The Last Poster Wins! [v21]

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

There's not a whole lot in the US either. It's a really difficult job market at the moment, but volunteer graphic design is another cool possibility.

As for the novel, I still need to write a synopsis for agents, and I need to get off my butt and do that. I didn't realize most agents want that and I can't really start contacting them until I have one ready to be sent over. It's basically summing up the entire novel in 500 words or less, chock full of spoilers. The idea of them just reading that and not the novel actually kind of irks me (because they'd miss out on so many good things), but that's just how the process goes. They get tons of these all the time and unless they like the summarized storyline, they're not going to plow through the rest of the novel.

But yeah, coming up with ideas is tough. Usually I like to build a setting first, come up with concepts, creatures, and characteristics, and then give it a story, all the while tinkering things along the way to fit with that storyline. It helps to think of your favorite movies and games, borrow a few of the things you liked the most about them as inspiration (tweaking them to your personal tastes helps make them uniquely yours), and weave them into your story.

Dreams also help, and there you don't need to worry about copying too much because it's not like it's copyrighted material! Sometimes dreams can get weird, but weird is good. I won't deny I've used events and themes from my dreams in stories. Sure, I tweak them to fit with the story, but often it's "you can't make this stuff up" kind of material that you just can't pull out of nowhere.

I often have dreams that I feel like would make really good stories as I wake up. And then after a few minutes I realise none of it actually made any sense at all. XD But maybe I should start writing them down or something! I have a fair few ideas for things I think would be cool stories, but I struggle to come up with interesting characters.

That makes sense that they would need a short summary. It must be tough to try and make it sound as interesting as possible in so few words! Cool to hear it's all progressing though :D

[Neo Emolga]

I often have dreams that I feel like would make really good stories as I wake up. And then after a few minutes I realise none of it actually made any sense at all. XD But maybe I should start writing them down or something! I have a fair few ideas for things I think would be cool stories, but I struggle to come up with interesting characters.

That makes sense that they would need a short summary. It must be tough to try and make it sound as interesting as possible in so few words! Cool to hear it's all progressing though :D

Yep, keep a dream journal close to your bedside. Just note that it may become something weird and embarrassing like mine did, so keep it in a safe, hidden place. As for coming up with characters, I had trouble with this too. Sometimes using cliches and tropes is a possible fallback if you just can't come up with character personalities. For example, in Trial of Juno, Blazewing the Latias started off as a very bland, probably over-dramatic character that just didn't have a whole lot of likeable personality. And I was never really happy about that. So, during a rewrite, I decided bam, let's make her whimsical and provide comedy relief to what was actually a very dark story. My favorite line that I came up for her was "who ordered apocalypse and forgot the fries?" I never really got around to finishing the rewrite, but dang, it was definitely working out way better than before and the changes I made just felt like things I should have done in the first place. Even if I don't ever finish it, Trial of Juno did help me learn a lot of things about writing novels and for that, it was a valuable learning experience.

But yeah, like you said, trying to sum up everything for a synopsis and make it sound great in only 500 words is something I definitely need to be in the creative mental state for. If I'm feeling blah or tired and I try to do this, it's going to reflect in it and that's bad.

[AD]

I've kept a dream journal, and it frightens me. My mind is a dark labyrinth, i am surprised I haven't gone insane by now lol

[Arrow-Jolteon]

Thanks, dude. I'm not holding anything against him, either, he's a really careful guy and I think he was just trying to be helpful. From what he's told me, he's had some pretty bad experiences with some of his prior jobs. I think those past incidents are what's been affecting him.

Yeah, I actually don't blame the guy; from what various friends of mine have told me of their experiences, jobs, especially minimum-wage jobs, are pretty prone to leaving bad experiences on someone. Things like obnoxious clients, extremely demanding bosses, lazy/jerky co-workers seem pretty common. Heck, just the other day one of my friends came into class a nervous wreck because his job at the movie theater was driving him nuts. I mean, he is already pretty prone to anger bursts as it is, but still.

[Neo Emolga]

Yeah, I actually don't blame the guy; from what various friends of mine have told me of their experiences, jobs, especially minimum-wage jobs, are pretty prone to leaving bad experiences on someone. Things like obnoxious clients, extremely demanding bosses, lazy/jerky co-workers seem pretty common. Heck, just the other day one of my friends came into class a nervous wreck because his job at the movie theater was driving him nuts. I mean, he is already pretty prone to anger bursts as it is, but still.

I have heard of all kinds of work stories, especially from people who work in retail. It's a very quick and effective way to lose your faith in humanity. So many customers can be rude, want things without paying for them, make outbursts, and in general try to make the lives of others a complete hell just to satisfy their own selfish desires.

As a customer, I try to be as kind, patient, and as polite as I can to these employees. They work long days and shifts and I know sometimes they end up having to deal with a lot of crap from customers that just don't understand what it's like to have to work a job like this. If I see a guy restocking shelves, I just go around through the next aisle. If I accidentally cause a shirt to drop to the floor in the clothing section, I try to hang it back up. If I decide I don't want something after all, I try to bring it back to where I originally found it. And in general, I try to leave things as in good condition as I originally found them.

I think if I were a manager of one of these stores and a customer was causing a lot of trouble, I honestly wouldn't be bothered if they left and never came back. People who are disruptive and rude only make things worse for your employees and your other customers. From what I've seen, 98% of people are generally reasonable, but every now and then, someone completely out of their mind shows up.

[Noblejanobii]

So shoutout to @Suicune's Fire for buying me some rocking headphones. They just came in today. I haven't tested out the mic yet but the sound is great so that's cool.

Also the one day I forget to set my alarm I oversleep. FIGURES.

Also Neo, you do realize you know someone who owns a publishing company right? I mean, it's not very big so if you wanted to get more advertising and such then I'd say go for some big companies, but worse case I'd be willing to publish you.

[Neo Emolga]

Also Neo, you do realize you know someone who owns a publishing company right? I mean, it's not very big so if you wanted to get more advertising and such then I'd say go for some big companies, but worse case I'd be willing to publish you.

Thanks, I'm happy to know you'd be willing to do that. :)

I've written so, so many stories and novels and nothing ever got published, so it would be awesome to finally get something out there.

[Noblejanobii]

Yeah but try to use me as a last resort. Go big or go home.

[Neo Emolga]

Yeah but try to use me as a last resort. Go big or go home.

No problem, I understand. I'll see what I can do first.

[Noblejanobii]

That reminds me I should be working on the writing event I've been planning.

...... ehhhhhhhh.