I'm new to the writing community, but I am not new to writing. My favorite genre to dance and play in defers to science fiction, but I enjoy a great many others. I wrote a novel. My wife hated its title - and perhaps the many publishers who rejected me thought so, too. I often don't distinguish between rejection of me and the rejection of my work. At any rate, I changed it from 'The Time of the Robots - A First history' to 'Seed.' It is book one of a planned five book series. Yes, I developed the outlines for all five books. I do plan on writing them... when I receive enough adulation for Seed. This may be why I decided to self publish it. Yes.. I succumbed to Lulu's advertising and now treasure a beautiful copy of my novel with handmade cover artwork and all. At nearly thirty dollars canadian per copy I didn't make copies for any of my friends. This may be why I now publish all my short stories and my novel on my blogspot page. I keep debating if I should place a PayPal symbol on my site with the plea, "Dying Author, Please Contribute!" I've journeyed around to other blogs with short stories and found that I am far too critical of other's writing skills. My comments tend to somehow end with: 'except I think your use of past tense verbs could be adjusted.' My daughter (still a teenager) on the other hand, amazes me with exceptional talent - far exceeding my own. Did I sound a little arrogant when I wrote, 'far exceeding my own?' For that, I am sure comments will pour in critically examining every word of this post for ways to improve. Unfortunately for you, this is exactly what I hope. I do hope to meet my new writing community. Robert
Hello Robert, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on 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 the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try 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!
