My name is Terrie, and I am from New York. I'm finally working on a book and feel I might see it through, which is pretty exciting. Not that I have a long line of false starts, but I've known I wanted to write nearly my entire life, and here I am, past 50 and just taking my first steps beyond blog posts, quick fix creative bits on the rock climbing forums I belong to, and copy for websites. I've started on a piece of fiction with a working title "The Little Girl." No idea what the title will really be, and I think this might be a good sign, since in the past I always started with a TITLE! On this project, when I went to enter that TITLE, I thought "I have no idea." and easily skipped it to get started on the story. The writing is coming along very smoothly, almost frighteningly so, and I am guessing that is all I should be concerned with to start. However, I can't help myself from wondering about all the details on getting the work shown once it is ready, who I should have look at it as I proceed, pitfalls to avoid and all the rest. I am hoping to find some guidance from you fellow writes on this forum, and look forward to participating in the forums. (Also, the GOOD news is that I don't have an internet connection in my cabin, which is where I write. That means I shouldn't be able to avoid working on the book by hanging out online - hahahah).
Before any mods say hello with a boring copy and paste, I'll give a more personal welcome haha. ...welcome!
Hello Terrie, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. 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 Writing Prompts, 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 site 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!
Welcome, Terrie. Always great to have another New Yorker. Don't worry about what comes after the writing for now. Get the first draft done first, then you can start thinking about what you'll need to do if you decide to try to get it published. Good luck.
Yes, you did! And I have to say, including the phrase "Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway." seems a bit overly negative. I am sure there are plenty of people who join and do that, but still... I had read the "Hi" thread from another person, and saw that pasted copy and thought they were specifically addressing that issue to that person, instead of realizing everyone got that hazing. Seems to me, that sentence doesn't really need to be in the welcome message...
And Ed, thanks for your suggestions. I will try not to think too much about the "what do I do after" section, but I know that I will still look at the forum threads to see what people are saying about the topics anyway. Still, first things first!
hy! i am srijan from nepal. So boaring to read all those your kind information. I am also the new user here.
