @Darkkin scare you @Inkie, she's actually very nice and an excellent writer.
     
  6. SocksFox

    SocksFox Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    We don't bite...(much)...but went poked, dragons do occasionally grumble. Sorry if I seemed curt, but I think folks deserve a chance to prove themselves before being labelled stuff shirts. And yes, I admit to being very stuffy.:crazy:

    Age is a number, not relative to one's abilities. Don't go into this thinking youth is handicap. It isn't. Make it about your writing. Be honest, be yourself and have fun with it. Writing is about the journey, not about the end. Ask questions, offer opinions. You'll be surprised at what you can learn. :agreed:
     
  7. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    Hi and welcome. @Darkkin 's right, age is just a number. I've been writing since I was 14 but did nothing serious until ten years ago. Saying that, I did write the bare bones of my first fiction book when I was 15.

    One thing I will say (which I guess is age related but is also dependant on what genre you write) is that there is no substitute for life experience so always work hard on the research side of things, even if that means watching how people (general public) behave. I'm a big people watcher, just make sure you do it discretely.

    Failing that, ask! If there's no-one close to you that you can ask, them come on here and ask us and don't ever think that your questions will be thought of as stupid or immature. (you should see some of the things I come out with and I'm 41 !)

    So, welcome, come on in and good luck with your writing!
    x
     
  8. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    Dude, I joined these forums when I was 14 and I'm 19 now. It really is just a number.
     

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