Hello I’m not sure what to offer in terms of an introduction but it seemed appropriate to post something, at least! I signed up to the forum quite some time ago but haven’t posted anything so far. I have, however, read the posts here fairly regularly in the hope of learning from others’ questions and suggestions (given that most issues are relevant to any writer). Hmm. About me? I am in my mid-thirties and new to writing fiction. Most of my experience has revolved around writing academic essays with a sideline hobby of attempting to construct some poetry. The former was much more focussed on precision and adhering to the style and rules of the field (which probably encouraged a particular type of discipline), and the latter was at the other end of the spectrum in terms of creativity and playing with language. Between the two I feel as if I have fallen into an awkward habit of alternating between a blunt style of writing that lacks the vivid sensory and emotional hooks that make for better fictional stories, and veering off in to a kind of purple prose that is more poetical than prosaic. I’ve yet to find the happy medium and am not convinced that I have it in me to write fictional prose, but I want to give it a bash anyway! I love writing; I love language and playing with words. I am far less skilled at developing plots and characters that can be sustained consistently over a longer piece of writing. That said, it probably reflects (or is reflected in) the kind of book I like to read. I have to admit I prefer to read something that feels like I am soaked in linguistic, molten chocolate, regardless of the plot or content, than something which ticks all the boxes in terms of construction and action but whose style of writing doesn’t engage me in any depth. I am not very action-motivated, I guess. That makes it tricky when I try to write anything myself because I end up feeling as if I am trying to write in a style that I am not particularly fond of and it shuts me down fairly quickly. In terms of my literary inclinations… My current favourite book probably would still be ‘The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold, both in content and style. I also have a soft spot for ‘Little Women’, but my idea of heaven would be most of the characters, plot and themes of ‘Little Women’ combined with the writing style of Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ (which is non-fiction, I know). I also have a fondness for books such as ‘Girl, Interrupted’ and ‘Even Cowgirls Get The Blues’ (but definitely not the film adaptation of the latter) in the way in which they alternate between story-telling and dialogue, and addressing the reader directly (explaining thoughts or dynamics as if they are confiding in a friend or chatting with someone). I get the impression that is somewhat frowned upon in fiction writing, though – in general? As you can tell, I have a tendency to write too much! Hopefully I will begin to post a little bit in forums rather than solely reading.
Welcome to Writing Forums, homeagain! I hope you find what you're looking for here, whatever your interests in writing. This forum aims to provide the best workshopping resources on the internet, and to that end we have a few rules which you should familiarise yourself with before you get stuck in. The main section of the site is the Writing Workshop, where members can post their writing in order to receive critique of their work. However, before we allow members to post their work, they must have met some basic requirements. Firstly, you must have been a member for fourteen days, and have made twenty posts on the forum overall (please note, posts in Word Games do not count towards this). This is so that members, when they post their work, have familiarised themselves with the forums and contributed to them (as well as hopefully learned something for themselves). Secondly, members must provide two constructive reviews of other people's work for each piece of their own that they wish to post. This is because we believe that the focus of workshopping should be equally upon giving reviews as receiving them, as they allow a writer to practice and improve their editing skills, which they can then apply to their own writing. Beyond the Writing Workshop, you will find that we have extensive forums for discussion of aspects of writing, as well as a community area for general discussion. We also run periodic short story and poetry contests, which are good for challenging yourself and expanding your skills. If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Cogito, Lemex and Dante Dases) should be your first port of call. Any technical problems with the site itself should be directed to Daniel, the site administrator and owner. I would recommend you have a look over the rules so that you know what to expect, and what is expected. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy your time here. Banzai
Welcome, Homeagain. I too have not written much outside of academic papers and essays, yet, there is a growing interest in me to write fiction--so perhaps we have that in common. I am also fairly new to the community here (as you can see from the amount of posts I have under my identifier). I hope you enjoy writing and presenting your pieces here as well as reading others' works. One thing that I learned during my short time here is that if you are ever feeling ambitious about piece of work (i.e. you want to publish it), simply post excerpts. Anyway, I look forward to reading your posts. Welcome to the community.
Hi, Homeagain welcome to the forums! love this description - linguistic, molten chocolate! Exactly how I feel about prose! and about reading in general.
