Hi. My name is Nic. I'm 27 and have been writing since I was 7, pretty much. I have a BA in Creative Writing. I graduated 5 years ago and have pretty much dried up, writing-wise, since then. I want desperately to start writing again, hence my signing up to this forum. As I have had no impetus, no direction or inspiration, I have not been driven to write. I hope being on this site will get me going. Other than writing. I love music, and my family and friends. I love helping people, and I like cats. I never have much money, but I get by. I work in design, which I am not qualified for; I enjoy it well enough, but I don't know how much longer I'll do it for. Well, that's me. Looking forward to getting working on some writing! Nic x PS: Oh yeah...I mostly write poetry. Forgot to mention that!
Hello Nic, Welcome to the Writing Forums. 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 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!
Greets Nic! I understand with lack of muse from time to time. I wish you all the best in capturing yours (and locking her in an ultra-secure, Fort Knox-like place where she will only work for you! ). Some advice you may or may not wish to use... An English teacher of mine used to tell us we could jump start our creativity by doing word associations. She would write a single word on the blackboard and have us write down all associations we could come up with in a matter of twenty minutes. Then we had to use those phrases or ideas in a poem or short story (depending on our preference). I won't say I did my best work from those exercises, but they certainly got my juices flowing for other work later. Anyway, just a suggestion. Best of luck and break a pen! BB
