It's awesome. It got me two internships this summer. It's the proudest thing I've ever done. Now I want to help some of the super talented, funny writers here do the same!
You'll have to make an account first. Do so, and post a message in the thread saying you would like to sign up. You can make a joke if you want...but no one will care.
It will take about two-three days to gain access to the workshop. The workshop is basically a hidden section of the forum where all the ideas are pitched. I'll go over in more detail what goes on there, but just know that it's difficult, complicated, and will make you a much better writer.
If it's like Tuesday/Wedensday and you still don't have access to the workshop (your forum title will be changed to "Purveyor of D*** jokes" once you have. Post in that thread again. Sometimes they miss people.
While we wait for people to gain access, I'll take any questions yall have. You can post any ideas you have here, just remember that they have to be list based, fact based, and not rely on any sort of goofy character style. Only columnists get to write subjectively.
You said in the last topic that research is about 80% of the process. If that's true, then why are new writers even needed if they spend most of their time just finding sources? I've played a ton of video games throughout my life, but while I have tons of opinions on the state of the industry, how it should and shouldn't be changed, etc, there's not a whole lot that would fit into the fact-based list forms that Cracked is forcing new writers to adhere to.
Big Bob posted... You said in the last topic that research is about 80% of the process. If that's true, then why are new writers even needed if they spend most of their time just finding sources? I've played a ton of video games throughout my life, but while I have tons of opinions on the state of the industry, how it should and shouldn't be changed, etc, there's not a whole lot that would fit into the fact-based list forms that Cracked is forcing new writers to adhere to.
Those are three video-game articles written by freelance writers. Yes, you can't talk about why Mario is better than Zelda. What you can do is present history about those characters that no one has ever heard about?
And honestly, which of those articles do you think more people would want to read?
Go there. Read all five threads. Especially the first one. Don't just read them. Understand them. They're VERY strict on formatting everything the right way. The people there look at 300 pitches a week, they don't have time to work with those that aren't even formatted correctly.
I've seen those, and I FAR prefer David's post-e3 arguments about how he doesn't like the direction the industry is going (and I think a few months ago someone wrote a counter-argument saying the industry is fine), as well as Cheese's observations about how he plays games as opposed to the way his kids do. It spurs discussion, which is far more interesting to me than "look at this weird thing we found on youtube!".
Big Bob posted... I've seen those, and I FAR prefer David's post-e3 arguments about how he doesn't like the direction the industry is going (and I think a few months ago someone wrote a counter-argument saying the industry is fine), as well as Cheese's observations about how he plays games as opposed to the way his kids do. It spurs discussion, which is far more interesting to me than "look at this weird thing we found on youtube!".
You're free to feel that way. I'm just saying you can't do that as well. All three of those articles were done by columnists. I don't make the rules for the site. If you refuse to do things their way they'll just shut you down at the pitch stage. I'm trying to save you the time and effort.
i guess what's going on there is you need to actually prove your worth first by making a ton of good fact based lists before you even get the chance to be considered to be hired as a regular columnist and start writing your own opinion pieces
You sent me three good stories about Russia. I liked them! What you have to do is focus your content into something more compact. "6 interesting things about Russia" won't fly because it's way too vague. Anyone could note 100 crazy things that have happened in any country in the world.
Of the three you sent me, 2 and 3 work best. I would package them into the pitch "6 Russian conflicts more insane than the Cold War" or something like that. I'm bad at titles, but you see how ridiculous Russian wars is more interesting than, "Oh Russia, you so crazy!!!!!" Don't think I'm picking on you either, your second and third examples are awesome.
I'll PM you, Sub at some point soon about how things are going. If you're interested in Co-writing with me, I'd love to. You'de likely need to help me out with the research, but if we did work together, I'm sure you'de benefit from me taking charge on all the editorial feedback which can be quite overwhelming.
SubDeity posted... Alright, I'm in. Time to start shaping that that idea I PM'd you into a pitch.
You seem to be the one most interested in doing this, and that's what I'm looking for. This stuff is a pain in the ass. It will almost certainly be the most difficult thing you ever do. There are many things I could tell you, but I'll give you the most important stuff and PLEASE feel free to ask questions here. The other Cracked writers are really nice, but they all are pretty self-satisfied and tend to turn any newb question into a circle jerk about how proud they are of themselves (I do it too, to be fair.)
1) Don't be a jerk.
Your pitches will fail. God knows mine did. It took me 7 pitches to get one they liked. That seventh one was an abandoned article that really wasn't that hard, and I was lucky to see it just as it was moved to the abandoned folder. Of my first six, 4 were terrible, one was good enough, but I just decided to drop it because another had been accepted, and one was totally good enough and the Cracked editors are wrong and dumb and I hate them.
You may notice I'm being a jerk. I am, but on a different forum. I also complain to my mom, my friends, and people in the park about how Cracked just Doesn't understand my sense of humor, man
Yet I have never once complained about anything on the actual forum. The reason is simple. Writing for Cracked is a job. They pay you for your work, treat you with respect, and have the ability to terminate you at any time for any reason. If you were working at Starbucks (and hadn't actually ever sold a coffee to anyone) and your manager kept telling you how to fix things, what do you think would happen if you decided to lash out and alert them that they should back off because you know how to make coffee better than them?
That's what will happen in the workshop. If a pitch gets rejected, take it as a learning experience (trust me, it is) and go make another one using the knowledge you've gained. Don't whine, don't contest, if a editor doesn't like it just let it go.
2) As long as you're not a jerk, rejection means NOTHING
This one is hard to swallow for new writers. They work their asses off on a (usually painfully misguided) pitch, and get shot down by an editor with a simple, "Hey, this doesn't work, read these guidelines to better understand the rules" message. Yes, that sucks. I've felt it. But PLEASE know from the start that the only negative of having a pitch killed is that you wasted your time.
There are 250 or so pitches submitted each week. Roughly 200 of them are terrible. 25 of them are OK, but simply not interesting enough to keep going. 10 of them make it considering, but due to one reason or another never make it. (Those are the ones that end up in the abandoned folder). So that means 15 of 250 articles a week actually make it to the front page. There simply isn't enough time or effort for anyone to pay attention to all the bad pitches. The people who constantly in that top 15 DO get noticed, but the other 235...it's like you never pitched at all.
I've been with Cracked for a year. I remember one person who never had an article published. He was a huge jerk to me and got banned for it. So remember that: if/when your pitches fail, NO ONE will remember or care. Not because we're all super nice, but because you're simply one failure out of 235 that week.
Sorry to clutter your GameFAQS inbox; you can ignore everything except the first one I sent. Instead, I sent an email to the one you have listed with your Cracked profile.
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SubDeity wants to vote for Calvin Coolidge. [Evil Republican] Play Der Langrisser.