It took me almost 2 years to find the courage to show my finished novel to a friend, another year before I took the advice to undertake a writing course, and 7 years to submit my work for professional review, and in the last week, I’ve entered 2 competitions and finally taken the plunge to join this excellent forum. So now your all know it’s taken forever to join cyberspace, what else can I say? I written a total of four completed novels, 2 Fantasy/Horror, 2 Young Adult Love/Mystery, none of which are published, but bought me personal joy and satisfaction. I love writing, and I’m really excited about expanding my mind and improving my writing skills by reading all of your submissions and receiving feedback from around the world. Good luck to us all
Welcome! Congratulations on taking steps to finish, share and promote your work. I love fantasy/horror by the way.
What did your friend think about the novel? Just curious. I know I'd be afraid after finishing a full novel if anyone was going to like it. ps: Welcome by the way! It's awesome you joined.
Thank You All Thank you all for your words of welcome. aland88 - My friend liked the story and characters, and as quite an accomplished writer told me very tactfully to learn how to write. I think my first draft was 901 pages, and 6 years on is incredibly painful to read! At some point I will have to re-write it, for now I'm enjoying writing some new stories.
Hello Kelly, 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 Word Games, 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 forum 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!
