I'm Joonas, 17, from Finland (before you ask: no, there are no polar bears wandering around the streets here...). This is a writing forum, so I guess I'm better off writing about writing than anything else. I'm actually quite new to the world filled with pens, papers, text editors and such, since I started writing on my free will some 1½ years ago. I don't really remember why I started, but anyway my first poem (which is also my first piece I consider being labeled as "creative writing") is about a friend of mine who was doing badly at the time and I thought no one really cared about him. So I wrote about how people tend to focus on themselves and forget about the people surrounding them. I wrote in Finnish, which is a shame as now I could've shared it with you guys... Now, a year and a half later, I have two blogs in which I publish most of my texts. The first one I created is a Finnish one, and it has right now almost a hundred updates, it's been around for a year. The newer one, to which the link can be found from my signature, is all in English, just to try something new and also to broaden my audience. Anyway, in a reasonably small amount of time I've created a strong passion towards writing. Nowadays, besides my blogs I write articles to the local newspaper and blog to a local website. I've also sent my texts to some Finnish writing contests , surprisingly with success! I always like to share ideas and chat with other writers, thus I decided to try out this forum. I'm hoping this will be great To conclude this rather lenghty introduction, I'd like to say that you're welcome to come and contact me anytime you wish to do so! Conversations are never bad Have a nice day everyone!
Hello Joonas, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop 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 Writing Workshop, 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 Writing Workshop, 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. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop 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 Writing Workshop 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!
