Hello everyone! For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to write. The idea of creating a world, characters, plots, anything I desire, it all excites me. I remember being a small child with an old computer in my room with nothing but MS Paint and Wordpad. I remember staying up when I was supposed to be asleep and writing little stories. I never finished any. But I just loved creating with words on a page. The problem is, I have always been embarrassed. So, as I grew older, if I did ever write anything for fun, it would be in secret. I wouldn't tell anyone, and often I would not save my work when I was finished. I password protected every file on my computer in case anyone saw. If anyone came in the room I would quickly pull up Facebook or pretend I was doing homework. Needless to say, I never wrote very much during my middle school or high school years. I never even told anyone I want to be a writer. Now I'm in college, and have told a couple of very close friend my secret desires to write for a living. Recently, I showed a little two page fanfiction I wrote, which is a big deal for me. I have never shown anyone my writing. She really encouraged me to pursue this secret hobby of mine and to be what I have always wanted to be. So, here I am. I'm ready to come out of the writer's closet and I'm ready to start getting serious about writing. Since I'm in college right now, I don't have much time to devote to writing. But right now, I'm on summer vacation, and would like to spend the next month or two really focusing on honing my writing skills and maybe even overcoming my fear of letting people know that I love to write. I'm still embarrassed about it, and used a fake name even for this forum, in case anyone I know were to find out that I enjoy writing. I figured the best way to overcome this was to join a community where I don't have to be ashamed of writing, where I can be encouraged, and where I can find some helpful advice. I look forward to becoming a part of this community! P.S. My mother just walked in to talk to me, and I quickly switched tabs to my email. I have a problem!
Hi, CorwinCroft, and welcome to the forum Don't worry, there're plenty of aspiring and even published writers who want to stay anonymous and keep it a secret, and this forum is a pretty good place to learn more about the craft without your friends and parents finding out. Even the forum layout is pretty inconspicuous, isn't it? Anyhow, please check out our Newbie Guide for starters, and have fun exploring the site! -Kat
