Hello everyone. I love to read and I enjoy writing. Lately I've been increasingly intimidated by the blank page, so I decided joining a community of writers might help. I'm looking forward to the Review Room, especially. First, though, hello!
Hello Kavis, 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!
Hello, Kavis! It sounds like you have definitely come to the right place. Look around and have fun! See you around ... EDIT: Cogito already got here so I didn't have to say what I said, so I removed it.
Wilkommen! I just joined recently too... the best thing you can do to get started is to ask lots of questions and start getting your nose in the forums. =)
I know! They just sit there, staring at you. And when you close the notebook, slowly but surely they draw their plans against you.
A Question I've found a number of links to posts that refer to the Reviewing Room, but I haven't been able to find a page or a forum by that name. I looked in the Reviewing forum, but that doesn't seem to be what Cogito's link refers to. Am I just missing it, or is it some kind of seekrit?
The Review Room is the site's critiquing workshop. It is not a forum, it is a top level division of the site. Look on the site's home page and you can't miss it.
Hi Kavis and welcome Fill that blank page with gobbledygook and with a bit of luck your subcoscious -muse- may takeover and start writing something worth while.