Hi - I should start by confessing I am not a writer. I don't know how to write but I talk a lot. And i talk a lot via messages and little vignettes tending to be focused on love and passion but not graphic nor erotic. I am not a writer because I cannot write about something I have not experienced because I feel unable to authentically speak to a topic I have merely researched. But maybe i'm working on that - and joining this forum may be the gateway to understand how to use my true feelings and memories to not just inspire the stories I need to share but flavor the stories i make up. - Darin [edit] PS - am not much of a reader...
Hi I am not a writer either, but learning. This forum is very helpful - I already learned a great deal just by browsing.
Welcome to the forum, Darin! Here's our New Member Quick Start to get you started! I think if you "talk" via messages and vignettes, you are literally writing... But I guess many of us hesitate to call ourselves writers before we've done it at least semi-professionally. See you around! -Kat
Thank you Kat And Ame. I think writer is a verb. Maybe I am when I am writing. Most of the time I'm just Dad. And me. I read that quick start - thank you! Well, I skimmed because it's difficult to focus on a lot of info at once. I'll keep it bookmarked. Its a good resource. I am going to enter May's short story contest however because its free and will serve only to make me better. And why not? Worst case somebody gets to read my story and maybe smile.
Welcome aboard, @dmp, you already wrote your post, so yes, you are, indeed, a writer, and if you like telling stories, you can capture them on paper. This site has been enormously helpful to me. I stumbled onto it two years ago, with an unfinished Work in Progress (WIP) that I thought was way too long, nothing that anyone would ever really pay money for, I had no skill as a writer except as an engineer doing technical stuff. But with everyone's help and encouragement here, I finished it, whipped it into shape, and finally launched it this year. So... how to get started? Try to find a local writers' group for face to face support. Our local group had an interesting exercise, that was also a lot of fun. We went to an art show, took pictures of up to three paintings, and took them to be book covers. We then had to write a paragraph of exactly 50 words, the opening paragraph of a story that had something to do with the picture. Then each of those stories got posted by the artwork. Anyway, welcome aboard, again, and have fun here... these are good people.
Thank you so much Lew - for your encouragement. My experience is mostly made up for friends and family and some strangers saying "dude - you got this. That should be in a book." I take those with massive grains of salt but decided maybe now is time to see if I ever had the chops to write something moving for somebody outside my circles. re: Local writer's group might be a challenge because I don't write German very well - however attending at least i'd be around it; could follow their processes and stuff. For most of my life (read: all) I've relied on some talent but little skill. Time to sharpen the iron I guess Cheers!!