I forget what they call this phenomenon, but I've heard of it before. . . like, for instance, all the Borg adventures from the last meeting. . . are the editors flooded with Borg adventures every time, or was it just in this last meeting? And if it's just in this last meeting, then why does this happen?
Synchronicity
Exactly. Synchronicity. Why does that happen?
On my way to work this morning, I thought of something else that might contribute to the phenomenon. . . we gamers generally read the same things as they are published. . . Complete class books, Heros of Battle, Waterdeep, Lords of Madness, not to mention recent issues of Dungeon/Dragon.
As we come up with new ideas, are we affected (subliminally) by the same general set of creative texts that we've JUST gotten our grubby little hands on? I think these idea bombs are called Memes, or something like that.
The "Borg" phenomenon in last writer's meeting. . . what if it was influenced by the release of Lords of Madness in April? The time frame's right.
Therefore, adventure queries in the next batch would be influenced by the couple of months of suppliments that came out during, and slightly before THAT time period. . . affecting us all in some respect.
Plus, popular movies like Pirates of the Carribean might spew out alot of, let's say. . . pirate adventures, and I wonder what kind of ideas The Brother's Grimm will generate?
It's not widespread or really conscious, but maaaaybe just a little subtle influence in a query here or there. . . something to think about anyway.
On the other hand, maybe this is waay off, and I just had too much Myconid in college.
While proofreading my submission an interesting question came up. A few people with more formal education than myself commented that I used too many commas, which is probably true. They said that I did not need to use a comma before the "and" in a series, while I believed I did. So because I don't have a masters degree, or any other kind for that matter, I resorted to my normal means of reference, books. I have two desk references for grammar on my desk. The first one is a general grammar and style book, and it states that you do use a comma before the "and." The second is the AP stylebook, and it says you do not. My question therefore, for the porposes of Dungeon magazine, do I, or do I not, place a comma before the "and?"
While proofreading my submission an interesting question came up. A few people with more formal education than myself commented that I used too many commas, which is probably true. They said that I did not need to use a comma before the "and" in a series, while I believed I did. So because I don't have a masters degree, or any other kind for that matter, I resorted to my normal means of reference, books. I have two desk references for grammar on my desk. The first one is a general grammar and style book, and it states that you do use a comma before the "and." The second is the AP stylebook, and it says you do not. My question therefore, for the porposes of Dungeon magazine, do I, or do I not, place a comma before the "and?"
Can I just say how thrilled I am that Paizo messageboards have become a place where we can discuss grammar? I'm not even kidding.
So the whole deal with placing a comma before the 'and' in a series (i.e. "I like pizza, apples, and fries" vs. "I like pizza, apples and fries") borders on being a matter of taste... people may have strong opinions one way or another, but picking which authority you'll appeal to is your call. Personally, I go with the AP on this one, but the important thing to remember with Dungeon is that if we don't like your comma (or anything else you throw in there)... we'll take it out. :) No submission, to my knowledge, has ever been rejected due to that particular style point. (Now, if you're one of those people who sprays commas randomly at a page like buckshot, I can't make the same promise... I'm a prose guy all the way.)
So yeah - when in doubt, kill the comma before the "and" and don't worry about it.
-James
(Now, if you're one of those people who sprays commas randomly at a page like buckshot, I can't make the same promise... I'm a prose guy all the way.)
-James
LOL. I love your choice of words... "sprays commas randomly at a page like buckshot..." That's too funny. I don't know why that tickles my funnybone so much, but it does. Thanks for the laugh ;)
The first one is a general grammar and style book, and it states that you do use a comma before the "and." The second is the AP stylebook, and it says you do not. My question therefore, for the porposes of Dungeon magazine, do I, or do I not, place a comma before the "and?"
For questions like this, oftentimes the easiest way to find the answer is to look through a recent issue of Dungeon for an example. Opening 126 to a random page (31) we see: "The reptiles give the harpies a safe place to sleep, tasty carrion to eat, and occasional humanoid sacrifices to 'play' with, and in return the harpies watch over the lair at night."
From that, you can deduce that the Dungeon style does place a serial comma before the “and,” and therefore you should as well.
Sorry James.
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I wonder what kind of ideas The Brother's Grimm will generate?
The furtherance of my belief that Terry Gilliam should be given much more money and creative freedom and that most other directors should be hit on the head with a stick.
I think you are right, though... a lot of synchronicity can be explained by inspiration from a source (as you mention about Lords of Madness), or from designed tie in (to support products being released arround the time), but I think there's a fair amount of emulation at work as well. Y'know, the thought "What are they liking now?" and "How can I make it better than Bauer, Vaughn, Prett, Walsh, et al.?" (answer to that one...good frickin' luck...or get Jame Jacobs drunk and in a compromising position ON FILM!)
Emulation is more of the competitively inspired outlook, trying to keep up with the what the phenomena is expected to be. A lot of times, since we tend to be interested in sharing good adventures that we would make gamers happy, this is more innocent than I make it out to sound. But look back through the years and I think you'll see some that were plopped out because the authors knew (i.e. strongly suspected) it would be hitting the right formula for inclusion.
Thanks James and Jeremy. I will spend more time looking through my Dungeon collection to answer this type of thing in the future. However, since I was here on your advice, I figured I would ask. :)
(answer to that one...good frickin' luck...or get Jame Jacobs drunk and in a compromising position ON FILM!)
I smell a new plan for what to do at GenCon formulating. Either that, or the guy in the next cubicle forgot to shower this morning. It's one of the two, though - I'm certain of that. :)
The first one is a general grammar and style book, and it states that you do use a comma before the "and." The second is the AP stylebook, and it says you do not. My question therefore, for the porposes of Dungeon magazine, do I, or do I not, place a comma before the "and?"For questions like this, oftentimes the easiest way to find the answer is to look through a recent issue of Dungeon for an example. Opening 126 to a random page (31) we see: "The reptiles give the harpies a safe place to sleep, tasty carrion to eat, and occasional humanoid sacrifices to 'play' with, and in return the harpies watch over the lair at night."
From that, you can deduce that the Dungeon style does place a serial comma before the “and,” and therefore you should as well.
Sorry James.
Oh man, here it goes... editorial catfight time! ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?????
Actually, as it turns out, Jeremy's right and I'm wrong- regardless of what other style guides may say, Paizo and WotC roll with the "use serial commas" policy. To which I say... screw you, English degree! Four years of college - wasted!
More importantly, however - Jeremy's strategy of looking at a recent issue is pretty much a good policy with all questions you may have about what we're looking for, and I stand firm by the policy that, as long as you have the writing skillz and quality ideas, we'll take care of the nitpicking for you. That's why we get paid the big bucks (ha!).
The exception, of course, is margins - any manuscript without margins of exactly 0.92357 inches is automatically rejected out of hand. Sometimes we burn them and dance around the flames.
Keep at it, and I'll catch ya'll on the flip side....
-James
...Mr. Simcoe's "Thone of Iuz" proposal, where he stated that he actually had King Bog One-Eye's stats in his proposal (or something similar). That NPC/monster was too cool, and I can understand how it was helpful for the staff's decision.
Where is it? Published yet, or on the boards here somewhere?
...Mr. Simcoe's "Thone of Iuz" proposal, where he stated that he actually had King Bog One-Eye's stats in his proposal (or something similar). That NPC/monster was too cool, and I can understand how it was helpful for the staff's decision.Where is it? Published yet, or on the boards here somewhere?
Issue 118.
3. We still need Eberron and FR adventures. <snip> 4. We need low-level adventures.
Given that you have submissions meetings every few weeks, and the needs of the magazine change some over time, would you consider giving us something like this on a semi-regular basis?
This is a killer for me. I can't even draw a decent map of a warehouse, let alone for some of the ideas I have. You folks have tips for the artistically challenged?
Sure. I find it helpful to go online and search some of the city plans / maps for actual cities. For instance, let's say you wanted a mountain town filled with temples - check out some of the maps of old Delphi, Greece. Alternatively, check out your local library for books on local history. Many of them have maps of what a town looked like "way back when."
If (I know this is a big if) you have Photoshop, you can then go in an edit the maps you've found. Delete stuff here, move stuff there. It doesn't have to be perfect (Paizo is going to pay someone to do a professional job on the finished project), but it will be good enough to give the editorial staff an idea of what you envision. BTW, if you don't have Photoshop, use MS Paint. It's klunky, but it works.
Sorry James.
Oh man, here it goes... editorial catfight time! ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?????
Actually, as it turns out, Jeremy's right and I'm wrong- regardless of what other style guides may say, Paizo and WotC roll with the "use serial commas" policy. To which I say... screw you, English degree! Four years of college - wasted!
The exception, of course, is margins - any manuscript without margins of exactly 0.92357 inches is automatically rejected out of hand. Sometimes we burn them and dance around the flames.
Soooo, The Band of Five's Siege on Renton WA has produced its first casualty. "Infighting! Yes!" The nomad yells to the wereplatypi thralls. "We have them!"
Now if the great green dragon could give some aerial support and the phantom fungus could sneak into the compound and look at their battle mats.
Wait, 0.92357 inches? I've been rounding up....Gaaaaaaaah!
Oh, come one! Everybody knows you always round down in D&D.
:D
Oh, come one! Everybody knows you always round down in D&D.
:D
why is that anyway?
I assume the answer's "yes" but as I couldn't find it mentioned in the submission guidelines I thought I'd ask.
Do submissions have to be in American English? As opposed to real ;) English of course, rather than as opposed to Mandarin, Yiddish, Tagalog, or whatever :)
I don't think we turn people away for excessive use of the letter 'u' in their proposals (sorry, no armour classes or colour sprays here), but yes, American English is preferred, as it is the dialect in which our manuscripts are published.
Of course, you ARE talking to somebody who thinks freestyle talking is a legitimate sport, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I guess what I'm trying to say is: chill, B - we ain't got to be all up in yo grill just 'cause you front the wack island speak. We're l33t enough to be down with ya'll rockin' the crumpet, aight?
Haw, skeet.
-James
(P.S: Wes and I both have bumper stickers that say "u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!". I'm not even kidding.)
(P.S: Wes and I both have bumper stickers that say "u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!". I'm not even kidding.)U R teh l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!
Oh man... " l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!" See, THAT is why I became a Creative Writing major right there. Awesome.
"Dungeon and Dragon: 'cuz we r0x0rs ju b0x0rs...."
-James
For questions like this, oftentimes the easiest way to find the answer is to look through a recent issue of Dungeon for an example. Opening 126 to a random page (31) we see: "The reptiles give the harpies a safe place to sleep, tasty carrion to eat, and occasional humanoid sacrifices to 'play' with, and in return the harpies watch over the lair at night."
From that, you can deduce that the Dungeon style does place a serial comma before the “and,” and therefore you should as well.
Sorry James.
With me it's a matter of whether or not I take any kind of pause or place a special emphisis upon the "and" when reading the phrase out loud (which I usually do several times before sending something in... not that it protects me from stupid mistakes :) ).
For instance, consider the difference between "the sun, the moon and the stars" as opposed to "the sun, the moon, and the stars".
If you were reading the second one out loud it would sound something like this "the sun, the moon, AND the stars".
So, obviously, I'm not one of the twelve ascended masters of grammer and style. I rely upon instinct and what my own ear suggests is most appropriate. But since there seems to be some sort of convention in play I'll try to keep that in mind when using comma sequences.
BTW, just in case any of the twelve ascended masters of gramer and style happen to be out there, does anyone remember what a gerund is?
(never could keep that one straight :) )
I remember my fifth grade teacher was not amused when I wrote "a fruit with a hard shell" on a quiz...
Gerund...uggh..something about turning nouns into verbs. A verb that used to be a noun?
Edit: No, it's the other way 'round (I had to look it up). A gerund is a noun that used to be a verb. i.e. "The choir sang with great enthusiasm. Their singing roused the whole congregation." "Sang" (or sing) is a verb, and "singing" is a noun derived from that verb - a gerund.
Like I'll ever need to know that again...
-Amber S.
Gerund...uggh..something about turning nouns into verbs. A verb that used to be a noun?
Edit: No, it's the other way 'round (I had to look it up). A gerund is a noun that used to be a verb. i.e. "The choir sang with great enthusiasm. Their singing roused the whole congregation." "Sang" (or sing) is a verb, and "singing" is a noun derived from that verb - a gerund.
Like I'll ever need to know that again...
-Amber S.
Man... gerunds.... I've gotta throw my vote in with Amber and Hal here and say that, while arguing grammatical things can admittedly be fun, dissecting a sentence and being "proper" is far less important than knowing how to use language effectively. After all, you don't have to name every muscle in your leg in order to kick somebody in the face.
Which, when you get right down to it, is what I try to do every time I write. Kick somebody in the face.
-James
(P.S: I wonder if that explains all those rejection letters on my floor? Hmm....)
(P.S: Wes and I both have bumper stickers that say "u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!". I'm not even kidding.)U R teh l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!Oh man... " l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!" See, THAT is why I became a Creative Writing major right there. Awesome.
"Dungeon and Dragon: 'cuz we r0x0rs ju b0x0rs...."
-James
I rarely have problems with crytograms but you guys have passed me in both lanes. My kingdom for a translation (warning, to accept my kingdom you will have to assume its debts).
The final example looked something like D&D: cuz we rockers your boxers. If that's what you said I find it a bit psychosexual and perhaps even more disturbingly, somewhat true. A fresh issue of Dungeon or Dragon in the mail and I could lift a car off a pinned dod without using my hands, man.
(P.S: Wes and I both have bumper stickers that say "u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!". I'm not even kidding.)U R teh l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!Oh man... " l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!" See, THAT is why I became a Creative Writing major right there. Awesome.
"Dungeon and Dragon: 'cuz we r0x0rs ju b0x0rs...."
-James
I rarely have problems with crytograms but you guys have passed me in both lanes. My kingdom for a translation (warning, to accept my kingdom you will have to assume its debts).
The final example looked something like D&D: cuz we rockers your boxers. If that's what you said I find it a bit psychosexual and perhaps even more disturbingly, somewhat true. A fresh issue of Dungeon or Dragon in the mail and I could lift a car off a pinned dod without using my hands, man.
Whoah... too much information there... but at least we're doing something right.
So a quickie translation lesson - l33t sp33k (pronounced "leet speak") is a now-somewhat-cliche computer gamer/hacker language that substitutes numbers and symbols that look or sound like letters for the letters themselves, while also incorporating a good amount of slang, abbreviation, and intentional misspellings based on common typoes of the QWERTY keyboard... still with me? Here's the breakdown on the above examples:
"u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!"
u = "you"
r = "are"
teh = "the" (common typo)
suck = "suck" (some things are universal)
!!1!1!oneone!! = emphasis... originally people would be typing a bunch of exclamation points and wind up slipping off the shift key, causing the "1" to show up in its place. l33t hax0rs ("elite hackers") then began doing it on purpose, at which point even MORE l33t hax0rs began writing out the word "one" to make fun of it. (Much of this language is based off of self mockery... the main reason I enjoy it so much.)
END RESULT: ""u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!" = "You suck!"
" l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!"
This one's ever better... check it out:
l33t = "elite" (the hax0r term for "awesome", used ad nauseum)
Gr4|\/||\/|@r = "grammar"... this one's just beautiful. The 4 looks like an A, the slashes make the shape of two "M's, and the @ has an A inside it... thus "grammar"
boi$!!1! = "boys" - playful misspelling plus the $ in place of an s.
END RESULT: " l33t Gr4|\/||\/|@r boi$!!1!" = "Elite grammar boys".
Can you see why I find freestyle talking and l33t sp33k so amusing? It's essentially taking normal English and making it a code/visual art.
Just out of curiousity, anyone ever used this kind of thing in their D&D games? I know I've been tempted....
-James
So a quickie translation lesson - l33t sp33k (pronounced "leet speak") is a now-somewhat-cliche computer gamer/hacker language that substitutes numbers and symbols that look or sound like letters for the letters themselves, while also incorporating a good amount of slang, abbreviation, and intentional misspellings based on common typoes of the QWERTY keyboard... still with me? Here's the breakdown on the above examples:"u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!"
u = "you"
r = "are"
teh = "the" (common typo)
suck = "suck" (some things are universal)
!!1!1!oneone!! = emphasis... originally people would be typing a bunch of exclamation points and wind up slipping off the shift key, causing the "1" to show up in its place. l33t hax0rs ("elite hackers") then began doing it on purpose, at which point even MORE l33t hax0rs began writing out the word "one" to make fun of it. (Much of this language is based off of self mockery... the main reason I enjoy it so much.)
END RESULT: ""u r teh suck!!1!1!oneone!!" = "You suck!""...
Comprehensive and compelling. Thank you, sir. Consider me IVLITIVD!!11!!oneone!! (First try: I was going for 'enlightened')
Google, as usual, r0x
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/
That's wild, Callum. They just did that for shizzngiggles?
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That's wild, Callum. They just did that for shizzngiggles?
Google are just those kinda people :)
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-elmer/http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-bork/
And of course, googling for english2leet turned up the Right Thing (TM).
http://www.dgibson.net/fun_and_humor/english2leet.html
After all, you don't have to name every muscle in your leg in order to kick somebody in the face.
James, if we could have sigs on these boards, that would totally be mine.
After all, you don't have to name every muscle in your leg in order to kick somebody in the face.James, if we could have sigs on these boards, that would totally be mine.
Aww, shucks.... :) How's life in the great northern wilderness treatin' ya? It was most depressing that you had to book it right after we started gaming together... you did hear that I accidentally got your character in Jason's game killed, right? She made a heroic last stand, and I ran like a frightened schoolgirl. :) How's the hubby/freelance/etc?
-James
WHAAAAAAT???? Ursula is dead?? No, I hadn't heard that, obviously! Did someone at least remember to draw a skull on her face?
I will take comfort in the fact that now Ursula and Sim have undoubtedly been reunited in Dolurrh, where Sim is probably already bluffing the devils while Ursula punches demons in the face.
:'-(
And things are going good up here, and yes it did totally suck that I had to leave right when we started gaming. It's funny, I was just telling a friend about DOOMSAW today, hee hee.
-the heartbroken Amber S.
"Freestyle Talking" I think EA Sports Big is coming out with a console game based on that premise. 0r8X Tricky or Street or something.
So James, were you da Slushy Man would you take submissions in 7331? And what are the mad k0ma rulez?
Keepin' it real in the D,
G-Cube
!!1!1!oneone!! = emphasis... originally people would be typing a bunch of exclamation points and wind up slipping off the shift key, causing the "1" to show up in its place. l33t hax0rs ("elite hackers") then began doing it on purpose, at which point even MORE l33t hax0rs began writing out the word "one" to make fun of it. (Much of this language is based off of self mockery... the main reason I enjoy it so much.)
I've taken mockery to another level. I often type it like: !!1!11!!!!!1!!onetwo!!!!!
:D
OK - now I have to go finish packing for GenCon. I'm only planning on leaving in 7 hours. :rolleyes:
Off the point completely....
Wait a minute...are you telling me that when my last Dungeon Query came back wanting changes that was not a rejection?! I thought James was just giving me the polite run around rather than telling me no outright.
Please tell me I am wrong here because I'm getting the feeling I made a big mistake.
Oh and one other quick question. After reading through this thread would I be correct in assuming that queries are only looked at once every three months. I sent one in about a month and a half a go. Any idea when the next 'Query Sit In' will be?
Delvesdeep
Off the point completely....
Wait a minute...are you telling me that when my last Dungeon Query came back wanting changes that was not a rejection?! I thought James was just giving me the polite run around rather than telling me no outright.
Please tell me I am wrong here because I'm getting the feeling I made a big mistake.
You should email Mr. Walker or somebody official and double check that out...but you won't probably get an answer till mid next week cause they are all off to Gen Con and then they will sit down and play catch up till wed or so of next week. Maybe even later.
Oh and one other quick question. After reading through this thread would I be correct in assuming that queries are only looked at once every three months. I sent one in about a month and a half a go. Any idea when the next 'Query Sit In' will be?Delvesdeep
Officially, Mr Walker said on this thread or maybe 'Is there a Black Hole' thread that it will occur after GenCon. Unofficially, someone posted they thought it would be October and then in the next post someone else thought it would be more like Nov. Its really anybody's guess...but at least six weeks away.
That's wild, Callum. They just did that for shizzngiggles?Google are just those kinda people :)
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-elmer/
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-bork/And of course, googling for english2leet turned up the Right Thing (TM).
http://www.dgibson.net/fun_and_humor/english2leet.html
Alas, Klingon is quite gone.
I am stunned to learn that Google translated the entire web into Muppet Swedish Chefese.
I really had no idea.
Feeling new to the world, my friend. New to the world.
It's funny, I was just telling a friend about DOOMSAW today, hee hee.
HA! Yeah, Doomsaw was awesome... though the game kinda fell apart after you two left, "Doomie pwns you" has entered our household lexicon for good.
Big Green - were I the slushy man (and it could happen again), I'd probably still need the proposals in English so that the rest of the staff could read them. But feel free to go nuts in the cover letter. :) And the first rule of Comma Club is, you don't talk about the commas. Sorry.
Gavgoyle - Totally random, but got any recommendations on Sherman Alexie poetry/novels? I've loved what I've heard (and Lone Ranger and Tonto), but haven't really gotten around to actually picking up a book.
Delvesdeep - If it was from me personally, it was a rejection - I haven't had the joy of sending out happy letters. If it was from someone else and didn't specifically say "fix thus and so and send it in", it was probably also a rejection. Sorry about that. :| If it's any consolation, my latest fiction piece has been rejected by 21 magazines and counting....
Everybody - Once GenCon is over, the submission process is being revamped. Erik's keen on trading in our "one gigantic meeting every couple months" for a smaller meeting every week or so, effective immediately, so expect response times to shorten dramatically beginning sometime next month.
Alright, time to run errands... catch ya'll later!
-James
Delvesdeep - If it was from me personally, it was a rejection - I haven't had the joy of sending out happy letters. If it was from someone else and didn't specifically say "fix thus and so and send it in", it was probably also a rejection. Sorry about that. :| If it's any consolation, my latest fiction piece has been rejected by 21 magazines and counting....
It was actually from James Jacobs and he did request specific changes but after the 2nd time I thought it must have been a brush off.
So if I recieve an email back from you about my recent submission I will know I have had my query rejected. That must be a real downer James, always having to give the bad news and 21 magazines....you are persistant I'll give you that. I wouldn't even know that many fiction magazines unless you sending them to mags like Cleo and Playboy ;).
The new meeting system will be great. Less wait time either way. Thanks for all your help James here and my subscription. I really do appreciate it.
Delvesdeep
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Gavgoyle - Totally random, but got any recommendations on Sherman Alexie poetry/novels? I've loved what I've heard (and Lone Ranger and Tonto), but haven't really gotten around to actually picking up a book.
Reservation Blues is a pretty good. His newest book of short stories, 'Ten Little Indians', is excellent and has a couple knock-outs...particularly one called 'What you Pawn, I will Redeem'. I met him down at a book signing in Austin and he was super cool, let us get a picture of him holding my (then) 1 and 1/2-year old daughter Lexi. Very, very funny and smart man.
Alas, Klingon is quite gone.
actually, there was an error in the URL. Try it now...
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
I am stunned to learn that Google translated the entire web into Muppet Swedish Chefese.I really had no idea.
Feeling new to the world, my friend. New to the world.
I think my favorite is Elmer Fudd. Thewes somefing scwewie wif the web :-)
Alas, Klingon is quite gone.
actually, there was an error in the URL. Try it now...
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
I am stunned to learn that Google translated the entire web into Muppet Swedish Chefese.I really had no idea.
Feeling new to the world, my friend. New to the world.
I think my favorite is Elmer Fudd. Thewes somefing scwewie wif the web :-)
Thanks, Slaad. My knowledge of Klingon never ventured past PATAK! (or however you spell it) but it was fun to see.
I also liked Elmer the best.
Delvesdeep - If it was from me personally, it was a rejection - I haven't had the joy of sending out happy letters. If it was from someone else and didn't specifically say "fix thus and so and send it in", it was probably also a rejection. Sorry about that. :| If it's any consolation, my latest fiction piece has been rejected by 21 magazines and counting....
It was actually from James Jacobs and he did request specific changes but after the 2nd time I thought it must have been a brush off.
So if I recieve an email back from you about my recent submission I will know I have had my query rejected. That must be a real downer James, always having to give the bad news and 21 magazines....you are persistant I'll give you that. I wouldn't even know that many fiction magazines unless you sending them to mags like Cleo and Playboy ;).
The new meeting system will be great. Less wait time either way. Thanks for all your help James here and my subscription. I really do appreciate it.
Delvesdeep
Ooh... well if Big James (for lack of a better qualifier) asked you for changes, that's a good sign indeed. And getting rejections isn't so bad - with fiction stuff, it just means it's time to send out to the next mag on the list, and the few times I've gotten positive notes from folks like Zoetrope and Pindeldyboz it was almost as good as actually getting published. :) Dungeon and Dragon rejections are a little tougher to take in that we're really the only market, so a rejection means a proposal's basically dead... but the trade-off is that the difficulty/prestige ratio is off the charts - for the kinds of cred that these mags command in their field, it's WAY easier to write for us than it should be. I mean, in gaming terms, these are the New Yorker, Playboy, and McSweeny's all rolled into one... but unlike those, us normal folks actually have a shot in hell with Dragon and Dungeon. And even with the crazy old system, our response times are still better. :)
Actually, just out of curiosity, who else on here publishes outside of the gaming genre? Fiction? Newspapers? Music stuff? I'm always interested in seeing what kind of crossover we get with any given field.
-Li'l James
James -
I write fantasy, hypertext fiction, and dystopian fiction.
Every once in a while I consider submitting something elsewhere, but I can never manage it. I started writing and submitting to Dungeon and Dragon because this was a return to my roots - gaming and reading various works fed my love of writing as a youngster.
I love writing gaming material. I've been writing it since I was six.
I'd love to be able to do something with my hypertext fiction though, but the market there is smaller than even the market for gaming materials.
- Ashavan
I'd love to be able to do something with my hypertext fiction though, but the market there is smaller than even the market for gaming materials.
- Ashavan
And let's be honest - if the market for gaming materials were any smaller, it'd get lost between the couch cushions.
-James
I'd love to be able to do something with my hypertext fiction though, but the market there is smaller than even the market for gaming materials.
- Ashavan
And let's be honest - if the market for gaming materials were any smaller, it'd get lost between the couch cushions.
-James
Heh... it has TWO WHOLE MAGAZINES. Hypertext has one or two academic labels, and Eastgate publishing house... that's about it. And it's not like Eastgate is BIG either.
I love hypertext, but it will never be popular if the only places that publish it remain so fascinated by the "artistic" hypertext that they ignore the hypertext pieces that are easy to read. I studied hypertext fiction in college, and despite my love for the medium, a lot of the experimental works out there are not readable in any constructive "I get a story out of this" fashion.
- Ashavan
- Ashavan
Actually you Dungeon folks are the first thing on my writing resume of any import since like third grade. I am hoping that your New Yorker level street cred gets my foot in the door for when I go pitch my novel later this year. I figure with my foot in the door I can mace the guy trying to slam it on my toes, then bust in while he's still clutching his face and beat him over the head with the manuscript until he cries uncle. Writers from Detroit - go figure.
As for what genre I write in, the answer is anyone that will get me published. I've dabbled in horror (love my unspeakable cosmic horrors), fantasy (as an exercise I wrote out the first eight or so chapters for the novelized version of my all-time favorite Expert-level module X4: Master of the Desert Nomads), screenplays (I think I have Peter Jackson's Hobbit script should that movie ever get made). Right know I'm working on a Victorian fantasy adventure.
Oh and just to keep this thread on track Lil' J, how is it that I keep coming up with ideas for adventures three months after guys like Wolfgang "Big Mechanical Fortress" Baur, Mike "Evil Foliage Takes Over a Town" Mearls and Erik "Hey, I got Werewolves and Vampires Too" Boyd? I know: Great mimes walk against the wind alike, but still.... Are there any further tips on what not to do aside from "7-of-9" stories and undead tyrants?
The
ever
humble
Great
Green
God
Actually you Dungeon folks are the first thing on my writing resume of any import since like third grade. I am hoping that your New Yorker level street cred gets my foot in the door for when I go pitch my novel later this year. I figure with my foot in the door I can mace the guy trying to slam it on my toes, then bust in while he's still clutching his face and beat him over the head with the manuscript until he cries uncle. Writers from Detroit - go figure.
As for what genre I write in, the answer is anyone that will get me published. I've dabbled in horror (love my unspeakable cosmic horrors), fantasy (as an exercise I wrote out the first eight or so chapters for the novelized version of my all-time favorite Expert-level module X4: Master of the Desert Nomads), screenplays (I think I have Peter Jackson's Hobbit script should that movie ever get made). Right know I'm working on a Victorian fantasy adventure.
Oh and just to keep this thread on track Lil' J, how is it that I keep coming up with ideas for adventures three months after guys like Wolfgang "Big Mechanical Fortress" Baur, Mike "Evil Foliage Takes Over a Town" Mearls and Erik "Hey, I got Werewolves and Vampires Too" Boyd? I know: Great mimes walk against the wind alike, but still.... Are there any further tips on what not to do aside from "7-of-9" stories and undead tyrants?
The
ever
humble
Great
Green
God
Uh, not really... as long as you're reading the magazines and not repeating things we've just printed, you should be fine. The main thing is really to try and get a new twist on any given idea - even that foliage-eats-a-city adventure could make it in if you made it unique enough. But by the same token, don't kill yourself trying to make every little detail something nobody's ever thought of before - not only is it impossible (EVERYTHING's been done before, to some extent - there's only a finite amount of basic plot elements out there), but I used to drive my bandmates absolutely nuts by freaking out over any riff that reminded me of something else, when the similarities were so slight that nobody else could even recognize them. Nothing paralyzes creativity like a need to be completely original. So I guess what I'm saying is exactly what you don't want to hear - make it as interesting as possible and send it in. We'll take it from there. :)
Except for crazy halfling serial killers slashing up aristocrats with straight razors, that is. Wes and I have that angle covered.
-James