Paper Pushers

How To Catch an Artist (A Writer's guide, by an Artist)

amphigoury — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:43:23 GMT

Greetings Fellow Legends of Paper!!

Today in Paperlegends chat, a writer was panicking over having to write an epic kick-ass summary to try and snag an artist during the match-ups.

"Nay, nay" I said. You are courting artists. You don't need to be kick-ass or epic…. but you DO need to be visual.

May I present:

An Artist Telling Writers How to Catch an Artist.

***DISCLAIMER***

I am just one artist, and a lot of what follows is personal opinion, but I've asked a few other artists and have gotten nods of approval in the general direction. Grains of salt, your milage may vary, professional driver on a closed course, suggested serving, enlarged to show texture … etc etc….

I also use actual Paperlegend summaries used in previous match-up posts. They are anon, and I have no idea who the writers were. I don't mean to cause any offence to the writers by their inclusion.

This is what last year's summary form looked like:

Username:

Pairings:

Rating:

Warnings:

Brief summary:

Full current word count & short summary on expected word count and planned time-line:

Drawing and Painting/Graphic Art/Video/Fanmix/Podfic (Please specify which of these medium/media of art that you wish to receive:

Art specifics (Here you may list any specifics of the art that you wish or wish not to receive. If you love all art, please say so!:

BREAK IT DOWN!

Lets look at the last bit of this….

Warnings: Yup, artists look at warnings. There can be hints as to what might happen in the story hidden up the warnings. I once tried to nab a summary that warned for injured bird!Merlin….

Brief summary: Know your audience. You are trying to pitch your story to an artist, plain and simple. Being vague and mysterious works great on enticing readers, but artists need visuals. Rhetorical questions in the summary are probably not the best idea either... Will their love last or will dinner end up in the toilet? More importantly, is happiness really a fish you can slap someone with? And can Arthur save the day?

REAL LIFE PAPERLEGEND EXAMPLES!!!!!

------------------------
Warnings: character illness (if what seems to be terminal illness, hypothermia, or a human in animal form being injured are triggery for you, then you probably want to steer clear of this one. No-one actually dies, though, and injuries are fixed and I'm trying to make sure characters aren't too woobie...there's definitely a happy M/Gwa ending in the cards.)

Summary: Canon era. Merlin is on a difficult and dangerous solo quest to get ingredients for a potion because Arthur is dying and, well, Arthur didn’t take the whole “guess what, I’m a sorcerer” thing as well as he could have. Gwaine is sent to check on him when he strays out of contact for too long, and Gwaine takes one look at Merlin and decides to stay on with him on his quest. None of them know, however, that the Old Religion had more purpose in sending Merlin to fetch ingredients than simply a dangerous task; Merlin and his champion must visit the four kingdoms of the elements (including meeting Gwaine’s destiny at the Green Chapel) and return to the mortal realm before Arthur loses his kingdom — and his life. Heavy Merlin/Gwaine romance, strong Merlin/Arthur friendship (Gwaine misinterprets this, but it’s not intended to be more than friendship), lots of questing and some angst in there too! Note in the interest of not misleading you: because we’re out on the road with Merlin and Gwaine for most of the fic, while there’s loads of adventures with elves, mermaids, dragons, the questing beast, bird!merlin, the Green Knight, all that — there’s very little Arthur in the fic itself. Merlin is also very certain that the man he loves is Gwaine; from Merlin's POV, there's no contest -- he loves his king, but he adores Gwaine. There’s lots of Merlin, and it’s Gwaine POV in third person. And lots of adventure. Come art with me!

In my opinon, this is a great summary. It tells the following things:

1) canon era, outdoors adventure

2) I have a good idea of who I'll be expected to draw

3) potential to draw elves, mermaids, dragons, questing beast, green knight, bird!Merlin, elements (this immediately gives 4 ideas for pieces; water, air, earth, fire), a hypothermia scene, and a possible bird!Merlin being injured scene.

-----------------

Warnings: Character death,violence, betrayal, so much fluff you'll want to puke

Brief summary: Arthur thought that he knew everything about Camelot and that he had a pretty good idea of how his life would go in the future. But his 18th birthday brought him a little surprise in the form of an outdated tradition of gifting humans and what followed was certainly not what he'd anticipated.

This is an example of a not-so-good summary. It doesn't tell an artist much.

1) I don't know if it's canon or modern or what?

2) There's Arthur… but I dont know who else is a prominent character

3) potential to draw possibly a human slave. Who it is, I don't know.

---------------

Summary: When Merlin Emrys meets developer-turned-bass player Arthur Pendragon at his cousin Gawain's family pub, he decides pretty quickly that he needs to be kept at arms length. Merlin discovers that sometimes, it’s those you want to stay away from who are the people that you find you need like oxygen, and your peers, the people should be able to rely on for understanding, are the ones who will try to take you down. Sometimes, a storm will drown you before it devours everyone else. Other times, you’ll be the last one to let go.

This is a great example of a summary that's trying to catch readers, and not artists. The first sentence tells me that there is a chance I could draw Arthur playing a bass in a pub, but unless the writer wants me to literally draw someone drowning in a storm, the rest of the summary is a lot of metaphoric mumbo-jumbo about angst.

------------------

Summary: In a drunken moment, Arthur persuades Merlin to jump the Beltane fire with him. At first, everything seems normal, but gradually, Arthur gets clumsier and Merlin gets better with a sword until one day, Arthur uses magic. Can they work out what's going on and how to fix it before they are discovered?

This summary proves that you don't need to write an epic length summary to provide good visual ideas.

1) Canon era

2) I have a pretty good idea what charcters to draw

3) Potential to draw jumping the fire, clumsy!Arthur, BAMF!Merlin, and Arthur using magic.

------------------

The following are examples of sometimes less is less.

Summary: Arthur and Merlin have been as good as brothers for years and friends for even longer, but now Arthur´s starting to have strange new thoughts about his best friend. Is moving in together after uni as good a plan as any, or will their friendship go up in flames along with Merlin´s cooking?

What I see: Modern AU, and a possible kitchen fire?

Summary: Merlin is a corporate spy. When his latest assignment involves his old neighbor and mentor, Gaius, things get a lot more complicated then either of them bargained for.

What I see: Modern AU, might get to draw a suit.

Summary: In which in a moment of panic, Merlin reveals his magic and Arthur catches him with his dagger. A life for a life, Kilgarrah sacrifices himself to save Merlin and his destiny. Despite being brethren of sorts, they are two different species and their mixing of magic forces Merlin to begin to transform.

What I see: Canon AU, magic reveal(cool), Arthur is either stabbing Merlin(cool) or catching him with a dagger (maybe Merlin isn't allowed weapons?), Kilgarrah sacrifices himself (cool), and Merlin transforms into…… …… …. WHAT?!?! As an artist I want to know it I'm drawing a half-dog, or a half toad, or a half dragon, or maybe he transforms into a COMPLETE dragon? or a newt? or .. I DONT KNOW!!

----------------

Brief summary: Alternate season four. Morgana's departed with her dying sister. Her magic is uncontrollable and she's slowly starving, slipping in and out of consciousness and finding herself in a strange new land. Uther has retreated into his own mind and no one can wake him. Merlin's struggling with his secrets and his guilt. Gwen makes weapons in the forge and is generally awesome. Meanwhile, it's been raining since the day Morgana disappeared, and the country is slowly disappearing beneath the water. Mordred is saved by the knights and becomes a reluctant ward of the increasingly crowded and hungry Citadel. With Ealdor probably destroyed, and no sign of the unnatural weather coming to an end, Merlin puts all his efforts into trying to identify the culprit and stop them: there's really no chance Merlin will be able to continue to keep the magic secret, especially now anyone with magic is having their life force slowly drained from them and the spell to stop the bad guys involves a really conspicuous fireball. Also, Leon is sure Gaius is a wizard and Gwaine offers vulgar yet helpful advice.

Visuals include: lots of rain; rafting; Arthur and Merlin sharing a hammock; Merlin exercising the dogs inside the castle (and being subsequently glomped by them); Morgana discovering Uther in a desert; a massive fireball in the sky; Sir Leon trying to do detective work.

This writer actually offers a section of "Visuals" which is a fantastic move.

Okay, moving on to the rest of the form....

Full current word count & short summary on expected word count and planned time-line: Some artists will be watching this section like a hawk in regards to odds a writer might drop out.

Drawing and Painting/Graphic Art/Video/Fanmix/Podfic (Please specify which of these medium/media of art that you wish to receive: Every year, themuppet links this guide to knowing your fanart mediums. PLEASE read this. It is MEGA IMPORTANT. Understand that there are differences in Graphic Art, Digital Collages, and Manips

Art specifics (Here you may list any specifics of the art that you wish or wish not to receive. If you love all art, please say so!: Here, it can get a little confusing with what themuppet wrote. I interpret this as "list any specifics for the medium you have chosen." So if you chose "Drawing/Painting", here you would say if you prefer not to have charcoal art or chibi style. Or if you chose "Fanmix", here you can say that you prefer not to have Nickleback songs included. If you choose "Graphic Art" here you can say if you prefer blended body parts rather than digital collages. If you chose yes to everything and have no specific art needs or ideas, you can say that too!

Also, use this area to say what you have in mind for art. (Like the "visuals" from that one anon's summary)

EXAMPLES FROM PAST SUMMARIES:

Art specifics: The story's setting is a futuristic version of London and is heavily detailed. There are some iconic buildings and some new structures that play a prominent roll in the story. I would love to see them featured in some of the art. It would also be great if the art would be interested in designing a mock book cover to go along with the story.

Art specifics: I would absolutely LOVE for someone to make newspaper headings, as I use fake newspaper articles to introduce each chapter. But to be honest, anything would be amazing!

WARNING! Be mindful of your wording. Saying "I'm fine with basically any art except for manips." "No anime, please" "I prefer no head-pasting, unless it's really well done" can be very negative and have a "good artists only" connotation attached. Also, saying "No manips" doesn't just mean no to body blending, but ALL graphic art, including digital collages, faux newspapers/mags, and digital maps - which are all photo manipulations (again, please read this article about the intricacies of fanart mediums)

Well, I hoped that helped. If you have anything to add, let me know in the comments!

Making The Big Bang More Acessible

morgandawn — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:09:59 GMT

I've contacted a few maintainers of Big Bangs with ideas that may help make Big Bangs more accessible. the_muppet has given me her go ahead to post them here.

More fans (not just ones with disabilities) are now using e-readers to read Big Bang fic. They're running into a few problems - many do not have the ability or energy needed to reformat multi-part LJ stories into a something an e-reader can use. In addition, they are unable to access older fic or art when LJs or websites go down (by older I mean sometimes as little as a few months).

How Big Bangs are addressing these challenges varies. One way to ensure the fic is available and accessible is to have it backed up in a major archive (such as Archive of Our Own or an off-LJ fandom archive). Some archives do double duty by automatically offering downloadable/formatted files. If not, the Big Bangs look for volunteers to create both PDFs and e-reader compatible files. I personally favor the Archive of Our Own because it allows you to tag fic so it becomes part of collection (ex: The Paper Legends Collection) and it automatically creates both PDFs and eReader compatible files. It also has this added benefit: unlike fan uploaded PDFs to megaupload and sendspace, the files stay available for more than a few weeks and do not require constant reuploading (I adore any method that makes as little work as possible for the writer and community mod). But frankly any method of backing up fic and creating PDFs/epubs would be a benefit to fans and readers. And it will also help those fans who for health reasons cannot sit at the computer for longer periods - many need to be able to access the Big Bang fic in e-reader or PDF formats. So I can only see this as a win win for a large number of fans, not just ones with disabilities.

So with all that in mind here is a list of resources/tips that may help make your Big Bang accessible. All are optional.
*Cross-post to Archive of Our Own (you can embed art, just not upload it or host it on AO3). Tag it as part of The Paper Legends Collection. Your readers will then be able to find and download your work in multiple types formats without you having to any work.
*Offer your story in a single web page or word document - this will allow fans to do conversions themselves into whatever format they need.
*Offer your fan fic as both a PDF/ePub file (or find a volunteer who will turn your story into a PDF/ePub). Note: not all e-readers can handle letter-sized PDFs.

If you're a reader who wants to convert a Big Bang that is not hosted on AO3 to your format of choice, I'd recommend halcyon_shift 's Squeebook that will convert LJ fiction into multiple formats - ePubs, PDF etc. It works best if your writer offers the fic on a single page.

help?

thisbirdsflown — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:40:41 GMT

I feel like I read or heard somewhere how Hunith and Gaius know each other. Does anybody know or, alternatively, know how they know each other? Any help would be really appreciated!

Paper Legends collection on AO3

piscaria — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:52:32 GMT

Congratulations to everyone who finished their stories! I can't wait until I have enough time to read them!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started up a Paper Legends Collection on AO3. If those of you who are posting to the archive want to add your stories to the collection, it will make it easier for people looking for Big Bangs to find your work. Right now, the poor collection is sitting empty. :(

er, help?

emerish — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:26:50 GMT

Hi. It's me again.

Has anyone free time for a chat about my story? Preferably now? because nobody I know is online. I'm flailing all around the place again. I'm so afraid that nobody will like my ending that I need someone to cheer me up, so I'd actually had the wish to write it and wouldn't stare at my PC screen and curse Arthur. *headdesk*

thanks in advance.

FINALLY FINISHED. No help required anymore. Thanks to anyone who helped. ;)

<3

flails

emerish — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:58:31 GMT

Hello.

I'm in need of some cheering. A chit-chat to get my muse moving would do, too. Actually, anything that would calm my stressful nerves and include someone who is ready to listen to my flailing would do.

There is this thing. I've like 5K to left to write (the fight, killing evils and the happily ever after that's actually will not be that happy but that's not the point here) and for three days (I think. Have no sense of time lately, doesn't matter that I have a calendar hanging right on top of my PC. really) every time I open my word doc I stare at it and then leave to do whatever I think is really important. But I need to finish that damned story. Preferably in next two days.

So anyone ready to kick my ass or something?

Arthur's armor explained?

venivincere — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:13:02 GMT

Does anyone have a link to that wonderful resource some wonderful person did that's been around for a bit now that explains all the elements of Arthur's armor? I thought I had it bookmarked but I checked my tags and it's apparently gone the way of the dodo. *is disorganized* Thank you for your help!

Help! The Dragon's words...

venivincere — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:01:42 GMT

Is there a resource anyone knows of that tells us everything the dragon's told Merlin? What I'm looking for specifically is any reference to the dragon telling Merlin that Arthur is the 'once and future king' or implying anything of a "forever more" or "always" nature. Thank you in advance!!!

Help from fellow Paperpushers...

venivincere — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:48:12 GMT

Is he Galahad or Gallahad? *facepalms*

I'm so screwed

nyxelestia — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:53:16 GMT

I lost my USB. I have over 15,000 words to rewrite.

I only have 6,000 words of my written work left with me.

And my fic was probably going to end up way over 20,000 words...

...oh god...oh god...oh god...

*rocking back and forth in a fetal position huddling in a corner*

British slang

hopenight — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:01:34 GMT

Alright so I'm a Yank, American, whatever you want to call me for growing up in the U. S. of A. So naturally I really don't know a lot of British slang or any other necessary things that a Brit-picker tuts at.

And I really not be all embarassed since my beta isn't British either. I tend to use the phrases that I've heard a lot through years of way too much reading and an unhealthy addiction to BBCAmerica.

So can any one help me out here?

{ calling all artists }

the_muppet — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:14:54 GMT

On Sunday August 1st @ 9am GMT a post will open in which all category 2 writers who now feel in a position to finish, can request an artist to work with them.

On that post, just comment with your request, including any details you feel are relevant, and any artist out there can come along and snag a story to work with by responding to the comment. These requests can be snagged as and when they're posted; there won't be a closed period or anything like that as there's really not the time for it at this point.

Anyone can offer to do artwork for this post, whether you'd previously signed up as an artist or not.

Please all free free to spread the word about this post coming up, so as many artists as possible who are interested are able to participate.

I hope as many of you category 2 writers as possible who sign up for this post manage to get yourself an artist =)

Thanks all and good luck ♥

{ cross-posted to main comm too so sorry for the spammage }

About Gaius and the Dragon

applebacardi — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:39:50 GMT

Quick question because I have a sucky memory. When did Gaius first find out that Merlin had been talking to the Dragon?

Quick Character Question

nyxelestia — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:05:35 GMT

Okay, so, you know Alvarr's female sidekick in episode 211, whose name starts with an E? I originally thought her name was Emmyria, then the latest meme of kinkme_merlin said her name was Enmyria. Feeling slightly confused, and I went and looked at my downloaded copy of the episode - but the text in the credits was very small and my copy isn't the clearest version, so I couldn't tell if it was Enmmyria or Ennmyria.

HALP?

Please and thank you!

Official title

applebacardi — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:19:40 GMT

I need help with something. So, say, in the future, Merlin is Court Sorcerer/High Advisor or whatever, you know an important person in Arthur's court, but what would his title be? Like the guards and the servants, how would they address Merlin? Poor Merlin, he'd be so awkward about it. Any help is appreciated :)

Writer/Artist hook-up

shadecat — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:46:46 GMT

So, the artists have picked and chosen their stories:

How/when do we hook up with each other?
What's the first date etiquette here?
Do we send our stories?
HOW DOES THIS WORK?

If artists are reading this comm, feel free to make suggestions, greet your writers or dance naked in the moonlight.

:)

Word-Count Mini Challenge Reminder

lukita — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:33:56 GMT

There are two hours left to get your word count in, so far I have a total of six entries...

Post HERE.

Any free cheerleaders?

ienablu — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:19:35 GMT

Hello all you lovely people~

I was wondering if there were any cheerleaders who wouldn't mind taking on another writer to cheer? I'm having trouble getting in touch with my cheerleader, and I'm worried that I won't make the final check-in if I don't get a touch of wind beneath my sails. Anyone willing to give me a hand?

(Some quick details: I'm writing a Doctor Who crossover, so knowledge of DW would be fantastic; and I'm reachable at ienublu@yahoo.com and/or ienublu on AIM)

Court Matters

applebacardi — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:40:17 GMT

So, I'm having a few problems with some small details concerning Arthur's/Uther's court. First of all, I know that Arthur has his knight, but what about Uther? Has it been mentioned in some episode that he has some sort of council or advisors? I'm sure he has, but has it actually been mentioned? Except for advisors, servants and noble people what other peeps reside in the castle? Oh, and one more question, as Arthur's first advisor and Court Sorcerer should Merlin sit on Arthur's right side or left? I'm thinking right side. Gwen, as queen, is on one side of course, but which one? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

UNOFFICIAL MERLIN BB ONE-WEEK ZOMG POUND-THE-PAPER WORD COUNT!!!!

lukita — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:19:02 GMT

Remember last week's Challenge? I hope you wrote lots, cause here we are with the posting of the number of words you've managed to type in the past week.

Please post your word count here by Midnight Tuesday GMT+8. Which sorta gives you the next 0hrs to write moar. :D

All comments are screened and winners will be contacted through PM.

Edit: And we have cut off. :D

resource sharing

piscaria — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:32:25 GMT

Since it's so easy to get bogged down in the details when you're mid-story, I thought it might be cool if we all just take a second to share some of our favorite writing resources in the comments. Where do you go to track down those tricky little details?

Anyone getting scared yet?

accordingtomel — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:55:29 GMT

Hey all!

So, I'm kind of in panic mode at the moment about my fic and actually getting it finished... I'm thinking some of you might possibly be interested in this community I am a member of.

It's called ficfinishing and basically it is a support community to help people finish writing the first draft of their fanfics. I've been using this comm for the past year now, and I love it! They have daily word count posts, and people cheer for you and encourage you along the way. In these daily posts, there are also tons of really useful strategies and suggestions for what you can do if you're stuck or having a hard time with a particular scene. The people there are fantastic too; tons of great support :D. I wouldn't have been able to write so much in May and June were it not for this place.

Anyway, I just thought that I'd let you all know about it, in case some of you wanted to join for this round. I think the last day of sign-ups are tomorrow, and the round runs for 14 days, so it will get us right to the time we need to have our first draft in.

If any of you are in panic-mode and are looking for a great place to possibly help out, I totally recommend this community!

BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE :D

(Posted with mod permission - the_muppet )

{ final reminder }

the_muppet — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:26:03 GMT

Comments will be locked on the { mandatory writers check-in } post on Thursday 8th July @ 7am.

If you've not yet checked in, you have less than 24 hours to confirm you are still participating in this Big Bang.

♥

Writing styles

shadecat — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:14:49 GMT

Hey all.
I'm posting this as a way to sort of take a step back and get a good look at the way we write. After reading writers who manage to publish and sell their books, I find I get somewhat annoyed when I read the same thing over and over and over. And over. Especially if it's in the same book. I can understand having a certain style, but to utilize the same wording or to express the same thing over and over, it makes it somewhat tedious to read.

As a writer, have you ever noticed yourself using a particular phrase, subject or action repeatedly through different fics?

I know that I have Arthur/Bradley growl. A lot. It's a personal kink of mine and I may overuse it a bit. I'm also big on the whole 'possessive Arthur' thread. As I'm writing, I'll notice that I use these themes often, and as a writer who'd like to expand her literary realm, I'm trying to avoid that.
In some fics, it's necessary, but I'd like to try to find different ways to express the same thing. Or different things to express. Because while *I* may like what I write and find it great, other people have different kinks and preferences and I'd like to be able to hit those as well.

So - Do you find yourself repeating certain styles or phrases in your writing? If so, would you like to give an example.

P.S.,
I'd like to make a note that I am in no way, shape or form hacking on any writers, published or non. I have nothing but respect for people that are capable of coming up with an idea and following through on it to get it out to the world.
But I'm also picky and have an opinion. I AM female. :)

I hate coming up with titles

honeybearbee — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:41:30 GMT

Titles. I hate thinking of them. >:( I wish there was a magic button I could push and a great title would just appear.

Anyway, I have a title "Cynn ac Scinncræft" it roughly means "Family and Magic" (Thank you EOW: Englisc Onstigende Wordbōc), but I don't really like it. I know I want the title in Old English, but I was hoping for phrases all ready, you know, MADE. I don't like coming up with phrases on my own. The title seems cliched and long. I wanted something about family in the title as well. Magic was just there because just family seemed stupid.

So, my questions to you all: 1) Is my title stupid? 2) Where can I find Old English phrases? 3) Tell me your titles and how you came up with them. That last one is less of a question and more of a request. :D

Also, I am in the friending meme! I'm late, but I'm in there. Yay for friending meme's! \o/