I'm very, very new to the writing scene; at least I'm new to the idea that there is a scene. I've loved creating/writing stories for years now, but have rarely chosen to make them public in any way. Now nearing 30, I have a growing desire to publish my ideas. I recognize part of my hesitancy has been fear of critics, especially considering how critical I can be of others' work. Now that my desire to "get noticed" overrides my (irrational) fear, I realize I have little to no idea how to "get noticed." Obviously this forum is a beginning, but what else, and where else can I go to get the experience, attention and contacts needed to go anywhere in this industry (and other entertainment mediums for that matter)? Sorry for any cliche remarks, and thanks for any advice! Keep in mind, I'm new.

At the very least, you could publish to a blog.

[tease]That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Ill conceived and poorly punctuated![/tease]

Honestly, it's hard to blame you for your reluctance to post your work on the Internet in general. The relative anonymity of complete strangers tends to make them forget to act like human beings. (There's an interesting theory on this.)

Still, half of the fun of art is the reaction of other people, so I would encourage you to brave the hordes. If you can find a community of authors, even better. Hopefully, any criticism will be constructive and help you hone your skills.

Good luck!

Have you looked into local writers' groups? For someone whose goal is publication, it is an excellent learning experience to polish several of your own pieces as close to perfection as you can get them on your own (or if you are mainly interested in novels, one novel and at least one shorter piece), then present them to a cooperative critique group. Most groups do not allow a new member to hand out stuff before they have critiqued other people's stuff for a week or two, which gives you a chance to see what the others' criticism is like before you decide to show them your stuff. There are online groups around, but an in-person one is more educational. 5-9 is the ideal group size, every week or every other week is the ideal frequency.

Other than that, it's important to be philosophical about criticism. Know your intended audience and genre. Realize that some of your critiquers will not be in this audience, if your whole genre is not to their taste their comments may be misdirected. Ask yourself what your writing goals are, and test new criticism that your receive to see if it is helpful to these writing goals. When asking people to critique a story, it can be helpful to explain after the end of the story what you wanted to accomplish in it and ask about anything you were uncertain whether you did it successfully.