Blog contributors: Your specialties

[Andy]

For all of you who were interested in contributing to a blog, we've got the next step ready!

First, here are the seven categories we'd need contributors for:
Humor
Literary News
Resources - helpful websites, books, articles, etc.
Websites - both literary and/or not
Tips
Prompts - Real prompts, not like "here are this week's 5 random words. Use them in a story!". More like "go for a walk," etc. :D
Literary TermsNow, if you're a contributor, you'd have to find new content to post about at least once a week. We're thinking about *hiring?* 2 contributors, and each one would have 2 categories that they post about. Each week, you can post in either category, or both, or more than one in both. You get the idea.

So, if you're interested:
Tell us why you should be chosen for the blog. List any credentials that you think will help your case.
List 2 categories you're interested in, and say why you're a good candidate for them.
It would help if you list a 3rd category, too, just in case the two we choose have the same category chosen.And there you go! Who knows, we might have the blog up and running by New Year's if this works out well.

[GeorgeMichael]

Hello, my name is Oscar Gutierrez ;) and I would like to hired for the blog because I feel as if I am responsible enough to do what is asked for. I love to write, obviously, and not only feel that I can do this, but really want to do this as well.

If I could I would like to write in the categories of Humor and Tips. For a third choice I guess Prompts might sound interesting. I really want to do Humor since it might help me right better comedy in my novel.


How formal was that :) *thumbs up*

[Nyx]

Do we PM our "application(?)" to you or do we post it here?

[GeorgeMichael]

Well I hope we post it here otherwise I'll feel real dumb...

[Rafael Domination]

*awkward music....*

Can we run for all of it? (I'm just asking....)

[Andy]

Do whichever you want. PM me or post it here. It doesn't really matter.

Sure, you can sign up for as many categories as you want. But make sure you indicate which you like most, so we'll be more likely to appoint you to those.

[Zaphkiel]

Hello, My name is Kevin Smith and I would enjoy contributing to this blog. I know that I am responsible and disciplined enough to be a contributer. I am on YWO almost every day and perform a fair share of critiques, and my passion for writing is at its highest peek. I am one of the most gifted young writers in my school and area, and I am also in the process of forming a writing club in my highschool. I have the highest grade in my English class, so I wouldn't mind contributing Litery Terms or quotes. Before I got serious about my writing, I studied day in and day out and worked with numerous writing promts, so I would be able to do prompts as well. Last but not least, I've had a good amount of funny experiences and know some pretty funny stories, so humor could aslo be an option.

Sign,


Zaphkiel

[jordanisonfire]

I'm not going to bother, 'cos I'd just screw it up in all those categories. :D

[Nyx]

Hi Andy and Shaun,

I would be a good choice for a contributor to the blog because I am on YWO everyday, and I am one of the top poster of the site. I am organized, and I have always finished everything on time. My writing level isn't as high as all the experienced writers on YWO, but it is high enough for me to be a decent contributor to the blog. I'd be interested in contributing t o the Literary News since I enjoy reading and writing about things that happen in the literary world. Also, I'd love to contribute to the Websites category as I have a few interesting sites I'd like to share and I'm sure I could find some more interesting ones. I could contribute to rescources but I am probably not the best personn for that. I hope you give me the chance to contribute to the blog.

Thanks,
Nyx.

[Rafael Domination]

Name: Josh
Categories of Interest:
-Prompts (I think of new things to do...)
-Tips (I mostly excell at art (take a look at the A.R.M'D. thread) and I'm decent at writing...so I can definitely give some tips in those areas)

[Shaun]

I'd prefer if everyone post their 'application', if we're calling it that, here in this thread. That way I can read them too and Andy doesn't have to forward them to me. I see everyone is doing that already :P.

Also, you guys don't have to be too formal. We just want to know why you want to contribute, why you think you're a good candidate, etc. Andy and I both feel we would be somewhat arrogant to go off and choose without taking this step simply because we haven't been around for very long here and there might be a tendency to play favorites in random choosing.

Also, I was hoping to do tips/resources related to genre fiction, so if perhaps someone wanted to share those categories with me, and perhaps place more focus on regular fiction where applicable, I'd really like that. We could even work together on certain things too to come up with great posts. I think any normal tips stuff I write will end up in the guides section on the site--such as the Beginnings thing, which I need to finish up by the way. So I'd love to focus on genre if possible.

Nyx, send me a PM. I know a great way for you to find new and interesting websites for the future, regardless of whether or not you contribute to the blog.

Anywho :D

[Nyx]

Ok sure I'll do that:)

[Eve]

Aw.... speeches. I always do badly at them. Hold on, I'll go get my suit.

Good morning, ladies and gentlymenty. I'm really interested in the category websites. I work with HTML very often and have my own site which is rather successful. I also do passable images. The other category would be humour (if no one has taken that yet) because I need to improve on that especially in my story where the humour is currently very dry. Just a little extract:


Sutrade was about to ask Delphilus when Steleth launched into the lesson with his I-am-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-very-boring voice. He explained slowly and monotonously, “An axe, as I have told you many times, has a knob, grip,” Could he try gripping the opponent's weapon, “throat” Could he try strangling? “Belly” The Spartans use their shields to hit their enemy's bellies. What could they use to defend themselves? “Heel” Kick the opponent? “Beard” Pull their beards? “Blade, toe” Cut their toes? “Cheek” Slap them? “Eye” Poke them in the eye? “Butt” ... ... “And shoulder. Pay attention, Sergeant! Sergeant Aalyon, name me one function of the axe.”
“To be democratic and practice meritocracy amongst ourselves and to kill the Salavar feathers betrayers.” The Deathleenians erupted into peals of laughter. All except Steleth, Sutrade and Charndea. Charndea looked hurt beyond words and Steleth was mortified. “WHAT DID-” Steleth choked. Delphilus leaned towards Sutrade, whispering,
“tell you about joking in class? I've said this once, I've said this twice and I'm not going to say it again. When will it get through your thick numb skull?”
Steleth coughed and roared, “TELL YOU ABOUT JOKING IN CLASS? I'VE SAID THIS ONCE, I'VE SAID THIS TWICE AND I'M NOT GOING TO SAY IT AGAIN. WHEN WILL YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR INPENTRATBLE SKULL?”
Delphilus muttered, “Oops, either my memory's going downhill or Steleth just changed his speech. I'm surprised; he's recited the first one for years.”
“BRIGADIER! I HEARD YOU!”
Delphilus dug a finger in his ear and made the perfect imitation of Thymine, “So can I!”
Steleth's chest swelled and looked as though he would pop with the pressure of fury. In front of them, Aalyon suggested, “Prick him with a pin. He's going to blow!” Doracle chuckled softly.

My third category would be Literary Terms because I did the ee-ne-moi-nee-mor method and got Literary Terms! Actually, I chose Literary Terms because I'm very interested in the English Language and is trying to expand my vocabulary.

http://www.weblogcartoons.com/cartoons/end.gif

[Shaun]

Just a note: Andy and I are discussing this at the moment. We're in disagreement on one person (not bad disagreement, but we both named different people for one of the two), so we're going to talk about it a little more before we make a final decision on who gets picked. This might mean we'll ask you all to do something to help us decide.

[Nyx]

Cool, you guys take your time:)

[Shaun]

We will. We have until the 1st to figure it all out really.

[Nyx]

We will. We have until the 1st to figure it all out really.

Well good luck, it must be hard to choose...

[Carraka]

Oo! I missed this.

I want to contribute because I don't think I'm doing enough for YWO. I think I'm a good candidate because I'm extremely nice. For instance, if you tell me my writing sucks, I'm probably going to agree with you.

I'm a terrible candidate because I lack a sense of humor, don't want to share my block-writer's-block-tips with any of you, cannot guarantee anything on account of my age and inexperience, and despise smilies.

In other words, I'm not a leader. Install the lights, and trust will go both ways. It all depends on whether I'm alive tomorrow.



This here is a horrible application. Now, I would like to offer you Carraka's Supreme Seven Tips For Writing Proper Applications On Websites Like YWO (SSTFWPAOWLYWO), but you'll have to hire me first.

[Nyx]

Just a note: Andy and I are discussing this at the moment. We're in disagreement on one person (not bad disagreement, but we both named different people for one of the two), so we're going to talk about it a little more before we make a final decision on who gets picked. This might mean we'll ask you all to do something to help us decide.

What kind of thing would we have to do to help you decide?:huh:

[Shaun]

I think Andy and I are going to ask everyone to write a short example article so we can see what to expect and whether you're really serious. One person is already technically chosen, but we're not saying who, so that person will still have to do the short example... Andy and I have to talk about it a little more before we decide.

[Carraka]

You know -- that's a brilliant idea.

It's definitely better than my application. I shall not lie -- I actually don't have a list of the SSTFWPAOWLYWO. I could probably come up with a few tips if I thought hard enough, but I think that would be a waste of my your time.

[Nyx]

An example , that'd be cool:)

[Carraka]

Do we write examples now, or are you going to give us some sort of prompt?

[Shaun]

I'm waiting on Andy to get back to me on it. I don't want to say yes to the idea until he says yes too. We work 100% together on things. If we don't agree, then it doesn't happen.

[Nyx]

I'm waiting on Andy to get back to me on it. I don't want to say yes to the idea until he says yes too. We work 100% together on things. If we don't agree, then it doesn't happen.

That''s cool, that's what makes a great team:)

[Eve]

So we just update our post with the example?

[Nyx]

So we just update our post with the example?

Not yet, we still have to wait for Andy.

[Eve]

Okay, thanks.

[Andy]

Andy's back. Soooooo.....Idea approved. :D Once Shaun answers my PM, we'll get rolling.

[Shaun]

Okay!

This is what you have to do:
Each of you who is interested in doing the job needs to write a short, example post and put it here in this thread. Choose the category that you want to write in that would require the most thought. Meaning, if you want tips and websites, write a tips post, not a websites post. We want to see your very best.
When I say short I mean a couple hundred words (say 250). It should be a relatively complete idea. We expect that you'll write longer posts, possibly, for the actual blog.

Everything clear? This will help us decide. EVERYONE has to do this, even the person we have technically already picked. Why? Because it's not fair for only person to not have to do any work and everyone else to :P.

So get started!

[Nyx]

When do we have to finish this by?

[Shaun]

Preferably by the 1st, or thereabouts please. I'm willing to go as far as the 5th, but sooner is better.

[Nyx]

I'll be gone for a week, Shaun. And I don't get back till the 2nd. But 250-ish words isn't a lot so I promise to write it on the 3rd.

[Shaun]

Anyone else who wants to be a contributor should be submitting short articles to help Andy and I make a decision...anyone who doesn't do that basically is saying they don't want the job. Just a few hundred words will do.

[Rafael Domination]

So, it depends on what category we signed up first?

[Shaun]

Just pick whatever category you want to write in, just one, and write a short article as an example. Choose the category that will require the most thought though. If you have tips and websites, write for tips. Websites is too simple :P.

[Nyx]

I'm back so I'll either write this today or tomorrow. Do we PM it or post it here?

[Carraka]

I will do this tomorrow. The homework that I did not do last week and the week before must be finished first.

[Shaun]

Just post it here guys. that way it will be where Andy and I can view it.

[GeorgeMichael]

I hope I'm not too late so I kind of wrote this, hopefully you'll all like it :)





My mind is somewhere else. I am just completely lost with what I’m doing. My breath is getting heavy, heavier than it’s ever been before. The sweat seems to be covering my eyes and flowing like a river from the pores in my body. My fingers lie smoothly on their resting place and I begin to quickly force them down while my heart skips a bit. I try to concentrate harder and hold my breath, the sweat flows even harder. I feel like I’m on a puddle now as my fingers move around searching for the correct placement. I tighten my eyes further as I am nearing the end, I can still go on, I know I can. I begin to pick up the pace as my heart starts beating faster. My fingers begin to push harder and I am reaching the climax. I can hear nothing else but the sound of my breath and the quick rush of my fingers. I suddenly feel like explosions are going off inside my head and it’s almost impossible to let out a breath. I fall onto my knees and drop my sweaty palms onto the carpet, the strap still hanging around my neck. I open my eyes and look to the side at my friend and smile. I just beat an Expert Guitar Hero level with my eyes closed. I just won five bucks.

[Shaun]

Nope, not too late, although very few people have done this, which makes choosing far too easy...

[Nyx]

So, when are you guys going to choose?

[Shaun]

Well it's not going to be very hard for us to choose if only two people give us something to look at...Right now only two of you have written anything for us, which is sort of upsetting. You'd both be shoe-ins and I think Andy and I wanted something to argue about :P.

[Nyx]

I know that, I didn't actually mean just choose between those two. I meant what's the deadline for others to send it in?

[Shaun]

Technically it was yesterday...I'm giving until tomorrow evening though since I wasn't able to send out reminders on Friday due to the power outage.

[Zaphkiel]

Here's my literary terms!:

Now we all like some humor in our literature, no? I mean, even if the book is an epic war drama, or a Love tragedy, it's not bad to mix some humor in that. Ever notice how people tend to laugh more when someone or something is getting criticized? Let's take Simon from American Idol. Sure, he may be mean, stuck-up, and picky, but the way he talks to those wannabe-idols is hilarious!

Let's not forget the fashion police in those magazines we read. They are the definition of cold, yet humorous criticism. Even on shows like Comedy Central or Family Guy, criticism leads to the laughter of the viewers. Now the same goes for reading. Literature also contains good amounts of funny criticism and ridicule...well what do know! There's our Literary term for today...Ridicule!


Ridicule: Words intended to belittle a person or idea and arouse contemptuous laughter. The goal is to condemn or criticize by making the thing, idea, or person seem laughable and ridiculous. It is one of the most powerful methods of criticism, partly because it cannot be satisfactorily answered ("Who can refute a sneer?") and partly because many people who fear nothing else--not the law, not society, not even God--fear being laughed at. (The fear of being laughed at is one of the most inhibiting forces in western civilization. It provides much of the power behind the adolescent flock urge and accounts for many of the barriers to change and adventure in the adult world.) Ridicule is, not surprisingly, a common weapon of the satirist.

[Shaun]

Okay, so basically, unless people turn something in tonight before midnight Pacific Time, Andy and I should be able to start choosing tomorrow.

[Shaun]

Raf just sent this to me. Apparently he was on vacation and I didn't know :S. Sorry about that guys. Here it is:

I can try out for tips:

Here's a short example one...not really finished, but just to give you an idea....



HOW NOT TO WRITE CHEESY STUFF:

'Cheesiness' will vary among your readers. But usually there are some blatantly corny things people write that MOST people tend to wince at. Cheesiness can also stretch into multiple domains including Eccentric Names, Spoken Spells, Big Dramatic Speeches, Emotional Words, Sappy Romances, and even Heroic Deaths. In each section I come up with, I'llbe posting a few tips on how to avoid writing something that seems so 'wowowow' at the moment, but will tend to make others go 'ewwww'.

Remember: they're tips, not rules.

Starting with Spoken Spells...

(Note: while I admit that sometimes, a magical duel without the spoken words would soon turn dull without the words, they are in danger of becoming a hotspot of 'corni-ness'. The spell 'names' will help to give the reader an idea of the spell being performed, but only if it doesn't distract them with a load of cheese.)

1) Avoid long, eccentric words. I mean, seriously, is the character going to cast or talk the opponent to death.
2) Say it out loud yourself. See if it sounds okay. And even if it sounds well in your tone, be aware that some people might be imagining the character talking in a different one. Maybe if you set out the tone of the spell 'deep rumbling voice' or whatever, people might forgive the 'weird' scale of things.
3) If it's going to be in a different language, again, the way it sounds, and even the way it rhymes will have an effect on the spell's overall 'wow' effect. Take a look at the spells from Harry Potter. I mean, those don't sound corny at all.

(and so on and so forth....)

Oh well, gotta go...I still have a lot of things to do.




Andy and I will choose by this weekend. We also have another really important thing we're going to offer to someone that doesn't get picked for the blog...so even if you don't get picked you may very well get another job.

[Rafael Domination]

Ahaha...I am not on vacation! :D

I'm just really busy. I can get to post now just because my teachers have decided to cut me some slack. I'll be really busy again next week, until February, when things finally decide to calm down.

[Shaun]

Andy and I are in the process of discussing it right at this moment. You guys made this a difficult decision, which is sort of irritating. I think I had a secret hope that all but two of you would write really crappy articles so it would be easy to choose, but that's not the case. So, as soon as he and I can come to some sort of agreement based on who we think would be best for the position we'll post the announcement.

[Rafael Domination]

So you mean we all wrote nice articles? :D

Aw...thanks...

[Shaun]

Yes. That's one problem. We can make 3 of the 4 of you happy I think. 2 of you for the blog and 1 of you for something else we're cooking up. Unfortunately someone walks away unhappy and I don't like that very much :(.

[Zaphkiel]

Well...How long will take to decide, and why can't all us us just do it? It's only four of us, and you have more than four categories.

[Shaun]

Well, there's actually Andy and I working on it, and then two people that are to be chosen. We should have choices official tomorrow as soon as Andy gives me the final go ahead. I think we're about decided, but I want to be 100% before I announce.
The reason we don't want everyone working on it is because we don't want to blog to be overloaded from the start. We want it to be easy to follow. That doesn't mean we won't add people later. I actually might talk to Andy about this. With six people that would be six posts a week...

Okay okay, I'm just going to ask this.

Are all the people who have are currently interested in doing the blog thing (the four of you) willing to post one a week and only once unless something desperately important crops up? And are you willing to do it on different days? I wonder if we could try to do this:
Six of us takes a day and writes a single post and then we all take a break on Sunday (since that's technically the day of rest anyway). Would that be an idea you are all for? When I think about it, our decision on the last person to be picked was really very close, and if we can swing it so the blog isn't too overloaded (no more than one post a day, except for emergencies) we could probably include all of you guys (unless the one person we want to ask to do another job thinks they can't do both).

Do you like?

[Zaphkiel]

That actually sounds quite reasonable. So each of us would post one piece a week?

[Shaun]

Yeah, on different days. I think it depends, perhaps twice a week if you do something like tips and websites, since websites would be short posts. We'd have to work it out. My huge concern is just that we want the blog to be easy to follow. If you go into your reader (Google Reader, for example) and you have 15 new posts from one blog...that's just too much. It's overwhelming.
But, when I think about it, I can't see why we can't give the job to a bunch of people, provided that all of you are willing to actually do the job. You can't slack off for two weeks and say "I don't have time", unless you have a legit reason (i.e.: death in the family, finals weeks, you've been called into the military for active duty in Iraq, and similar).
If that sounds reasonable I will bring it up with Andy and see what he thinks. I guess before when I said I didn't want a lot of people it was because I thought EVERYONE was going to want to be a writer. If we have 25 people writing...just too much. I know some blogs do it, but YWO just isn't that big :P.

[Nyx]

That sounds good...although do we get to pick what they we post?

[Shaun]

Theoretically speaking yes :P

[Nyx]

Ok that sounds good,

[Zaphkiel]

So when will the blog become a forum? Will you set it up so that only we can use it?

[Shaun]

The blog will have it's own site through Blogspot. So, basically it will be set up so you have to have an account with Google and we can add you to the blog as contributors.

[Zaphkiel]

Okay, just let us know when the preparations have been finished.

[Rafael Domination]

And when we set up our section of writing, so we just continue to add to that? And how much should we add? Do we get to show it to you first?

[GeorgeMichael]

yeah, that once each week thing sounds good Shaun :)

[Shaun]

Goodness, I didn't realize some of you haven't used blogger before :S.

This is how it works:
You go into blogger, you create a new post, you give it a title, and you type out your post. Below there is a section where you can add tags and all you'll have to do is use a pre-existing tag, or if the tag you need isn't there, create a new one. Posts all show up on the main page, but people can navigate the tags in the sidebar in case they are looking for specific posts. You can edit post dates, save drafts, etc. too. Blogger is really easy. It's not much different than writing posts in a forum.

I like the idea too, I'm waiting on Andy though. This whole bit about him not being at school sucks because his net time drastically drops...

[Shaun]

Okay, the final word is in. Nyx, Raf, and Zaph will all be new contributors to the blog! A thread has been opened for you three since we need to discuss and iron out details.

So all of you are in and we'll discuss how to get you as contributors and the like. A good idea is to go to http://www.blogger.com/ and sign up for an account so that it will be easier later on to add you.

Also we do have some overlaps where people are wanting to write posts. We'll discuss that in the new forum area. Congrats guys!

(As for GeorgeMichael, we have a different job for him, so he's not being left out cause we don't like him)