Hey all. I used to frequent this site when I was in high school close to ten years ago, when I had dreams of becoming a screenwriter. Participated in all the weekly forums, and I'd like to say I was probably a regular in the screenwriting section. Ten years went by and I didn't become a screenwriter - I joined the Marine Corps out of high school. Initially it was to help pay for film school, but over a few years I found that my life priorities were not what they once were. Today I'm a government contractor and consultant, but I've been feeling an ache to return to my creative roots. I'm a pretty well-known published writer in government circles (articles, journals, and the like - I'll refrain from providing my full name or any links for discretionary purposes), and lately I've been craving a return to fiction. I started writing a novel. Wrote a few short stories and revised them, line-edited them too, just to get a feel back. Now I'm several chapters into the novel, and want to engage with a writing community to hone what I hope to make my craft. Came online to create an account, only to discover that I couldn't - an error message told me my email (what was my personal high school email is now the spam email I use for account-signups) was already in use. What a shock! For the past hour or so I've been browsing around the forums and am astonished at how well the community has thrived over so many years. I'm excited to dive in, and to meet you all.
Ooh-rah, 'nother jarhead! Welcome back. Make sure you freshen up your knowledge of New Member Quick Start and Forum Rules, sounds like you're familiar with the site already, but wtih that cutting score (1 post) it couldn't hurt. Two weeks you've definitely got covered, twenty posts is easy, don't forget your critiques in The Workshop and we'll have you right back into the swing of things. Welcome aboard!
I did the exact same thing you did. Was a regular here for years, and then went silent when I left for the Marine Corps in 2013. Now I'm out and off to other stuff, but came back to the forums. Hope to see you stay, and see you participate in the forums like you did before. They've evolved a lot since 2008 to 2012. Less on the social media and more on the actual writing and editing.
