Hello all. I live in Sydney Australia, and have had the writing bug for some years now. All my spare time is spent writing or thinking of story ideas, I have roped a few friends in to help as sound boards when i have been stuck and now I am at a road block that they can not help me with. I have been working on a novel for over 18 months and have now finished it, it ended up been larger than I thought and after editing the first draft myself found it needed another set of eyes. The massive size and the fact it is Sci-fi has discouraged my friends from helping out. I am now not sure what to do with my novel and have decided to look for more expert advise in the future. I have currently put my novel to the side, for now, knowing it still needs work, and have started another novel. Many of my other questions have been answered by reading through these forums, they have even made me realize that I need to reedit the novel myself as I know little about editing. So this leaves more questions than I can possibly have time to ask in this life time or expect answers. But two main questions are still stuck in my mind. How do I go about getting an editor to look at my novel once I think it's ready? AND How do I get an opinion on my writing style? or should I just focus on my new novel, and with the experience it brings I can look back on my old novel with fresh eyes in the future. So as you can see I have signed up here for many reasons and am already browsing the Short story Science Fiction section, and reading reviews to learn how to write a review. Soon to be posting. Calumbacha
Hello Calumbacha, 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!
Hello there! In response to one of your questions (since I'm not Australian and don't know how the editor thing works down there ) your writing style will change and mature as you write anyways, so just keep at it. Posting your work here will help you get over any bad writing habits you have.
Welcome to WF. As to your question about style, it sounds like you're off to a good start just by reading through the forums. I know it's helped me a lot in the short time I've been here.
