Hello all! When I was just a bit younger, perhaps even a year ago, I would have never really thought that I would need to join a community of writers. Now, however, a bit more mature, and wanting to take my writing work even more seriously than I already have, I've changed my mind. I've come to realization that I do need a place to improve upon my writing, besides asking my friends and family random questions. I am a 17 year old Vietnamese male, with interests mainly in the humanities, especially history and creative writing. Personally, I think it is odd that an Asian kid in America would like writing, or the humanities for that matter (where I live, the stereotype of the science-math Asian nerd is sickeningly true). I already wanted to become a writer since I was about 8, although I only started seriously writing down novels when I was 14. I have already completed two novels - one by hand and one by computer - though both are in horrid condition and require a lot of reworking. My preferred genre is fantasy, though I prefer the term "speculative fiction" because fantasy brings up images of magic and sorcery, which I don't really like - fantasy, to me, allows the greatest ability to travel into "another world". Which is why I enjoy the conworlding and conlanging aspects of it so much, though writing is still my main focus. Anyhow, it is my hope that I can significantly improve my writing from my experiences here, and that I can also help others along the way too. It seems that the community here is very productive and helpful, so I won't have any doubts that I will get something out of it. Thanks all. cybrxkhan
Hello Cybrxkhan, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop 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 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 forum 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!
Hey Cybrxkhan, I'm Hedge -- or Greg, whichever you feel like today. Hope to see your work on the Forums. I've never had much taste for dragons and wizards either, and fantasy has been so deeply thought of as that in some parts of the internet it's a crying shame, so I look forward to seeing your work. Don't touch my Nilla wafers, and I'll catch you later.
Thank you all for your kind comments. Anyhow, I like the idea of making members critique others' work. Of course I don't really enjoy 'wasting' my time reading others' work, but I think it probably will help me find my own mistakes, too, and maybe even get my own ideas going. And Hedge (one of my close friends loves hedgehogs, so I'll go with that), I also look forward to seeing you too. My current "fantasy" novel I'm writing takes part in a sort of steampunk world, but the actual history of that world is more what I call alternative earth. Anyhow, I do feel kind of annoyed that people think fantasy is only limited to sorcerers and elves. It gets kind of worse when they think fantasy only gets inspired from psuedo-medieval Europe.
I think you will cange you mind about reading others work being a 'waste of time'. Helping others sort out the mistakes in their work helps a lot in learning to catch the mistakes in your own. Welcome to the site, i hope you enjoy your time here!
Welcome cybr! I know exactly what you mean about the stereotype. Glad to see another of the more artistic kind!
Welcome to writingforums cybr Fantasy is my preferred genre to read, when I get my lazy butt in gear I want to write a fantasy novel lol. If you really want to profit from this forum, do good critiques of other people's pieces and visit the general writing section. Critiquing others gives you an outside look at things you may not otherwise notice in your own writing. It can also give you ideas by picking apart outside ideas in more detail. And most importantly, have fun! It's a great community here, take advantage of it. Good luck, Nate
Old Member Returning Hello all! I’m technically not a new member, not by a long shot. However, it’s been so long since I’ve posted here, and I highly, highly doubt that anybody remembers me, so I guess I’m a new member more or less. Since I haven’t kept up on how the site’s been running, obviously, lots of things must have changed, so it’s good to get back into the game. A little re-introduction: I’m an American-born Vietnamese guy, and so far as I know, one of the few Asian males who have attempted to seriously write (at least where I'm from). Currently, I have three main creative writing projects, and I’m trying to start up my writing again after a one year slump (which is also why I’m rejoining the forum). I usually write slice-of-life or speculative fiction (or some combination of the two), although I don’t really like using that last term, since the most speculative I have gotten is some really, really light steampunk, if it was steampunk at all. I hope to once again help other writers and also receive a bit of help myself, so glad to meet you all!
Welcome back. I've updated my welcome post on the previous page to reflect changes since you were here last, so you might want to give it a fresh read.
Thanks for combining the old thread with the new one. I didn't even know the old thread was still here. I'm glad to be back, anyways, and thank you both!
