# Hi! Hola! こんにちは！



## Hopeful Writer (Aug 9, 2014)

My name is Erin. I've been an aspiring writer for a while now. I've never had the courage to openly post something before, aside from a single class I've taken. Only actually written a handful of days in the past several years. Hoping to change all of that while I'm feeling this momentary bravery! Not really sure what else to say. I hope everyone is having a great day. 

^,.,^


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## InstituteMan (Aug 9, 2014)

Hi, Erin, welcome!

Overcoming perfectionism and fear of in order to share your work can be hard, I know, but I have found that the simple act of sharing my writing with others has been the single most important aspect of my writing life. I hope that you screw up the confidence to click "submit" on a piece once you get your ten posts needed to share your work here. Folks here are that perfect combination of talented and honest and nice, which generally enables useful and constructive feedback.

Plus, I rely upon these forums for most of my short story reading, so I need you to keep the supply up for me. :fat:

Seriously, welcome aboard! I think that you will find this a nice virtual place.


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## Hopeful Writer (Aug 9, 2014)

Thanks Mr. Institute! I actually have the courage at the moment to do it, I only hope it'll last after ten posts. =P

On another note, I just love your avatar. Beavers are pretty awesome. ^,.,^


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## HappyMaster19 (Aug 9, 2014)

Keep it going. I'm in the same boat.


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## aj47 (Aug 9, 2014)

Welcome to WF.  As the InstituteMan said, you need ten posts to share your work.  In the meanwhile, let us share our work with you.  We encourage you to comment honestly about what you read here.

We also have places for writing discussions.  You might find something there to comment on, too.

Also, I'd like to personally invite you to this month's Literary Maneuvers Fiction Challenge -- the prompt is "Don't Look Back" and the deadline is the 15th.  

Come in, look around, and make yourself comfy.


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## Hopeful Writer (Aug 9, 2014)

astroannie said:


> Welcome to WF.  As the InstituteMan said, you need ten posts to share your work.  In the meanwhile, let us share our work with you.  We encourage you to comment honestly about what you read here.
> 
> We also have places for writing discussions.  You might find something there to comment on, too.
> 
> ...



Is there a maximum word count or anything? I can get a bit carried away. Sat down to just write a few paragraphs earlier today and ended up with 2k words. I think I can manage a shorter short story though. ^,.,^ Thanks!!


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## Nickleby (Aug 9, 2014)

Writing is like any other activity, you have to do it for a while to develop confidence in your ability. Unfortunately, that involves making a lot of mistakes, but it's part of the process. You can't learn if you don't know what to avoid and what to embrace.

Welcome to Writing Forums. Contact a staff member if you have questions or concerns.


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## InstituteMan (Aug 9, 2014)

Hopeful Writer said:


> Thanks Mr. Institute! I actually have the courage at the moment to do it, I only hope it'll last after ten posts. =P
> 
> On another note, I just love your avatar. Beavers are pretty awesome. ^,.,^



We will work your courage up, I bet. Thanks for noticing the avatar. Beavers are pretty awesome: they are nature's engineers, and they do their best work at night . . .


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## Hopeful Writer (Aug 9, 2014)

InstituteMan said:


> We will work your courage up, I bet. Thanks for noticing the avatar. Beavers are pretty awesome: they are nature's engineers, and they do their best work at night . . .



I just took the plunge into the deep end a few minutes ago. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like I was going to puke. =P

As far as beavers go, they are the only creatures to affect the environment on a large scale aside from us. It's pretty neat. Also, my boyfriend is an engineer. I should get him a stuffed beaver or something for the Soltice! Thanks for the idea. ^,.,^




Nickleby said:


> Writing is like any other activity, you have to do it for a while to develop confidence in your ability. Unfortunately, that involves making a lot of mistakes, but it's part of the process. You can't learn if you don't know what to avoid and what to embrace.
> 
> Welcome to Writing Forums. Contact a staff member if you have questions or concerns.



I was doing quite a bit of it during my class last year, but when I lost that source of consistent feedback it was kind of a buzz-kill. How can I know if I'm doing any good without others reading it? I had a bad experience the last time I went to a writing forum, but everyone seems pretty nice here. So I'm hopeful, thus the username. =P

Thanks for the reply! ^,.,^


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## aj47 (Aug 9, 2014)

The word limit is 650.  There is a discussion on to raise it to 1k for future challenges.


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## Hopeful Writer (Aug 9, 2014)

astroannie said:


> The word limit is 650.  There is a discussion on to raise it to 1k for future challenges.



I made something silly and short. Next time I'll push for something serious, and closer to the word limit. It'll probably be a nice exercise for me to keep my word count down on something serious. Thanks for the reply! ^,.,^


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## Pandora (Aug 10, 2014)

Welcome Erin, glad you decided to join us, hope you enjoy!


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## Gumby (Aug 15, 2014)

Hi Erin, welcome to the site. We are pretty easy going here, not too many biters.  You'll find most will return your crit, if you give them one, first.


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