Hello: i live in kentucky, i spent 1989 - 1996 writing fiction. i had one short story published in 1992. for whatever reason, i lost inspiration/drive for writing in 1996 when i changed jobs. i recently have got myself cranked up again and i'm well into the rough draft of a "police procedural" novel. iv'e read alot of those type books over the years, there always seems to be a market for them and you can explore the human condition just as deeply in those as in any other form of literature. also, police procedurals are fun! both to read and to write. my favorite writers working today are Cormac McCarthy, John Sanford, Neil Gaiman, IDk, probably alot of others i can't think of right now. i don't read as much fiction as i used to, i used to read 2 or 3 novels a week, but i haven't read more than 8 or 10 novels a year the past few years. but i read alot of non-fiction. i have read fairly extensively about the holocaust and the history of Germany from WW1 thru WW2. i also am deeply involved in reading and studying the Bible. when i was a kid, i read all of Poe, HP Lovecraft, alot of Ray Bradbury, and tons of science fiction and fantasy. my favorite novel of all time is "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy.
Hello T-byrd, Welcome to the Writing Forums. 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 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 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. 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). 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 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!
