Hi all, Neat site you've got here, I'm still getting acquainted with how things work. I'm a complete and total novice with lousy grammar, but I do have an obtuse and compulsive imagination that finds its outlet in creative writing. My career involves a great deal of both written communication and "big picture" thinking. These, I think will be my strengths as I develop. I need to work on my SPAG (may be an understatement), but I love and have become more skilled at communicating complex and large scope ideas. Because science (my field of work) is technical and literal I tend to work on the opposite in my creative writing. I'm very into fiction, esp. science fiction and fantasy fic. I've written 15 chapters of a 30+ chapter project, a few chapters of other projects, and have a short story in the works. Nothing published or finished. I'm moving more towards short stories because my motivation tends to be driven by life circumstances, which are often outlived by the time it takes to write a complete story.I'm looking forward to your help in improving my skill in this creative outlet. I'd like to start by learning to write good short stories, would the weekly contest be a good place to start? This would be in addition to the writing some reviews, in prep for my own submissions of course. one question that's on my mind: How does this site deal with the intellectual property risks associated with posting your works and concepts to the webiverse? ~Justin
Hello Justin, Welcome to the Writing Forums. We support international copyright laws. Anyone caught plagiarizing is banned permanently. But any site that pretends to guarantee it can prevent the theft of posted writing is delusional at best. On the other hand, there is not much anyone really has to gain by plagiarizing another's work. They risk being permanently blacklisted by publishers as well as economic ruin from litigation. And for what? Most posted work has a long way to go before it is of publishable quality. I too have a background rooted in the sciences, and most of my writing, before I came here, consisted of reports, draft documentation, and other business writing. The weekly contests are an excellent starting point. They are a fun challenge on directed topics, and a good ice breaker. However, posting your own work for critique 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. 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). 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!
