Hello, fellow humans

[RobertN]

For now, I'm looking to improve my basic non-fiction writing and communication. I'm reading Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style, and I went looking for an internet forum where I can ask small-scale questions like "why is this sentence confusing?" I'm not sure if people discuss that kind of thing here. So my next step is to browse around and read and see what y'all talk about.

I wrote fiction as a kid. Maybe I'll get back into it.

Rob

 

[Maryn]

Nice to have you join us, Rob. You bet you can ask questions like that here. One place that might fit, depending on the specific question, is our Grammar and Syntax board, where grammar people will do their best not only to untangle sentences that don't work but teach you enough terminology that we can discuss how to spot it and what repairs there are.

I'm pretty good at that stuff, so you might see me there. It's also where I go with my knottiest questions, like how to pluralize T. rex, which became a pretty funny thread.

Maryn, vacuuming the welcome mat

 

[Brigid Barry]

For now, I'm looking to improve my basic non-fiction writing and communication. I'm reading Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style, and I went looking for an internet forum where I can ask small-scale questions like "why is this sentence confusing?" I'm not sure if people discuss that kind of thing here. So my next step is to browse around and read and see what y'all talk about.

I wrote fiction as a kid. Maybe I'll get back into it.

Rob

Hi Rob, welcome to the boards. Fiction is pretty broad, what kind of fiction did you write? What kind are you hoping to get into?

The mods will be by to welcome you but I obnoxiously tell all the new people to read the stickies at the top of every board, they're a wealth of information and have kept me from making a faux pas on several occasions.

Welcome!

ETA: the heat melted my brain. What kind of non-fiction do you write?

 

[lorna_w]

Hi, and yes, we'll answer questions on grammar and style and occasionally correctly! Hope to see you around.

 

[Izz]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

You'll love it here, I'm sure. AW is, in my opinion, the internet's premier writing place, with all the info you'll ever need on all things writing and publishing, and home to an amazing community, to boot.

Please carefully read the Newbies Guide you were linked to when you registered, as well as the stickied/pinned threads at the top of each forum page. These will help you quickly understand not only the forum rules, but also the culture and etiquette of the various spaces within, and will also help make the forums less overwhelming.

There's a lot to discover, so please take your time exploring, lurk if you like, join in conversations you find fun or interesting if you like, make friends, enjoy yourself!

And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

See you around the boards
Izz

 

[regdog]

Welcome to AW


Take some time and read the Newbie Guide and the Stickies found
at the top of Forum pages. They are your best guide to learning about
Absolute Write.

Stop by the Weekend Progress Report each week to brag about your weekly writing accomplishments. Awesome smilies and awards are given out.

Please read the FAQ about posting photos.


In fact we have lots of brilliant FAQs check them out.


Members who want to start a thread in Share Your Work to have work critiqued need
50 posts. Don’t make a mad dash to reach your 50 posts. That is frowned upon and can lead to your posts being deleted.
Take some time to greet fellow newbies, critique other members’ works, or join a discussion.

 

[Janine R]

Welcome to AW Rob. Hope you find us useful.

 

[Norsebard]

Hello and to Absolute Write, RobertN!


Norsebard

 

[danneds]

Welcome! Sounds like you have a lot of ideas in mind and I think this community will motivate you to act on them. You'll be glad you joined!

 

[writer316]

Hello, @RobertN ! Welcome to AW!

Yep, we still discuss the minutiae of writing, such as in the Basic Writing Questions and Grammar and Syntax forums.

 

[RobertN]

Hi Rob, welcome to the boards. Fiction is pretty broad, what kind of fiction did you write? What kind are you hoping to get into?
[...]
ETA: the heat melted my brain. What kind of non-fiction do you write?

I wrote some short stories of adventures, nothing much. It may have been less about actual writing and more about trying to please certain adults around me.
Nowadays I'd like to write clearer emails and technical documents, and some essays about a few different topics.

 

[ropottnik]

Nice! Happy to go over details of writing too. I'll follow your posts to get ideas myself!

 

[Unimportant]

I wrote some short stories of adventures, nothing much. It may have been less about actual writing and more about trying to please certain adults around me.
Nowadays I'd like to write clearer emails and technical documents, and some essays about a few different topics.

Welcome!

Part of communicating clearly, whether fiction or non fiction, is about correctness and purity of language. But good writing also entails something more creative. If you can do both, that's golden.