Hello all -- introductory article

Hello all. Well, I didn't know where to go to get some writing lessons and tips, writing practice, and good critiquing from others; so this site looks like a good place to start.

I've not really written anything except for school projects many moons ago. Now, I've never expected to be a published writer, and this is still the case (then again, only the future can reveal what awaits); but I've got so many life incidences that I want to simply put on paper in either memoir or fiction form, and I've found that it's a lot tougher task to do than I had thought.

Imagine my surprise, when I tried to put one of my experiences on paper and found, writing as an adult, it's not a stream of consciousness thing. I mean, days later I would read what I had written and it read as if some alien visitor from Planet X had left a story on my computer -- who although was intelligent enough to travel across the cosmos -- couldn't write one sensible coherent sentence in english. Horrible! It was then that I did some reading on writing and discovered it takes organization, mechanics, technique, work and practice. And editing and rewriting? News to me! So here I am.

I'm not expecting to write some great novel. I don't have fanciful dreams of being a Dave Barry either. I just want to learn how to record a cognizant word-picture of some of the things that are in my head. If I can report these things without having the reader commit suicide after the first paragraph -- great. If I can write a piece and the reader finds it interesting or entertaining and can't put it down until they get to the end -- fantastic! And if I can write something compelling -- ah, well, who needs compelling? Little steps. One word at a time. With hope.

Thanks for reading this. I'll consider this my first piece for my online portfolio. If anyone comes across any of my online writings on this site -- please critique. I need all the helpful criticism I can stand. How long will I last? Only time will tell.