It's a gorgeous day, absolutely dripping with sunshine, and yet, I'm in here, on my computer... oh well, here goes! I live in Grinnell Iowa with my partner and two naughty gray cats. We just moved into our first house (renting still, sadly) I am taking some time off from working to get my head straight and do some of the things I love. Writing, obviously is one of those things. I have had my work published in three different group publications through a writer's workshop I was involved in during high school. Nothing much exciting has happened since then. During college, I tried out a few workshop-type courses, but found them too academic for my style, which is free-verse poetry and personal narrative, as well as creative non-fiction. I also enjoy writing fiction based on TV series and books I like (sort of Fan-Fic, but not quite) I have been working on a novel since 2003, and just can't seem to get it off the ground, so I have been working on mostly short fiction and some poetry. Since graduating from college, I have taught myself how to paint and draw, so I have been doing a bit of sketching and illustrations to accompany my work. I am also an avid vegetable gardener. My favorite plant is the tomato. This past year I tried 9 new heirloom varieties, starting the plants from seed and transplanting around 40 plants to my garden plot. So, in summation, I am hoping this community can bring me advice, inspiration and friendship. See you out and about in the forums
Hello Navy Purple, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Review Room 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 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 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. 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). 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!
Hi! Welcome aboard! What kind of novel are you currently writing? I typically write horror/dystopia, are you a fan of either of those genres? I hope you have fun here, and if you ever want help or a critique/review then feel free to PM me.
Hey Navy, welcome to the forum! This is a wonderful place for advice and honest communication, I hope you like it =)
Mallory, my novel is mostly just fiction based loosely on people in my family. I mostly write creative non-fiction, but dabble in most anything Thanks for the welcomes everyone!
Hi. I'm new too. I also like tomatoes. Come to think of it, I write as well... Wow. Is this eerie or what?
Hi and welcome! I've taught myself to watercolor, and I use to draw quite a bit when I was younger. What do you like to paint/sketch? My family also has a nice vegetable garden. We usually just purchase baby shoots from local nurseries (lazy gardeners, yes), but we have contemplated growing the real thing many times. Heirlooms are much more organic anyway. (P.S. My favorite color is navy blue.)
I can't imagine... politicians, those who club seals for fun, and other sundry degenerate types, I should think. I'm actually in culinary school as we speak, I couldn't live without them.
A fiend! A wolf in our midst! Although, to be fair, you haven't tasted my marinara, and so can be fogiven. That's an invite should you ever find yourself hungry in Minneapolis.
Marinara is a basic Italian tomato sauce. The principal ingredients are tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and salt. The tomatoes are cut small, but not pureed, and not cooked for a lengthy period, in order to preservve the fresh tomato flavor. A pomodoro sauce is essentially the same, but cooked lomger so the flavors are more blended and the sauce is smoother.
Wow, Cog, I take it you're a connoisseur. Marinara is perfect in spaghetti sauce (since you say it’s basically the same thing). I buy a jar of that and also roasted onion and garlic and mix it as the sauce over angel hair with a dusting of parmesan. so good.
Ah the horror! But hopefully I will get over this roadblock... you've obviously never had my fresh tomato sweet corn salsa either... I have 5 jars waiting in my freezer along with 5 jars of roasted tomatoes, 4 jars of romesco sauce and 3 jars of tomato eggplant sauce... This winter I am going to eat like royalty
I mostly paint abstracts... big color swatches on pieces of plywood. But I sketch more realistic things. I just finished doing a series of crazy tropical animals and fruits for my 8 month old nephew's room. I also like to draw plants. And don't worry, half of my garden was purchased from nurseries, tomatoes are just my babies and I like to say I grew them from seed
Yes, terribly horrific.. Obviously I haven't had your salsa, I assume I'm missing out greatly because of this?
