*deep breath*

Welcome.

Welcome!

Welcome

Welcome, Sara! Have a look around -- there are plenty of interesting conversations and lots of useful information here. I'm sure you can find your niche!

Sara Alva said:

(is internet social anxiety a real thing??)

Click to expand...

I think it's probably quite real. I don't mind posting things and putting myself out there, but I feel the anxiety bubbling up when trolling and ignorant arguments break out. None of which I have really seen in this forum so far. (Well, there was that one in a thread about picture books that had actually been moved to another thread... That raised my blood pressure a bit, and it was very old.)

I see this as where we can test the waters, and take a break in the middle of a conversation if we need to. The internet may have its own anxieties, but it's a good place for people like us to test the boundaries of our social anxiety.

Hi Sara!

Welcome to AW!

Don't forget to read about AW basics in the Newbie Guide!

Questions about this software can be found in the FAQ's menu in the handy blue bar at the 'top' of this page.

This common acronym list helps identify our mystifying abbreviations.

Before you ask that Newbie question!!
See if Katiemac has the answer here.

Check out: Sara's 10 Basic Writing Tips.

If you're looking for critiques please read the 50 Post rule.

Questions about posting writing to the Share Your Work (SYW) area
and explained here. This link covers the most common problems found in the Share Your Work *Worth reading no matter how long you have been here!*

AW is a community built on the foundations of respecting your fellow writer and helping each other, it's the basic building blocks of how and why AW works.

Welcome to our community! =)

-kelly-

Sara Alva said:

My beta/friend finally wore me down. He can't stop raving about this community ...so I'm suckin' it up and introducing myself...even though I'm shy (is internet social anxiety a real thing??)

I've written two m/m romances, one of which I posted on GayAuthors.org and am currently revising. The other is resting comfortably on my hard drive, but hopes to see the light of day sometime this decade.

I know I have a lot to learn and I'm sure this site is going to be a fantastic resource. I'm going to try to get over myself and get more involved

Click to expand...

Welcome! As you may have already figured out, this is a pretty cool community, polite, reasonable, and understanding. There are moments when some fur flies, but we try to keep it civil around here. Also, it's an awesome place to get advice and support. I feel like I've learned more from this forum than from some of the college writing courses I've taken. Granted, I've taken some disappointing courses, but all the same...

Hello, and welcome to the community.

Nice to have you with us.

Welcome!

Hey there. I'm new here myself, though I've trawled these forums a lot without signing up. n.n

Sara Alva said:

My beta/friend finally wore me down. He can't stop raving about this community ...so I'm suckin' it up and introducing myself...even though I'm shy (is internet social anxiety a real thing??)

I've written two m/m romances, one of which I posted on GayAuthors.org and am currently revising. The other is resting comfortably on my hard drive, but hopes to see the light of day sometime this decade.

I know I have a lot to learn and I'm sure this site is going to be a fantastic resource. I'm going to try to get over myself and get more involved

Click to expand...

Wow, I thought someone would bite her when I got her to finally post =D. C'mon, someone take a nibble!

<3 Welcome and \o/ so glad you're here (now you have to back me up on allll the arguments!)

WEEEEEEEEEEELCOOOMMEEEEEE Sara, no need to have any social anxiety on the internet right? Haha, and I look forward to seeing your work. BTW, internet-anxiety may be better than my actual anxiety...like being out-going and talking with people in "REAL LIFE" hahahah. Let's get over it though and celebrate. Welcome again. -Z

Sara Alva, welcome.Pick up a glass and come over to the cooler's SYW section where you can not only drink the water, but wade into it up to your waist. Seriously, if you are shy like me, there's no better way than to just dive right in, check out some other peoples work and say hello, and if you start to get comfortable, then try dabbling in a little critiquing of others stories, because peoples opinions are valued here, and whether you believe it or not, we're looking for yours too. So have fun, and when you're ready, and after your 50 posts, put one of your stories up for review. Don't forget to tell them to either be gentle or let 'er rip. Ok?

Sara...psst never mention the S...A words around here. There are people here just sitting on the edge. I was trying to avoid bringing up the jacket with the long arms hanging up next to the cooler, but now that you brought it up...come over here.

We don't normally fit newbees here, but since you...well...brought it up. what are you a medium.

Hope you like white; it's the only colour they come in right now. We have been petitioning the manufacturer to at least make some in purple and sky blue. We have found that those seem to be calming colours in the rubber room.

welcome