Hi Deb welcome to FW! I'm not sure how I missed your first post. Your blog article was great! I hope you'll stick around and enter the next contest too.
I'm delighted that God sent you this way! One of the coolest things about this site is its diversity. We have member that are teens and others that are grandparents. Also some are just finding their niche in writing while others have published books. The genres are also widespread. Of course there is Christian categories from devotionals to Biblical fiction, to testimonials and everything in between. We also have some sci-fi aficionados, as well as suspense and romance writers. My favorite genre is children's stories.
This is like a family to me and has given me more than I could have dreamed of when I first joined three years ago.
I've made some dear, sweet friends from all over the States to Australia, Africa, England, Thailand and Latvia. These aren't just casual friendships but close friends, many of whom I talk or text each day.
The forums are a great place to get to know one another. The Water Cooler is a place to chill and talk about anything from the weather to just saying howdy. There are a couple of small groups who love and support each other. The Pacific Coast Rest Stop or the Southern Porch can be found in that section. The prayer Forum offers an opportunity to pray with others or ask for your own prayer requests or share some joys. The Open Forum is the best place to find writing related threads.
The weekly challenge is probably the most popular place at FW. You do need to be a paying member to enter, though starting in January they began to offer Silver members (non-paying) four credits to enter the challenge which can be used in a row or spread out over the year. I hope you have tried that out too. if not a new quarter starts in just a couple of weeks!
I have learned so much from feedback I've received here. Like one example is to not use words like so or very to make your point (which you may have noticed I did just that in the prior sentence, but I consider posts more like talking so I do use words I may not use in the challenge and also tend to run on a bit when I'm talking
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I have also learned how to write on a specific topic while still trying to write about it in a creative, fresh way. That's not always easy when there can be up to one hundred people or more writing on the same thing. The best part is it has encouraged me to write more often and regularly. The deadline is perfect for us who procrastinate.If it does appeal to you and you can afford the few dollars each month to become a gold or silver member, it is so totally worth it. Plus there are all kinds of wonderful perks that go along with the Gold and Platinum members.
Have fun exploring. I know it can be a tad overwhelming at first. Feel free to ask any questions or join the discussions. But most of all have fun!
