The first piece I ever had published at University didn’t have my name on it. My reviews editor, a man who resembled Paul Weller after he plummeted out of a very tall tree, ‘edited me’. As I recall the largest edit job he did was removing my byline but still, apparently, that was enough to …
As a critic you’re different things to some people; to readers you’re a canary, seeking out what they’re not sure of. To the text you’re talking about you’re either an asset or a massive problem, depending on how you find it. To people who vehemently disagree with you you’re an opponent. But most of all …
Make a list, say five lines long, two vertical columns like this one. Don’t think too hard about it, just write down five genres under each column: GENRES I LOVE GENRES I HATE Now, for every one movie you watch on the left? Watch two on the right. If you’re going to write about …
There are two ways to review any piece of media; the first is to discuss it from a consciously placed position behind the lens of your own experience. The second is to step out from that and try and look at the thing if not dispassionately then certainly from distance. It’s entirely possible to do …
My first published journalism was a CD review of a single by Ed Alleyne-Johnson. It was in the Manx Independent. I got the job by pitching them a regular music review and pitching the local independent music store the idea of a regular free feature. Since then I’ve done 150 word film reviews for a …
My first big pro sale was in 2007. The game was published in 2009. I was paid in 2012. In that time I picked up other work, mostly for smaller companies, only two of whom ever paid. I had one contract where I screwed the maths up on the game system so hard they told …
Play everything you can. Read everything you can. Go sit on rpg.net if you like message boards. Go noodle about on Google Plus if you prefer. But however you do it, talk to people. I know, sometimes that’s difficult and weird. Ask me how long it took me to stop ending every sentence in emails with …
So what happens if no one wants to employ you yet? Easy. You do it yourself. Right now Fate Core is a massively successful rules set that’s set up to be licensed in a pair of really interesting, open source like ways. Here are the details: http://www.faterpg.com/licensing/ Fate Core regularly has third party games over …
Running just 12 episodes Inspector Nardone is an Italian produced TV show based on the life of the real Mario Nardone, a post-war Milanese police officer. Transferred in after a successful, if embarrassing, operation, Nardone is everything the Milanese police department isn’t; focused, dedicated and honest. On paper that sounds absolutely cookie cutter but the show takes …
Perpetual motion is real and it’s a thing that powers the RPG industry. That and steam. And dice. What else did you think D12s were for? Perpetual motion in this instance means keeping moving. Always be working on something, always be looking for something else. There’s a tendency for the inherent lack of self-confidence a …