Where'd you go to high school? The paper covers 10 high schools, Gettysburg and McDaniel colleges and dabbles some with the Orioles, Ravens and Penn Sttae. Pretty good local coverage.
I hear the biggest day there is when they unveil this year's chip flavors. Although I've gotta admit, that's a pretty big reason to celebrate.
I went to Tunkhannock High School. About 45 minutes out from Scranton (We played Hanover, Wyoming Valley West, Scranton Prep, Berwick etc). My brother did time at Penn Sttae though What paper is it with a coverage area that big? Times Leader?
I don't think I've ever started a story that way, so it must be OK to break it. Just so long as you don't jar the reader out of the story, like a typo or error of fact would. That pi$$es the reader off.
I think this is a really, really interesting and important thing to consider, personally. I think that I've gone through 2 or 3 phases of writing in my life (at least), insofar as what I was writing for, what the primary reasons or driving forces were. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, because I feel - especially since I'm going through a period in which I'm noticeably NOT writing anything - that I'm going through a sort of 'phase change'. I'm definitely not feeling like the reasons I felt for writing when I was 13 or 14, or 18, or 21, or 25 are driving me right now. I know there's something, but because I haven't quite captured it in my mind I haven't been following it. It's not to assuage some teenage angst, or to show off how smart I think I am, or to pose as Writer and imagine that as being enough to make me rich and important someday(ha!), or even to get in with the Cute Artsy Chicks. I have an idea what it is, but that idea is not something I can put in words. What it does, primarily, is make me feel that I have to tear down a lot of what I've supposed about writing, the act itself, and what I need to do, and begin all over again. Which is quite an interesting feeling, daunting somewhat, but one I feel I've got no choice to follow.
how to write faster at work Good thread. I'll go back and read the previous posts but I have a problem and maybe you can help. I could spend hours obsessing over a word, punctuation mark or a sentence...and that's fine for fiction and poetry but not in the workplace. In previous jobs I wrote marketing copy, feature articles and short product descriptions; in those projects my writing speed was fast enough. But I'm rusty and I didn't realize how rusty until I had to write a press release in a new job. Plus the release was in "business speak"... prepackaged words and phrases like "business solutions", "new business paradigm", "integrated marketing", etc...I guess I need to learn a new language. I was an English major and my favorite professor taught me to think in words not in sentences, to not take language for granted and to think of English as a foreign language (English is my second language but it's the only language I'm fluent in).
Hello everybody! I have been "writing" since I was a pre-teen. I started out writing alot of poetry and later started writing very short stories based on a fantasy world I spent nearly every free minute creating. Although I haven't spent much time on THAT since I was 14 or so I did create a series of artwork and new short-stories based on the writings for my senior thesis last year. I passed. WHEW! More recently I have decided I am going to write comics. I just finished (two days ago) my first ever full script for a 22 pg. book that is slated to be part 1 of a 4 issue mini. I have a friend back in the states who is doing the drawing. For me this is a huge leap forward in progress. I never really knew how much work goes into writing a manuscript for a comic book. I have read them since I was about 4 or 5, but of course until you grow up and try it yourself you tend to have the wrong impression that those stories just appear on the pages magically and never once consider the team that came togethor to bring that wonderful tale to your grubby little hands! So...hopefully by this time next year we will have completed something worth passing around to publishers or printing ourselves. I shall keep all updated if this thread survives! P.S. if there is ANYONE here who knows a good artist/artists or other writers working in comics and who are interested in collaberating do p.m. me with the details. I am up for writing just about any genre, but do have my preferences. Let me know.
I've been writing off and on since I was a kid, but only seriously the last three years. In that time I've written two books. The first turned out to be a disaster, but it was a good learning experience. The second, a 120,000 word science-fictionesque novel I finished last summer, was (in my opinion) much better, and I was happy enough with it to try and get it published. I've used the Writer's Market books to find publishers and agents to submit to, and have spent a good deal of time the last few months pounding out submissions and queries to no avail. Some have expressed interest, but no real bites. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for finding alternative publishers/agents (through the web, through magazines, contacts, etc.) to help me get this godforsaken book published. Or perhaps it's time to give up on this one and concentrate on my next project? At what point do you cut your losses? If anyone is interested in reading a sample of my book, let me know and I'll send it along - I could use a critique. I'm also 60,000 words into my next book - another science fiction thing involving heroes and villains and death (not to ruin it for you). Any help/advice would be much appreciated.
Man, I wish I could just sit down and write like that. It's a mess for me to write a page. That's OK because my theory is that if a short story heads much over 2-3,000 words it becomes unmarketable, but still, I wish I could sitdown and write at that pace. How do you do it? And how much do other people write in a certain amount of time.
Will just add my .01: I've been writing since I was a senior in college, on and off (mostly off at this point). My bipolar mania fueled much of my writing; that and some notsolegal chemicals. Consequently, despite being told over and over that I was quite the writer, I never really finished much of anything. Too much crash and burn. (Don't do it this way, I warn you.) Now, a much more balanced figure, I don't write much at all, though sometimes I can feel it burbling and gurgling inside me, which will eventually lead to a torrent and who knows what else. But in the meantime, sigh. Just another sad, tragic, writer story.
Well, it's not always easy, particularly since its not always fun. My goal is to write three double-spaced pages a day. I try to get a page or two written at work (on break, at lunch), which makes it easier to finish at home after work (where I am easily distracted). I tend to make it a priority and a habit, like brushing my teeth or focusing the telephoto lens on the girls across the street. But I go in streaks - some weeks I won't write anything, other weeks I'll bust out fifty pages. Once I get started on a story, it's very difficult for me to give up on it - I just want to see the damn thing finished, especially if I like the idea. I'll slog through the boring parts so I can get to the good stuff - the death and mayhem. That tends to be a powerful motivator. In any case it's a slow, grinding process, but my life is not so interesting that I have better ways to spend my time.
sup yall. i noticed that there are several posters in this thread that have worked as sports writers. im a sophmore in Hs and have been writing sports articles for my school papers since middle school. I plan on attending the USC school of Journalism. How does one get into the profession? and also how much should i expect to make if i become a sports writer not that im only concerned with money just my dad suggested trying something else cuz sports writers dont make much money
Your dad's right. Not to sour anyone on the profession, but it doesn't pay well for most people. I do it as a side job, but I'm in school to teach (I didn't really need school to do journalism. Most don't). I don't want to say how much I make, as I have a freelance contract and I'm not sure if that would be a violation. The way I got my job was pretty simple. I called the sports editor of a local paper and asked if he was interested in an intern. I covered a football game for my "application" and worked for free for about a month and a half. Once he saw that I was reliable, I was put on the payroll. It's a fun job, but I don't know if I'd enjoy it as a career.
For your reading "pleasure". All works in progress. Let me know if anyone has any feedback. As for being a sports writer, I had a blast doing it. I had to move on for various reasons, but I know people who have spent their whole careers working in sports. It can be an absolute joy, but beware of the pitfalls.
Is this for a website or a paper? I think I've seen it before many many times - makes me wonder why they're always looking for people. Of course I could be wrong. BTW - interesting to hear of this thread. I'm not much a writer myself bigsoccer aside
You cut your losses when it's no longer worth it to you to keep putting the thing in the mail. It took me six years to get my first novel read all the way through, but the first guy who read it bought it. Far as alternative publishers: there are eight zillion writing web sites. Look around those. Bear in mind, though, that any agent or publisher who wants money from you is a crook. Period. You're in a college town. Take a writing class at the university, not so much to learn something but to meet other people who are interested in what you're interested in, and can maybe give you some direction. Also, if you're writing SF, you should start to hit the local convention. I know there's at least one, but I can't remember the name. By the way, my next book is now listed on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...96603/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/102-3132498-2356126 For all you thousands of my best BigSoccer friends who will no doubt rush out and preorder it.
The Evening Sun in Hanover is a small (22Kish) daily newspaper. They have a decent amount of turnover because - in my incredibly biased opinion - it's a good jumpoff paper. They have had a half-dozen people move to bigger papers in the past 12-18 months. Plus, they are expanding their staff. So if anyone is in the market for a reporter job, let me know. They're generally playing a man down in some department.
Who's your agent? Seriously - I should be ready to send my first manuscript out at the end of the month. PM if you want.
The Amazon page had no plot snippet! Make with some summary and we'll make with the pre-orders! Seriously, is this another historical fiction piece like Jades? Del Rey is a big sci-fi publisher, so is it more in the SF vein? (congrats btw. Weren't you shopping this work to smaller publishers not too long ago? To jump from there to Del Rey in a matter of months is great)
Yeah, it's another kind of secret history. This one involves baseball, imperialism, what Arthur Rimbaud was doing in Ethiopia, Arthurian myth, the Korean War, and the Ark of the Covenant. Oh, and Oak Island and proto-beat poetry. I did a short-story collection with a smaller press, but I sold this book to Del Rey as soon as I left Tor.