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Card does teach things that he's put in his books. I heard him say, once, that there was no point, really, in going to BootCamp, because everything he taught was already in Characters & Viewpoint. But believe me: good as his books are, they are nothing like being there. I don't think I know anyone who didn't find Bootcamp one of the pivotal experiences of his or her life.
If you ever have the chance to take any sort of course from him, jump at it.
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That's my lifelong dream. But all I can afford right now is a plane ticket from France, which does not include getting there, paying for tuition, board and food, and various other things... I'll have to content myself with dreaming.
Posts: 1075 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'm in the same boat silver. I'm in Japan, so there is 0 chance of ever doing something like bootcamp.
Posts: 450 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Well at least you haven't been turned down after applying. So there's still a chance, albeit remote, that you may some day be in a position to attend. I can't go even if I were living in the same town, and I still disagree with Scott's reasons for not letting me attend. I know I would have learned a lot. Oh well. I've tried to learn as much as possible outside of the class. I guess that's the best course of action short of attending.
Posts: 818 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I think that might be a sub-optimal strategy. Just keep submitting things to his magazine. And keep it serious, no sabotaged stories, please. You'll probably get a few sales and your rejection letters could be very helpful. I don't imagine that they will all be the same as a class, but you'll be getting them for free in the process of working actively towards further sales.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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He bought her story for the initial issue of Inter-Galactic Medicine Show. Since he considers Boot Camp limited to novice authors, he declined to extend an invitation.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Sorry, I forgot that not everyone knows I am Rachel Ann Dryden. I won't tell the story of exactly what happened again here, I've posted it several times (maybe a search will bring up a couple) but basically he told me he had nothing to teach me so would not accept my application. I completely disagree with that.
Kathleen, sometimes I have felt that "Respite" was a fluke, but I don't really believe that. I just need to find a way to consistently get ideas that incorporate the basic storytelling elements I happened to stumble on in that story . It would have been nice if I'd been able to go to Boot camp, as it would have hastened the process, but my main obstacle at this time is really more butt-in-chair. I know the nuts and bolts, it's the execution where I lose steam.
Survivor, Scott has seen about a half dozen of my stories since then. He accepted one for publication with the proviso that I tweak the ending. I did so. He felt it still wasn't ready and decided not to buy it after all. A couple of the others he liked very much, but weren't right for his magazine (I knew that ahead of time, no surprises there). He has one on his desk right now that I have hopes for, and he'll read it before finalizing the second issue, but he's been so busy for the past several months that he hasn't read it yet. I'm not going to send him any more until he's had a chance to read that one. And even if he likes it, it has some language and may exceed the PG-13 rating of the magazine.
But as far as Scott's helpfulness is concerned, he's really done a lot for me. He's boosted my self confidence immeasurably. He's compared my writing to his when he started out, and his relationship to me, to that of his with Ben Bova at the beginning of his career. He's been consistently supportive and praising of my efforts, and has written me multiple emails on the craft of writing, and my writing in particular. He's also publically praised my work on the other side of the forum, and offered to help me when I finish my first novel by looking at it for me and possibly recommending it to publishers.
In that sense I've gone one better than bootcamp. And I'm still friends with many of the people who attended, because of this forum and Codex, where many of them hang out.
Really the only thing I miss was the enforced writing time. I do much better with deadlines, as I'm a very lazy person by nature. I have to fight that to get any writing done. But even that aspect I'm working on. I try to find deadlines as much as I can, and enter contests and the like to help spur me on.
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Oh, and I have a confession to make. I still haven't really started submitting my work yet. I've entered WOTF two quarters and got quarter-finalist both times (though that doesn't really mean that much, to be honest) but besides that, the only other market I submitted to folded before they read my story. Much of the reason I have yet to really get the ball rolling is that I don't have very many completed stories. I'm not prolific yet. What I have, isn't necessarily appropriate for the big three, and I want to start with those if possible. But my goal for this year is to start actual submissions by the end of March, and I'm working towards writing more stories to send out between now and then.
Posts: 818 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
autumn, I don't mean to be flippant, but after reading your past two posts, I believe that the spot you would have taken up in boot cam will truly and honestly be better used by somebody else.
Seems to me that you're well on your way to becoming a very successful writer! Leave the rest of us hacks the opportunity for help!
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Autumn, It would have been great to have you there, but Mary was already hanging out with djvdakota, so you would have probably been stuck working with me for the index card exercise, and then everyone would still be laughing at you because of it. So, you're better off. But, to make up for it, I'll buy you the Krispy Kreme donut you missed whenever I see you.
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. It would have been nice if I'd been able to go to Boot camp, as it would have hastened the process, but my main obstacle at this time is really more butt-in-chair. I know the nuts and bolts, it's the execution where I lose steam.
