Greetings, Hello friends. I recently discovered this site in an effort to respark the one true passion of my life, that of putting pen to paper for the sheer pleasure of seeing whether the result be worth keeping or throwing away. I started writing when I was so young as to be embarassed to admit it. I literally had written a novel by the time I was 14, and my what a horrible novel it was. Even at 14 I knew it was awful, but the experience to me was..... invigorating. I did the only sensible thing with it: printed it up with my old dot matrix (hey, that was all you could get back then) and promptly hide it away forever. Either way, writing continued to be a passion of mine all through out college. I was priveledged enough to sit some fantastic classes in creative writing on my way to degree, including a class taught by Judson Mitcham (The Sweet Everlasting) which really pushed me to try harder and harder. I landed in London and connected by train to Swansea in Wales for my study abroad sometime in late August or Early September, 2001. For a semester, at least, writing kept me sane. I kept right on writing through the grad school work I did at Carnegie Mellon, but by the second semester, I was so unhappy with the program I choose, I left and immediately entered the work force. Skip ten or so years. Somewhere along the way, I lost the urge to write. I'm here, really, because even though that urge died, that piece of me never did. I'm intent on recapturing the little bit of skill I'd begun to acquire (Dialogue took me probably 3 years of work to be able to write good scenes, I'm not even sure how long it will take to recover. But I figure, this is an excellent place to read other people's work while I'm working on my own, and when I'm ready, wade back in to seeing how others respond to my style .... changed though it must be by now. I can only hope that the changes I've experienced in life will have a positive impact on my writing. Anyway, pleased to meet you all. I plan to take it slow, learn the forum, and the writers, if possible. I work a very busy, hectic job, so i really have no choice on this one. I'll be here as often as I can learning as best as I can, but this much I can tell you, my laptops are never far from my hand these days. I'm trying to establish those old habits again. So, I look forward to reading everyone's writing, hope that some of my ridiculously overpriced education in English (in case you were wondering, I don't work for an English company....) allows me to fully appreciate your words, and look forward to the not so distant future when I get to offer some words of my own. For now, I believe I will be sticking with the Sci Fi and Fantasty Genres, though I have literally no control over what story is in my brain at any given time. See you all soon!
Hello Madison, Welcome to the Writing Forums. 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!
One of my good friends was a young writer she finished her first novel at 12. Nice to meet you -Charlotte
Hey Madison Did writing save you from Swansea induced nuttiness or nuttiness per se? I've quite liked it, whenever I've gone.
Hi Madison, welcome to the forum! I'm sure you'll get back into the swing of things faster than you think you will. Writing is like riding a bicycle, some part of you remembers how to write, you just need to find it =)
