I joined the forum a few weeks ago and have been lurking since then. I guess it's time that I introduce myself. I'm a semi-professional author of suspense/noir fiction, which means I regularly sell my suspense stories but I don't make a living at it. I've yet to have a novel published, so that's my current goal. Many years ago I received a BA in English Literature and took a number of graduate level classes in creative writing but never pursued an MFA. I will read any kind of book but prefer well written noir, not unlike the fiction I write. I have grown children as well as a daughter in kindergarten. Now that my little one is in school, I have more time to write and, as I mentioned before, I'm working on the umpteenth draft of a novel as well as continuing to write short stories. So far, I've really enjoyed browsing the forum and I look forward to becoming a contributing member of the community.
Welcome, jeepea! It's great to see someone here who publishes in genre magazines. That's a world I want to get into (though my field is science fiction). I'm really looking forward to seeing the kind of insight and real-world experience you can bring to us here. Sorry if that sounds selfish, but a lot of us unpublished folks here are just kinda guessing about most things to do with writing, and your participation here would be extraordinarily valuable!
Welcome to Writing Forums, jeepea! I hope you find what you're looking for here, whatever your interests in writing. This forum aims to provide the best workshopping resources on the internet, and to that end we have a few rules which you should familiarise yourself with before you get stuck in. The main section of the site is the Writing Workshop, where members can post their writing in order to receive critique of their work. However, before we allow members to post their work, they must have met some basic requirements. Firstly, you must have been a member for fourteen days, and have made twenty posts on the forum overall (please note, posts in Word Games do not count towards this). This is so that members, when they post their work, have familiarised themselves with the forums and contributed to them (as well as hopefully learned something for themselves). Secondly, members must provide two constructive reviews of other people's work for each piece of their own that they wish to post. This is because we believe that the focus of workshopping should be equally upon giving reviews as receiving them, as they allow a writer to practice and improve their editing skills, which they can then apply to their own writing. Beyond the Writing Workshop, you will find that we have extensive forums for discussion of aspects of writing, as well as a community area for general discussion. We also run periodic short story and poetry contests, which are good for challenging yourself and expanding your skills. The requirements of the Writing Workshop don't apply to the contests, so new members are allowed (nay, encouraged!) to get stuck in and enter! We also have a growing short story club (think book club, but with short stories!), which you can find stickied in the Book Discussion forum. If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Lemex and Dante Dases) should be your first port of call. Any technical problems with the site itself should be directed to Daniel, the site administrator and owner. I would recommend you have a look over the rules so that you know what to expect, and what is expected. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy your time here. Banzai
Thank you all for welcoming me into the community. I've been published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. The latter has a story of mine in their current issue (June 2013).
Hello Gina I'm Michael Flashes? Backwards and forward? That's what I have attempted to do. A character is in jail in Nicaragua and goes into a survival-mode of meditation. His present time is far ahead of the story's timeline. I take him back though meditation to mesh with other characters and the timeline and to give his POV. His meditations end and merge. I think I've done it smoothly. But that's why I'm here. Just a couple of days ago I didn't know what POV meant nor how to use timeline in a coherent sentence. Would enjoy reading some of your work here. Thanks
i'm impressed, gina!... you started at the top, it seems, as those are among the oldest and most respected of mystery mags... keep up the good work...
