I'm Rague, sorcerer supreme. To those that catch that reference, you understand that I am incredibly nerdy. Enjoyed writing since I was in 2nd grade (I got so much pride out of our little writing workshops where I would sit down and write short, incomplete stories about old Nintendo/Sega games my older brother used to play), but I really got into writing fan fiction around 7th-8th grade. This was also around the same time I first started typing stories, which brings me to a funny little note - I used to hate typing; I was terrible at it, and I could write much faster just by using a pencil, however, with time I got a lot better at typing, and now I prefer it over writing by hand. Er, my biggest strength I suppose would be that I like to think outside the box. I try not to write about the same things I see in fan fic categories that I'm a member of. If I see a surplus of "what-if this character was in love with his/her most hated enemy/a serial killer", I typically avoid that. Not to say I don't have my own rut - I'm attracted to stories that take one plot point and turn it on it's head, stories that take a single, crucial moment and show how that moment can utterly change the universe the story is written in. My biggest weakness - if that hasn't already shown itself - is probably syntax. I took an AP Literature course in my junior year and completely bombed it, I did very poorly. Unfortunately, while that course wasn't focused so much on creative writing, I think I ended up taking a little more from it than I wanted. Now I feel like my writing style's become rigid, or as one classmate told me in a creative writing class once, my poetry has this "scientific" feel to it, like it's forced and organized. Attribute this to my paranoia, but I find myself adding to much exposition to certain scenes. I try to turn that down because, thankfully, I'm writing fan fiction and the reader doesn't often need a recap, but I still think I'm really stuck in this area. Another weakness might be diction - my creative writing class was focused on poetry mostly, but I wasn't very satisfied with my own poetry. Irony being that a friend of mine informed that I (used to) tend to "rhyme" when I speak, and quite unintentionally I might add, but I never see myself doing this when I write. I don't want everything to rhyme, but I worry that I tend to clutter words that mix well. I'm not a legendary writer, but when I read stuff like The Raven, I see that last paragraph about the raven glaring at the narrator atop the bust and I can't help but think "Holy crap, o'er streaming like a demon's that is dreaming? That's freaking awesome!". Forgive me if I sound very frank most of the time - I like to think that I've integrated "internet speak" into my calm hours, yet preserved a more refined speech pattern for when it matters. I indulge in anime, manga, televisions shows like HEROES, LOST, Walking Dead, Sliders, and sooner or later Doctor Who and Quantum Leap. Not a huge sci-fi buff, but I do like Farscape, and I'm willing to move onto Stargate and Star Trek. Silly as it sounds, I used to hate, but now reminisce about childhood shows like iCarly due to the number of innuendos packed in those shows, and a bulk of my fan fiction is currently rooted there. I'm a gamer. I prefers with a heavy emphasis on plot; I don't mind absurd game mechanics or difficulty, so long as that difficulty has some plausibility and not "the universe decided that you have to complete this trial in thirty seconds". As much as I enjoy writing, it might be ironic to say that I don't read much. I can read of course, and I like Lord of the Rings (or would like to start reading it, rather), Eragon, and I've read some of the Halo novels. When I was younger, I just enjoyed reading my own work more. Now I'm not sure what it is - I'm a writer, but I don't read a lot of published works. That's going to change in college I'm sure. Anyway, I do however read a lot of fan fiction, stuff by nerdier writers than myself. I go for what-if stories and exotic departures from the normal canon (I hope that word is acceptable), so even in fan fiction, my attention is scarce. And that's about as much writing-relevant information about me I can think of right now.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Rague! 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
