Ahoy hoy, I have been drawn back to this site numerous times with each question I type into google whilst writing, so I thought the decent thing to do was to at least sign-up and contribute instead of stealthily taking advice all the time (which I started to feel guilty for). A little about me, I just turned 18, I live in Australia, and I've always had an interest in creative writing. I wrote my first story amidst encouragement from my older cousin when I was about 8 years old, about a boy who scores the winning goal in a soccer game, sadly It seems I've lost it at some point. Whenever a creative writing task presented itself at school I jumped at the opportunity. Having now finally graduated from high school with 4 months to party and relax before university (doing a combined Bachelor's degree in Communication (Media Arts and Production) and Law), I have taken it upon myself to commence writing on something that I've had in the back of my mind for many years, but just havent had the time to get into. One of my all-time biggest goals in life is to have a published book, something I can put on my shelf and be proud of. Naturally I am not so confident to think that I can make a writing career sufficient enough to sustain a basic standard of living (which for me probably wouldn't require much money anyway...a man can live off 2-minute noodles for a long time ), so I am pursuing my other career interests currently whilst keeping writing as a side-hobby, something I can do in my spare time and gradually hone my skills in over many years to come. I can't think of much else to say at this point, but if you have read this far I feel it necessary to offer you some sort of reward (a cookie perhaps? ). Thanks for reading and looking forward to posting here. Cheers
Hello Alex, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Posting your own writing for comment 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!
It's just down the hall, take the third right and then the second door on the left, if you come across the elephant you've gone too far. oh and welcome to the forums
