Right, so first thing I did after joining was ... attempt to post the first chapter of my Maybe-one-day novel. Next was to post the first of two reviews that would allow me to do this. Guess coming here was the inevitable third option! Briefly, I've been 'hobby writing' for years, with various breaks when kids, careers and marital manoevres intervened. I have always had a gift for the written word, right the way back to my primary school years when it won me a place at a prestigious local grammar school and lunch with the author Leon Garfield. The covert actions of a kindly English teacher meant I could have been an apprentice journalist for the Daily Telegraph some 33 years ago. I now realise what a twit I was to say 'How much am I expected to live on for the next three years?!' before following a tortuous career path through the fields of pharmaceutical biology, fitness training and, latterly, long term unemployment - with not a single Celebrity Big Brother posting in sight. Mind you, I've got one hell of a lot of life experiences to write about - it's just a pity they're so damned uninteresting. My parents loved me and never once abused me, sob ... Scrap that last statement, because having just so-not-celebrated my first half-century, I've taken a long hard look at my self employment/work fom home options and decided I could do worse than train up for a career in freelance writing - especially as I still have all the unused modules from the Writers Bureau course I paid for 5 years ago! The best option for a regular wage in this area seems to be as a writer of short, non-fiction articles on the 'net. I'm currently researching paint graining effects for a tentative entry onto an ezine DIY database (possible income, £45 per 600 word article) and have been advised to gain experience by sending work into sites such as this one. The idea is, prospective clients will then be able to see relevant examples of the kind of thing I could be doing for them. So why the hell my first submission is going to be the prologue to a 125,000 word humerous jazz novel is beyond me ... I guess I just enjoy writing too much to make it pay for me. Here's hoping, though. In the meantime - nice to meet you all, folks!
Hello Jazz, Welcome to the Writing Forums. As you discovered, posting your own work should not be the very first thing you do here. It is really worthwhile to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize reviewing as a critical writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Thanks Cog. I did actually find this site on a whim, after discovering another forum site I'd joined was heavily overpopulated with txt-spkng 15 year-olds all spooking out on bad acid (or so it seemed) The intelligesta quotient on these pages triggered my long-dormant creativity cells. I've calmed down a bit now, though! I have actually now reviewed a couple of things and thoroughly enjoyed them - including a horror story I wouldn't normally have touched. Suffice to say, I'm now so 'hooked' on the experience that I've decided to continue having a really good trawl through, placing comments where appropriate, before posting anything of my own. And you're dead right - typing up a review really does constitute a good writing exercise.
