Two gone in as many days. Two epic people who left an impossible-to-match thumbprint upon our world.

Princess Leia Organa ... General Organa.

The father of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and all the rabbits of Watership Down.

If 2016 were a person, I'd kick it in the balls and follow that up with a castration.

David Bowie.
Alan Rickman.
Prince.
Leonard Cohen.

Just: stay well, everyone. Stay well, forever. Don't leave. Not yet.

Yours,
Sylvan

My work on writing a novel in a month continues. So far, for the time being, I'm posting all my rough-draft chapters on SoFurry until I'm ready to take them down for editing purposes. Until then, you can read them, here.

I sincerely hope you enjoy these.

My list of chapters (with links) are as follows:



Skylands: the Scorpion Spear


Prelude: “Winds of Ice” - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1091718

Part One: Saeldrin
Chapter One: the Hunters - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092578
Chapter Two: the Prey - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092938
Chapter Three: the Seekers - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1093747
Chapter Four: A Cage of Wind and Ice - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1094087
Chapter Five: Worshipping Death - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1094529
Chapter Six: Worlds Beyond Walls - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1095769
Chapter Seven: Challenges - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096049
Chapter Eight: Labyrinthine - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096079
Chapter Nine: Barriers And Beyond - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096526
Chapter Ten: The Call From Beyond - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1097027

Part Two: Talvali
Chapter Eleven: Shadow Of A Billion Worlds - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1099366
Chapter Twelve: Fragments and Perspectives - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1100056

Yours,
Sylvan

I'm really exhausted.

It's halfway through NaNoWriMo and I'm only 1/3rd done with my story. Additionally, I've gotten 47,000 words done so that means the overall story is probably going to be 150,000 words long. And my goal isn't just to finish 50K words in a month ... it's to do that as well as finish the damn tale.

Help!

I'm slowing down; it's really not easy.

If you want to read what I've done so far, these links will stay active to SoFurry (which has a better story interface than FA, Weasyl, or any other furry site, that I know of) where I'm putting each chapter.

I don't need feedback as much as I need affirmation; encouragement. It really would be nice.

So, here's what I've got:


Skylands: the Scorpion Spear


Prelude: “Winds of Ice” - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1091718

Part One: Saeldrin

Chapter One: the Hunters - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092578
Chapter Two: the Prey - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092938
Chapter Three: the Seekers - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1093747
Chapter Four: A Cage of Wind and Ice - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1094087
Chapter Five: Worshipping Death - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1094529
Chapter Six: Worlds Beyond Walls - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1095769
Chapter Seven: Challenges - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096049
Chapter Eight: Labyrinthine - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096079
Chapter Nine: Barriers And Beyond - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1096526
Chapter Ten: The Call From Beyond - https://www.sofurry.com/view/1097027

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

Please do not give out these links; they are intended to be "Friends-Only". After a couple months, though, the links may not work since I'll be editing them. These are all rough, first-drafts, shared because it's fun to do so. Otherwise, I don't really share my work until it is finished.

Skylands: the Scorpion Spear

Prelude: “Winds of Ice” - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1091718

Part One: Saeldrin

Chapter One: the Hunters - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092578
Chapter Two: the Prey - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1092938
Chapter Three: the Seekers - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1093747
Chapter Four: A Cage of Wind and Ice - http://www.sofurry.com/view/1094087

I think that what most people miss about artists is that they rarely operate in a vacuum. They need to express themselves; that requires others. I'm not sure that people who give advice from a position of experience understand this. They talk about the craft but not the people.

Writers, actors, musicians, singers: all artists need an audience and, more than that, feedback and personal support. They require connection with others.

That is what most people miss about why artists fail in an endeavor or stop producing is this: the deserts of humanity that surround the artist is daunting. There are many who feel a dearth of support. While the artist may fail in simply "doing", there's also the failure of community to bolster and feed the artist's soul.

So, thoughts?

I'm uploading (when I feel like it) my rough draft material for NaNoWriMo as I write it.

Chapter one will keep getting updated, here: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1091718

Right now, I'm just 2/3rds of my way through it.

My story, this year, is "Skylands: the Scorpion Spear". It is a fantasy set in my Skylands world-setting.

What makes a good horror movie? Well, that’s based on what you want to get out of a horror film. Personally, what I love is being drawn in and having my darker notions challenged and celebrated. Then there’s the tension; the suspense. I want it to ramp up, peak, and end with me being satisfied (with plenty of punctuated highs and lows, in between). In short, it’s a lot like sex.

So, which horror films left me panting in a post-coital afterglow? Here are my top 13 (ranked, roughly, from favorite on-down):

the Cabin in the Woods (2011)
the Thing (1982)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
the Babadook (2014)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 (1988)
the Ring (2002)
the Descent (2005)
Evil Dead II (1987)
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
Alien (1979)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
28 Days Later (2002)

(Yeah, “Scream” is another favorite as is “Godzilla” but, well, I had to stop at 13, right?)

What are your favorite, seasonally horrifying films?

Are yours in this list? How would you rank them?

I'm looking for an artist to hire for a realistic-style, detailed, full-color-with-backgrounds image of two members of this race I'm working with for the upcoming National Novel Writing Month. The race is The Dagdarra. They are very large, anthro caribou with an additional set of forward-curved-from-the-base-of-their-jaw horns (like a taun-taun). So, yes: they have the large set of antlers that caribou have as well as taun-taun horns. (And, yes, females have antlers, too.)

<the caribou part is based upon http://www.shauntmax30.com/981246-animals-backgrounds-caribou.html>

Dagdarra have brown fur that fades towards light tan and white around the shoulders, neck, abdomen, and along the backs of their arms and legs. They have large, barrel chests and are heavily muscled. Ruffs of fur billow from the fronts of their necks and down in a “V”-shape across their chests. Dagdarra have thick layers of fat and muscle due to the cold climates in which they live. They possess heavy, blunt antlers growing from between pointed, deer-like ears and upward-curving, pointed horns extending from the base of their skulls, forward, and up: flanking their thick muzzles.
Their hands have two primary, thick fingers with two, more slender, thumbs opposing them. The forward half of each digit is capped with a hard, flexible hoof-like material. Their feet are also crescent-shaped, cloven hooves of large diameter to support their enormous bulks. Their hooves are a dark brown: very nearly black.
The eyes of the dagdarra are deep blue with a surrounding corona of pine green.
Males and females, alike, possess these features although the females are slightly shorter and have smaller antlers.
The neck ruff of the males is larger than that of females and extends to their shoulders. Males also tend to grow beards which they braid and clasp with rings of precious metal.
Both males and females wear little but vests, belts, bracelets, anklets, and loin cloths. They are sexually discreet in their style.

The image I'm looking for would feature two dagdarra, one male and one female, standing on the frozen tundra beneath a blue, near-cloudless sky, with snowy peaks in the background. In the middle-ground, behind them, would be one of their temples.

The temples of the Dagdarra are like pyramids with the top third raised with a vertical wall connecting the top to the bottom half. In the center of each face of the pyramid, broad stairs are inset leading up to this entry level.

So: know any artists who do work in a realism style and are currently accepting commissions? Please: let me know!

Yours,
Sylvan

Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for; Furry Migration 2016's SECRET INGREDIENT for Iron Pen and Iron Artist.

The secret ingredient is ... "My Secret Origin"!

This secret ingredient MUST be featured in a prominent way in your story or art.

Submissions must also follow these rules:

-Be no longer than 1,000 words for Iron Pen text (story or poetry) or larger than the equivalent of one 8-1/2 inch by 11 inch page for an Iron Artist image.
-Include either the concept of “Migration” or a “native Minnesota species” of anthro.

Check out the official page for more information on submitting your work forFurry Migration's Iron Pen and Iron Artist: http://www.furrymigration.org/events/ip-ia/

The deadline is September 9th at 7PM!

For a few years, now, I've run tabletop gaming at Furry Migration in Minnesota. The next convention is only a few weeks away and I've been using my budget, wisely, to populate our game library.

This, now, is what we have:

* Zar
* Kitsune
* Blood of Heroes RPG
* Spree!
* Smash-Up (with Big Geeky Box)
* * * * * Smash-Up - Awesome Level 9000
* * * * * Smash-Up - Science Fiction Double Feature
* * * * * Smash-Up - Monster Smash
* * * * * Smash-Up - Pretty Pretty Smash-Up
* Zombie Dice (with Brain Case)
* * * * * Zombie Dice 2 - Double Feature
* * * * * Zombie Dice 3 - School Bus
* Tsuro
* Falling
* Once Upon A Time
* Mars Attacks: Ten-Minute Takedown
* One Night: Ultimate Werewolf
* FLUXX
* Regular Show FLUXX
* The Gayme
* Cards Against Humanity
* Exploding Kittens
* Meow
* King of Tokyo
* King of New York
* Adorable Pandaring
* TemPURRa
* Catan
* Nyet!
* Bears!

JOIN US!

http://www.furrymigration.org/

I made it to 49!

Okay! Did it! Only 1 year to go before ... uh...

Fifty.

Bloody-fucking-Hell.

Tomorrow I pack my bags, my C-PAP machine, my wolf blanket, my meds, my books, my games, and my love of community and head to the greatest convention of them all!

Will I see you there?

I hope so, but I kinda doubt it. Most folk here on FA have never been. That should be fixed.

This will be my first year at the hotel where I've not run a department. For 16-or-so years, I ran Gaming. I burned out. I'm so looking forward to just being an attendee (and working a few panels).

So, if you haven't yet, make your plans to attend CONvergence!

(What con did you THINK I was talking about?)

See ya there!

Yours,
Sylvan

I'd been up since early. I got breakfast, did some reading, and began writing. For an hour and a half, I wrote; did some world-building. Now, I tell you with all sad honesty, my story has turned into a revenge fantasy against those kind of assholes who preach intolerance against non-heterosexual people.

I'm furious; I'm at the edge of tears.

Those who preach "hate the sin, love the sinner" are responsible for fostering the environment of intolerance and hatred as much as those who actively call for gays to be discriminated against based upon the word of their god. I don't want to hear any more "Not All Christians". I know that. I'm quite aware of all the good that Christianity has done in this world. But I'm done making that caveat. The loudest, angriest, and most horrible of these people are undermining and destroying the world.

And, so, until I can get a grip on my emotions, I'm just going to alleviate my fury by writing about it in a violent, vengeful story. People may or may not ever read it, I may delete it when I'm done, but for now that's all I can think of to do to get this fury out of me.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/or.....club-shooting/

Yours,
Sylvan

Thoughts?

The Big Round-About.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

Just what the subject-line of this Journal says: ZPD_Dispatch is on Twitter.

Spread the squee!

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

I stayed at an overflow hotel last year for Midwest FurFest.

I'm an asthmatic, over-weight, and a year-and-a-half from turning 50.

Last year was really difficult for me. I barely was able to attend to the convention. Walking hurt. My lungs hurt. I swore that, in the future, I would only attend if I could get into the main hotel.

Yes, I'm not in a wheelchair, yet, but I still have trouble making it to the main hotel even when only a block or two away.

I sincerely wish they would have a sub-block of rooms set-up to accommodate people with physical hardships. Heck, giving Sponsors and SuperSponsors and volunteers who put in 20+ hours of work an early room shot would be benficial.

I know it would be very difficult and present its own problems but such a system would at least make me feel a bit better about the convention which I've supported with my presence and money every year since before it existed ... back when it was just the furry track of programming at DucKon.

I've worked on many conventions, being on the con-comm of 6 of them. As I've grown older, I've begun to realize that accommodation should be made for the people who help make the convention what it is. For example, folk who come every year for an extended number of years, help add to the environment and "feel" of the convention. Not all of them, sure, but quite a few. Those who volunteer, who run games or events, fit into this category as well. People who directly donate money as a Sponsor or Super-Sponsor definitely help.

These people, I think, should deserve early access to room allocation.

Additionally, those who have mobility issues, need to be accommodated in the room block. It can be difficult to police, difficult to verify, but the alternative is being told "main hotel is full; it's only a one- or two-block walk from an overflow hotel". Honestly, that's not possible for me. I'm trying as hard as I can to lose weight and fix myself but that's not always possible.

The best conventions, if they know their programming is all in the same hotel or place, will reserve a certain percentage of their room block for those with mobility issues. Then, in the sign-up forms, they ask if mobility issues are needed. The percentage of the room block to be set aside reflects what demand there is from the attendees and an assessment based upon what previous years have revealed.

Earlier today, I was pretty angry. I'm not any more. I feel badly that I couldn't get in to the main hotel. I know, from last year's experience, that the overflow hotels are too far of a walk for me. Shuttle services might help as long as they are fairly frequent, say every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes from 8 am to Midnight (with half hour increments at other times).

I present this journal entry to both say "I'm sorry for those who had to bear witness to my rants on Twitter, earlier" as well as to propose something better than the system that is currently in place.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

This is from my previous journal, an answer to someone else, posted here for reference.

In short, I installed Telegram over my lunch break. I got back to my desk at the office and installed it, there, too. I tried it out while doing some work. Then, just as I put my notification up, here on FA, we had an emergency. I needed to do some coding very fast for a very big client, under a lot of scrutiny. I tried to do what I normally do: turn off or set myself as "away" or "do-not-disturb". I do this with all my chat/social clients.

Telegram, I discovered, doesn't have such a setting.

As everything started burning around me, as I had to get the code finished and out the door, alerts and messages kept popping up and I couldn't figure out how to stop them. I quickly figured I'd have to shut off the program, which I did. My boss came over to see how I was doing and, in the middle of showing him, a ton of message alerts popped up. Apparently, even though I had checked the system tray, there was still a process running, somewhere. Additionally, my phone kept chirping at me telling me about every new Telegram I received.

Basically: it got in the way of my job at the worst possible time, kept distracting me, didn't provide me with a way to easily shut it off or hide myself from activity/alerts, and proved to be non-intuitive as for how to shut off all processes with a single switch or button. I literally, on each device upon which it is installed, have to go into "Settings", find the appropriate alerts, switch them off, and figure out how to turn off the system tray when the program is shut down. This undermines "quick and easy".

It's my own fault for installing the damn thing to begin with. I'm trying to keep up with my friends so I can communicate readily. And I installed a program with the assumption that it had basic features that it didn't have. The one positive thing about it is that unlike Twitter and other social media programs, the images it displays are large enough that I don't have to squint to see them through my bifocals.

I'm not fond of Telegram, now: I made mistakes and it has some very fundamental features missing. I'm probably not going to be online much, today, because I need to focus on work and try to repair my damaged reputation at the office.

I may or may not go back to it. We'll see.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

Okay, I'm trying Telegram, now. There, I'm known as <ask later>.

So: this "Stickers" thing...

Any micro/shrinking or hyper sticker sets that you know of? :)

ADDENDUM: I can't shut the damn thing off! I have work that has to be done and I keep getting folk pinging me! Is the only answer to shut off the damn tool? I can't set myself as "Away" or "Invisible"?!!!!

I had to write this after reading and wrestling with my emotions regarding this article: (A Call to Action: Your Fat Friend Is Going It Alone).

This is a notice that I will be unfollowing those who post fat/gaining/weight-gain-encouragement materials. I understand that this is a valid fetish and fantasy. But for me, I've been struggling with my weight all my adult life. I have followed advice from well-meaning people to "You can find someone who'll be attracted to you for your shape and girth" only to find people who ONLY liked me for those traits. I've wasted years of my life on this, seeking acceptance not for my weight nor in spite of my weight. I want to be loved for me. If someone loves a fat guy, that's fine. But even those who have said they love me for being me also try to encourage me to either lose or gain weight.

I don't want my weight to be a part of the picture any longer!

And this is particularly problematic because several artists I follow who draw things other than weight-gain stuff do really great things like landscapes or action-adventure drawings! But they also make a surprisingly large amount of fat-based art. So, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep staring at bloated, round creatures that make me feel terrible about myself.

So, no more. I'm honestly sorry if I've hurt your feelings. Such was not my intent. but I cannot keep going on feeling like my weight is the first thing people see about me. I can't keep going, loving food and eating, while realizing that people stare at me in disgust or fetish-fueled arousal BECAUSE of that!

I've tried losing weight. I'm hopefully going to try again. But I keep ending up back where I started: feeling alone, unloved, and the subject of one extreme or another with regards to my girth.

So, that's why this is happening.

Going forward, as these sorts of art appear in my feed, I'll just un-follow.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

When should someone get "Free" art?

Over on g+, today, in one of the furry communities, an artist shared a screenshot that showed some asshole decrying how artists ask for payment. this was, apparently, a faux response by someone being sarcastic (although that was not made clear in the original post ... it looked like a legitimate complainer). The screenshot showed the "Anonymous" poster saying:

Art is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.
Music is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.
Writing is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.
Playing sports is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.
Making youtube videos is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.
Publishing vidya is not a fucking job. It's something you do on the side for a little extra spending money.

If someone said this to me, I'd block them so fast it would make their self-righteous, entitled head spin. And that's part of the problem: real or not, this sentiment is used all the time. I took the initial post at face-value and wrote this screed. I now know that it's not a real example and feel ashamed that I took it at face value.

That said, I'm leaving this article live with some modifications because people like this do exist.

Forgive my profanity but "Fuck 'em".

I'd love to see what would happen if the hypothetical Mr. Anonymous told Harlan Ellison that "writing is not a fucking job". (Trust me, no matter how old or frail Ellison might be, such an Anonymous asshat would be signing their own death warrant.)

The only times an artist should do something for free are:

1. When they feel like doing something free ... just for the heck- and/or pure joy of it, or
2. When they want to give someone a gift, or
3. When they will get money for it, later, and they have a contract stating as much. (Which, of course, is not "free" but more like "pay me later" or "I'll do the work, now, with the expectation of payment, later"), or
4. When they are involved, with full knowledge of the risks, in creating something that will (hopefully) earn money, later, such as in a partnership that may or may not pay off but they're willing to roll the dice that money might come, later.

Beyond these four, if you are demanding something for free or criticizing artists who won't give you something for free, you are an asshole who deserves to be stripped naked and tied to a fire-ant mound. And, as you get more money and collect more "free" art, ethically I think you should start donating to a few artists just to keep the system working. That last one I cannot require but I think you should definitely give it some thought.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

A person I follow online, a fellow hobbyist writer, got an email requesting a commission. Not only did the person requesting it spell out exactly what was to happen, the would-be commissioner put in all manner of caveats (including "no referencing the male character having an erection", ie: "gay stuff"). The "request" was more stated like a demand, saying that the work would have to be at least "1,000 words" and have a first draft available for review, that night. For all this? The seemingly entitled (and/or "clueless") commissioner said he would pay five dollars ("including tip").

Here are the generally-accepted definitions for writing lengths:
Drabble (100 words)
Flash Fiction (100-1,000 words [usually less than 750])
Micro Fiction (1,000-3,000 words)
Short Story (3,000-6,000 words)
Large Short Story (6,000-12,000 words)
Novella (20,000 - 50,000 words)
Novel (90,000+ words)

To summarize what the paying world offers writers, a low-paid, starting value (in a fair-to-middling publication) is half a cent (USD) per word. In other words, if the person requesting the work thinks you're good enough for them, they'll pay you five dollars for a bit of Flash Fiction. Keep in mind, this is for someone who is getting their work paid-for, for the first time. People who have earned respect for their writing can usually demand more around three-to-five cents per word. Professionals get paid even more.

Nowhere in these payment schemes is an expectation of the resulting story fulfill an exact menu of demands. Commissions usually cost extra because the writer is having to get into someone else's head-space for an audience of one. This is not the same as a commission with a general theme (such as "write a story featuring anthropomorphics for a Hallowe'en-themed thing featuring a ghostly relationship gone wrong"). Such a "ghost story commission" would usually be paid out as per the normal guidelines already mentioned. So, if you think a commission allows you to dictate exactly what happens in more than general terms, you will be paying considerably more.

Luckily, each and every one of the people I have done commissions for have been intelligent, respectful, understanding, and endlessly forgiving of my slow ability to put words to paper. Honestly, I'm amazed some of them still talk to me.

But when it comes to payment for artistic, original work, keep this in mind when talking about writers:

1. You are not paying to dictate the story as if you were the Producer/Director of a movie.
2. You do not own the story and its characters unless that is negotiated; even professional publications only buy "first printing" or something similar.
3. You are not paying someone a starvation wage; if you can't pay what the market will bear for their level of work, you can't just demand to pay them rock-bottom fees.
4. You aren't entitled to hide behind, "If I don't ask, how will I know that I could have gotten a bargain?". Show respect for the author. Ask them their rates; don't dictate.
5. If you're just trolling for the LOLs, fuck off and die in a fire full of rusty razor blades and enough petrol to emulate a fuel-air bomb. These are artists. This is their job ... their life! They are trying to make a living. You are not Andy Kaufman and they are not your goddamned entertainment!

So, maybe you didn't know. Maybe you are ashamed for what you did if you put out a request that bad and clueless.

Y'know what?

I, for one, would forgive you. There is no guarantee that anyone else would be so forgiving, but I believe that some people just don't know what they did wrong and need to be calmly instructed as to the finer points of respectful commissioning.

It's understandable if you are poor. That's a really good explanation for some behavior that people would call "entitled" on the surface. Lacking funds for basic living in a community where it seems that everyone is a Rockafeller, throwing around money to illustrators, painters, animators, and authors, is rough. This is one of the reasons so many artists put a good chunk of their work online for free. It can also be rough if you see the community to which you belong and feel like an outsider because you don't know a creator well enough to be offered a free, short bit of fiction. That sort of thing happens all the time.

This still doesn't exempt you from being polite. No financial circumstance prevents you from asking for rates and finding out what they are. Being poor is never an excuse to behave poorly.

My own rates are rather low considering I've been professionally paid for years at a medium, non-professional-level. I lower them, through some sites, because I want to reach out to poorer members of that community and because I know that I am fucking slow. My pace is horrendous and I'm ashamed of that. Therefore, my rates tend to get adjusted downwards, accordingly.

But each artist is allowed to have their own rates and their own assessment of what they are worth.

A person trying to make a living on their writing, someone who has to pay for an apartment or home, buy their own insurance, put fuel in the car or afford a bus pass, save for retirement, put money aside for conferences where they will work all weekend to make ends meet, buy food (for themselves and/or family members), etc..., may need to make at least $50,000/year. They aren't being greedy if they divide this amount into what it takes, on average, for them to produce work and charge that amount.

You might think that amount is too high and, honestly, it may be.

But it's their right to put that amount out there to see who will meet it.

You don't have to.

But if you think their work is worth paying for in the first place, you at least owe them the respect to ask what they think they need in order to actually make a living.

Just as an FYI, for myself, I find my rates to be good for me (with all my warts and problems, combined with my skills and experience in this community). Consider that I spell out why I charge what I do and what increases my rates. These are my right to set. If it is too expensive for you, that's fine! You don't need to buy anything. I'm good with that. But it would be insulting if you demanded something, trying to set a price without showing respect for my needs as an artist, and offered an amount of money that wouldn't get someone very much at Starbucks (let alone a real grocery store).

My Own Rates Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3834250/

So, in summary: keep this in mind...

TL/DR: Writers are artists. Artists need to eat and live like anyone else. They do not exist to make you happy out of the goodness of their hearts. They will do their best to make you happy in return for something that helps them live and get by, day-to-day. They get to determine what this is. If you would like to negotiate, feel free: but don't expect them to change their rates. It can, sometimes, happen: but it is rare.

Show respect. Don't come across as "entitled". Don't be a dick.

Then we'll all enjoy the artwork: all of us.

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

Those reading this, please pass this around in the FA Forums and on your journals: I have a question for general members of furry fandom.

Background: I've been in this fandom for a long, long time. I date back to '94. Maybe earlier. My brain is old.

Question: What would you expect from a writer on Patreon? What are the expectations of people who support a writer? I am known for my macro/micro/hyper writing but, beyond that, I also do horror, science-fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, super-heroes, and a variety of other things.

Some people have suggested I get a Patreon. I'm not at that point, yet.

I am not an audio-based or visual-based creator.

So, in order to figure out what people would want (in a Patreon sense) I would really like to know the answer:

What would you expect, honestly, from a writer on a Patreon-like system?

Again: please pass the link to this journal around. Not everyone follows me, I know, but I'd like to get input from a wide variety of members of our fabulous community!

Yours,
Sylvan Scott

I'm going to make something clear: I am getting therapy. I've been getting therapy for years. It has helped in some areas and not in others. I'm seeking help for my problems with my weight.

I realize I may be well-known in some circles. That's fine.

But you do not get to contact me, harass me to be your constant buddy online, send me nigh-incomprehensible emails, pester me when I'm busy both with my career and my therapy, and then send me passive-aggressive messages about how I'm not paying sufficient attention to you.

Fuck you.

My time is my own. I owe you nothing, no matter how many stories I write or how much they "touch" you.

(I didn't dignify the recent messages with a response. It took all my will not to go into "defensive-mode". I just sat down, about to go to bed, and got the messages I described ... I needed to vent before sleep.)

-Sylvan

Last minute: I'll be there! I'll retain my unbroken streak of attending Midwest FurFest!

I'll be staying with  shaboiganbojangles and  crux. These two gracious furs have opened their room to me at the Crowne Plaza. I'll be driving down today, in about 2 hours, with my dear friend and roommate, Foeclan.

See you all there!

Yours,
Sylvan

https://youtu.be/BnlVTNjeWrg

Why do ads feel so intrusive? Well, while you use the term “imminently blockable” it wouldn’t feel that way if the ads were not annoying, frustrating, badgering, hassling, and intrusive. If an advertisement meets the needs of the individual seeing it, it is an aide and not a panhandler. And that’s what this comes down to being: people begging for money, all the time, constantly, no matter which way you turn or what you are doing while they do it.

Long before “social media” the Internet was a forum for social ideas. It was “the infinite backyard”. Everyone hung out, talked, shared ideas, and generally treated it as an open forum. Gated yards, like the old AOL, quickly went away because of their restrictions. People wanted their freedom to socialize. And, yes, often that socializing would entail Person A telling Person B about something they just spent money on.

This, however, is not the same as a person elbowing their way into a conversation and saying, “Wouldn’t you like a Coke right now?” If someone did that at a backyard BBQ, I suppose that might be nice but only if it were in context … only if the offer did not interrupt, at least pretended to acknowledge the environment in which it was occurring, showed simple respect for the others already in conversation, and generally treated the offer as if it were really happening in someone’s private space.

The fact that the Internet isn’t private doesn’t figure in, here. People treat it as personal space.
If ads were truly targeted, if they were relevant and respectful without appearing like beggars or someone passing “the collection plate”, they wouldn’t be as annoying, frustrating, badgering, hassling, and intrusive. But they aren’t.

The ads see that I’m a “foodie” or identify as a “gamer” and all I see are ads for restaurants, fast food, or the latest first-person shooter. But those algorithms don’t find out that I’m also struggling with my weight, that I think fast food tastes terrible (after all, you can get a better burger at just about any local café or Mom-n-Pop diner), or don’t play FPS games but, rather, prefer tabletop RPGs. And don’t get me started on the fact that I listed my sexual orientation as part of my Facebook profile and, suddenly, only got these really skeezy dating ads “for cute guys in your area”.

Ads have to catch up to how people live. Blocking entire sites unless you “pay up” is a shakedown put forth by an industry that doesn’t want to evolve or can’t innovate a solution. Remind you of anything (like the music industry)?

I accept that advertising is crucial for many sites to function; for much of the ‘Net to function. However, just because they provide under-writing doesn’t excuse their poor behavior. It doesn’t mean they get to keep playing the same game by making us the product without at least showing us a little respect and care.

In short: buy me dinner before you try to screw me.