Hey everyone. Just joined here today. Don't really know much about this community, but I'm looking forward to learning more, reading other people's work, and hopefully contributing something of my own at some point. I've always thought of myself as a writer, although I have really no reason to think so - I have never published anything, and I have no training at all in the craft. I've done some writing in my professional career, but it's been primarily technical or business-oriented writing. That being said, I carry a notebook around with me at all times, and I'm always jotting down notes when I see or hear something interesting. When I have some quiet time, I write stories. Given the limited personal time I have (I currently run my own business), these are mostly very short stories - exercises, really - that I put down in 20 or 30 minute increments. I do it as a form of creative expression for myself, without any motive towards making money from it, or even the intention of sharing it with anyone. I sometimes wonder if I have it in me to write a novel. I'm not sure if I have the stamina (or the time) to take on a project like that. Lately, as I approach the age of 40, I've been thinking that this desire I've had, all my life, to write, needs to be fulfilled somewhere other than my notebooks. I need to share it with some other people. I need to know if any of it is any good, and I need to know how to make it better. I feel as though this creative impulse I have needs to be indulged a little more, and I need to let it become a slightly bigger part of my life than just something I do when nobody's looking. I'm not sure where to begin, but I suppose I'll dive into some of the forums and start reading. I've looked at the Workshop section of the site, and it looks like there's so much variety there, it will likely take a while to get oriented and figure out where I belong, if at all. Looking forward to meeting some of you in here, and seeing where this goes. --- D
Welcome to Writing Forums, Showpony! 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. 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
Hi Showpony, welcome to the forum. As someone who is looking over his shoulder and seeing 40 is getting left behind, I can say that I think you have made a good decision to join us. I have found it really inspirational. I hope you do to.
