G'Day fellow Writers! I am referred to as 'Nez', and I am from all the way down in the southern hempisphere, in a place you might know as Australia. I am in the last year of my high school, and so very pleased and fortunate to finally find such a place as the Writing Forums! You see, throughout my jungle-envisioned childhood journey, I’ve always been searching for a way to find a method where I can tell the world of my stories. I’ve gone through the three Arts; Music, Visual and Performance, in that order. However, as I was dedicating my time through those three (dropping ‘Music’ as soon as I found out I was tone deaf), I was secretly writing; writing poems, stories, character profiles, etc. I always knew though, that I’d have to improve my skills to become as close as brilliant, and so I’ve been trying, but always on my own. As luck would have it, I found this site, thanks to my great friend, Lebby (yes I mentioned you!) . So, I do hope I can get along with every member to this wonderful site, a site that seems to help writers continue to improve with their skills (and still have fun!), which is exactly what I’m hoping to get out of this. Nice to meet ya'll! Nez ~
Hello Nez, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own writing for people to comment on 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. 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 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 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. 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). 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 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!
Thanks Lebby and Midnight! I believe some Aussie ass kicking is always fun... @Cogito: Yes, I sure have been a nosy bugger and been poking around a lot of the threads in Poems, Scripts, Novels, and the likes. I do believe and agree that to look over and review another's work does help train the eye for anything that needs fixing in their own work... in other sites, I have been doing that same --but I also do enjoy a few games here and there Being the shy type at first, I think I will just be viewing some [if not alot] of other threads and their responses before considering to post my own critique, praise and little expert of my own. And thank you for the warm welcome and warnings/information! I think i will also check out the Weekly Contests...
