It's not you...
Writers, theyÂ're a fickle bunch. It just doesnÂ't matter how much money you throw at them, or how many cases of bourbon you send, most of them will still flake out on you.  ItÂ's true. On the scale of dependability, writers rank just a little above pirates, but below topless dancer on a coke bender. (Some writers spend their lives trying to get below a topless dancer on a coke bender, but thatÂ's a different story altogether.)
I freely admit that IÂ'm a flake. (Proust moment: Â"I leave it to history to decide if I am a writer.Â" Ok, Proust moment over.) But I find myself with many more things to do than I have hours in which to do them. (A teaser; it looks like I have a nibble from a publishing house for my succubus novelÂ"…which is, as of this moment, a lot less finished than IÂ'm letting on.) As such, my weekly column will probably not be weekly, but will instead be like random chaos guest appearances.
In that vein, Certis and I were tossing around an idea. A combination advice/information/silly thing, where one could ask questions such as Â"Do you know where I can find cables for my old Atari?Â", or Â"How do I find a woman who will love me for my Atari?Â", and even Â"How much should I tip someone willing to pretend they love me for my Atari?Â". Like I said, itÂ's an idea in itÂ's larval stage, IÂ'd like your feedback about whether we should let it pupate.ÂÂ
And IÂ'm not going anywhere. IÂ'll still be weird in the forums and probably still lost in WoW. (Hey, is that a cow? With a gun? (flash) ) This is the best group of gamers IÂ've ever played with, erÂ"…gamed with. YÂ'all would have to beat me with a stick to make me go away at this point.
So, this may be the only time in history that this sentence has been uttered truthfully, but really this time, itÂ's not you; itÂ's me. ;)
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
Delicious
Digg
Print
Congrats on the novel!
As far as the whole advice column goes, well, you have exhibited nothing but brutal (and often humorous), frank commentary for as long as I've been reading your posts, so I say: Go for it!
Well gosh darlin'. My Thursday mornings will not be the same. *(Extra points to whoever can tell me the name of the first girl I said that to.)
I hope the novel is shaping up, and I think an advice column is the best idea I've heard since dollar drink night at the Yellow Rose. Not sure if I would ask for your love advice ... but I'd sure love to read it.
Good luck on that coke bender thing. Cheers.
Don't be saucy with me, Bernaise. - Count DeMonet
FalseGravity - My first blog.
The Escapist - My first Editor-in-Chief job.
Yes, but do you remember? =)
Gotham City is in trouble, so I put on a rubber suit and go save innocents from psychotic men in stage makeup. It's more straightforward than you might think. - Sanjuro
You'll have to keep us informed about the novel, DuckiDeva. You're guaranteed to make at least a few sales that way.
As for the larvae versus pupae thing... I have every bit of faith that it's worth a shot. After that, I'll let you know if I think it's worth a second shot.
The market has much to answer for as to why gaming is NOT an art. -- illum
I think what ever you do is going to be entertaining so why not try it on and see what happens.
If you're thinking of accepting/soliciting questions and/or requests for advice from the community, you're going to need a method of reminding people to do that whether it's written into each column, a link to your PM somewhere, or some little advertising graphic in the left column with the game calendar, search, etc. otherwise you run the risk of not getting enough material to work with.
Yeah, that was the problem I ran into with Dear Winifred. Towards the end, I was writing easily 75% of the letters as well as the responses. Now, granted, Dear Winifred was more fiction/social experiment than it was anything...but still, with a readership in the thousands, you would have though more people had problems that they needed solved by a Victorian Zombie Mistress...
What I was thinking of for here was more like "Ask Jeeves" and less like "Dear Abby"...although I love doing the Dear Abby stuff too.
Seth wrote:
And when do we get to read that story? nudge, nudge, wink, wink
"My motto is, if it's not strong enough to release bowel control, it's not strong enough!"
Morrolan
I say she begin soliciting questions. Not necessary to do it on the dark street corners of the internet, you can do it in a more private setting such as this website.
Let's begin. How would you get rid of an "exotic dancer" who suddenly decided she wants to tell the man she's been living with for the past 3 years that she's dating someone else? This is for a completely hypothetical friend, I guess you could call him "Max".
--
Come Play Team Fortress 2 with the cool kids! GWJ's Stan's Lounge Pub: 63.209.34.11:27015
7-8pm central time, every day. It's free! =D
Mex, even I can answer that question. Five easy words: "I am a serial killer."
Anyone who posted in this thread is a racist.*
*Except me. - Certis
I know all about flaky writers. I've been one from time to time, and dealt with them a lot when I was an editor as well. Regardless, I like the idea.
If it has a spaceship in it, I'll play it. - http://www.spacegamejunkie.com/
Pyro said he cried for weeks because of that.
"Thanks, KrazyTaco, thanks. I'd put it in your pooper too." -Mex
"Oh, KrazyTaco, you fulfill all my wishes." -pneuman
"I sometimes hang awake at night dreaming of being called a dumbass by KrazyTaco." -Gravey
Updates about your novel are good. You can sell me anything by putting the word "succubus" in front of it.
If I didn't drink, Crom would laugh and cast me out of Valhalla when I die. Peer pressure I can handle, but not when it comes from Crom. -Lobo
Mmmmm.... succubi.
Mercury's been in retrograde most of the week. It's like a full moon with a side of kicked-in-the-nuts. -- H.P. Lovesauce
Mex: you're still "dating" that dancer?
XBox Live | Twitter | Flickr
No Gorilla, you have to read the post... Maz is dating the stripper, not Mex. Mex would be way to smart for that.
"My motto is, if it's not strong enough to release bowel control, it's not strong enough!"
Morrolan
I've only been here for a short while, and will miss DuckiDeva's clever weekly columns, but I'll bee seein' ya in the funny papers DD! ('Ask Deeves' sounds pretty good too!) ...and definitely want to read the novel - congrats on that!!
"Shell me, beaches!" - NSMike
Perhaps "hiding from" is a better term. =P
--
Come Play Team Fortress 2 with the cool kids! GWJ's Stan's Lounge Pub: 63.209.34.11:27015
7-8pm central time, every day. It's free! =D
Hiding from her HUSBAND more like.....
Blog: justinmwhitaker
Twitter: justinmwhitaker
He's not the husband, technically.
--
Come Play Team Fortress 2 with the cool kids! GWJ's Stan's Lounge Pub: 63.209.34.11:27015
7-8pm central time, every day. It's free! =D
Why do I think the follow up to that would be something like "I can explain the relationship, but I need 60' for garden hose, a leaf blower, and a specially trained ferret..."
Gotham City is in trouble, so I put on a rubber suit and go save innocents from psychotic men in stage makeup. It's more straightforward than you might think. - Sanjuro
If you need a place to lay low for a while Mex I got a spare bed here at UBC. It could be a nice vacation for you. Fly out to Vancouver and go clubbing while the whole thing blows over. Hell, we even have another Mexican guy on the floor.
Fletcher wrote:
I'd expect free novels for the lot of us for abiding your semi-departure from the main page...but that's just me!
Unless you're running out of mana overhealing is the most worthless stat in the game. Underhealing is effectively known as "wiping".
so sayeth the Bear...