Hello all :] Thought I'd follow suit and start at the beginning, the intro! To start, I am 21 years old, born and raised in Central Arkansas. I have been a writer since the third grade when Miss B started us on daily journal exercises. She was very adamant about creative expression and I loved her for it. Anyway, since then, obviously, there have been times when I write more than others, but I am always the observer, always making mental notes of mannerisms of others; the way things fall on my senses; etc. Recently, I have just finished up my first college-level Creative Writing course. I really enjoyed the interaction I had with other writers, though half the class was in it for an "easy A". It was fine, though... the format was nothing short of what I've experienced through online writers' groups. Over the last five or six years I have been a part of such groups on a site that caters to various types of artists. The groups were primarily chat-based, so, the idea of posting to forums is a bit foreign to me! [C'est la Vie, I'll catch on!] I hope to be able to review and assist others in their writing to the best of my abilities, and in turn to submit my work for some much needed peer critique! As it stands I have a lot of free time in the middle of my week (this summer) that I'm going to need to fill up with writing and posting. From first impressions, I expect that I've come to the right place to do so! I'm sure I am in for meeting some very talented writers, and hopefully for making some new friends as well.
Hello Vespere, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own work 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. 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). 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!
