Hello! *waves shyly*

Hi everyone,

As a new member, I ought to introduce myself and why I write. So, here I am.

I've been reading every since I was very young (about 4 or so), and writing since I finished high school. To start with, I wrote fan-fiction and song parodies -- silly exercises in the art of writing, a bit embarrassing really, but fun (and hey, everyone has to start somewhere, right?)

As time went on, I started experimenting with other genres (poetry (limericks, haiku), fantasy, science fiction, and horror), to test the waters and see what I could be good at. I joined another writing forum, now defunct, but before it closed, I made some online friends there who helped me hone my writing and make it much better. I started taking it more seriously, reading books about writing (e.g. how to outline, how to create beat sheets), and so on.

Away from that forum, we formed an informal "critique" circle, where we would work on our own WIPs and submit them to each other once a week, with the understanding that we would critique each other's work and let each other know what we thought was good or not-so-good. (It goes without saying that "not-so-good" meant something like constructive "I'm afraid [abc] makes no sense, because..." rather than a destructive "Haha! This sucks!" etc., which is no good at all).

Anyway, I've been part of that critique circle for a few years now, wrote 8 books, and am currently working on my 9th. So, what am I hoping to achieve? Well, I write historical fiction now, based mostly in the ancient world (i.e. pre-1st century AD). I'm thinking of publishing, and I've done some research, but the more research I do, the more daunting the process seems. Hopefully people here know more about publication than I do? I hope? Fingers crossed.

Well, you've listened to me ramble long enough. So ... hi! *waves shyly*

 

Hello and welcome Rath, it's good to see you have already waded into the forums and contributed! And I think you'll find help with your publishing journey here, too.

 

Thank you, Louanne! Happy to be here.

Just wondering: I've read the forum rules, and they say that I need to make 20 posts and contribute two critiques before being eligible for a critique of my own. Well, I wrote two critiques, and this is now my 30th post (in about 6 hours) *grin* ... so, what can I do next?

I'm happy to keep critiquing, but I noticed that a lot of other people's pieces were contributed in November / December last year, and have been critiqued. I'm a little unsure of whether my critiques will contribute anything, that's all.

 

You are ready to post your writing in the Workshop! I'm looking forward to reading it. A good length is about 1000-2000 words.

 

Welcome!

A few months may not be too long in writing and learning time.
Speaking for myself, when I crit, I usually don't read the other crits before submitting my own. That way, if I repeat something, the author may see that the repeated issue is not just for one person.

 

Certainly! I just hope that the people I'm critiquing are still around to read my critique, that's all. Thank you.

 

Hi and Welcome Rath

 

Welcome.