So today I turned 23, and realized I wasn't in college anymore. Kinda late in coming, since I graduated last year, but you figure it out eventually. Ever since graduation, I've been working in what started as a temp job in customer service. Today I realized that it had been one year to the day since I decided that I wanted to make a career out of my writing. I wrote a lot during that year, but never got around to doing anything with my stories. I don't feel any closer to reaching that goal. And that's the thing. In college I could procrastinate because there was always a deadline, a final or paper or something that would motivate me to work. And those days are gone, so the motivation has to come from in here. Joining here is my birthday resolution... to do something every day to improve my writing, get to know other writers, learn how to do it right and do it better, and eventually find a publisher who is willing to give me deadlines in order to motivate me properly.
Hello Ink Dancer, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Happy Birthday! Posting your own work should not be the very first thing you do here. It is really worthwhile 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. 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 reviewing as a critical 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. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Hah! You're assuming that I would be able to summon up the courage to let a bunch of strangers read my stories and tell me what's wrong with them on my first day of posting! Nice try! Rumpole, your avatar is creeping me out. My next birthday resolution is never to browse your posts in the dark. I do not want that looking out of a computer screen at me at 2am! (PS - Where in New York are you?)
Ok you are not the first one to say that my avatar is freaky. LOL! The blinking was due to the hard work of another member I believe you've already met - Bick. Where am I in NY? I am in a little place known as .................................. Spoiler BROOKLYN!!!!!
LOL! Brooklyn, Brooklyn... hold on a minute, I've got it. Isn't that the part of the city I have to drive through to get to Manhattan without paying a toll? Thanks for the welcome!
Thanks! Two people with the same birthday! What are the chances?* (Yes, I know the answer is approximately 1 in 365. I'm bad at math, but not that bad.)
Welcome to the forums Happy birthday! EDIT: According to wikipedia: "In a group of 23 (or more) randomly chosen people, there is more than 50% probability that some pair of them will have the same birthday. For 57 or more people, the probability is more than 99%" I remember being told that in my statistics class at school too, and it turned out that in our class of 30 there were 2 people with birthdays on August 6th and 2 people with birthdays on the same day in November.
