If You Want to Write: How to Handle Rejection

On By R. PettyIn Books, Writing for Web and TipsLeave a comment

Unless you have never left your house, you know what rejection feels like. It’s gut wrenching. Your heart hurts. There’s a lump in your throat. And when you’ve poured yourself into a manuscript, only to receive a rejection letter, how do you pick up the pieces and move on?

In this chapter, Ueland shows the difference between what she considers ‘good’ writing and ‘better’ writing. In her opinion, it’s all about the way in which you tell your story. I learned it’s purely subjective. What one thinks is compelling and well-written another may find boring and mediocre.

That’s the trick to overcoming rejection letters. It’s a matter of opinion. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or that your manuscript sucks; it just means your work is not what that publisher is looking for.

“This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.”

― Barbara Kingsolver

So, what can you do to keep looking? Here are a 10 tips:

  • Never give up. Keep sending, writing, and sending.
  • Remember that a lot of crap and awesome stuff gets published. I bet you’ve come across a book and thought, “I could have done better than this.”
  • Be yourself. Let your natural gifts shine and show passion in what you do. If you’re excited, others will be too.
  • Blog/write about it. Writing about your submission experiences can be therapeutic and help others get through their own obstacles. Be open and honest.
  • Be realistic. Ever heard “Don’t quit your day job”? Follow that advice and don’t expect to become a star overnight.
  • Do your research and get creative. Send it to lesser-known publishers, too. Follow all the rules and guidelines per submission, and have fun. It doesn’t matter who publishes it as long as it’s available.
  • Release it in parts on a blog and build an audience and followers. Readers are loyal, and if they love the story, they’ll stop and read it.
  • Self publish an e-book. Amazon is a well-respected rite. You never know what will happen.
  • Set up a Kickstarter campaign and get the word out. People love contributing to these projects, and I was a small contributor to this one: Apocalypse Now. It was a cool experience and works!
  • If you’re set on going the traditional route, then save some money and contact a publisher. For a fee, they may publish and distribute the book for you.

With these in mind, I’d like to give a shout out to my good pal Kevin who recently published his first novel, Crazy Lucky Dead. It was a great project to work on, and I hope you all will check it out!

Read about how to start your own blog, and share any tips you have below!

Off the Top of My Head #9: Warhammer and Dreamlike Gaming

On By James CastroIn Games, Random Fun3 Comments

Off The Top of My Head

As I’ve posted recently I’ve gotten into tabletop wargaming.  Mostly Warhammer 40k.  I love building the models, I love painting them, and as I’ve found out recently I truly enjoy playing the game.  I had been putting off working on my armies and playing the game until recently when, while searching for some battle tutorials I came across “Dreamlike Gaming” on Youtube.

DLGming

I watched a series of Dark Vengeance unboxing and battle reports and became addicted to their videos.  I’ve seen lots of videos recently as I’ve tried to get up to speed with 40k and tabletop wargaming but these are by far my favorite.  Many videos like these are made by reviewers or wannabe reviewers and one thing I’ve noted about “critics” recently is they tend to only know how to be critical.  It could be the snarkiness inherent in the internet culture but you never hear glowing reviews anymore, I think because people find it easier or trendier to dislike things.  What appealed to me about the Dreamlike videos I watched, most of them from Tom, Mark, and Stu (good luck with your future projects!), were these are guys who really enjoy playing the games they play.  They aren’t critics with another company, these guys are the company (or at least a big part of it) and the reason they’re in the business is they love to play.  Win or lose, they truly capture the experience of playing games with your friends in a perfect way.

They also aren’t experts.  They’ll stop and review the rules.  They get some of them wrong and let you know about their mistakes in conclusions or in following videos.  As a starting out player this makes the games feel less intimidating.  Everyone can get the complex rules to these games wrong, or sometimes forget to roll their “gets hot” when firing plasma guns!

The videos are simple, raw, and surprisingly hilarious.  From Stu’s absolute domination during his first swing with High Elves against Tom’s poor Ogre Army, to Tom’s dealing with the “shenanigans” of the Grey Knights against his doomed Chaos forces (that report is full of terrific moments, his description of Abbadon’s Talon of Horus as a “space marine killy claw,” his declaration that his ONE remaining chaos terminator “fancied himself next warmaster,” and the endless combat between said terminator and the Grey Knight Justicar).  These guys love to play games and it shows, and they also have great video personas.

Black Legion vs Grey Knights.  I love this one!

Just watching their battle reports got me excited about playing with my new armies and even has me looking into Warhammer fantasy as well, something I never thought I’d do.

The above video is a whole playlist.  Hit play when the next vid pops up for lots of fantasy battle report videos!

They aren’t slick, expensively produced videos but they ARE remarkably effective at showing you how to play, not just with the rules but with the attitude of a gamer having fun, letting friendly opponents correct mistakes, always shaking hands, and having a good laugh whether you got the victory points or not.  If you’re a beginner like me or just a gamer looking to see some fun battle reports and watch some gamers having fun I say check them out.  They’ve got a store too, and if you live in the UK (I don’t so you guys have reached across the pond all the way to Tennessee!) check that out too.

I’ve recently completed the first incarnation of my two 40k armies and I’ll be posting pics of their newly constructed, unpainted masses soon and will do updates of my painted versions as I complete them.

I’m glad that REAL social gaming seems to be coming back and is a growing community.  As Wil Wheaton would say, “Play more games!” and as Tom would say, “Keep it dreamlike!”

http://www.dreamlikegaming.com/

http://www.facebook.com/DreamlikeGaming

Also, check out my other Warhammer-related posts!

Illustrator Blood Angels

Balrog Painting

Black Reach Orks

Warhammer Fantasy Presents

Freeway Review: Red Riding Hood Isn’t for Kids Anymore

On By R. PettyIn MoviesLeave a comment

What do you get when you cross an angry foul-mouthed teenager, a classic children’s tale, and a psychopath? Freeway.

In short, Freeway is a deliciously dark spin on Little Red Riding Hood. Vanessa Lutz (Reese Witherspoon) runs away from her dysfunctional home life to get to her grandmother’s house. Along the way, Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland) picks her up, and little does Vanessa know he is a serial killer. Sounds interesting, right?

I caught this movie on T.V. one day, and I realized after rewatching it this week, it’s my second-favorite movie of all time, following Pulp Fiction. It’s violent, controversial, and funny. So, if you think this is your kind of flick, here are my top five reasons why it’s a must-see and own.

1. Reese Witherspoon: You may know the star from films such as Legally Blonde and sequel, Walk the Line, and Sweet Home Alabama, but I guarantee you’ve never truly seen her talent until you see Freeway. She is ruthless. She will eff you up and never feel a shred of remorse. And that’s what makes her character so memorable.

2. Kiefer Sutherland: He is a great co-star and perfect complement to Witherspoon. He defines creepy. I still shiver at any close-up shots, and his character makes you uncomfortable. He is a perfect big bad wolf.

3. The stereotypes: This movie insults a lot of people. It takes stereotypes and amps them up to an ear shattering volume. You’ll see drug-addict parents, good/bad cops, rebellious teenagers, thugs, trophy wives, psychological professionals, inmates, and it slaps the court system in the face.

4. It’s controversial: This movie premiered in 1996, when several of these topics were making headlines, and some still do. This movie was not afraid to go there. Beware of offensive language, prostitution, murder, racist remarks/slang, child molestation, interracial relationships, and drug use. If you are easily offended, this movie is not for you.

5. Originality: I give five gold stars for a good premise. At a time when Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Jack and the Beanstalk have been CGId and “made dark”, Freeway is a refreshing reminder that Hollywood can make a good movie from a classic story without computer enhancements and popular stars (who were in other movies that made a profit). Major kudos to writer and director Matthew Bright.

These reasons mixed with a number of notable actors/actresses including the late Brittany Murphy, Brooke Shields, Bokeem Woodbine, Dan Hedaya, and Amanda Plummer, create a star-studded thriller you won’t forget.

Here’s a scene from the movie that contains spoilers and language. If you’ve seen the movie, I’d love to know what you think!

Travel Tales: The Hungry Man

On By R. PettyIn Short Stories1 Comment

Written by Trip Miller

“It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, ‘as pretty as an airport.’ Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort.”

– Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul

When Raven asked me to guest write for Rev Pub, her only guidelines were to have fun and write about something I know. Luckily for this site and the readers, I don’t know much. However, one subject that dominated the early part of my adult life was travel – specifically business travel – and although I hate to brag, I became something of an expert.

Over the course of roughly seven years, I flew every week, generally leaving Nashville early Monday morning and returning either Thursday night or Friday afternoon from places like Dallas, Sacramento, Kansas City and Philadelphia. During that stretch, I put my flight total at about 800, almost exclusively flying Southwest Airlines.

As most business travelers will tell you, the lifestyle quickly becomes a study of routine. Everything from the way I packed my roller suitcase to the strategy of picking the security line of least resistance (avoid the line with the most gray hair) quickly became second nature. By the end of my first year on the job, I was going through these motions almost on auto-pilot, which left an abundance of time to observe my fellow man.

There is no other place in our society where people act the way they do in airports. Airports are a sort of moral vacuum – places where courtesy and cleanliness flee like vampires from sunlight, places where it’s acceptable to do the things you do when you’re alone, even though you’re in the middle of hundreds.

Here is one of the more colorful characters I met during my travels; I hope you enjoy him as much as I did.

The Hungry Man

One truth of airport life is there are not enough seats for everyone. This is especially noticeable in dining areas, but even at the gates, you’ll find men in expensive suits sitting on the floor pounding away on laptops or sipping seven dollar coffees. People guard their gate seats like they are in line for concert tickets as boarding time approaches.

On a Friday evening in Charlotte, I found myself at one such crowded gate. At this point in my travel career, I accumulated enough status to be one of the early boarders, one of the noble few, and as befitting my rank, I waited on the edge of the boarding area. Now, generally speaking, the area around the boarding agent’s counter is kept clear out of respect for those needing to make flight changes and for the disembarking passengers – it’s a sort of halo of no-traffic.

At this particular moment, the halo is empty. My fellow travelers and I are arced around the agent’s counter at the prescribed distance like we are about to hear his great sermon. But lo! Who approaches? A forty-ish man with two bags and a large Styrofoam container weaves his way through the crowd, and seeing no other place to eat his meal, settles on the countertop of the boarding agent’s desk. He sloughs off his bags and proceeds to shovel forkfuls of barbecue into his mouth (because who doesn’t like barbecue?), not two feet from the agent’s face.

A man eating bbq at the airport

Now, by some sort of divine timing, the passengers from the just-landed plane begin to make their way down the tunnel and out of the door that Hungry Man and his bags have so masterfully blocked. He continues to eat, oblivious of those who struggle to avoid him and his luggage.

Finally, the agent notices and politely asks the man to relocate his feast. Without looking up, the eater gives the agent a casual left-handed bird and stuffs a biscuit into his mouth (remember boys and girls, we’re at the airport, it’s an asshole’s playground). Just then a young woman talking on her cellphone trips over his bags and goes sprawling into a businessman who then drops his fountain drink onto her back.

His meal finished, the Hungry Man picks up his bags and casually walks away, leaving his food container and drink on the counter, never once acknowledging the accident he caused. And you know what? It wasn’t even his gate.

The next time you fly I urge you to look up from your iPad and take note of your fellow humans. You’re bound to see something shocking and gross and amazing.

Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section!

Off the Charts: An Idiot Abroad Series 3

On By James CastroIn Opinions, Projects, ReviewsLeave a comment

Off The Charts Header

Karl Pilkington has been around the world twice.  Once to see the seven wonders of the world and again to check things off the bucket list of someone more adventurous than he.  A viewer could tell Karl had about had it with his travels at the end of the second season.  Actually this was apparent at the end of the FIRST season, but thankfully he agreed to go on more adventures.

Season three of Idiot Abroad just finished broadcasting in the US.  It was, no pun intended, a mini-season, consisting of only three episodes and features a constant travelling companion for Karl, film star and friend of Ricky Gervais (who also appeared on the phone in the second season of Idiot Abroad when Karl visited the Chinese dwarf village at the end of the Trans-Siberian railway) Warwick Davis.

As a fan the concept was concerning to me.  We like to see Karl exploring on his own and hear his random, yet always honest, reflections about his experiences.  When I heard he would have “a little company” for season three, and it would consist of only three episodes, I thought it might prove to be disastrous.  After seeing it I’m happy to say it was a great conclusion (I REALLY don’t think Karl will be up for any more of this…) to the series and still loaded with Karl fun.

This season was billed as Karl, who hates doing new things, and Warwick, who’s up for anything as they trace the Marco Polo route from Venice to China.  This turned out not to be the case.  In a few ways:

  • First: They didn’t do the whole Marco Polo route.  Obviously in 3 episodes that journey wouldn’t be possible.  Unlike previous seasons, you got brief looks into each place they stopped, usually punctuated by one or two big events per episode.
  • Second: Karl was as up for doing new things, and looking back, he really always has been.  From using a water jetpack, to eating Chinese street delicacies (something he was totally against in series 1!).  There remains ONE thing Karl abjectly refuses to do though!
  • Third: Warwick was as apprehensive as Karl about some of the activities.  Including ones he tried to get Karl to do (like being lifted in the air by helium balloons) and enjoying a Venetian “Pleasure Machine” during a masquerade party.

Overall this season was filled with the same Karl blunt hilarity as the others.  Some viewers complained about the “shock” value of it, the inclusion of Warwick in general, the “Spider Sisters” event, but to me this was just more of the same.  Anyone who’s familiar with Karl knows he’s fascinated by “different” people, including the very tall Steve Merchant who produced the first two seasons and appears on the Ricky Gervais Show.  And it was no more shocking than bird fetus-eating and lady boy-visiting that appeared in previous seasons.  These inclusions always feel like Karl doing what Karl does.  Here are some of the highlights of season 3 for me:

  • Karl’s failure to use the water jetpack and Ricky Gervais’ very correct theory on why he chose to do it (essentially to try to find something Warwick would hate but he wound up hating it himself)
  • Flying Warwick on helium balloons in Macedonia (to quote Karl, “I’ve never had a kite…”)
  • Karl dressed as the slouchiest panda in genetic history. Also his plan on how to fend off an attacking panda.
  • The results of Karl and Warwick in a Bollywood film and how they both reviewed the experience.  Surprisingly the roles reversed in this case!
  • Random Karl quips and quotes about Warwick (comparing him to a leech, saying he’d trade him for a cat, constant references to his playing a “bear” in Star Wars, and his utter shock that Warwick was in ALL the Harry Potter films)
  • A favorite moment, that might seem uncomfortable to some, was Karl’s tough love to Warwick climbing the steps to a Buddhist temple.  Warwick wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to continue.  Karl’s blunt, seemingly vicious, criticisms eventually got Warwick to walk the entire length of the stairs.  Though to add to the comedy, Karl ended up taking a palanquin!
  • And my personal favorite moment, perhaps in the history of the show, what makes Karl laugh:

The only negatives in this series to me are; it can feel uncomfortable as you watch the two of them interact and interact with those around them at times, until you get used to what is going on.  Karl was right to be angry that Warwick had better lodging than him.  He was right that he got a different experience, eating the local food and getting sick, than Warwick.  It doesn’t detract from the show, but the tension makes it a little more “reality show” than the others. The other negative is there was no “Karl Comes Home” this season.  Obviously with only three episodes a clip show would be a waste, but I always enjoyed Karl’s final thoughts on his travels.  Warwick’s as well as he could review where they had been and what it’s like to travel with Karl.

I highly recommend the entire show, and this season was no exception.  It’s not for the easily-offended, but Karl never is.  If you’re looking for comedy and pure honesty on TV Idiot Abroad is the way to go!  Thanks to Karl for going through all this for our entertainment!

How to Use a Semicolon

On By R. PettyIn Grammar and Punctuation, Writing for Web and TipsLeave a comment

GrammarTips

Semicolons (;) are sexy when used correctly. They are so cool, they can not only replace a comma but also an entire word. Many writers often misuse them or use a comma instead.

Some writers discourage semicolon usage in Web writing because they are hard to see, but sometimes you have to use them in order to save space and manage your tone. Periods are often hard stops, and semicolons are a good way to keep the reader reading and keep you from sounding abrupt.

Common terms used in this post:

Conjunction = A word that connects words or groups of words. Eg: and, but, or

Here’s a quick guide to semicolons:

Rule 1: Use a semicolon to join two complete sentences if you want to eliminate the conjunction.

Example: We’ll talk tomorrow; I’ll give you the details.

Rule 2: Use a semicolon between two sentences with a conjunction if the first sentence has a comma.

Example: When I finish the list, I will email you; and you can start your project.

Rule 3: Use a semicolon before introductory words such as however, therefore, and for example, if they introduce a complete sentence. Then use a comma after the introductory word.

Example: I went to the bookstore; however, I did not find the book I needed.

Rule 4: It is acceptable to use either a semicolon or a comma before an introductory word if it introduces a list. Use a comma after the introductory word.

Example: I bought all of my supplies; for example, pens, paper, stapler, and laptop.

Example (with comma): I bought all of my supplies, for example, pens, paper, stapler, and laptop.

Rule 5: Semicolons separate multiple units that have commas within them. Think multiple cities and states. Note the semicolon before and.

Example: We traveled to Chicago, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas.

For those punctuation nerds out there, check out the 13 little-known punctuation marks. My favorite is the sarcmark; what’s yours?

Sources: The Blue Book of Punctuation and Grammar, my brain