I use the penname Caellach Gregor for my works. I'm currently living in Asheville, NC. I was browsing google for some good writing sites and happened to stumble across this one. It looked intriguing, so I decided to join. I write mostly poetry, although I do occasionally write some fiction as well. ~Lynn
Hello Lynn, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own work should not be among the very first things you do here. 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. 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!
Cogito, I would say thanks for the heads up, but there isn't a single writing site I've ever joined that doesn't require you to critique work before posting your own. I actually love reviewing in a constructive light, so that isn't at all a problem for me. I will say that I find it a bit presumptuous on your part to assume right off the bat that the first thing I want to do upon joining a writing site is post my own work. Maybe this is simply how you greet all new members, but it is slightly offensive to me because there is an underlying assumption in your tone that says you think the only thing new members want to do is post their work rather than help other writers improve. Just because I'm new to a site doesn't mean I'm new to writing, and I've had people on other sites make that mistake before (accused me of being a 'newb' because I'd only recently joined the website in question). Other than that tangent, I will thank you for the welcome at least. I would just suggest that you try to assume a little less ~Lynn
Yeah I realize that now. Thanks for the welcome. I shouldn't have let that post get to me (I was in a bad mood.. my ride to work ditched me). I almost deleted it when I was writing it but went ahead and posted it because at the time I didn't really care. I'd go back and edit but what's done is done ~Lynn
And Lynn, no matter how diligently I pass the message along, it's amazing how many new joiners fail to grasp it. Our Review Room workshop is more aligned toward learning how to critique better than to getting critiques. It is analogous to teaching a man to fish rather than handing out haddocks. So please forgive the templated post. My intent is to make sure every new memb er who does take the time to post an introduction does get a quick tour pamphlet, as well as to put up a basic welcome. I do tweak the message if there is anything specific in the intro that isn't addressed already in the template, whenbever I can. I do make a point of read and respond to every intro thread, whether or not I have anything individualized message to add. I like the well thought out responses I have seen from you so far on the site.
Cogito, I am glad you responded. I may have over-reacted a bit. I can certainly understand the need for such a message, especially for anyone new to any type of writing site. A lot of people do seem to think that the only important thing is to get their own work reviewed and don't realize how much they themselves grow as writers through their ability to critique the work of others. ~Lynn
