Subject: Sample of writing
Author:
Posted on: 2013-04-28 19:14:00 UTC
I don't expect permission. After all, it's only been a week since I joined.
Nevertheless, I simply want opinions on this introductory scene to the Agent bouncing around in my head. Is it funny? Is it any good? Or is it just something I should scrap and toss in the "bad ideas, no tienes razon" bin?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dAHItOdWvikOr1Jc9p-PZfAHTuEVJOWOHXSgfXJsMjc/edit
I know you've heard this multiple times, but I'm going to say it again. Constantly bringing up permission-related things in fresh topics is not going to help you. It is going to associate your name in people's minds with "is obsessed with getting permission," rather than "constructively adds to dialogue." Asking people for concrit once, on the IRC, or as a reply to one of your threads here, is cool. Asking people over and over again, and getting annoyed when they don't respond, is not cool. Please don't go hide in a hole now - I'm not trying to be a jerk, or hurt your feelings. It's just a thing - the PPC is really, really more about community than anything else. Yes, we're a community built on good-writing, and praising good writing - but the community part comes first. That's why we ask people to hang out a while before they get permission - not to give them lots of chances to ask questions about permission, but so that they can get to know people, and we can get to know them.
This is more of an aside, but I'd also note that as a permission giver, you don't actually have to submit an introduction to your agent as your writing sample. Yes, it can be done, yes it works, yes, it does serve the purpose of proving that you can write characters in-character and understand the PPC... but you can also submit a lot of other stories that prove you're a good writer - anything with dialogue and a bit of humor will work, really. Don't feel like you must write a whole new introduction just to get in.
And don't feel like this is an attack or trying to push you out, either, please. I know it's a little overwhelming, jumping into a whole new community - but take your time, we really don't bite mostly I can't speak for the zombie squirrels or the animated plushies or the minis, so don't feel like you have to be pushing your stuff all the time to get accepted. It's okay to take your time, get to know people, hang out, and apply for permission when it feels right, rather than stressing and obsessing over it for months. In fact, it's an approach I'd recommend.
I'm not that great at the community thing. Hell, the one I'm currently part of (followers of Let's Player PinkKittyRose), I'm not entirely sure how I managed to stay a part of it. I chalk that, and basically anything else I succeed at, to complete and total dumb luck.
I'll probably just kind of stay down... I'm not sure why I'm so easy to be angry at.
I'm just going to say, it may seem like people get angry at you, but they honestly aren't really angry. I used to think a little like you when I first joined, which is admittedly why I left the community here for a while, but after a lot of thinking, I realised, they weren't really angry at me, I just sort of... took things the wrong way.
So anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't make the same mistake I did and think everyone is angry at you for doing things wrong. They're usually just trying to help! And trust me, you'll know when they get angry. Usually. Everything is usually.
And for listening to me ramble, a cookie. *gives cookie*
I'm not angry. Really! I'm telling you this so that you can avoid making people angry by altering your actions.
This was, for some years, my only regular community, internet or otherwise. It helps if you understand what is meant by community, I think - a lot of us, myself included, tend to automatically define it as "a group of people excluding myself and everyone I know," which is... not what I mean. When I say "we're a community," I mean "This is a place where generally geeky people hang out and talk about geeky things," with the added connotation of "a lot of us are friends, and usually people who show up wind up also being friends!"
So don't stress out! And don't chalk your successes down to dumb luck: that way lies madness, or at least sadness. I don't think you've seriously pissed anyone off. You ruffled a few feathers a few times, but quite frankly, show me someone in this community who has ruffled no feathers, especially in their newbie days, and I will show you someone who is either lying or very forgetful. Just hang out and talk about geeky stuff with us! That's basically why we're here.
You're just kind of doing things a bit too quickly for most people here.