Well it's so nice to meet all of you and I'm excited to get involved in these smart forum posts. I'm Nicki, from California, currently taking a year off from college to "explore myself" and the world. I started doing creative writing from the age of 12, but stopped for a few years while in college, and now I'm getting back into it. However, this time it looks like it will be more of an article-style writing. I'm also working on a travel book for Orange County, California. For :redface:now, I'm posting it online (can be found here) and remember, is in draft mode. I look forward to getting to know everybody. Feel free to connect!
Welcome Nicki, I'm relatively new myself. My parents wouldn't allow me the luxury of time off college. Eight years after I became a teacher, I spent some time working abroad at international American schools. I was in Saudi Arabia for seven years and Beirut, Lebanon for one year. After returning to the states, I took a year off and traveled around the country. The reverse culture shock was a doozy. It took me almost a year to break the bad driving habits I developed in the Middle East. It was strange to drive down the street and not see sandbagged Syrian tanks sitting at major intersections. It was also a bit overwhelming to have access to American "superstores." When I lived overseas, I was happy if I could find a jar of spaghetti sauce. I didn't care what the brand was ... or how the sauce was flavored as long as it was a basic Marinara. Here in the states ... my goodness ... there are entire AISLES filled with spaghetti sauce. In addition to traditional Marinara, there are meat sauces, garden vegetable, three cheese, garlic and herb, etc. I've been stateside now for nine years. Although a recruiter recently tried hiring me to teach at a university in China, my traveling days are pretty much over. Should you feel like sharing excerpts of your travel guide, I will be happy to read it. Regards, Chef David Chin
Hi Chef Dave, Your travel experience sounds adventurous. I'd love to check out some exotic places in Asia and the Middle East sometime in the future. It's nice to meet you. I actually have been publishing my drafts for sections of my Orange County travel guide onto an online publisher called Triond. You can see the parts of the guide, plus other articles I've written, here: http://www.triond.com/users/nicki+b (I placed this link in my first post, but I guess you have to have html enabled to see it.)
i suppose it would be absurdly juvenile to say at this point HI, DOCTOR NICKI! strangely, this comes from someone named "nic b."
haha - I didn't even realize that I have the same name as that scam-y doctor from The Simpson's. Gosh, where are those name-change forms from the courthouse when ya need them.
Hello Nicki, Welcome to the Writing Forums. 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. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Great, thanks - I fully intend on reviewing what my fellow writers have to offer. Simply, I want to do it when I'm fully awake versus these odd hours of the early morning. I will check out those rooms, thank you for recommending them.
