Hello all. My name's Joe, and I'm glad to see so many other writers here. There's so much to explore that I don't know where to start. Anyway, I know your time's valuable so I'll try to be brief: I love writing horror fiction, and recently self-published my first book. It's entitled Those Things and is a collection of several short stories and a novella. I'm more into the psychological aspects of the genre, but am not afraid to throw in some blood (and if necessary, some guts) now and again. I live in Madison, WI, where I used to work on the football staff at the University (The Badgers) but stopped doing that because working millions of hours during the season didn't turn out to be very good for my brain. Nowadays I just hole myself in a room somewhere and write. But I also teach Argentine Tango, which helps break the monotony. I'm looking forward to making contact with you, reading your stuff, and sharing/learning new ideas. Good luck with your writing! If you like (but don't feel you have to), you can check out my website here.
Hi Joe, 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!
