Why is making your first post on a forum always nerve racking!? My name is Abbygale. I'm a middle-aged woman who has not written anything in about 25 years. I've been bit by the bug again and thought I'd try my hand at crafting a short story or two this year. Also, my consumption of reality TV has reached critical mass, so I thought it best to replace that hobby with a more productive one. I probably won't be posting much till mid-year, because I have no natural talent or formal training and will need to read a whole lot of critiques before I attempt to offer one myself. But, I just wanted to introduce myself. So, howdy! Looking forward to learning though this forum.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Abbygale! I hope you find what you're looking for here, whatever your interests in writing. This forum aims to provide the best workshopping resources on the internet, and to that end we have a few rules which you should familiarise yourself with before you get stuck in. The main section of the site is the Writing Workshop, where members can post their writing in order to receive critique of their work. However, before we allow members to post their work, they must have met some basic requirements. Firstly, you must have been a member for fourteen days, and have made twenty posts on the forum overall (please note, posts in Word Games do not count towards this). This is so that members, when they post their work, have familiarised themselves with the forums and contributed to them (as well as hopefully learned something for themselves). Secondly, members must provide two constructive reviews of other people's work for each piece of their own that they wish to post. This is because we believe that the focus of workshopping should be equally upon giving reviews as receiving them, as they allow a writer to practice and improve their editing skills, which they can then apply to their own writing. Beyond the Writing Workshop, you will find that we have extensive forums for discussion of aspects of writing, as well as a community area for general discussion. We also run periodic short story and poetry contests, which are good for challenging yourself and expanding your skills. If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Cogito, Lemex and Dante Dases) should be your first port of call. Any technical problems with the site itself should be directed to Daniel, the site administrator and owner. I would recommend you have a look over the rules so that you know what to expect, and what is expected. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy your time here. Banzai
Welcome, Abbygayle! Hope you do post before mid-year -- not necessarily in the Writing Workshop, but in the other areas of the site. This is a great place to learn and think. Liz
welcome, abby! along with reading critiques, i'd strongly suggest you do a lot of reading of the best short stories of all time, to learn how to do it well... and don't be so sure you have 'no natural talent'... it may just be lying dormant... love and hugs, maia
Don't worry about stuff like formal training Abby, I have never taken any writing classes and most of what I've learned is self taught or comes from a lot of reading. I just love to write. Hope to see you around even before mid-year! Peach
Thanks so much for the warm welcome! Very much looking forward to all that the forum has to offer. But I think my first step will have to be finding another computer where the keys don't stick! -Abby
