Hello everyone, my name is Andy and I guess you could call me a writer. Certainly if anybody ever asks me what I do for a living I refer to myself vainly as "A Writer" in the hope that there are no follow-up questions. In truth, I write adverts for the radio and have done for the past three years. As an occupation this is not without its merits as I get to be creative, I get to meet interesting people and, very occasionally, I get a script to air with no client intervention whatsoever. However it has long been a dream of mine to do some "proper" writing. Writing without the client or budget mandated constraints, writing where I am free to develop the idea, give it wings and let it fly as far as my imagination will allow. The trouble is I don't know how. I did much writing earlier in life, at a time when I thought it was as simple as writing something, sending it to a publisher and then waiting for the royalties to roll in, but after several impersonal rejection letters my enthusiasm dropped and I could rarely get up the energy to write more than ten pages of a short story or script before I gave it up as a bad job and went to the pub. After meeting a couple of writers recently I have now realised that my biggest problem is not that I'm no good - I can cross that hurdle at some point - but rather that I don't know any writers. I have nobody with whom to share ideas or from whom to receive critique and so I can never develop myself. So here I am, and after a needlessly lengthy inroductory note I am now going to have a browse of the forum, Speak to you all soon, Andy.
Hey, Welcome to WF. Coigto or someone else will doubtless be along with a link to the FAQ and other useful links. Meanwhile, make yourself at home. Critique is one of the most useful tools when writing, so make sure to critique others as well. Other than that, have fun. -Suzanne
I felt like you until not long ago. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas was recommended to me by a friend and answered a lot of questions and insecurities I had. Maas works in publishing so he gives an insider's perspective. I was quite critical myself but when I began to take notes and find a way of interpreting things for my own benefit, it really gave me a boost. I like to approach writing a bit like a course of study, read the greats/classics and learn from more experienced people. As for sharing ideas, this place is the best place to start. There are lots of experienced writers here.
Hello Andy, Welcome to the Writing Forums. You are a writer when you decide to put your thoughts down on paper for sharing or for preservation. You are a writer when you decide to put effort into improving your writing. You needn't make a profit, or even any income at all, to be a writer. 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 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!
