Umm, in a manner, Pogo (by Walt Kelly) spoke true: "the enemy is us." We comprise The Forum. We push and shove in any direction we see fit, barring libel, physical violence, or other illegal acts. One trick, though: if you want others to go in your chosen direction, show them the bright future, don't tell them the future is (passive voice = shun, shun, shun) bright. Ho, the oldest writing truism of all: "SHOW, DON'T TELL." Lead, don't push. Show us a better way, SHOW. Please. My old eyes search. Often they discern glimmers of brightness and hope. So here I stand/sit/think/type. Dick

I'm trying to discern your meaning, and if you mean that we, as the forum, should be active in creating a brighter future for those here in the writer's community, I wholeheartedly agree. As always, we are very open to suggestions from the community as to ways you might think we can invigorate our writers, get them involved, and get them creating. When it all comes down to it, I believe the writer's forum is successful when it helps the wordsmiths among us to hammer out and forge those creative works they might not have created otherwise, or to improve upon the skills they already bring to bear. David L. Writer's Coord.

Hi David Yes, show them the bright future. Unless you object, I will post a general writing tip, from time to time, gleaned from the beatings I've endured at critique circles, books and writing magazines: my takes on those ideas, not excerpts. Then the others who frequent this forum can pound on me and show me the errors in my thinking. That could be fun. Dick

"Pound, pound, pound!!!" lol! Those writing tips sound great Dick, I've enjoyed receiving your tips on improvement even if I don't always implement them.

Dick, I don't object at all. In fact, one of the things I like to see in these forums is writing tips and suggestions offered to the community by those who have "been there" so to speak. There's no greater teacher than experience, and sharing experiences can only benefit those willing to listen! :) David L. Writer's Coord.

Reading some of the past posts has been a bit intimidating for me. I've absolutly no training, nada, totally ignorant, I mean completly at a loss. Hence the reason I fail to post in this forum. Not to mention I have a severe case of typonese and have to retype everything several times so it looks right, lol. Anyway, some very basic tips or suggested sites for beginners would be nice.

Well for one, I really would like you to not feel intimidated! I don't have any training either aside from grade school, and I'm more than confident that most people that read these forums are probably in the same boat. However, I think that's definitely a good idea. I may try and go through the Writer's Forum website and see if I can refine the links there for beginners and tips as well. There is always room for improvement and that goes for everyone :) David L. Writer's Coord.