Hi, my name is Tim and I decided to join this forum after it was recommended by a wise relative of mine. I'm currently in the process of finishing my first serious literary work. The category is fiction, but with elements of reality (some of which are based upon my own life's experiences), and the genre could be called "new age/spiritual" with the subcatagory being I suppose "occult/suspense". The narrative is about a young reclusive misfit who's been rejected by the world around him, but discovers his own talent for harnessing metaphysical power in order to preserve the natural balance of the earth (and the intimately related cosmos) all the while fending off secret combatants with an opposing agenda. While there's more to the story than this, I signed up to this website in order to find others who are more experienced than I, and who can possibly offer me some pointers in constructing a well-paced final draft that can be easily enjoyed by lovers of the genre I'm embarking upon. Also I want to say that I'm honored to be among such a terrific community and hope to learn all I can from all the literary masters here! Thank you for taking the time to read my poorly crafted intro. :redface:
Welcome to Writing Forums, Tim! 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! We also have a growing short story club (think book club, but with short stories!), which you can find stickied in the Book Discussion forum. 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
Thank you very much Banzai for the warm welcome, and would definitely appreciate any *encouragement*! I can receive (absorb!) from others who have been "around the block" more than I have. I will certainly contribute as much as I see fit here (depending on my confidence level in certain areas, I mean) and will no doubt learn all I can, and offer suggestions that I think might offer an 'alternative' perspective. I'm by no means an expert, but I do love literature; I've read tons of books, both non-fiction and otherwise, and I know that I can contribute something positive once I've learned the "hows" and the "wheres"! I'm quite good with grammar, spelling, and syntax, though I admit my punctuation is not stellar. Thanks again! Tim p.s. the story I'm working on now is by no means...short! in fact it's quite long.
