I am a 52 year old over the road truck driver who has rediscovered writing. Two things brought me back, the first was a quote praising the use of a fountain pen over a ball point, the second was my ten year old daughter. She wrote a story "Indian Call, Mr. Salsa and the Robot Horse." Her teacher was so impressed with her story and other papers it prompted her to suggest my daughter think of a career as a writer. I have never been able to be as creative with a word processor as writing by hand. However, I tend to grip and press so hard when I write it becomes painful so I set it aside. The quote about the fountain pen was from one of the Google gadgets that puts a daily literary quote on your homepage. I still can't afford a good quality pen, but I started with the Pilot Varsity. It is an inexpensive disposable fountain pen and a good writer. What I like is that it trains you to have a light touch. The result has been I have fallen in love with writing all over again. When I was in high school I kept a journal and did a bit of creative writing. I have gone back to both. I find that I now have something to say. Gaining a lot of life experience can do that for a person. I have been a portrait photographer, pastor, truck driver, director of a christian children's ministry, teacher, student, janitor and even a paper boy. I have been married for twenty years and have one daughter. It will be interesting to see where my writing takes me.
Welcome. Ah, I go crazy over pens. Considering your range of careers, sounds like your writing will be very interesting.
Hello Matthew, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Review Room 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 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). 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!
