While I understand the importance of first impressions, I find myself at a loss here. Do I flash my résumé? Do I rattle off jokes? Do I brag and try to impress everyone? Well, my social skills are lacking and I can't exactly wait for an answer before posting so... here goes! I've been writing since I was 13, which I guess makes this year 14. I self-published an atrocity when I was 19, which I started writing at 13. No one bothered telling me how bad it (and my writing in general) was until later. Once the news was broken, though, I was able to start improving my skills--a path I am pursuing to this day. I've always loved English but I never thought a degree could result in anything but teaching or journalism. I wasn't interested in either so I went to school for graphic design. I discovered that wasn't the field for me. So I reassessed and decided I wanted to edit professionally. I am now about three classes shy of acquiring my BA in English! What will I do with myself once I have no more homework? I've been on deviantART for many years but that site is not really friendly to writing. So while I still submit writing there occasionally and critique others' works once in a while, I am hoping I can find a better community here. I look forward to getting some constructive criticism as well as giving it! Critiquing/editing is one of the greatest things ever for me. I learn a lot and I get to teach authors how to write better. I aim to make myself obsolete. And with that, I think I'm spent. I am also out of time. So... I look forward to meeting everyone (or at least some of you)!
Welcome to Writing Forums, heal41hp! 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. The requirements of the Writing Workshop don't apply to the contests, so new members are allowed (nay, encouraged!) to get stuck in and enter! If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, 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
Thank you both! And Banzai, I appreciate the information. While the waiting period and post requirements make me a little sad (when I set my mind on something, I want it done now... a silly habit, really), I'm very glad they're in place. I'm also on the verge of giddy from your requirements in the workshop. It should be common courtesy to give as much (if not more) as you take with feedback, I understand this isn't a perfect world. Your requirements help bridge the gap.
