Hello people, I signed up on behalf of my father. I have been teaching him how to use a computer, but I think he is a long way off using internet forums, so I decided to sign up and post on his behalf. He has been an artist (painter) for decades, but in the past few years has turned his hand to writing. He almost exclusively writes science fiction. This seems strange considering that he is somewhat of a technophobe, but I think he has a childlike fascination with technology that perhaps comes through in his writing. Many of his friends read his stories, but I think it would be good for him to get unbiased critiques of his work. To the best of my knowledge, he has never made significant changes to one of his stories due to constructive criticism, and that is something I think he would need to learn how to do if he ever wishes to be published. Even for his own satisfaction of his work I think it is important. I don't think he reads much of other people's work, and I am sure this must limit his creativity. Getting involved here and reading other people's work and offering his own criticism would definitely help him as a writer I believe. Anyway, that's probably enough introduction. I'll have a browse around and show him some of the critiques and give him some stories from here for him to critique, and possibly I will have a go at critiquing. Bye for now
Hello Ian, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please be aware that shared accounts are not allowed. If you can talk your father into joining, you'll need to set up a separate account for him. 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!
Thanks for all the info. I have already started having a look around to figure out how this place works, particularly regarding etiquette for posting and critiquing, and have read some of the FAQs, so the majority of what you are saying is not new to me, but I appreciate you going to the effort to explain it all. I had not really thought of it as a shared account, but I guess you're right that it is in a way. I set up the account primarily for him (he is Ian) but planned to be the go-between until he has the confidence to start posting himself (I'm still trying to get him to use the computer to type his stories instead of a typewriter). Does this mean that posting his stories or critiques on his behalf is not allowed? If so, it's unlikely that he's going to get involved. I guess if I only post verbatim what he tells me to post and do it using an account under which I personally don't post anything, then it is no different to him doing the posting and should be okay? I feel it's kind of a grey area. If so, then can I delete this introductory post and use this account for him? There's really no point in me personally being a member considering I am not a writer. Thanks again
There is no need to remove the starter post in this thread, but it is important that Ian be the one who does the posting, particularly if he chooses to make use of teh Review Room critiquing workshop. It isn't an activity that can be performed by proxy. However, mastering the critiquing process is worthwhile for any writer, becaus it is the means by which a writer gets from a raw first draft to a polished manuscript suitable for submission.
Okay, thanks. Well posts may be few and far between for a while as he will only be able to post when I am visiting him and able to help him with the computer skills. I know it sounds kind of funny that he would need that much help. I guess it's an age thing. He's in his seventies, and I only just set him up with the computer a few months ago which he has so far managed to use to write emails to my sister and talk to me on msn. Anyway, hopefully I can get him on board. Thanks for the help. Let's hope he'll be posting sometime soon
