Hello everybody! I spent about an hour wondering whether I really wanted to register here or not but as you can see, I took the plunge. As you may or may not have guessed from the Title, I am somewhat scared. I don't no why but I can't seem to shake that feeling in my gut that I used to get when the teacher singled me out in school. I suppose that my choice for joining was selfish in a way because I only just recently started writing again after so many years of stifling myself to avoid being singled out by the less friendly people I grew up with and I wanted a "pat on the back" so to speak. But enough about my younger self's cowardice I am here now and the urge to write has recently been bursting from me. I would very much like to be on friendly terms with the general community and do plan on spending some time on here when I'm not at college, work or just generally busy. I am in the process of writing my first project which I am hoping (naively) to have published eventually but it's a goal on a very distant horizon and one I try not to get too caught up in lest I set myself up for a fall. My worst enemy, like any writer, is myself. I frequently have to struggle with my own confidence problems, which I'm sure many of you can relate to, and my fear of being singled out, then falling on my face. I'll always try to be polite to you when I speak, but I may require coaxing because I'm a bit of a turtle. Thanks in advance for your replies and what I hope will be kind words.
Well Bleat you've come to the write ( *groan* - I couldn't resist the awful pun ) place. You're not alone - I too was terrified of joining this site - well mainly any site, because I'm not a forum person, and I was scared to have my work critiqued. But I'm glad I did - not only do I get some great advice but I'm also learning so much about writing just from critiquing other writer's projects! So you're not alone. Try not to be too hard on yourself. Every writer even the greats had confidence issues - Here's a great quote from Eleanor Roosevelt - "What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?”
Welcome to the forum! Wait - you're scared to bleat, indicating that you might be a lamb, but you say you're a bit of a turtle. Huh? But that's okay. Turtles and lambs are welcome - we have our share of yappy dogs (I sometimes fall into that category). Enjoy yourself!
Judging by just your two replies I think I am going to very much enjoy myself here Should a turtle not try to bleat? lest it be sheep and never truly know itself! And I find in my experience, as limited as it is, that even a bleating turtle can have a good conversation with a yappy dog. cheers for the welcome Minstrel! And peach, I think that if you want to make puns you can! in fact I find it to be a very NOVEL experience. I will not be apologising for that pun even if it was abysmal.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Scared_to_bleat! 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 requirements. 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, Cogito, Lemex and Dante Dases) 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, scared_to_bleat, hope you POEM yourself for writing here! Get it? Poem and groom? What, no laughs? Ohhhhhh.... The way you speak makes you seem like a good writer! Let's see...
Oh my word, I can feel the pressure on me now. Thanks Banzai I had read through the rules and I'm glad they were easy to understand and that the site seems to built around equality among peers.
Welcome to the forum. I think you'll like it here. There is more information and encouragement than you'll know what to do with. My advice is to write write write. You will always be your toughest critic but that's what makes you better. There's nothing to fear here. This is a place people come to support each other and look for support. It's a great tool for the aspiring author and for the seasoned writer who needs to "relate" and/or hone.
