Hi everyone. I'm 38 years old, male, and work as a nurse on an acute mental health ward. It's a good job and I've been doing it for about eight years now, but it's not where my heart lies. It's not where I feel my true talent lies. Since a child I have always enjoyed creative writing. In my teens I submitted the odd article here and there. In my twenties I joined the odd writing group which were more mutual appreciation societies than places to go for constructive critiques. I have had a few poems published here and there. My latest was in the 'National Poetry Anthology 2009' (available on Amazon now I think, though i had my courtesy copy through last christmas). I am currently 35,000 words into a novel. Publishers seem to like a minimum of 60,00 but tend to prefer 80,000 so I guess I am approaching the half way mark. Anyhow, enough about me for now. I'd better have a browse around the forums now to get a lay of the land! Hope I fit in
Hello Wizard, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own work 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. 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). 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!
Yeah... I know. I've seen this post of yours on every bleedin' newcomers thread! Why don't you just make it a sticky Alternatively, I am a moderator on another forum and a system we have implemented is that people are not allowed to post until they have downloaded our 'Rules FAQ' and once they have downloaded that and entered the code within that document (proving *hopefully* that they have read it) then they are allowed to post on the forums.
Nobody reads stickies. Also, I DO customize the response fairly often, depending on what is in the member's intro post. If someone can't be bothered to read the rules, they are still solely respoinsible for their resulting transgressions. We can only do hust so much!
Welsh Wizard, Namaste....WF main aapka swagat hai...aasha karti hun aapka safar sukhad rahega! (Hey, Welcome to WF, hope your stay here will be pleasant.)
