Hello and thanks for having such a wonderful site. I have not actually written any published works but feel that I need to work on writing a "quasi-memoir" love story of my soon to be husband and how we met, fell in love, separated and "came back together" after 25 years. It may fall into a "self-help" genre with the strong admonition to "stick with the first one" they only get worse from there. We have both been married and divorced (I am in process of divorcing #2 who "claims" to be a writer) twice and choosing to finally "life happily ever after"... A TRUE LOVE story...have a hook and perspective; just wondering "how much" I really want to share with the world. (we are both "in front" people and want to hold onto a bit of anonymity and live in peace while "getting the message" out that TRUE LOVE exits!!!) Any and ALL advise from any writers of these genres are especially welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!
Wanting to be a writer is the first step; you can't write well if you're not sold on it Sounds like an interesting story. Keep in mind, even fiction writers expose themselves to the world quite a bit. I'm sure someone digging into my fiction enough could tell a lot about me that I didn't intentionally reveal. It comes with the field. (I know there's a lot of privacy and anonymity issues out there. I deal with them by not really caring what people find out about me short of things like bank acount numbers.) Welcome to the forums!
Hope you enjoy your stay here, and good luck with your writing! You'll definitely be able to get a lot of great advice here.
Hello Grant's Girl, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time 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 for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. 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 Writing Workshop, 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 Writing Workshop, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital 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. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop 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 Writing Workshop forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Welcome. I agree with what Arathald said about writers exposing themselves, and a lot of the time unconsciously.
Exposing myself to me is the first challenge!!! I look forward to gleaning from all of your advise and wisdom... thanks again for the warm welcomes... As a songwriter; I always keep my digital recorder on me for a hook line or melody that "comes to me"...I would assume that writers might always carry a notebook, ipad, etc to get down ideas as well...I will pick one up today and start writing daily...
