Pyramid Mentoring Google Group

[Christopher R. Rice]

Have you ever wanted to write for Pyramid? Are you intimidated by the WYSIWYG? Does putting together an article seem too daunting? Do you think you could do it if you just had some help? If this sounds like you, then I want to hear from you! Steve Jackson Games (and Steven Marsh by extension) can always use a larger, dedicated pool of writers, and I (and some other authors) are willing to help get your work up to par. A few things first:

• This little project is in no way endorsed by Steve Jackson Games. It's a personal side project that I've put together to help my fellow potential writers.
• I am looking for serious people who are willing to dedicate their spare time into becoming the best game writers they can be. This means you need to be able to accept constructive criticism, be ready to listen to the advice that you're given, and work hard to achieve your end goal. Writing for Pyramid isn't just about putting words to paper. There is a certain style, a way to say things, do things, that is inherent to the magazine's format.
• You'd need to agree to a general nondisclosure principle, and obey Wheaton's Rule. We don't want people to start claiming their idea has been stolen and ruin everything.
• This writer's group is built around improving actual drafts. So to participate, you need to have a draft to be critiqued. Have it ready, and advice will be given on how to format it, article structure, content, and flow, and internal consistency with the body of GURPS rules. It's meant to help those people who are almost good enough to get into Pyramid on their own. It's not meant as a general group for writers or people who don't know how to write, but want to learn. There are hundreds of resources out there for that. Edit: This doesn't need to be something you're actually going to submit; if you want to work on a "practice" draft - that's fine too! The goal is to get you thinking and writing like a Pyramid author.
• Rejection can happen. But don't send me an email because you are afraid of that. Don't take it personally, go work on your style, improve, submit again. Maybe you'll surprise us (I hope you do!). Alternatively, bypass us completely and submit it right to Pyramid!
• Being accepted does not mean you're going to get into Pyramid, that's something you have to do on your own. I can help you, but I can't do it for you.
• Playtesting or reviewing experience is a plus, but not required.

I can promise participants one thing: I will be perfectly honest with you at all times (and so will the others). If we think, your idea is awful, we'll tell you, if we think, it can be salvaged...we'll tell you so. This sort of honesty and openness are essential for something like this to work.

Right now, the mentors in the program consist of myself, Antoni "Kuroshima" Ten Munros, Douglas Cole, Paul Stefko, and Tim Ponce. I'm sure there will be others. If you're an experienced Pyramid or GURPS author that wants to help the next generation, shoot me an email, and I'll happily add you to the list. The more the merrier. :-)

Right now, I'm looking for 2 to 3 participants, first come is first served. Contact me via PM, email, or post here on the boards. Make sure you have your article ready (.DOC format please) to email me.

See our manifesto here.

I really look forward to hearing from you guys, would-be mentors or protégés.

Update: Because OpenOffice and other non-MS Word programs tend to do strange things to formatting after they've been saved and opened by MS Word I'm going to have to require from this point on that you either have a program that doesn't do this (email the .doc and I can find out for you) or that you use some version of Word. I know this will put a dent into people's styles, but the work-around to fix this is difficult and the whole point of this group is to teach you how to format things yourself.

Update: As of this time (8/31/2017), this group is on semi-permanent hiatus due to my busy schedule. We'll get back to it - but it might take a while.

Update: As of this time (4/15/2017), this group is essentially disbanded. I might try again in the future, but for right now we're done.