I don't much care for writing. Unfortunately, idea's take up residence like squaters in my brain and refuse to vacate the premises until I set them down in writing. The result has met with some success. I've had about 150 articles and a book published. Recently I found I could no longer ignore the idea which demanded that I begin a series for young adults. It was then that I discovered that I have no talent for fiction. None. Really. It's embarrassing actually. To be candid, and all false modesty aside, I believe that I am creative enough and that the substance of what I would write is excellent. Balancing that quite nicely is a complete lack of style. It is that lack of style which has led me here. I hope to find what I am looking for and perhaps, as time goes on, be able to offer some assistance to someone else as well. I look forward to meeting you all on the forums, Sincerely, Angel
Welcome to Writing Forums, Angel! 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 and Cogito) 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 Banzai, Thank you for the welcome. I know that I could have pm'd you regarding the above however; it occurs to me that I can't be the only one to have questions about this and so... As a rank beginner and newcomer to creative writing, I feel utterly unequal to the task of critiquing someone else's work. I am certainly respectful of the rules, and quite honestly, I have no plans in the foreseeable future of even desiring to post any personal work, but what does an amateur have to offer? My question is sincere and not meant to be argumentative. If I know what I have to offer, then I will be better able to frame a helpful critique. Thank you, Angel
You might be new to writing, but I bet you read? And when you read things, you have an opinion on them? It really doesn't need to be any more complicated than setting out what you liked and why, and what you didn't like and why. Your view of a piece is valuable as either a reader or a writer, and as you read and analyse more writing, you'll begin to see and understand what sort of things don't work, which in turn informs both your own writing and the feedback you give to others. Everyone has to start somewhere, of course, and nobody is expecting you to be able to give intense, intellectual literary criticism from the word go. All we ask is that you be frank, honest and give reasons
welcome to the forum angel and i dont think you dont have any talent considering youve already had a book published lol?
Well... The book is a primer on poker. It was published more on the merit of my expertise in poker (and the poker explosion of 2003-04) than any talent for writing. I'm sure I did learn a thing or three, but creative fiction is an entirely different animal. I did learn that I love writing though!
well still to get any work published you would have to be okay at writing at the very least! even if its on poker... creative writing is heaps of fun, i think youll love it
