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Looking for a serious writing partner

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gigergal

I'm new to this board but really looking for a serious writing partner.

I'm a reasonably new writer, not a complete beginner but still have loads to learn. I write short and flash fiction, as well as poetry. My preferred genres are horror, supernatural, mystery and historical.

I've been published a couple of times...and rejected too, so I know how that feels.

I'm looking for someone who has a bit of expertise, who is prepared to stay the course with me, share the ups and downs of writing. I can accept honest but constructive feedback and am willing to give the same.

What's important too is being able to help someone else too - writing is a lonely career.

Hope to hear from anybody.

gigergal
 

brer

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May I offer a suggestion?

- Polish up a piece of your recent writing (like 4 pages, double-spaced) and post it (as a new thread) in the appropriate genre forum in "Share Your Work" (SYW).

- Mention in that post that you are new to this forum and a relatively new writer.
I'd suggest NOT mentioning yet that you are looking for a mentor.

- BEFORE POSTING your piece, edit and re-edit it many times and real hard (like, imo, average over 10 hrs per page--more like 15 to 20 hrs per page). Make it good enough that you would submit it to a professional place/editor that pays for work submitted. (Sure, your piece would probably get rejected but that's a separate issue.)

- Make sure your posting is well formated (blankline between paragraphs) and is easy to read (fonts large enough for old, tired eyes). Think of it as a "first impression."

- Post it and wait for comments (it might take a week or more).
While you wait, read the other postings in SYW to get a sense of critters' critiquing styles, and the norm for what crittters will say in their crits.
Figure out which critters you would like to crit your stuff (technical wise and personality wise).

- THEN when you do ask for a mentor, place it where you will attract the type of attention you want.
e.g. If the critters on one of your postings are the type you would like, post your request there (in a general sort of way, but yet it got to be kind of specific. Good luck with that.) and hope you get the right nibble from the right fish or fishes.

- If you didn't like the ones who critted that piece, well . . . maybe wait a couple of weeks during which you write and polish another piece, then post it as a new thread (maybe on a different genre forum in SYW?) and try again.

Sort of like fishing. Fishing for the right fish.

Just my two cents.

Good luck with your writing. (And fishing.)
 
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