Hello, my real name is Suzanne although I am using Sezensteal as my forum name; it is my username for the MMORPG, Runescape, and came completely from my imagination. Currently I am 14 years old although I shall be 15 on the 19th of this month - yay! I enjoy reading and writing (obviously) and my favourite genre is horror. I love blood and gore and also non cliche vampires. Oh, and although not realated to writing, if anyone knows any good animes please tell me. I was a member of WritersBeat.com but received a message today saying that I had been given an immediate and permanent ban for plagiarism which was not true and has upset me greatly. For instance, in the list of links to the sites where I had supposedly copied the work from, there was a link to Myspace but I have never even glanced at Myspace, Bebo, Twitter or any other social networking site except from Facebook so how on Earth I am supposed to have copied work for there I do not know. What I do know however, is that I have been left with a wound that shall probably never heal since I had some good friends there (thankfully I know one of my friends in person and can ask her to inform the others of my ban.) Despite how angry and upset I am, I decided not to be beaten down so I immediately started looking for a new writing forum and decided here looked to be a good place. I hope that I can find comfort here and make some good friends. I only think it is fair however to warn you in advance that I have gotten rusty at the idea of 'critique to be critiqued' :redface: BUT I promise I shall try. Sorry for my introduction being so long. Now that you know abit about me, I have one question; is WritingForums.org a madhouse or a sane place? (Fingers crossed that it's the former!)
Hello Suzanne, 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 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!
