Hello everyone. I'm very happy that I came across this forum. I was looking for somewhere I could talk with fellow writers. Although I'm only a college student, I have huge writing aspirations for myself. I'm looking forward to talking with you all.
Welcome! If I can say that when I only joined two days ago... I haven't explored the forum much beyond this area but it looks promising and there appear to be quite a few wonderful resources here. "Only a college student" doesn't mean much these days, especially in regard to your writing capabilities! I, too, am a college student (thought that will become past tense in just a few months!) and I don't think that means much except to employers. What sort of writing aspirations do you have?
Congrats on almost being done with school! I tend to just categorize myself as a college student because I still don't see myself as a writer. I have a few projects that I've started but I don't have anything published. What are you studying? Eventually I'd like to work on writing children's books. I've been drawing for many years so I think it would be the perfect way to incorporate both of my skills. I've also been working on a memoir but I think it's more for myself than anything else. I don't ever see myself publishing it. It was originally for a creative writing class I took, and after the class ended I kept writing on it. It's a form of therapy for myself.
I'm studying English so I can edit professionally. You? Children's books does sound like a good fusion of skills. A friend of mine in Ireland went through school for graphic design and, I believe, has illustrated several children's books now. I could never do that work myself. Not only am I not great at drawing, I've never even tried writing for younger audiences. I hope that works out for you! Also, the memoir could prove useful in the future. Once you're rich and famous, it could be the springboard for something awesome. Or, of course, it could just remain what it is now: therapy.
I'm doing the same thing actually. I'm starting at Western Oregon University in April. I did the community college route for a couple years, but now it's time for big girl school I would have loved to go to art school, but I just never felt like I would be able to be fully happy with it. So I went with another passion of mine, English. I had an English professor a while back that was writing her own memoir, and she was actively working with a publisher. She had suggested I send in some of my work to him, but there's things in it that would be difficult for my family to read in a published book. So, I figured it was best if I just kept it hidden away for a while. Maybe some day.
I always thought the only jobs that could come from a degree in English were journalism and teaching. I wasn't interested in either so I avoided going to school for English for the longest time. I actually went to The Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online Division for a year and got a diploma in graphic design. Near the end of the program, though, I realized this was not for me. Eventually I realized that editing was my calling (as far as a 9-5 job goes) and I broke down and enrolled for a BA in English. I'm doing it online, though. I've never actually attended a physical campus... Online is a lot easier to deal with when I'm working full time. It's cheaper, in regards to gas, and more flexible in that I can choose when I attend classes. Maybe when I go for my Master's degree I'll try out a physical campus. I don't delve into non-fiction much but what I have written should probably not, at this point, be shown to my family. So I understand about your memoir.
Welcome LizAnne! I also live in Oregon, though near the Portland area. Good to have another Oregonian here.
Welcome to Writing Forums, LizAnne! 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 requirements. 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. The requirements of the Writing Workshop don't apply to the contests, so new members are allowed (nay, encouraged!) to get stuck in and enter! If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, 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
