Hi folks... Just checking out some of the forums as I test my writing ability. Perhaps to introduce myself I can explain my nickname. Often people think it's the English usage, but it's actually (for me) a French term. Back when I was working at IBM in their mainframe and network division, we all had to wear lab coats. Since I was the only one who understood French, (some of it, I don't speak it) I was the one responsible for an account with a 'caisse populaire' in Quebec. (basically the French equivalent of a credit union) On a monthly basis their representative would come in and I would be tasked with coordinating his needs. However, whenever he came in to great me he called me "mon savant" ('my professor' in English) since I was always in a lab coat. Soon everyone was calling me savant, so I use it as a nick on the internet too. Anyway, as far as writing, I don't consider myself a writer more than I would consider myself a storyteller. I've never written professionally, aside from when I was in school almost two decades ago. Nevertheless, I've had too many people read some of my informal writings and ask if I was a writer. So I figured I would try my hand at it and see where it goes. I'm working on (what will likely be) a novella length story. Since I'm still working on it I don't know how far I'll take it. I'm at 25K words now (started June 10th) and I'd like to have it done by the end of summer. Although I didn't choose it intentionally, it would seem this will be something in the Young Adult genre. It will be interesting to read what some of the other people are writing here...
Hello Savant, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on 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 Writing Prompts, or the Writing Workshop, 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 site rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Writing Workshop, 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. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop 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 Writing Workshop 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 the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try 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!
No worries about me rushing to post my work. If anything I'm still a bit self-conscious about it and I'll want to do a lot of work on it before I'd be comfortable showing to anyone anyway. If anything I'm just trying to get a feel for what people are doing, which I can use as a means for my own self-judgment. As you mentioned, right now I'm doing a lot of looking around. I'm not in any rush.
