Jasminia

I am a very amateur writer just looking for a community environment that will assist me in improving and expanding my work. I am somewhat self-conscious about my writing, so posting anything to this site will be a huge step for me. I am also my own worst critic.

What I believe will help me improve as a writer is a healthy balance of encouragement and friendly criticism. Some of my writing is, to me, a bit unusual, and I do not expect my style to appeal to everyone. I do hope I can find a few like-minded individuals in the community, however.

Some areas I would like to improve upon:
- Character Development: I find many of my characters to be a bit flat and undeveloped and I am looking to change that.

- Natural and Flowing Dialogue: Though I may know what I want my characters to express with their words and gestures, I feel I struggle when it comes to putting these ideas and emotions into writing in a manner that is both clear and creative.

- Story Progression: I have a tendency to write my stories in the order the scenes come to me. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I often find that I then have difficulty fitting the individual scenes together in a cohesive and coherent manner.

- Editing: I struggle at times with changing scenes that I have previously written. Even if the change is for the better, I tend to become attached to what I have already written and find it difficult to make alterations.

- Completion: I often suffer from periods of writer's block and feel forced to abandon one project or another. Later, I find it very difficult to pick back up with a particular piece of work. Because I tend to get personally invested in my writing, however, I feel unfulfilled anytime I am unable to complete a piece that I was once passionate about.

Some writers whose works inspire me:
Brian Jacques
J.K. Rowling
J.R.R. Tolkien
Madeleine L'Engle
Mary Stewart (The Arthurian Chronicles)
R.A. Salvatore
T.A. Barron
Terry Brooks

I am looking forward to talking to other members and making new friends. I also find that I get some of my best inspiration through online roleplaying, so if any of you are interested in possibly starting up a story, please send me a message.