...in the forests of the night", as to quote William Blake, one of my favourite poets. It's quite a good metaphor for me, currently, actually, as fire is so uncontrollable and has many aspects, the tiger standing for me. Well, I am a sanguine, but that's the only way I could be compared to a tiger, although I can have quite a temper sometimes. And the forests of the night? The world, probably, but I can't really say. Then again, I can't really say what the world is; in fact, no one can, but I'm drifting off into philosophy again (Descartes, anyone?) So back to topic. In less poetic words I could be described as a bad excuse for a polymath, who is annoyed by the frontiers blocking his path where he would appreciate the sky being the limit. I have once already tried writing and miserably failed; back then it was a certain TV show that let me kiss the muse, but in my usual fortune (meant sarcastically) I obviously kissed exactly the muse no one wants, the one who is drunk and sick and is dead very soon. However, I had the, actual, fortune of being bit by Apollo's pesky little snake once again and being fascinated by the works of PG Wodehouse, Sir AC Doyle, Charles Dickens, and the famed "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by RL Stevenson. They created a glowing affection for Victorian and Edwardian England in me, that caused me to get into creative writing again. So now I'm writing an own novel, using the holidays as a kind of NaNoWriMo (some of you will know this - it's an event in November with the goal of writing a novel with a min of 50000 words. You'll see me lurking a little bit here first - reading up on the stuff you guys posted before I came here - before I start posting. Pip, pip!
Welcome to the forum. Please have a look through the Forum Rules, and the FAQ as a start. Then take a leisurely stroll through the different areas of the forum to get your bearings. Once you have a good idea where everything is, come and say hello in the Lounge or have a look at the items already up for review in the Review section. Please remember that as a full participation workshop, you are required to give two (2) constructive reviews of posted items prior to posting your own work. Thereafter, two reviews for every post of your own work is the expected standard. Remember that two is only a minimum. Feel free to give as many reviews as you please. The more you give, the more you get. We are also a Flame-Free Location and we do not host Pie Fights either. Have fun!
I do not intend any offense, but it occured to me just then that that is some kind of standardized, impersonal greeting which is more about formalities than friendliness... ...and I'm not particularly fond of those. Anyway, because I've only just started the novel methinks that I'll have done thousands of reviews before I can even post it.
Theta, I must then beg your pardon. My intent is to ensure that new members are given an even introduction to the forum and the rules that ensure its smooth operation. We are much tasked as the mod staff is small in comparison to the size of the actual forum, its membership base, and the amount of new data that the forum takes in at any given time which is my concern to monitor. I can assure that the welcome wagon will be along soon as we have a host of members who have taken it upon themselves to make new members welcome. Wrey
Hello Thetalpha, Welcome to the Writing Forums. There's nothing wrong with standardized greetings. There are things it is helpful to know about the site before you stumble into one of the deep pools. For example, posting your own writing for comment really 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 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!
Welcome Thetalpha! Don't be upset with the mods, they have to welcome everyone so that they get a welcome as well as the rules that come with the board, having to type that up for every new member would get tedious and probably hand-cramping. They do read your "I'm new" post though, they just can't always take the time to make it personal since they have other things they have to do as well. I hope you enjoy the site! If you ever have any questions or just want to chat you should drop me a PM I'm always looking for friends
Count me in, at least once I've made myself comfortable here and been active for a while. I know the strains of moderation, I have a forum myself, we get approximately ten new members a week, and I have about half an hour to spend each work day, so I understand your problem. I have a template too, but I try to add a personalisation. In my case, I'd have added something like "I hear you like William Blake... ...He's quite abstract, so I conclude that you like pieces that let you find your own meaning for them? I certainly do, perhaps you could open a topic on that." I just skim the message and Google something they mention to see what I could ask just to make it look as though I wrote to the users personally As I mentioned earlier, apart from a few poems and chaotic and mostly unfinished/unrevised short stories I wouldn't really have anything to post anyway. Furthermore, I like reviewing very much. One author once replied to one of my reviews, "First off, you found literary methods and devices in the story I wasn't even aware of having put in there, so well done deciphering my subconscious". Although I do have to tame myself in order not to become too sarcastic XD. Since my upcoming novel is also going to be my first one, I hardly think I have any chance of publishing it. I'll probably put it up as a multi-part PDF somewhere once it's finished for people to read "bite for bite" and review it... ...it'll probably/hopefully be quite long, so I'll do a minimum of two reviews for each fifth and put another piece up every 2 and a half months or so. IF it should ever get finished *cross my fingers* I came to this forum, I looked upon it, I liked it, and now I love it! Is there anything wrong with this place at all? You make me stand in awe! Noted. And, to quote (and translate) Goethe, our national poet: "A critique that isn't constructive isn't even a critique - it's opinionistical rubbish!" That's how I think too and that's how you guys seem to think. Finally a good writing community. Honestly, is there anything you don't have? Apart from an executive bathroom XD? Thanks, so am I. You will have mail soon. (I sound like some weird fortunetelling mail program )
haha I do enjoy mail so i don't mind any weird fortunetelling mail program. (how awesome would that be?)
Thetalpha Since joining this forum, I have not since such an elaborate introduction and follow-up as yours. I enjoyed the change. Welcome. It certainly appears you will provide insight to this forum. After reading your posts, I am self-consciously writing this reply. Grammar, art thou fine or laden with foolishness? I'm no poet but that's the idea. Cheers!
By mail I actually meant PM, sorry, but on the other hand, yeah, a fortunetelling mail program would be cool. Although sometimes you could get bad news too early: "Tomorrow by this time, you will have 54 new messages, 49 of which will be spam, the other five aren't. One of those five is a notification regarding a private message on the writing forums, three are from a mailing list you subscribed to, one is from Amazon telling you that the book you ordered won't be able to be delivered because it's storage space has burnt down, and another one notifying you of the death of your grandmother..." Wouldn't that be horrible?
You would think, but then you would never have to read you're mail! And if i knew my grandmother was going to die, before she died, it would give me a chance to be with her! Hmm..>.>
I had that miraculous impulse of visiting my gran again the day she died - I knew she was going to die pretty soon (she was already in a hospice), but I didn't want to visit her in her sick state because she was getting a little bit harsh on all of us and it was really depressing for me to see her in such a deteriorated state. Then, as I said, the morning of the day she died, I had that inner obligation of seeing her, so I did, and late that evening she died. The nurse said she had probably just wanted to see me another time before she finally gave up, but I rather think she was going to die anyway and some miracle lead me to visit her.
Well, with enough said from all above, I just want to extend you a warm Hello. When time permits please PM me with more info on your forum....
