Hello there! I'm Matt (as my username would suggest) and I've basically just found this place through googling "Writing Forums". I have had a guest browse around the website and believe that this would be an invaluable source of knowledge in the the discipline of writing. For me, that mostly means story writing and occasionally song writing. I've been scribbling bits and pieces since I was roughly ten years old, and in the last five years (now 23) I have shifted my focus to larger stories. About three years ago I began the basis of the novel that I am now steaming through with. Back then I had the dregs of a plot to work with and this and that happened, which caused me to stop writing and move onto other things. However in the last two months I have really been hooking into my book, adding over 110pages whilst still living my busy lifestyle. One thing I've found when it comes to writing my project, is that I cannot force the story to come and be written. I have to be in a specific frame of mind and no interruptions. The reason for this is because I feel I do not create the story, rather retell it as if it is being communicated to me via a muse of some sort. Strange, if you ask me, but it works and when I get in the zone I don't find it difficult to pump out around 3000-4000 words every two hours. In my own writing, the thing that I find most lacking is my vocabulary. I find the best way to fix this is to continue reading, and I make an effort to learn new words as I do, but I never recall them when it comes time to write my own pieces. I feel using a broad vocab adds depth to the book and it's characters, so it is definitely something I wish to improve upon. I've only uploaded a small amount of my work to the internet thus far, and it can be found in the following link. http://spearsofthesun.blogspot.com.au/ I look forward to becoming a regular here through participation in the writing work shop, in the hope that eventually I may gain the chance to submit my own pieces for critiquing. Well, for now I will depart as my grumbling tummy has decided to hinter my ability to write further; and since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is best I do not miss it. A big hello from Newcastle, Australia! A goodbye for now, Matt.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Matt! 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 requirments. 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. If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Cogito, 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
