Hi everyone, While I've written plenty, nobody has ever read any of it, except for me. I have more than thirty short stories, two books, and a published dissertation on ADHD In The Workplace, from my Doctoral journey. While the dissertation has been read by folks and referenced by more than 1500 peer-reviewed professionals, it doesn't count. It doesn't take talent to write science or research papers. At almost 70, it is time for this guy to find out if he has what it takes to become a writer. I completed my doctorate because I believed that finding a job would become easier with a doctorate...it is not! It is almost impossible to find a job of any kind at my age. If I find I have what it takes, I can begin the arduous journey of defining that idea and start making a name for myself. If, on the other hand, I do not have what it takes, I'll find something else. As I said earlier, I'm 69, in good physical condition, because of my love of kayak racing, and I have many interests. While I've learned many activities, the two activities that have remained with me is fishing and bicycling! The other activities I have a fondness for include: Rock climbing, exploring new waterways, archery, photography, ad nauseam. I'm an avid reader, although my preference after my doctoral journey is now audible.com due to time-restrictions. I can listen to a good book while I vacuum, wash dishes, mowing the lawn, etc. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, see you guys and gals on the forums.
Hey Terry, welcome to our little corner of the internet, glad to have you here. Sorry to hear about your difficulties finding a job, but excellent work on keeping yourself in such good shape. I'm 57 and also love to ride a bike and explore the woods, as well as do regular weightlifting (which I need to do now before dinner in fact!) Your name is reminiscent of a famous author, though I don't think he has the L? Not sure. Looking forward to interacting with you out on the board.
The previously named author is the reason I include the middle initial "L" in my name. While Terry Southern (1924-1995), was a writer in his own right, although, he is not someone I want to be associated with due to his highly controversial work, "Candy". In 2005, I was enjoying a great lunch in the older part of the French Quarter in New Orleans. I was there attending a conference on the Marine Industry as it applies to the Oil Patch (I drove a small ship supporting the oil fields for several years), so my name tag was clearly visible. This little ole Creol lady approached my table and asked if my name was Terry Southern. I said it was and she slapped me...HARD! I guess she hadn't heard the guy died years earlier and thought I was him...lesson learned, lol.
I began writing when I was still in the Army in 1972. As is the case with all writers, though, my first attempts at creative writing were lacking. It wasn't until about 2010 that I began to write to improve. A chance encounter allowed me to ask an established writer what advice he had for a novice write struggling with dialogue. His advice was to read a lot of what I wanted to write. Since I was into Sci-Fi, I read several hundred Sci-Fi novels over the next ten years, until I had a grasp on dialogue. Today, I am experimenting with several different formats of dialogue to see which works best and when to use them. We'll see how it goes when I post my first piece soon.
Hi (again) Terry ...I think we already have interacted in a PM. I’m one of the forum moderators, and I want to welcome you to the forum. You have the distinction of being the first person to join our forum having been slapped because his name is the same as another author's! Just when I think this Moderation lark is becoming predictible ...it's not. You are allowed to change your Username if you do it before you've been here two weeks, made 20 posts, and have graduated from New Member to Member. So if you're concerned about being digitally slapped by folks who google 'Terry Southern,' let us know ASAP, and we can set up a less controversial name for you. It's easy for outsiders to find you here, via Google, and we can't block that kind of scrutiny. They will be able to read everything you write, see your photo and find your name. So ...you might want to consider a forum name change while the option is still open. There is a good reason why most of us choose 'silly' usernames here on the forum. Nobody knows who we really are. In order to help you get oriented and get settled otherwise, here are a couple of links I strongly recommend that you read at the start, if you haven’t already. They will give you a good idea of how we operate here on the forum: New Member Quick Start Forum Rules You will notice in the New Member Quick Start that in order to post your work in the Workshop area—the only area of the forum where you are allowed to post your work and ask for feedback—you will need to do at least two critiques for other people, in exchange for receiving feedback on one of your own pieces of work. This site is designed around the concept of members helping each other out by ‘paying it forward’—through our two-for-one critique system. So do two critiques, THEN you can post something of your own. This advance 2:1 ratio lasts as long as your membership here—although it is your own responsibility to keep track of your own ratio. The software doesn't keep track of it for you, beyond your first two critiques. In order to help you get started doing critiques, here is a link to a good article written by one of our former moderators: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/constructive-critiques.20627/ One of the popular areas of our forum is our contest section. There is a monthly contest running for Short Stories, Flash Fiction and Poetry. You can enter these ongoing contests, even as a new member. And we really encourage you to visit the site, read the current entries, and vote for your favourite when the voting period starts. This means a lot to the people who have written these entries. And it will also give you a good idea of what our members are capable of writing. https://www.writingforums.org/writing-contests/ While the Role Playing Game section is not new, it’s being given a revamp. So if you are interested in playing and writing Role Playing Games, you might want to visit this section and get in on the fun. https://www.writingforums.org/threads/resurrecting-the-dead-rpg-section-rebuild.165055/ I hope you have fun getting to know us and let us get to know you, via the posts you make. Please feel free to explore the forum. There is a lot under the hood. This site map might help you find your way around more quickly than the menu bars do, so feel free to use it. https://www.writingforums.org/faq/ If you encounter any difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact me or one of the other moderators, whose names appear in yellow at the bottom of the Community page. We will be glad to help. Again, welcome! Cheers for now, Jan
