I have renewed my writing. I wrote when I was in school, and in the military, but lost interest after the military. I have exploded with books since starting again. Currently I think I have six books started, and two others, I sent to a friend to proof read. I find it so much easier to express the words with the computer then I ever did with the pen. I don't understand it, my fingers flow to the keys easier then it is to construct the letters with a pen. I type as I think, but when I write with a pen I think of something, then think about writing it, then try to get back in the train of thought for the next line. Question: The rules say: "You must own the copyright to all work claimed your own." I have nothing copyrighted, does that mean I can not post my work? or does it mean no one else should have a claim to what I post? I have over a hundred prose, six short stories, plus the books mentioned above, I can not copyright it all. I write prose, don't like the restriction of poetry. I like profound, not elegance. I write short stories, I find pictures that a story just forms around and I write it. (I do the same with prost too.) The two books I have finished to the point of sending to the friend, went quickly, and edited over several months, almost as long as it took to write. The first has the problem of taking to long to establish the story. (Boring start.) I have posted alot of writing on my Deviantart gallery, under same name. But that websight is more geared towards visual art, rather then writing. Thought maybe this one would be better to improve my writing all around.
Hello Severin, Welcome to the Writing Forums. One thing you will learn here is that as soon as you complete a draft of a piece of writing on your own, copyright attaches to it, irrespective of whether you register with a copyright agency. What the rule means is that the writing must be yours, not posted on behalf of a friend, and absolutely not copied from someone else without their consent. Plagiarism is a bannable offense. 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 the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try 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 the welcome. I already figured out that if I post it anywhere on line free, why would someone want to pay me for it? I look back at all the prose I posted on the other sight, and wonder if I couldn't have sent them in and made money. But then I realized it was all those individual pieces that got me back into writing. I haven't got much further then Character development forum. But will try to look into others today.
