Subject: Yes and no.
Author:
Posted on: 2016-05-30 18:43:00 UTC
On one hand, Voyd is right — knowing the person requesting Permission is a big part of the decision; cf. the conclusion here. On the other, there's nothing wrong with starting work on Permission early.
My e-mail is helveticarobot@gmail.com. Contact me at that address and I'll send you the documents as soon as possible for review.
Though I'd second Voyd's sentiment that you could use a lot more community interaction before asking for Permission. Of course, I'd be happy to help you out if you're confused about anything, so feel free to ask if you wish!
Hang around and chat with us for a while, first; let us get to know you!
On one hand, Voyd is right — knowing the person requesting Permission is a big part of the decision; cf. the conclusion here. On the other, there's nothing wrong with starting work on Permission early.
We've seen a lot of people - particularly people who come in through TVTropes - who completely misunderstand what the PPC is about. They get tangled up in trying to make their agents all-powerful (but what if he needs the black hole cannon?!), or they insist they need to start with an Emergency (because my character's entire personality revolves around being there when the DMS got massacred!), or they totally misinterpret something (I'm going to write for DAVD because my agents engage in disturbing violence all the time!).
We want them to stick around so that we get to know them, yes - but we also want them to see who we are, and what the shared universe is actually like. It's not all Crashing Down and Rose Potter, and a heck of a lot of newbies don't get that.
hS
They've been lurking for a month. Besides, it still takes a month to get the request prepared, and then more time as the first request is rejected.
...doesn't mean they know what we're about. And (no offense intended toward TrocyteV, this is just a generalization) anyone could claim they've been lurking, but we have no way of really knowing that. Hence the waiting period of getting to know them, and them us.
As for getting the request prepared, well. That's entirely on the writer's shoulders. I had mine ready within days of joining (sorry, hS, you probably expected better of me) but I wasn't here just to write; I was here for the community that had shown to be dedicated to their favorite fandoms and to each other. Because that's what the PPC is, first and foremost: a community.
And for the record, plenty of people get Permission their first try; the main pitfalls I've seen preventing that lately are not waiting for betas and not presenting a polished piece to begin with.
Around the point when someone asked if I planned to go for Permission and the idea stuck in my head, actually.
On the other hand, I took nearly three months about creating my request. During that time, I read a whole lot of the wiki, read a ton of missions as well as rereading a lot of the ones I'd read years earlier, and consulted people on various pieces of the PPC and what I was developing. I also did a *ton* of editing, including reading my writing piece out loud, and wrote scenes to develop my characters' personalities. I also developed their backstories which, believe me, definitely changed and developed as I went on. And on top of that, I was hanging out on the Board and having fun with that (and going 'eek, oldbies are talking to me!', but I think we all go through that stage :) ).
So I don't think there's any real issue with beginning to figure things out early--so long as you're also doing research (=reading all the things! Or at least a lot of them) to learn about what fits and makes sense in the PPC, and how it functions. Not to mention hanging around on the Board--you get to ask questions, get to know the community as it gets to know you, and see new missions as they come out. To use a bit of teacher speak: it's a great learning opportunity.
Also, yeah. Polish, polish, polish. Also, research (ie, read a ton of missions and interludes and the wiki. Don't worry, it's fun!) and get to know the community. There's no need to rush to get your request out--believe me, it takes some time to refine your characters to the seeing, because it takes time to properly learn the setting! So my advice is: give yourself the time to edit and polish and revise. Your characters will be more developed, your written pieces better presented, and your knowledge *much* more complete. All of that can only help you, with Permission, future missions and interludes, and, quite honestly, *life*. Most people do need to know how to write things for school and work; developing your writing skills (writing, revision, self-editing, and peer-editing) is a wonderful idea.
~DF