My name is Jeff and I am 22 years old from Dunedin, FL. I am a musician and a photographer with a love for art and self expression. I recently have been inspired to write and explore it as another artistic output. I was seeking a good place to grow as a writer and this certainly seemed like the place. I did have a question about the forum. I have the beginning of a short story, a "teaser" if you will, that I wrote. It is my first true attempt at writing and is still a work in progress but I would like to receive feedback on what I have so far. Where would be the correct place on the forum to post this? Thanks for reading!
The Review Room > Short Stories > Genre But you have to give feedback on at least two pieces before you post; two being the very minimum! Welcome to the forums, - Andy
Hello Jeff, Welcome to the Writing Forums. As Andy said. it's not quite as simple as posting an excerpt and getting feedback. Instead, we focus on learning to give detailed, reasoned critique, and to use that same mindset when receiving critique. You will also use those skills in examining and revising your own writing. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. 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 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!
Wreybies me too! (UF GATORRRRRSSS!!!!) Anyways... Welcome to the boards, Cola. A word to the wise, don't post entire stories, or anything aside from a tiny clip, on the public forums -- that can hurt your chances with publishers, who will be less likely to accept your work (if could cause problems if they already have) if it's posted somewhere online for people to read for free. A better approach, if you want something reviewed, is to befriend other users who are interested in giving you feedback, then PM or email them. You can PM me for critique requests if you want, I'm not too mean.
Thank you all for the very warm and informative welcome. I was definitely unaware that posting something entirely could diminish the chances of it being published so I definitely appreciate the heads up. I look forward to exploring the forums and will do my best to become a contributing member. Also glad to see some fellow (or ex) Floridians here. While I may be lying if I said I love it here, I know there are worse places so I don't mind too much. Thank you for the offer Mallory I may have to take you up on that! Nice to meet you all!
I'd love to give your story feedback, PM me for my email. What genre do you write? I ususally write horror shorts, but I"m working on a dystopian novel and a children's story(which is harder than I thought, I've never done kids' stories before) right now. Are you a UF Gator?
Thank you I will definitely PM and nope I'm not a Gator, not currently in school right now. I'm not really sure of my writing style yet. I like to read books that are either true stories and interesting memoirs or fiction that could be true generally set in the 90's to present. What I am writing now is similar to those styles but I'm not sure exactly what genre you would classify that. Contemporary fiction maybe?
