Hello everyone. My name is Roni and I'm an amateur writer. Until today, I've never been all that serious about writing. I've been writing only when "I've felt like it", occasionally recording songs with my own lyrics, and then writing something a few times every month maximum. But now I've become increasingly interested in creative writing and I really want to start putting some effort into it. I plan to develop my writing skills and for that I've got many books that handle the subject that I intend to go through before the beginning of next summer. Hopefully I will have improved my skills dramatically by then. As you may have already guessed by my poor grammar and strange choice of words, that I am not a native englishman. However I do write in english, because I love the language, and I intend to work on my english skills also. I have a few books about advanced english grammar that I will start studying as soon as possible. I also intend to increase my active vocabulary as much as possible. And then, since I love creating lyrics, I will also try to put some effort into studying poetry. So that was a brief introduction about me. I wish I could share my short stories with you so that you could see my current level, but I suck at giving feedback to other peope (and this site won't allow me to post my own stories before I've given feedback to others) so that is also one thing I need to learn - critical reading and giving feedback. Do you have any ideas of how to go about teaching yourself critical reading? Because really, I haven't ever even thought about it before. I never thought I'd actually need to develop those kind of skills - I was previously just writing for my own amusement and nothing else. But anway, that's probably enough of me. I hope I can learn something by being here, and hopefully make even a friend or two who share my interest of creative writing. Roni
Hi Roni, and welcome to Writing Forums! Don't worry about your English, I think you're doing pretty good! I'm sure you'll have fun here and since everyone's so friendly, I don't doubt that you'll make friends soon!
Hey Roni, Nice to meet you. I felt your english is pretty good. But then again I am not a native english speaker either. Whichever country you are from I bet you'll find some members in here from the same country. So just chill out and have fun. Anyway I totally forgot to mention, welcome to the forum!
Thank you both for your warm welcomes. I started reading the feedbacks of some short stories right away, and I can say, I've already learned alot in the past hour, just by reading the posts on this forum. I wrote a short story earlier today, and just a moment ago I decided to read it through with the intention that I would put the things I learned from here into use. And I do think that I made some good improvements into my little story. So I do think this forum will become a very valuable tool for me. Oh and I live in Finland - Up north, where the polar bears roam and where some crazy people think it's fun to swim in a frozen lake.
It's not such a good thing. Soon you'll start critisizing anything and everything. I love crazy people. That's why I am here. You'll like it here too.
Hello Roni, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own work should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. It is worth taking the time 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. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. 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 constructive critique as a vital 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). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. 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!
