Sorry it's taken me a week, or thereabouts, to get this intro written. I wanted to take my time and read/skim through some posts here before I spoke, to get the feel of the place and the people who inhabit it. I've been so impressed with the depth and breadth of experience, wisdom, and advice I've seen so far. I doubt I have anything to say that hasn't already been better said by someone else here, but I appreciate very much the opportunity to step up and say "Hi!" anyway. I've never really been able to "settle" on anything, career-wise. I think that's why I write. I've done quite a few things in my life, to date, but writing is the one constant thing that's been there through all of it. It's not a "I must write, lest I die" kind of arrangement and never has been. In fact, if I had to pin a label on my chest for this, it would more likely be "storyteller" than "writer" -- I'm doing it for the entertainment value, for you and for me, nine times out of ten. I've written and published one nonfiction book, and have co-written a fantasy novel that's so far been indie-published in three installments. The latter was supposed to have been the first book of a series, but now I've no idea if it will ever be written or not. I don't mention these in order to promote them (no titles, you never heard of either, anyway), just as a way to establish credentials. These days I'm more interested in collaborative projects than solo ones, and the collaborative projects here (in the form of RPGs) are the biggest reasons I decided to create an account. As for the rest? The stuff that's mere "biography"? Married/divorced/remarried (first time for ten years, this second time for twenty), two grown sons, two silly dogs, a companionable cat. Herb garden, vegetable garden, rose garden. Northern California, behind the redwood curtain, foggy and cool. My favorite fruit are cherries. I drive an old Subaru Legacy hatchback -- dogs, remember? Music is the key to my heart, and my soul. I'm an independent progressive who loathes two-party politics. I have an abnormally long attention span. I have many acquaintances, and a few close friends. The "zen" part of my screen name is a nod to my practice, which is 75% generic Buddhist, with the balance consisting of a healthy mix of both western and eastern traditions. The "stitcher" part comes from my passion for needlework, especially for counted cross stitch. I daily lament that I only have one set of hands, and they can either write, or stitch, but not both at once. Thank heaven for audiobooks, or I'd never get exposure to other storytellers! Meh. I think that's it for now. I get a bit nauseous when I talk about myself for too long. If you read this far, I'm impressed -- introduce yourself in the comments and let me know!
Welcome to Writing Forums, ZenStitcher! I hope you find what you're looking for here, whatever your interests in writing. This forum aims to provide the best workshopping resources on the internet, and to that end we have a few rules which you should familiarise yourself with before you get stuck in. The main section of the site is the Writing Workshop, where members can post their writing in order to receive critique of their work. However, before we allow members to post their work, they must have met some basic requirments. Firstly, you must have been a member for fourteen days, and have made twenty posts on the forum overall (please note, posts in Word Games do not count towards this). This is so that members, when they post their work, have familiarised themselves with the forums and contributed to them (as well as hopefully learned something for themselves). Secondly, members must provide two constructive reviews of other people's work for each piece of their own that they wish to post. This is because we believe that the focus of workshopping should be equally upon giving reviews as receiving them, as they allow a writer to practice and improve their editing skills, which they can then apply to their own writing. Beyond the Writing Workshop, you will find that we have extensive forums for discussion of aspects of writing, as well as a community area for general discussion. We also run periodic short story and poetry contests, which are good for challenging yourself and expanding your skills. If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Cogito, Lemex and Dante Dases) should be your first port of call. Any technical problems with the site itself should be directed to Daniel, the site administrator and owner. I would recommend you have a look over the rules so that you know what to expect, and what is expected. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy your time here. Banzai
Yup. Already read the rules, and some of the posts by the listed moderators. That was part of what took me so long to introduce myself. I've been hanging around digital forums for a long time now.
Dang, Stitcher Maybe someday I'll have a thousand posts here, but this is only my second. I love your intro and your bio; I'm an old hippie, too. (Don't try to tell me that you're not.) Northern California is one of the furthest stops before we get there, don't you think? D. Unsided
I think I'm your east coast twin...subaru, dog, 2 kids in their 20's and knitter...welcome to the site! (I'm a newbie too.)
Don Unsided: You made me laugh with that. It's difficult to be progressive, literate, and 50-ish in this part of the world without earning that appellation. at some point. There are indeed quite a few of us up here, anymore. Are you in the general area too?
In the general area, yes. But not in the redwoods. I may not be that evolved I'm happy that you're here. Don
Welcome ZenStitcher! I must say you really put your words beautifully! I definitely look forward to seeing you on the forum!
Hey, I'm Katie, and I'm new to this too. I was just looking through the new member introductions after writing one myself. I've read yours and just wanted to say, I'm jealous of you. I'm 13, and when I grow up, I was to write along side of my normal life. And from what I read of your introdction, that's what it seems like you do; write on the side of yor normal life. And that's kinda my dream. That, and one day publishing a book. Just wanted to let ya know what I thought.
