I'm a very mature creative writer halfway through a P/T PhD in creative and critical writing; My thesis is to explore disability is children's literature and to write two novels for children which feature strong, positive, yet realistic images of disability and characters with impairments. The two novels have to be around 25,000 each plus a 30,000 word critique of my working practice. The first novel is all but finished but am struggling with the second, and hate the critical content of the course with a passion terrible to behold. Looking forward to ambling around and seeing whatcha all up to... ILF
Welcome to Writing Forums, inkyliddlefingers! 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, 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
welcome, inky! how old is 'very mature'?... i'm pushing 74, so i'm betting you're probably really 'very young' by comparison, if that helps any... i write children's books and mentor many new writers of same, so if i can be of any help, drop me a line any time... love and hugs, maia
Banzai - thank you for a lovely welcome, and advice about how to go about getting the best from this fantastic place. maia - Thank you also, for your generous offer. I may well take you up on it very shortly! And, yes, I do have a few years to catch up with you, but probably not as many as you think...
Ok! I'm just gonna go ahead and disclose all (well, nearly all) - I'm 49, just two weeks ago. I get around via motorized wheelchair (have been paraplegic since birth). In 2008 I gained a First Class degree with Honours, in Literature, Society and Creative Writing, and am now a postgrad research student, who has just been transferred from MPhil to PhD. I have the most perfect husband (well, almost) two grown up kids, four grand kids, and a black Labrador who masquerades an assistance (service?) dog when he is awake, but in actual fact is the biggest goof ball in the world. I live on an island off the Welsh coast. Oh, and I have an incurable pelvic cancer which we affectionately refer to as "The Squatter in the Basement". I think that will do for now! Seriously, it is good to have found this site. I've been a member of another writer's group (on Facebook), the members of which do so little writing it has been frustrating me incredibly. What little was offered for group reading was done so on the proviso that no-one critiqued it! When I tried to explain that that is how we learn and grow as writers, I was shot down in flames, and everyone started discussing how it might damage their self esteem, how writing is an intensely private thing., blah blah blah. So, I spent quite a few hours scouring the web for a forum where people were serious about writing, and developing their craft as writers. When I saw this place, and read about the workshopping rules - how we need to learn to give as well as receive constructive criticism etc - I was so relieved! Being a research student means I work independently for the majority of the year, meeting with my university supervisory committee just a couple of times, annually. So, I miss all the 'shark tanks' I participated in as an undergrad. I loved bouncing stuff off other like-minded folks, getting discussions going about our own, as well as published authors' works. It was great fun. I can't wait until I served my probation and I can wade in up to my thighs!!!
Thank you! I am really enjoying my time here so far. It is great to read everyone's pieces, and the mechanics' section is very useful.
