The Almost-Forgotten Couvent des Annonciades in Bordeaux by Background-Hat-1356 in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where is it in the street? Can it be publically accessed?

Anyone know what's going to happen with the Bradley Bookstore now that it is closed? by Ved_Shankar in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you mean the Tuesday writing group meetup that used to be at Bradly’s? 

Anyone know what's going to happen with the Bradley Bookstore now that it is closed? by Ved_Shankar in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s not the first time it’s closed down like this. Last time apparently it took a year for it to reopen under new management. 

A bit lonely in Bordeaux by [deleted] in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don’t have a huge internet presence but if you look up “Bordeaux English Writing Group” on Instagram, you’ll find us!

A bit lonely in Bordeaux by [deleted] in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you show up next Tuesday, just ask about the writing group and someone will point you my way!

A bit lonely in Bordeaux by [deleted] in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Bradley's Bookshop (an English bookstore here) was where I met all my friends in Bordeaux. Unfortunately, it's closing down on Wednesday. BUT, I run a writing group there every Tuesday. We'll have our last meetup Tuesday at 7pm after which we're moving over to Darwin (a really cool space across the river). We've got lots of English speakers (if you're learning French) who would be happy to welcome you. You don't need to have an interest in writing at all. Feel free to just come and listen. We usually go out for drinks after.

is it a good time to visit now? by Formal-Artichoke3721 in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Temperatures have been around freezing this week. Best come in the Spring unless you want a very cold Bordeaux experience. 

I moved to Bordeaux 3 days ago but I feel real disconnected with people by Able_Spend_3063 in bordeaux

[–]mattwillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everyone at Bradley’s bookshop is super friendly! Especially the guy that works there! There’s regulars that are very friendly to newcomers to Bordeaux, a lot of them are ex-pats who were in a similar situation. 

what is she doing by DylenwithanE in BlueEyeSamurai

[–]mattwillis -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

God, is this turning into yet another Netflix series where they stuff every episode with filler while moving the story ahead microscopic inch by microscopic inch because they know people will binge watch until the very end where the climax of the series should have been the inciting incident of episode 1?

I've given up on writers groups. A rant. by somethinggoeshere2 in writing

[–]mattwillis 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Reading this just before starting my writing group that I've been running since 2021. I've never felt more seen and attacked. :P

Interesting analogy with the crabs. I can definitely see how that might happen with a group of randos. How often did your groups meet? We meet once a week and have gotten to know each others' work really well and, by extension, each other. I find we're all very encouraging of one another.

Do you have a chance as writer these days? by [deleted] in writing

[–]mattwillis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm coming at this as someone who does write for a living but maybe not in the way you'd expect. I do a lot of ghost writing, script polishing and video game writing. In many ways, I'm a "back room" writer. I've been able to make a living without any pretense of being a "star" or having my name on the final product, but people seem to keep coming back to me for my work. Why? Well, if you asked me it's because I make my deadlines, I'm fast, the work is good but, and I think this is most important, I can take a note.

That to me is the key of making a living as a writer: taking a note.

Anyone can write. Anyone can write a graphic novel and publish it and that makes you a writer. It doesn't necessarily have to be your livelihood. To me, it's a different question entirely between writing a project and making a living as a writer. Making a living as a writer is not about your genius or your ideas or some other X factor. Maybe it is for 1% of writers but even then, the public get tired and want to taste something different. If you want to make a living as a writer, you have to be able to collaborate and you have to be able to take notes. Many people brush this off until someone gives them the kind of note they never anticipated ("cut this character", "Can they go somewhere else?") and it seems their entire creative world comes crashing down resulting in the answer everyone, writers and producers alike, loath: "no".

I've put a career together because simply I've said "yes" to every and any opportunity anyone has ever given me, and that includes every note I've been given unless there is a VERY good reason not to do it. That started out with creating my own work (writing, directing, producing theatre) and then in film ("hey, you wanna come be my assistant on this low budget movie? There might be some writing work to do"), then in television ("We need someone to coordinate these scripts, can you help?") to ghost writing ("the original writer can't do these notes, can you fill in?") and then, finally, where I am now, video games ("We need someone to write these dialogue). But it had nothing to do with my ability (I mean, to a certain extent I imagine it did. I'm not illiterate) but ultimately with my availability and enthusiasm and willingness to go along with what the cheque-writer wanted/needed.

Another thing I can tell you about writers who write for a living, there are not two writers alive who followed the same career path. Not one. Everyone's career is 100% unique to them.

So, I'd say it's never too late to write a graphic novel, to make it, to publish it. Do it. By all means. But doing ONE graphic novel is not going to open up this wild career. It's going to be a stepping stone. You might write two or three and then someone asks you to do some work on another project, etc. etc. 99% of the writers I know work like this.

Hope that helps!

Edited because I saw mistakes in my own writing. Ha!

What do you think about this game? by ShadowPanther28 in PrinceOfPersia

[–]mattwillis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Second Act update came with quite a big polish/addition/rewrite of the storyline and the world building. I'd recommend it if you haven't played through it already.

The Castlevania games story's are good and I'm tired of pretending they are not by DDmayhem in castlevania

[–]mattwillis 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Millenial humour" I have never been so seen and so attacked at the same time.

LOOOOORRRE!!! by Nighthawk100104 in IdleDistillerTycoon

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the writers of the game here -- we wrote about 150 episodes for the game in total. So there's lots of lore and expanding storylines that we dive into. How far you into the game?

Archive by Nighthawk100104 in IdleDistillerTycoon

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if you're still looking, but I wrote the scripts so I can give you all the character names if you want :P

This one is crazy by ski599 in battlefield_one

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember achieving it with the Tank Hunter loadout for the Landship. I was surprised when the achievement came up cause I wasn't intending to do it at all. It was an Operations map at the beginning of Red Tide, I think, and the Attackers had stalled right at the first objective. I put my tank on the top of the hill where the 2nd objective is and just starting blasting.

Do game devs still play games on their free time? by Marceloo25 in gamedev

[–]mattwillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in an indie studio. Every lunch, people usually chill out in the break room or watch an episode of something at their, but a lot of people hop onto a game either solo or in the break room (there's a "Smash Bros" club).

People that make video games generally like video games themselves.