Everyone else said some sort of salutation in their title, so I thought I would just toss out a random statement. I am very interested in sharing views and reviews on works of writing. I think this site is tres cool, and luckily stumbled upon it by mistake. I have been sort of playing voyeur for about a month, as the location I'm at has terrible internet, and was unable to submit to any of the contests. I can say, that so far, I have enjoyed peeping into your conversations and reading your work, and am very glad that I can now be a part of it. TTYL (see, that is just not cool. There should be a man rule about using those)
TTYL is not cool. I see you've stayed true to your statement and not used any emoticons. Anyway, welcome.
Emoticons as well as text acronyms. Next time you are actually talking to someone, not typing or texting, say the letters O M G or L O L in a real sentence. You sound like a boob. I think a girl, or college aged woman could get away with that, but not a guy. Now imagine actually making that O . o face when talking to someone. They would just stop talking and stare at you. A five year old boy could get away with it, only because it would be adorable.
I know many guys who say 'looool' in real sentences, and do make the O___o face. It is perfectly normal nowadays to do stuff like that.
Hello Firefly, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Writers shouldn't use emoticons either! Or at least, they should use them only sparingly, and only in casual writing. So there. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. 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 Writing Workshop, 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 Writing Workshop, 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. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop 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 Writing Workshop 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!
