This article is a testament to a number of things:
1. It was heavily edited. A real, professional writer will tell you that he always works with an editor, and take that editor seriously. An amateur hack thinks his every word is golden.
2. It was actually entirely rewritten. The original was a somewhat pedestrian/dull/choppy historical overview of journalism with really awesome quotes from people I know in gaming journalism. The editor and I misunderstood each other – he thought I’d given him a pitch that he’d accepted, I thought I’d just introduced myself. However, the guy who writes the check is the one who is right. If you don’t like that thought, don’t be a writer. Besides, if you can’t write your own 2000 word bio in two hours, you aren’t really a writer anyway.
3. 1500 words are gone, and the survivors are much better for it. Man, blogging has spoiled me. I mean spoiled. Like rancid meat. I’ve got a lot of bad writing habits after six years of unedited blogging/posting news/forum haunting. I was all proud because I don’t screw up your/you’re, there/they’re/their. That’s like being proud of myself because I don’t crap my own pants.
4. If you have not read the Escapist before, START. NOW. I’m very lucky they accepted a rusty, overly verbose, and cranky freelancer at all, considering the overall quality of the rag. Go, shoo.
Well done! It was an interesting read especially for those of us that didn’t know much about your time before Ranting/Mythic
Very nice article Sanya…gives a good inside look at how you got to where you are now. I’m sure you’ve inspired more than a few with that one…
Cheers.
D
Luckily the editor(s) left some of the humour that makes your writing stand out.
“I emailed the “Media” address and got a gentleman named Matt Firor. I emailed the “Jobs” address and got Hiring Manager Matt Firor. When I called the producer’s phone number and he answered, I started to suspect this was not a big outfit.” — I laughed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJV0MljEcTk
gratz n stuff
Goe, will still fight evil for food.
[...] 19, 2007 Sanya Weathers has a good “how I got here from there” writeup at The Escapist. Read it. It’s [...]
I really enjoyed that article, and as darren said, it was pretty inspirational. I’m graduating from college this fall (creative writing) and I’m looking to get into the industry, so this gave me a bit of hope. While things have changed much since 1999, I still think that dedication and hard work really do pay off and I can’t wait to see what the future brings (though I am a bit nervous as well.) Thanks
Just finally got around to reading this, Sanya. Great article, really enjoyed it. I’m a little bummed out already that my going from a gamer/blogger to someone in the industry isn’t nearly as drama-filled and interesting to read as yours.
You’re such an excellent writer, love reading your stuff.=)
As I read, I kept telling myself that I should’ve been a writer. Then I got to the part about writing a 2000 word bio in 2 hours, and came to the conclusion that you’re born with the ability to write, and can only hone your skills from there.
Very nice read though. Great history of the industry.
I found it very interesting, even if it trailed off at the end into a sort of distracting summary/prediction of the state of the industry and MMOs in general, and I hope you are able to continue the story, years from now.
-Tae
You blog is a slap in the face to face slappers everywhere.
Please slap more faces, btw.
Write more please. That is all.
Sanya, I just wanted to chime in with Montague above by paraphrasing a quote from your most famous rant:
“Ur gona get more writen, plz.”
P.S. Looking forward to your next blog entry,
Sumyung Guy
fwiw, she goes all poopiehead and stops posting from time to time.
Goe, because patience is still a virtue.