Hi all, I posted a brief intro in a different category a few days ago and was kindly told I should have introduced myself properly here! I suppose I should start by simply saying that I don't want to write. I really don't. Yet I feel I have to. Why? Let me give a little background... I am a male to female trans* person, born a man now a woman, legally and physically. And I believe I have an interesting story that needs to be told. I spent last year writing anecdotes about my life to date, culminating in my surgery some 18 months ago. So I have around 150,000 words just waiting to be formed into something worthwhile. I've shared this work with my partner and also my best friend who both gave constructive commentary, I have also read and researched how others have written about similar subjects, and how general autobiographies and memoirs are written. And I feel I'm now ready to start. Now. Any day now, honest. Yet - how? I suspect when I do eventually decide on a format the floodgates will open and I'll find it impossible to stop. So I would be eternally grateful for any advice, how to progress from here. 'Confused' Sophie P.S. Love the Forums overall, a wealth of information and interesting posts, I suspect i could easily spend my time just reading about others writing!
Welcome, Sophie! I think at this point, really, you just have to start writing. You might decide to completely re-write it, but you have to start. You could spend forever trying to figure out the best way to do it, and have nothing to show for it. I say, just do it!
Hi chicagoliz, What? You mean there's no magical pill I can take to give me inspiration and the necessary techniques etc? No, I know I have to start writing it, and indeed that I may have to rewrite it hugely. Thanks for the reply though! Sophie
I think it's a wonderful thing that you assume who you are and you should be an inspiration to people. I look forward to reading your work!
Thanks so much, I'll keep you updated! How much have you used the Forums? Do you post your work on the site? Or just use it for general questions? I'm not sure how I will avail of the facility but I'm delighted to have found it, there is a huge wealth of knowledge and experience from what I've seen so far
I mainly use the forums as a source of motivation. It helps to come around here and gain insight on the craft while chatting with fellow writers. I haven't posted my work yet, but there is a workshop where you can give and receive critique and is probably the main section of this site. Be sure to read the rules first if you decide to post excerpts though.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Sophie! 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. The requirements of the Writing Workshop don't apply to the contests, so new members are allowed (nay, encouraged!) to get stuck in and enter! If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, 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
