Hi, I am pleased that my account has been activated so I can introduce myself. I feel daunted to say the least and will certainly not post any writing to begin with. I will do plenty of reading and exploring as I know this will inspire me. I am doing a creative writing course with The Writers Bureau and enjoying myself. Non-fiction is what I am attempting to conquer at present, I must admit I have good days and bad days. The writing is not always the problem, it is finding ideas and choosing markets to target. Needless to say my local newsagent is my best-friend and I have endless types of magazines. I am sure many of you can relate to this. I cannot wait to start the fiction writing but that will not be for a few months yet. The course does not cover poetry unfortunately, although this does not stop me from writing it. I find this is good for me whenever I need a break from my work. I will say good-bye for now as I am going to do a grand tour of your forum, if any-one has got tips for an amateur that would be great. Thanks for taking your time to read my first post! Netty
Hello Netty, Welcome to the Writing Forums. One caveat before I go ahead with the grand tour, to avoid any unpleasantness later: We don't allow members to request assistance or critique on any active homework assignments. Posting your own work should not be the very first thing you do here. It is really worthwhile 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. 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 reviewing as a critical 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). 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!
