NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!

Hey there!

Don't be scared of us. This is probably one of the least-scary places on the web. In fact, if the Internet were a house, we'd be the welcome mat.

Hey there!

Don't be scared of us. This is probably one of the least-scary places on the web. In fact, if the Internet were a house, we'd be the welcome mat.

So we let people walk all over us?

Hey there!

Don't be scared of us. This is probably one of the least-scary places on the web. In fact, if the Internet were a house, we'd be the welcome mat.

So we let people walk all over us?

That's not exactly the direction I was headed...

But perhapse we are the place to wipe off the mud before you enter the larger (professional) world (of writing).

Welcome to all the new forumites! You're in good company!

Thanks for the welcome everyone! It was far less painful than I imagined
You guys have been very welcoming and it's much appreciated.

I'm glad to see you starting young. I made the mistake of giving up at about your age, and I'm regretting it now. Don't be like me!

And now for the most important question...

I love writing, its really the third thing I live for (after salt & vinegar chips and liquorice...

...what color liquorice?

I like my liquorice like I like my Coffee: pitch black and strong enough to level buildings.

And yessir, I shall not fall to the wayside.

I'm having far too much fun with these smilies.

I like my liquorice like I like my Coffee: pitch black and strong enough to level buildings.

And yessir, I shall not fall to the wayside.

I'm having far too much fun with these smilies.

Due to your excellent taste in liquorice, I shall forgive you the smilies. My favorite is Salzige Heringe, imported salty liquorice shaped like little fish. But for me, it's like Henry Ford's Model T: "Any color as long as it's black."

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

I'll forgive you for the black licorice because I see you love salt and vinegar chips. If I judged people on their snack choices, I'm already half-way to being your best friend.

Also on my post above, Marina is right. I meant the personalized info hidden in the track changes and recent version of Word (nothing will happen as far as we know). If you left your name on the document, you're toast butter-side down as far as the Contest goes.

I usually don't spend too much time searching for hidden personal info, since I never use track changes on my own story and any comments I might have stuck in for my own reference are easy enough to spot. Just save the story in .rtf, as this strips away the metadata that shows up automatically in Windows 7.

OMG, Martin, you are one of seven living Americans who like what the Dutch call "drop." And you like salty drop, too! I've never managed to like any of it, despite valiant attempts on the mostly-honey varieties. I think you have to grow up with it...I've never met a Dutch person who disliked it.

ETA: Wait...I get it! You're from Michigan. Lots of Dutch settlers in Michigan, meaning Michiganite exposure to Dutch licorice to this day? I may have to revise that seven number up there. Bet Wisconsin's got a lot of drop-lovers, too.

OMG, Martin, you are one of seven living Americans who like what the Dutch call "drop." And you like salty drop, too! I've never managed to like any of it, despite valiant attempts on the mostly-honey varieties. I think you have to grow up with it...I've never met a Dutch person who disliked it.

ETA: Wait...I get it! You're from Michigan. Lots of Dutch settlers in Michigan, meaning Michiganite exposure to Dutch licorice to this day? I may have to revise that seven number up there. Bet Wisconsin's got a lot of drop-lovers, too.

Yep. There's Dutch licorice in stores all over the area. Swedish and Finnish as well. We're not Dutch, but my Dad loved the stuff, and all of us kids got the taste from him. But I think I'm the only one in the family who likes the salty stuff. I'm grateful it only comes in small packages, because I pretty much consume all of it within my reach.

Hello.
My name is Sid, and I’m a writeaholic.

I'm way late with this and I hope there is no one before Sid.

But be welcomed and join the support group but as you know already it isn't WA it's a GFI or Go For It group .

Hi everyone,
New to internet forums, however I have been writing for three years. Found WOTF a couple of months ago and entered the contest but I have not heard anything back yet. Can I just ask? How long does it usually take to hear back after the submission has finished?

Hope everyone is well and is writing.

Sam

And A late welcome to you too.

You're question has been answered already but I say in reqard to

Hope everyone is well and is writing.

Same back at ya.

wotf024
Hullo,
I thought it was about time to introduce myself. I've been lurking around this place for a while now, though lately I've started to feel a little too voyeuristic for my own good. SO here I am, participating, which I must say is very out of character because I am one very introverted little cyber-Gollum. I'm a chronic insomniac, a trait I constantly feed with hours of books, movies, and the dark recesses of the internet. I'm eighteen-years old, finished two books, thirteen short stories, and published one very small article in the school newspaper. I love writing, its really the third thing I live for (after salt & vinegar chips and liquorice) and only recently have I allowed myself to be convinced into letting other people see my scraps of fiction. I'm a sophomore at the University of Texas at Dallas doing my undergraduate in Biomedical Engineering, (despite the fact that my weaknesses are primarily in Physics and Calculus (Which are basically the same things)). So yeah, now I'm terrified of everyone and everything, including all of you. But thank you for reading this if you made it this far.
~CS
Ok. Bye. Sorry to interrupt whatever is going on around this post.

And good to meet you CS.

We are all a friendly bunch here so if you're writing really is "scraps of fiction" it won't be for long.

And if you're afraid of us here wait 'till you see our faces.

But seriously as someone may have said already you are the purpose for this thread so what was happening around your post was interrupting you.

Welcome to all the new forumites! You're in good company!

Forumites???

That's almost as bad as Wrimos over at NaNoWriMo.

Not quite but getting close

Forumites???

That's almost as bad as Wrimos over at NaNoWriMo.

Not quite but getting close

Forumarians?

Forumen Magnum?

Or Foruwomen Magnum, as the case may be?

Forumvirate?

Forumperials?

Forumites???

That's almost as bad as Wrimos over at NaNoWriMo.

Not quite but getting close

Forumarians?

Forumen Magnum?

Or Foruwomen Magnum, as the case may be?

Forumvirate?

Forumperials?

As long as we're not Bore Worms.

Welcome to all the new folks. We're glad you're here!

Forumvirate.

I think "forumite" is Internet standard, though. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forumite

Forumvirate.

It's one better than a triumvirate!

Forumvirate.

It's one better than a triumvirate!

Where's that "head-slapping" smiley... *groan*

Welcome, Calm Sand! You should come to Armadillocon at the end of July! It's in Austin and is lovely fun! Apparently I only know how to finish sentences with an exclamation!

Help!

And welcome Sid and Sam!

My pen name (& real name) is William Mangieri. The NoTimeToThink user id is the same one I use on the Hatrack Writers Workshop.
Funny - on the first page of NEW USERS! INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!, someone was deriding themselves because it took them until the horribly old age of 21 to submit their first story. It was nice to see someone reassure them that this wasn't old - after all, they submitted their first one at 24! Perspective is a marvelous thing, isn't it?
I'm in the middle of what I call my midlife renaissance. I first submitted to WOTF in 2008 (at the age of 51), and just got my first HM for V29 Q1 (55 for the math-challenged.)
I submitted for Q2 also, but like everyone else am still waiting to hear...

Welcome, William! =)

Welcome aboard, William! Glad I'm not the only old fogey around here! Most of the people around here could be my long lost kids (if I had any).

Welcome aboard, William.

Welcome, William. I'm also a member of Hatrack, but have only had time to lurk, mostly. Hopefully that will change in the next month.

Welcome, William! =)

Indeed welcome here.

This place is almost as friendly as hatrack.

No worries bout unicorns though....

(Private joke there)

Welcome, William! =)

No worries bout unicorns though....

(Private joke there)

But do watch out for the gator. 😉 (private joke here) I just fed her a very large halibut, though, so you should have awhile before she gets chompy.

Hello,
I suppose it's time to step out of the shadows and introduce myself as well. I'm from Columbus, OH and have submitted to Q2 and Q3 for this volume. I've made one other post on these forums, regarding DW's formulaic rule about naming your character in the first 2 paragraphs (which, along with strycher's comment, kinda started that whole debate). My personal story should clarify why it was an issue for me:

I went to Ohio State as an English major. At OSU you have a focus within English and mine was to be creative writing. So I signed up for the intro creative writing class. I submitted the first section of a literary novel I'd been working on where I was experimenting with POV: I was writing a detached first person, where the narrator refers to the MC only as she. Of course, the instructor said you should know the main character's name in the first paragraph (despite attempts to explain why that would ruin my story - there was a very good reason). I responded with something like 'If I wanted to write John Grisham formulaic crap, all I have to do is download a program, plug in the names and setting, and it'll write the damn book for me.' For some reason, my application to the upper level creative writing focus was rejected (although I did get an A in that class...)

As a direct result of that rejection (and the inevitable doubts: was it really what I said, or did my writing really suck, despite all the feedback from my writing group on it), I went to law school instead of solely pursuing writing. I've now spent the last 14 years in the soul-sucking drudgery of the legal world, in law school and as a practicing attorney. Only recently did I get back into creative writing. From what I've read on the forums, a few of you have similar breaks in your writing (Martin & Preston?). On a positive note, although I desperately want to not be an attorney, at least I've spent the past 14 years writing something everyday.

I'm currently working on the novelization of my Q2 submission. On the advice of the Writing Excuses crew, I've set aside my baby, to work on it after my name is established and I've learned the craft more. I've read through all of the posts here the past month or so: thanks to all of you for all of the insight into the contest.

~Scott

Welcome, Scott! Props for getting back into it, and good luck with Q2 and Q3!

Welcome, Scott.

Are you saying you set aside your novel until you have improved your craft?

I say go ahead and use it to improve your craft. Writing your favorite piece will keep you excited. You can always put it away and rewrite later on. (I'm a big fan of the rewrite, while others, not so much.)

You can look back and groan, but then dig in.

Sorry to hear about the soul-sucking sidetrack into law.

I was sidetracked for about that many years by video games. I probably had more fun than you, but made a whole lot less money.

D