HI I'm a ill educated boob. I live under the delusion that I might be able to improve my tenuous grasp of the written word by attempting to write a short novella. I am interested in history, folklore, fantasy and horror. I tend to read as my favorite pastime, but also have much experience with technical writing. I teach a martial art and have been asked in the past to help critique some manuals pertaining to the art in question. I hope that experience will be of some use to me here. I joined to get an honest unvarnished opinion of a small excerpt of what I'm writing. at the moment I'm not even sure where I would post it. the form has some very strict rules though I suspect they are simpler then they appear. the story I'm working on is meant to blend a dark fantasy environment with legend and folk lore. where the actions and true phenomenon are being explained, twisted and exaggerated to make the world feel fantastical but always explainable if you were to so chose. I suppose they if I were to boil it down to a phrase it would be this "what true and whats told are rarely the same thing". anyway by this point your likely noting that I have a limited grasp of grammar and proper punctuation this is alas why I started this endeavor in the first place.
Hello and welcome to the forum, Rhys! You don't strike me as having a limited grasp of grammar at all. Punctuation-wise, the only issue I really see is capitalisation, but that's easy to solve. So don't put yourself down, I'm sure you'll be fine. As for where to post, you can put it into one of the Workshop subforums. Just be aware that you need to offer 2 critiques for each work that you post there. That's all there is to it. Don't be afraid of critiquing either. Just say what you like/didn't like/didn't understand or think could be improved. You don't need to be a writing wiz. After all, if you're a reader, you are who we are writing for! And for improvement, you'll find help for any writing issues you encounter here, so fire away and enjoy!
Hello @Rhys the green I agree with @Naomasa298 ... I only saw a few caps missing, an additional full stop, but since you noticed this too a good suggestion is (and this may sound strong but hope it doesn't come across this way) you change this at every time! I call these habits. Set yourself good habits with writing and they will quickly go away! Welcome to the site. Don't be sheepish, don't be afraid to ask or post any question up... members will reply and be more than happy to lend their experience and knowledge.
Hello and welcome Rhys. Sounds like a really interesting theme for your story. Please make yourself at home here. The best way to get the most out of the site is by participating. Looking forward to seeing you in the forums!
Hi Rhys the green, Welcome. We have a lot in common. I also like history, folklore, and fantasy, but not a big fan of horror (as in the blood and guts kind) But I love a bit of suspense and thriller, among other things. Looking forward to getting to know you.
The critique thread maybe a good place to start for you. The requirement is you give a critique or two before posting your work. It doesn't have to be technical in nature, just what works or doesn’t for you as a reader.
thank you I'm looking forward to it. at the moment I'm mostly hoping to see whether or not what i have is working and engaging to other readers besides myself. For the most part I'm writing the story I've always wanted to read but never found anything to fill that particular void. I'm also encouraged by whats been said by Hideoshi that I'm not as lost a cause as I might think.
Let me share with you a piece of wisdom I got from a writer when I first joined a forum a few years ago. He asked to read a story of mine, I sent the first short story I've ever written to him, and he was very generous with his praise and even more so with his time in pointing out areas where I was weak. I never took his words as criticisms (they never came out that way) but I did get low at how poor my writing was (and still is in many respects) and he told me this one thing that I hold very close and pass to all writers who share that passion to write their story. He said the first lesson I need to learn is: "to be kind to yourself." This seems so simple and irrelevant, but over the years these words are more important than anything else. I am sure you will know, there are so many people out 'there' happy to strike a person down, belittle, eager to make them feel bad, feel lower, to empower themselves, to elevate themselves... thus you don't need to push yourself down. We are often our own harshest critic and that will never change, but we can always look up to strive to be the best version of ourselves. In my writing journey, I find it is very true when others have said that 'if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will,' so I always advocate the need to be kind to each other, but most importantly to ourselves.
