Kairi Nightingale
(?)Community Member
Offline
- Posted: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 05:22:04 +0000
I'm looking for a brainstorming buddy. I don't really expect you to read my actual manuscripts (unless you really, really want to but I'm not going to push that - I'm shy with my early drafts sweatdrop ). However, I'd like someone to listen to me rant about my stories and help talk through some plot issues.
My stories are long and often complex and so it's going to be a lot of information and I'm putting a lot of trust into whoever volunteers to not take my story bits for themselves and to not share my information with anyone else. I actually doubt this will happen and don't really believe in stealing ideas to a degree - if you want to use a similar premise or take a general aspect of one of my ideas, fine. Just let me know so I'm not surprised if I find out about it (plus I'd be interested to see how someone else decided to handle a similar concept). But if I find out that you're working on a story with too many specific similarities to mine, I will speak up about it and possibly break up the buddy relationship.
Anyway, I'm not asking anyone to do this for nothing. I'd be more than happy to return the favor. If you need help with feedback, brainstorming, or even story research, I'll help in any way I can. I also role play a bit (although I prefer groups) so if you want to try role playing out something, I'd be willing to do that too. However, if I see a potential issue or am asked for feedback, I won't hold back. I'm really honest and thorough with these kinds of things. (And please don't try to limit my feedback. You can tell me to focus on certain things and ask specific questions, but if I see a grammar mistake within a draft or a unrelated plot/character inconsistency or something, I will point it out.) I try to be polite about it but please don't ask me for feedback unless you're ready for it and are tough enough to take criticism. And I expect the same of you.
So I'm looking for a buddy who:
- Enjoys fantasy, supernatural, and sci-fi genres. My works mainly focuses on fantasy and playing with mythologies, with some sci-fi influences. The setting is always in an original world though. I really love mythologies so if you happen to know a little bit about that stuff, even better.
- Is willing to read through my rants and ask questions or help bounce ideas.
- Writes a similar genre. This isn't actually a requirement; I'm open to reading just about anything as long as it doesn't have explicit content, but I find the genres I mentioned and sub-categories the most interesting and will therefore do better in giving feedback. I'm not comfortable with giving feedback on fanfiction unless I happen to be really familiar with the canon. You'd have to talk to me about that one. I'm also not comfortable with role-playing canon characters or doing anything explicit.
- Has some experience in writing. If you've written for a couple years or otherwise practice things like doing research and looking up tips, then that's good enough for me. You don't have to want to publish, but I'd like someone serious about improving their writing and stories, especially if they want feedback from me. I'm not professional level and don't plan on publishing, but I've been writing seriously for a few years now and have done a lot of research on the subject so I'm not bad at giving helpful criticism or tips when I can.
- Is willing to give honest feedback. I'm tough - you can be harsh as long as your constructive and not insulting toward me as a writer. If you see a problem, please tell me about it.
- Won't take it personally if I don't accept your ideas. Mostly, I just need someone to talk to. I'm completely open to ideas but please don't take it personally if I reject or otherwise decide to not use your idea. Rest assured that I'll always take ideas and feedback into consideration and if I don't accept your advice or suggestion, it's most likely for good reason. I will also give you the same courtesy should you seek feedback from me. As long as you take my feedback into some small consideration, I'll respect that you are completely free to do what you will with my comments.
- Open to civil discussions and debates. When I'm making a point, I'm usually very thorough. I can also get excitable when debating the pros and cons of an idea - please don't mistake this for me being annoying or stubborn. I really just like making my points clear and would never intentionally insult or irritate you.
- Is capable of coming on to check messages every day. That's not to say I expect you to message me back every day, but I'd like to work with someone who I can consistently be in contact with. I understand real life stuff can get in the way, but please don't abandon me without saying anything. Let me know if you're going to lack internet access or are quitting Gaia or otherwise want to stop the arrangement. I won't get mad or anything. I promise.
If you're interested, please post a little bit about yourself here. Let me know a about your favorite genres, writing experience or habits, and what kind of stories you're working on right now that you might like feedback in return. It'd be nice to know your age too, but certainly not necessary. (I'm 20 years old, by the way). I'll PM you back if I'm interested in being your writing buddy and we can go over details. I'm willing to work over Gmail chat or Google docs, if convenient. Just let me know if that would work for you. Also, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask.
My stories are long and often complex and so it's going to be a lot of information and I'm putting a lot of trust into whoever volunteers to not take my story bits for themselves and to not share my information with anyone else. I actually doubt this will happen and don't really believe in stealing ideas to a degree - if you want to use a similar premise or take a general aspect of one of my ideas, fine. Just let me know so I'm not surprised if I find out about it (plus I'd be interested to see how someone else decided to handle a similar concept). But if I find out that you're working on a story with too many specific similarities to mine, I will speak up about it and possibly break up the buddy relationship.
Anyway, I'm not asking anyone to do this for nothing. I'd be more than happy to return the favor. If you need help with feedback, brainstorming, or even story research, I'll help in any way I can. I also role play a bit (although I prefer groups) so if you want to try role playing out something, I'd be willing to do that too. However, if I see a potential issue or am asked for feedback, I won't hold back. I'm really honest and thorough with these kinds of things. (And please don't try to limit my feedback. You can tell me to focus on certain things and ask specific questions, but if I see a grammar mistake within a draft or a unrelated plot/character inconsistency or something, I will point it out.) I try to be polite about it but please don't ask me for feedback unless you're ready for it and are tough enough to take criticism. And I expect the same of you.
So I'm looking for a buddy who:
- Enjoys fantasy, supernatural, and sci-fi genres. My works mainly focuses on fantasy and playing with mythologies, with some sci-fi influences. The setting is always in an original world though. I really love mythologies so if you happen to know a little bit about that stuff, even better.
- Is willing to read through my rants and ask questions or help bounce ideas.
- Writes a similar genre. This isn't actually a requirement; I'm open to reading just about anything as long as it doesn't have explicit content, but I find the genres I mentioned and sub-categories the most interesting and will therefore do better in giving feedback. I'm not comfortable with giving feedback on fanfiction unless I happen to be really familiar with the canon. You'd have to talk to me about that one. I'm also not comfortable with role-playing canon characters or doing anything explicit.
- Has some experience in writing. If you've written for a couple years or otherwise practice things like doing research and looking up tips, then that's good enough for me. You don't have to want to publish, but I'd like someone serious about improving their writing and stories, especially if they want feedback from me. I'm not professional level and don't plan on publishing, but I've been writing seriously for a few years now and have done a lot of research on the subject so I'm not bad at giving helpful criticism or tips when I can.
- Is willing to give honest feedback. I'm tough - you can be harsh as long as your constructive and not insulting toward me as a writer. If you see a problem, please tell me about it.
- Won't take it personally if I don't accept your ideas. Mostly, I just need someone to talk to. I'm completely open to ideas but please don't take it personally if I reject or otherwise decide to not use your idea. Rest assured that I'll always take ideas and feedback into consideration and if I don't accept your advice or suggestion, it's most likely for good reason. I will also give you the same courtesy should you seek feedback from me. As long as you take my feedback into some small consideration, I'll respect that you are completely free to do what you will with my comments.
- Open to civil discussions and debates. When I'm making a point, I'm usually very thorough. I can also get excitable when debating the pros and cons of an idea - please don't mistake this for me being annoying or stubborn. I really just like making my points clear and would never intentionally insult or irritate you.
- Is capable of coming on to check messages every day. That's not to say I expect you to message me back every day, but I'd like to work with someone who I can consistently be in contact with. I understand real life stuff can get in the way, but please don't abandon me without saying anything. Let me know if you're going to lack internet access or are quitting Gaia or otherwise want to stop the arrangement. I won't get mad or anything. I promise.
If you're interested, please post a little bit about yourself here. Let me know a about your favorite genres, writing experience or habits, and what kind of stories you're working on right now that you might like feedback in return. It'd be nice to know your age too, but certainly not necessary. (I'm 20 years old, by the way). I'll PM you back if I'm interested in being your writing buddy and we can go over details. I'm willing to work over Gmail chat or Google docs, if convenient. Just let me know if that would work for you. Also, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask.
