The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss
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I was looking at the big 5 of publishing's internships (particularly HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Penguin Random House's ones) since it's a high bar to get into a publishing company otherwise. There's very few publishing gigs here in Houston, and even then they want tons of experience. I might have to look into other fields, try to see if I can get some token stuff, or pop retail (bleh) for the summer.
And I just found out today that I've hit my lifetime loan cap for my degree, a semester before graduation.
Joy... I'll have to see if I can take out a private loan for the fall, because I sure can't afford to pay $5k on my own all at once.
newbie! You're going to fit in well here. Have a smibble. *balances smibble on fatmanny's viking helmet*Kewl.Very nice!
Morning, Cantina. Guuuuh, tired. Only downside to the warm spells of February is that my parents won't turn on the AC yet so it's not hot, but still uncomfortably warm at night, which can make it harder to sleep. Anyway, I did discuss with my mom when we would have the money to adopt a puppy and she says once our tax returns are in the bank, then we can go. Our taxes are done and approved, it's just as issue of waiting at this point. So. Hurry up with that refund, government!
I have been very unfocused about words the past two days and need to get more focused today, especially as I will have a thing to beta read coming in soon. But breakfast must happen first. Foooood. *stumbles off to get breakfast*
I used to work in film without pay. If you don't mind I can give a few tips?
If you aren't being paid, you should at least be treated well. If your boss or coworkers are rude or demanding, they don't deserve your time. Chances are that if they don't treat you respectfully in the office, they won't offer good references anyway. It isn't worth it.
Going in, set a limit for yourself for how long you'll be working for free. Budget your time and money and be reasonable with yourself. If a boss tries to get you to extend past that, they may not have your best interests at heart.
If you aren't being paid, you should at least be treated well. If your boss or coworkers are rude or demanding, they don't deserve your time. Chances are that if they don't treat you respectfully in the office, they won't offer good references anyway. It isn't worth it.
Going in, set a limit for yourself for how long you'll be working for free. Budget your time and money and be reasonable with yourself. If a boss tries to get you to extend past that, they may not have your best interests at heart.
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That's the lightnin' station ain't it - nuthin' but static and crackle ( I promise not to bring snap and pop into this ).
Siwyen, sorry to hear about the loan situation.
Yay for puppy
, EFB - soon.
Siwyen, sorry to hear about the loan situation.
Yay for puppy
, EFB - soon.
Yo. And welcome.
Unrelated, that ax and shield are making me kind of want to get back into foamcrafting. I have kind of always wanted to try doing a wood shield with iron banding, just to see if I could get it looking realistic.
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Foamcrafting? I'll have to look up examples. I suppose it's exactly what it sounds like - plenty of stuff you'd find at ThinkGeek or your local con.
Yup! You cut and glue and paint foam (usually EVA foam, like people put in kids' play areas, but sometimes also craft foam) and make costumes. I am but a babby foamcrafter -- I only just bought my first dremel and heat gun late last year -- but I aspire to someday make something worthy of Evil Ted's fan page
greendragon
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Welcome, newbie! Hey, Vikings settled in Canada, they just didn't stay longer than about 20 years. It is known!
Yup! You cut and glue and paint foam (usually EVA foam, like people put in kids' play areas, but sometimes also craft foam) and make costumes. I am but a babby foamcrafter -- I only just bought my first dremel and heat gun late last year -- but I aspire to someday make something worthy of Evil Ted's fan page
My husband has some experience at foam crafting. Dapping. Painting. Making shields/sword pommels for our Amtgard LARP, etc.
Same husband had gastric surgery on Monday. He's home now and resting. Since he can't yet manage the stairs to his man cave, I've set him up with the living room TV hooked up to his computer.
- - - Updated - - -
Oh and I also managed to write 4000 words on Monday waiting for his surgery to finish, and 2700 words yesterday waiting to take him home. It's all good.
So, being new to writing in general but starting to write fantasy, what are some awesome resources that help with everything from the get go?
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Lot's o reading. I know that sounds counter intuitive, but whatever genre you'd like to write, read a ton of books in that genre. There was an excellent AW link ... for the life of me I can't find it, hopefully someone can dig it up. A really good general guideline.
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<-- mails Manny a Google Maps pic of all the liquor stores in his area.
On a more serious note, for the new writer, I highly recommend visiting the Writer Beware page and the Writer Beware blog. The publishing industry is counter-intuitive in a lot of ways, especially for newcomers and Writer Beware is SFWA's anti-scam committee. We try to help new (and not-so-new) authors navigate among the sharks as best we can.
I also recommend, (in your copious spare time that all writer have, right?), taking some time to get to know the Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Checks section of this forum. Check out the index and note how many agencies/publishers/editors/etc. are grayed out. That means they're out of business. Read a few of the longer threads and see how they started, peaked, panicked, and then disappeared, usually burning all their authors on the way out. After you read a few of them, you'll start noticing the commonality in the threads and hopefully be well armed before starting to submit your stuff in the future.
Edit - Oh, and definitely spend some time in the Share Your Work area. Some of the writing prompts or reading the critiques in the infamous "Post the first three lines of your Novel" can help you spot things in your own writing you might not otherwise see. Also, crit'ing other peoples work helps you with your own self-editing as well as earning good karma for yourself.
On a more serious note, for the new writer, I highly recommend visiting the Writer Beware page and the Writer Beware blog. The publishing industry is counter-intuitive in a lot of ways, especially for newcomers and Writer Beware is SFWA's anti-scam committee. We try to help new (and not-so-new) authors navigate among the sharks as best we can.
I also recommend, (in your copious spare time that all writer have, right?), taking some time to get to know the Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Checks section of this forum. Check out the index and note how many agencies/publishers/editors/etc. are grayed out. That means they're out of business. Read a few of the longer threads and see how they started, peaked, panicked, and then disappeared, usually burning all their authors on the way out. After you read a few of them, you'll start noticing the commonality in the threads and hopefully be well armed before starting to submit your stuff in the future.
Edit - Oh, and definitely spend some time in the Share Your Work area. Some of the writing prompts or reading the critiques in the infamous "Post the first three lines of your Novel" can help you spot things in your own writing you might not otherwise see. Also, crit'ing other peoples work helps you with your own self-editing as well as earning good karma for yourself.
Actually, yeah. Show York Work is a GREAT learning tool for a variety of things -- for how to write, for how to edit, for how to give and take criticism and even for how to NOT take criticism.
(Seriously - I found that while most critiques made sense when I was reading people's posts, some didn't, which helped solidify in my head that if everyone is saying something they probably have a point, but if only one person is, it's possible that it's just taste. You don't have to take every point at equal weight.)
(Seriously - I found that while most critiques made sense when I was reading people's posts, some didn't, which helped solidify in my head that if everyone is saying something they probably have a point, but if only one person is, it's possible that it's just taste. You don't have to take every point at equal weight.)
When I first came to AW (circa 2004), the Learn Writing with Uncle Jim was one of the best resources I read. Not for everyone, but I found it helpful and there's a lot (LOT) of info there.
The NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenges and community are helpful. The summer camps in particular allow you to set your own goals and are good for figuring out your own speed. (April and July for the camps. November for the 50k in 30 days challenge.) Writing super-fast isn't for everyone, but I've found the goal helped me find out what I was and wasn't capable of.
There are a lot of resources on this forum. From the SYW (password vista) for not only analyzing work but getting feedback on your own, to the craft and genre forums to ask various "how do I...?" questions.
Have you thought about approaching the publishers that do exist in Houston about an unpaid internship? That is, write up a letter or email introducing yourself, explaining what you have to offer, and what experience you hope to get. It's worth a shot. Perhaps you can also work into your degree as credit. That's what I did, though not in publishing. I approached a local art museum and explained what I wanted and what I could give, and they took me on for a few weeks to help out with the computer networking. A very enjoyable experience, and I got to visit the museum every day!
I might also cast my net for local magazines, news outlets, online sites, etc. and not just publishers. Anything where you would have experience with proofreading, deadlines, printing (perhaps), online management (more likely), social media management, working with photographers and artists, and fact-checking.
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Heyla, all! *falls down stairs into Cantina* I dyed the tips of my hair green again. Sadly, it kind of blends with the green shirts I have worn ever since. I have been reading Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher and so far feel it is worthy of a Dammy Review(TM), which it would being a work by Butcher, although in the context of the story it's made clear that its title is somewhat like saying the Captain's dinghy. I got a paper copy of it, I thought it would be stranger to return to this old-fashioned weirdness from my high-tech e-books, but aside from occassionally wanting to tap a word I'm not sure of, it's been all good.
I think my meds might currently be making me very giddy happy. Or maybe it's all the reading. I'm good, but a little hyper. I also had a dream that was rudely interrupted just as I was dreaming of joy, which was a funny place for it to go, because I'm pretty sure I got adopted by some assassins who had been hired by contestants in a battle royale type thing.
Reading lots, writing lots, screaming lots, taking note of the things you like and dislike in writing, writing some more. One thing that helped me improve as a writer (even though my ego insist that I insist I am not very good) was fanfiction. Easy feedback, low expectations, lots of super accessible material for comparison. Discourse with other writers (like here) is also super important. Unless you want industry advise, then go with what Richard says, he's actually published and stuff. A bonafide author. *spit shines a trophy for Richard* Well, so is Cobra and GD, but I haven't got any more trophies. But you have to write before you can be published.
ETA: While all y'all are providing helpful links, wasn't there a superpost somewhere on horses and realistic horse use? I can't seem to find it again...
I think my meds might currently be making me very giddy happy. Or maybe it's all the reading. I'm good, but a little hyper. I also had a dream that was rudely interrupted just as I was dreaming of joy, which was a funny place for it to go, because I'm pretty sure I got adopted by some assassins who had been hired by contestants in a battle royale type thing.
Hi, newbie! Welcome to the Cantina!
Reading lots, writing lots, screaming lots, taking note of the things you like and dislike in writing, writing some more. One thing that helped me improve as a writer (even though my ego insist that I insist I am not very good) was fanfiction. Easy feedback, low expectations, lots of super accessible material for comparison. Discourse with other writers (like here) is also super important. Unless you want industry advise, then go with what Richard says, he's actually published and stuff. A bonafide author. *spit shines a trophy for Richard* Well, so is Cobra and GD, but I haven't got any more trophies. But you have to write before you can be published.
ETA: While all y'all are providing helpful links, wasn't there a superpost somewhere on horses and realistic horse use? I can't seem to find it again...
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I am actually doing as much reading as I can. Currently reading more than I am writing because I want to get as many ideas in my head about structure and what works and what doesn't. I've always been interested in fantasy the most, but never been much of a reader. So far, in 2017, I've read Red Rising by Pierce Brown, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I'm waiting for The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson to come in the mail in the next couple days to move on to those. After I finish that series my plan is to tackle the Wheel of Time series. I should be busy for the rest of the year lol
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To all above, I'd add: Don't just read fiction. Read history and anthropology, read about myth and religion and don't limit either to the culture you know...or think your know. So many of the assumptions about "medieval Europe", the most prevalent setting in fantasy work, are based on misconceptions, romanticism and outright fabrication.
Edit: Guess I should actually add some book recs:
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives - Gets into a lot of the "character tropes" of medieval history and the aforementioned misconceptions about them.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature - A book on "human geography" - the way in which environments influence people/civilization and vice versa. Long and dense but one I'm likely to come back to mining for ideas.
Crash Course: World Mythology - Is a Youtube series and not a book, but generally a decent Myth 101 - you'll want to get into more specific resources for good details and those books will usually focus on a given region or culture.
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Let's not get too carried away here. *inserts blushing smiley* If you read the last review I got, I'm pretty sure that reader wasn't certain I was a writer at all. *ouch*
But, yes, I have been playing in this sandbox a long time.
(Obviously in need of a Dammy-review.)
But, yes, I have been playing in this sandbox a long time.
(Obviously in need of a Dammy-review.)
greendragon
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I loved the Kingkiller books, as well as Aeronaut's Windlass (Rowl rocks!).
Very useful book by our own Richard White on World Building.
I am a definite planner, so I've found immense help using the Snowflake Method. It's not for everyone, but me, a CPA who loves spreadsheets, I love it!
Other sources I've found helpful - etymonline.com, tvtropes.org, The Mary Sue Litmus Test.
Very useful book by our own Richard White on World Building.
I am a definite planner, so I've found immense help using the Snowflake Method. It's not for everyone, but me, a CPA who loves spreadsheets, I love it!
Other sources I've found helpful - etymonline.com, tvtropes.org, The Mary Sue Litmus Test.
That's two mentions of Dammy Reviews(TM) in as many posts!
Whadday'all think I am? Some sort of overly enthusiastical, somewhat-amorphous, humanoid, jell-o construction from the Abysses of content-derivative-joy and an extreme willingness to share?? Pffft! (You're not wrong).@Rel, MY DUDE! I have also been known to tap paper books for dictionaries and to turn the page. Is very ineffective, I have found. :/ Yay for cool hair, tho!
@Richard, Point me at this less-than-accurate review of your work and I shall attempt to outweigh it with a swing from my mighty hammer of Dammythusiasm(TM)! U R a righter, yo!
I took a look at the snowflake method a while ago, along with the leviathan method. I decided to go with the leviathan because it seems to break things down into more manageable pieces for me, but the snowflake definitely has my attention.
Ooh, interesting. <takes copious notes> Never heard of that one.
Newbie comes bearing useful information. I will allow you to stay without the obligatory head-butt.