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The big question for me is, was DNA’s appearance on TW and the creation of this site just a chance to get thousands to visit a plug for Spaceship Titanic, or are we actually supposed to contribute our creative energies (and copyrights) to the pool from which he and TDV will drink deeply, presumably to produce a book that we will probably then pay to buy?
On the other hand you could view it as a chance for a free homepage, to show off to your mates, to practice writing humour if you think that might be your calling in life, and maybe get your name (or at least your nickname) in print as a contributor. If you put it that way, sign me up!
We’re sad, but we don’t care.
|   | Subject: Why are we here?
Posted May 22, 1999 by parlau
This is a reply to this Posting.
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Sad I don't mind being called.
It is the rest of the names that hurt!
AG
| | Subject: Why are we here?
Posted May 26, 1999 by Kate
This is a reply to this Posting.
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"to practice writing humour if you think that might be your calling in life"
Just thought I'd note that it was pointed out to me by a friend that if you actually do want to be a writer, then by no means give up on that based solely on the rejection of the guide editors. This advice, of course, applies more to me (the oft rejected) than to you (the official researcher), but at the time I needed the reminder.
Does that make any sense at all? Geesh, good thing I have a fallback calling...
P.S. I am loving reading over your comments.
Thanks Kate, you are now officially added to my list of kind people who have visited.
I agree about not letting a rejection or two stop you. I'm almost embarrassed to admit I haven't enjoyed one yet (but then I've only had one decision at all, not a statistically significant sample) - but I hope that it is accompanied by some helpful comments. Isaac Asimov tells of how in his early days, the editor of Astounding magazine, John Wood Campbell, rejected his first few stories. Campbell always wrote a page or two of comments on how it could have been better. When finally he got a story accepted, all he received was a cheque - that said it all.
If you're serious about writing, you should read (if you haven't already) "Becoming a Writer", by Dorothea Brande. It says nothing about sentence structure, dialogue dynamics, plot persistence or character construction. Basically, it tells you to write. Lots. It provides ways of making yourself write when you think you can't (maybe DNA should read it too, it might cut down on his hot water bills  . Actually, his bathing is a classic "wordless recreation", as described therein). It tells you things NOT to do when you're trying to write - and although it was first published in 1934, I'm pretty sure spending too much time on the Net would be one of them.
I always like to remember the comparison of comedians and comedy writers - I can't remember who it's from, and I'm not entirely sure it's not Mr. Adams Himself: A comedian is someone who says something funny at the time; a comedy writer is someone who thinks of something devastatingly funny to say, half an hour later.
As for my comments - to quote a very great man, "I say what it occurs to me to say". I'm stuck in a grotty flat in a small town on the flight path to Kosovo (there goes another Tornado) where I don't speak the language, three countries away from my fiancee. I interact with humans on a face-to-face basis about twice a week. I am the Hotblack Desiato of the financial systems world. That's why I post at all odd times, in all odd moods, on all odd topics, and it's why I try reasonably hard to say things people will respond to, preferably positively.
Anyway, I hear another voice from the Guide: "Talk a lot, don't you?". Time for sleep.
Hey, uh, Idiot: (As an aside, I hate to call you an Idiot, because you appear not to be, but, well, you know.) Kate is definitely on the nice people list. In fact, since she's too bashful to do it, I'm going to stick in a site plug (her site, not mine): http://www.floor42.com
As for the comedian/comedy writer bit, it was DNA, and for pedant's sake it was 2 seconds/2 minutes, and he referred to a 'wit' versus a comedy writer.
I really hate knowing that, you know. I wish I could tell you I went and looked it up in the book, but it's just upstairs taking up space. Hmph. Probably, with my luck, it's stored in the part of my brain that's supposed to remind me to pay bills.
Hi Spartus,
Thanks for the facts - I'm never one to let them get in the way of a good anecdote . Sadly, all my reference copies of the guide are boxed up and ready to move, and my recall is occasionally suspect.
As it happens, I'd already followed the trail back and signed up at the Floor42 site this morning (under a different name to confuse the innocent), and I look forward to having the time for a really good look around - sadly not for a couple of weeks as I have to go hunting for a house and a job, first thing tomorrow morning.
Oh, and Idiot's just fine (a dose of humility a day keeps the hubris away), but you can call me Gary if it makes you feel better to give a bundle of vague sensory perceptions a name .
Why do I keep happening on these an hour late? Oh well, better to find them late than not at all. Being behind the times is better than being clueless, if you ask me.
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