Sorry pressed return by mistake. I'm a 51 year old man, but I feel a lot............. older. Hands up those who thought I was going to say younger. For the last 30 years all my spare time has been spent hanging out in comedy clubs or gambling venues. I've dabbled in comedy, doing the occasional stand up routine, but mostly writing new material for others or helping them to improve their existing material. Gambling has also been a big part of my life, but now all I play is poker. A wise man once said "write what you know" with that in mind I am currently working on a comedy drama script about a gambler. I want to post a sample for you nice people to review but before I do some advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Hello Jep, 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 Writing Prompts, 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 site 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!
what kind of advice are you in need of, jep? i mentor aspiring screenwriters, so feel free to email me if you want help other than what you can get here on the site, once you fulfill the requirements for posting work to be critiqued... love and welcoming hugs, maia [who is really 'old' at 75!] maia3maia@hotmail.com
