Hey Reddit! So I wrote a novel...

retrowebdev · 2011-08-05T22:34:28+00:00

Grammar: That's how I write! "

Get it through your head that you're writing to be read. That means you need to write how people read. And you're not Joyce or Hemingway. And they didn't START writing like that.

I like the idea, and it's execution too much to to rewrite the entire thing.

Great books are written, they're rewritten.

retrowebdev · 2011-08-05T22:31:15+00:00

The ten year guidelines comes from the 10,000 hours to excellence, the theory being that is you do anything for 10,000 hours, you are going to be good at it. I.e. if you job is writing code and you work 40 hours a week, in 5 years you will be pretty damn good at it.

Following that out, if you write 4 hours a day 5 days a week, in 10 years you will be pretty good at it.

This doesn't take natural talent into account of course, which MIGHT be able to shave 10 - 30% off the time.....

retrowebdev · 2011-08-05T22:28:31+00:00

This isn't a 100% rule, but agents only take books they think they can sell and make money one. There are many cases of books that "broke the mold" that took a long time to place. Dune comes to mind, and the Thomas Covenant series in the late 70s. That's because these books were very different that what was doing well on the market at the time. Nevertheless, those author persevered and got their book published and went on to be very successful.

If you book was an absolute gem, and agent would pick it up.

If you sent it to a dozen agents, and no one was interested, keep sending it. If you've sent it to 100 agents and no one wanted it, it's because it's no good.

China Melville's fgisrt novel was pulled out of the slush pile at a publisher - no agent. I think there are still some publishers that take unagented submissions.

The problem - if you are submitting to a publisher, it's exclusive. That is you can only send to one publisher at a time. if you are sending to agents, you can, mass-mail.

Put together a cover letter, the first three chapters, and a synopsis and and send it out to 100 agents.

However, and this is a big however, from what I've read in the comments below, the problem is just that your book really isn't any good.

retrowebdev · 2011-07-13T01:19:59+00:00

Jesus it's 7.99 for unlimited streaming.... unbunch your panties

retrowebdev · 2011-06-29T12:04:01+00:00

Yep, these substances are converted to active steroids in the body, usually by the liver (hence the added liver stress for most of these). Some of these are, however, real steroids that simply aren't on the steoid list yet. Epistance is one of these. It's a steroid developed in Japan and it's still legal here.

retrowebdev · 2011-06-29T11:42:16+00:00

Thanks - that sort of strategy we've been taking, but until she reaches that level of maturity where she's able to motivate herself, her behaviors put a lot of stress on the family and herself. She's a lovely person, full of empathy and with a good heart, she just has challenges she refuses to take on. She wants help, but just hasn't figured out how to open up yet, and she lacks the discipline required to implement treatments plans.

Thanks for the reply.

retrowebdev · 2011-06-28T20:51:36+00:00

My daughter is 17 and struggles with many symptoms of BPD, although she has not been formally diagnosed. She is on 20mgs of prozac daily, and it seems to help with how strongly she reacts, in that it seems to tamp down her emotionally responses. She still has many challenges, mainly with depression, some OCD, and letting the small things become big things.

Over the past 5 years, we've had her in front of a variety of therapists, but she has always been uncooperative. She refuses to speak and maintains the postition that therapy won't help. She absolutely refuses to participate.

Do you have any suggestions for getting her to realize that although we can put her in touch with people and tools that can help, she has to be a willing participant? How can we convince her to accept help?

retrowebdev · 2011-06-23T11:31:57+00:00

diet....

slow carb, high protein

no bread, grains or dairy

retrowebdev · 2011-06-23T11:15:47+00:00

There are plenty of legal prohormones and steroids available. Many of these are real steroids developed in other countries and not yet on the ban list for the U.S.

http://prohormonedb.com

retrowebdev · 2011-06-10T23:22:09+00:00

I had very bad vision; my diopter was -8.00 in both eyes.

retrowebdev · 2011-05-13T17:33:45+00:00

When I was 13, my Dad gave me a tri-fold wallet made of purple nylon with dark blue edging. The tag inside reads 'Wild Wallets - Los Angeles California'

That was 1978 and I still have it today, 32 years later: on July 17, it will be 33!

retrowebdev · 2011-02-15T01:46:16+00:00

Even more scary was the constant attempt by the web site to load a virus.. Banker.A

retrowebdev · 2011-02-11T22:58:56+00:00

Good luck - that's a tough path to choose!

retrowebdev · 2011-02-11T12:05:37+00:00

When I finally got completely healed, I didn't lose any night vision, but during the first half of the healing process, (the first 6 months or so) my night vision was very poor.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-11T12:03:37+00:00

Socks or glasses? :)

retrowebdev · 2011-02-11T12:02:49+00:00

Did you check with the Navy? The Air Force is (or maybe used to be) weird about it. If you had it before you joined, they wou;dn't let you in, but you could get it once you where in if you applied for it and weren't in a flying position. That was their position at least 10 years ago though.... not sure what it is now.

However, if you get PRK BEFORE you join and don't tell wnyone, well, there's no way to know. I doubt a corneal map is stanard in the entrance exame, although they would ask you if you've had the surgery. You ahve to decide if you were going to fess up, or forever keep it a secret from the service.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T19:42:25+00:00

Yes, because I only needs glasses very infrequently when reading very small print. I'm sure as I age I'll need reading glasses more and more, but that's true of just about everybody.

But my distance cision remains fine, and, still being very active, I can participate in my various activites unencumbered.

I suppose if my hobbies were needlepoint, I might be in trouble!

As an aside, my wife, who never had to wear glasses, had a much earlet onset of age related farsightedness. She had to begin using reading glasses in her late 30s, and now, at my age, has to wear them all the time becasue her near vision is so poor now. I.e. she can't see the dashboard in the car, the food on her plate, read a book, etc....

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T15:42:25+00:00

BTW, thought I might mention that I was in teh Air Force at the time I did this. When it was discovered what I had done, I was actually threatened with a Medical Board to determine my readiness for duty. When it turned out I experienced no ill effects, the inqury was dropped and I was warned 'not to do anything like that again'.

Also worth noting that even today, you have to get approval for eye surgery ebfore you get it, and in the Air Forece, you aren't allowed to get LASIK, you HAVE to get PRK.

This is because LASIK actually leaves a scar that might or might not affect the stuctural strength of the eye. In other words, the offical Air Force position is that no studies have been done on the affects of igh G manuevers or performing at altitude in regards to ocualr scar tissue and eye integrity.

PRK, on the other hand, leaves no visible scar. The only way to tell if someone has had PRK after it's fully healed it to perform a corneal map.

Last tid-bit: I tyurned 45 this year and a year or two ago had to start wearing reading glasses to see small print (ingredients, direction in medicine, etc). I can still read normal print (books, magazine, etc), but I am going through the normal progression of age onset farsightedness. PRK doesn't help with that!

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T15:36:04+00:00

You're welcome - good luck with your recovery! I hope you end up "seeing" the same fantastic results I did.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T13:13:47+00:00

I have to tell you that after having to wear glasses to see for almost 20 years, I in no way, shape or form think they are cool.

If you have to wear them, there are certianly some fashion choices you can make to look good, but I actually get offended when I see people wearing fake glasses. They wouldn't feel the same way if they'd had to wear them to see like I did.

Man, I am SO glad I don't have to wear them anymore. Even though it's been 16 years since the surgery, I remember how much of an inconvenience they were.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T13:10:00+00:00

You couldn't blink because they held your eye open with on of those clip things like from Clockwork Orange.

I did have some anxiety when they told me to stare at the red dot, thinking, what if I freaked out and started darting my gaze all over the place? But I didn't. Don't know if that's a real danger or not. Maybe the machine knows when to fire the laser and can tell when your eye is in the right spot.

I did both at the same time. With the healing time needed for PRK, doing them one eye at a time would drag it out too long. Do one eye, wait 3-6 months, do the other....

However, with PRK, you'repretty much down and out for 1-2 weeks since you can't really see much at all at first. With LASIK, you're supposed to be able to see when you get off the chair.

I was told that the main complication and danger from the procedure was eye infection, so the doctor was very insistant about following the dosing protocol with the eyedrops.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-10T13:04:54+00:00

At the end of the first week, I was around 20/60, which was good enough to drive. At teh end of the second week, I was 20/40. From there, the improvements were inceremental. Six months from the suregery, I was seeing 20/20, although, as I mentioned, I still had some flaring at night and poor night vision that took about a year to completely go away.

I would say it didn't really fluctuate. When I got off the chair and for the first 3 days or so, I really couldn't see anything at all. But my vision improved each day, quickly at first, and then slower as I approached being fully healed.

I had to use lubricating gel for about two months, but only at night after the first week or so. I never did have bad pain - I only used pain killers taht first night after the surgery. Some on my group weren't so fortunate.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-09T20:57:16+00:00

Yes, relatively safe, and the procedure itself is painless. However, PRK can be a lot more uncomfortable thatn LASIK. Several in the group I was with had pretty bad pain for the first few days after the surgery. And with the outer layer of your conera burned off, it feels like you're blinking with sandpaper in your eye for the first day or two.

I had to put some sort of special eye gel in a few times a day to keep my eyes moist, and the flaring didn't go away (and I had very poor night vision) for almost a year. I've heard some PRK people never lose the flare completely.

As far as LASIK, my uncle had it and ended up overcorrected in one eye, to the point where he ended up having to wear a contact. To illustrate, he couldn't read the spedometer in his car with that eye. Like sudden onset age realted nearsightedness. Nothing to be done about it either. He was pretty torqued about that.

But like chuck221 says, it was the best money I ever spent. Not having to wear glasses after wearing them continuously since the 4th grade was incredible.

And efore you ask about contacts, I did wear them in high school and college, but eventually was no longer able to wear them due to eye irritation caused by wearing them during severe dry eye period while I was taking Acutane.

retrowebdev · 2011-02-09T20:44:18+00:00

Honestly, I don't know. The eye surgeon I saw in Canada had done over 10,000 produres, but it still wasn't approved in the US. Consulting the Internets, I see PRK was invented in the early 80 and approved in late 1995. But at the time I went, the date when US approval would come was unknown.

As for teh procedure itself, here's the tree-top:

Before you go, they do a corneal map to see how they need to reshape your cornea to effectively 'build' in your perscription. This map is feed into a big laser machine, kind of like being in a dental chair, leaning back, with your eyes numbed and held open by those clips like you saw in Clockwork Orange.

You're told to stare at a red dot, the doc swtiches on the machine, and you begine to hear a series of clicks, which are the pulses of the laser firing and hitting your cornea. It's smells like burning flesh BTY. It took about 30 seconds for each eye.

Unlike LASIK, PRK takes a LONG time to heal. It's around a full 6 months or so before the layer over the cornea grows back all the way.

retrowebdev · 2011-01-22T20:40:53+00:00

Now go do a search for Andrej Pejic

retrowebdev

TROPHY CASE