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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 5:25:24 GMT -5
Hi all! I've been playing Neopets on and off since I was 9 (I'm almost 25 now). I've haven't been intense about it since I was about 15, but I think there hasn't been a single year where I haven't played at least a couple of weeks. I read the rules and I'm pretty sure this is where I can introduce myself?
I was obsessed with the Times, for a solid three or four years I'd read every single comic and short story in each issue. I was only allowed 30 minutes with the internet back then, so I'd leave a dozen windows open before my mother booted me off the router, haha. She figured that at least I was reading, so she let me be.  There was more than one summer vacation I spent holed up in my room just writing and reading!
Since the beginning of December, I've been playing regularly again, and the recent map updates really made me want to stay! I feel like good things are coming for our beloved Neopets dot com, and want to be around for it. One of the goals I've made for myself is rekindling my childhood dreams of being accepted x50 into the NT, and also being in a themed edition! 
The Neopian Times is definitely where I got my start with creative writing, with the crowning achievement of my childhood/early teens being having eight entries be accepted. Looking at them now, I see how childish they were (god bless the editor who accepted them, wow); but also I feel really happy about how much better I've gotten. :') (Not a whole lot, writing has sort of fallen off to the side for me, but I'm doing my best to pick it back up!).
I was horribly intimidated by the NTWF back then (and still am, really! I've never participated in forums before!), but I would love to be a part of the community. Hope we'll have fun together. <3
(Also, I'm interested in joining the discord mentioned in the rules, but I'm having a little trouble finding a link. Is it still active?)
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Dec 27, 2022 11:51:38 GMT -5
Oh the link to the Discord is active, it's just not freely given out, hence why you're not able to find it. One of the mods should be able to give you the link.
Also, welcome. I hope you enjoy your visits here.
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Post by Twillie on Dec 27, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5
Hello and welcome =D This is the perfect place to introduce yourself! Haha, I was the exact same way in that I'd regularly read the NT comics section alongside the Sunday paper, and I thought they were just as legit as the professional comics. Making my own comics in turn is what's given me ample practice with art and writing, and the NT is great for experimenting and improving in a safe environment. That's great that you want to revive your childhood NT dream! If you need any help along the way with ideas, we have both a Writing and Art board, whichever may be more appropriate. There's also a Work Reviews and Advice board where you can post work-in-progress pieces you'd like feedback on. There's plenty of people here happy to help and chat :3 You mentioned having eight published entries already, what kind of stories are they? Do you have a preference for written word or comics, or are you open to trying things? Any particular subjects or characters you like writing about? Haha I promise we don't bite, and if you have any questions about the forum or anything in it, you're always free to ask! You can ask here, or you can message one of the mods (our names are in pink and purple). You'd need to have someone send an invite link to join the Discord server, although we prefer new members establish themselves on the forum first. There's no extensive initiation or anything, but we'd just like to get to know you better here first :3 |
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 12:27:11 GMT -5
Oh the link to the Discord is active, it's just not freely given out, hence why you're not able to find it. One of the mods should be able to give you the link. Also, welcome. I hope you enjoy your visits here. Oh, that makes sense, thanks for telling me! Am I supposed to PM one of them? Or is there a thread I should reply to? |
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Dec 27, 2022 12:36:07 GMT -5
Oh the link to the Discord is active, it's just not freely given out, hence why you're not able to find it. One of the mods should be able to give you the link. Also, welcome. I hope you enjoy your visits here. Oh, that makes sense, thanks for telling me! Am I supposed to PM one of them? Or is there a thread I should reply to? As Twillie mentioned, you can make a request on your welcome thread or send a PM (Private Message) to them |
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 12:46:50 GMT -5
Hello and welcome =D This is the perfect place to introduce yourself! Haha, I was the exact same way in that I'd regularly read the NT comics section alongside the Sunday paper, and I thought they were just as legit as the professional comics. Making my own comics in turn is what's given me ample practice with art and writing, and the NT is great for experimenting and improving in a safe environment. That's great that you want to revive your childhood NT dream! If you need any help along the way with ideas, we have both a Writing and Art board, whichever may be more appropriate. There's also a Work Reviews and Advice board where you can post work-in-progress pieces you'd like feedback on. There's plenty of people here happy to help and chat :3 You mentioned having eight published entries already, what kind of stories are they? Do you have a preference for written word or comics, or are you open to trying things? Any particular subjects or characters you like writing about? Haha I promise we don't bite, and if you have any questions about the forum or anything in it, you're always free to ask! You can ask here, or you can message one of the mods (our names are in pink and purple). You'd need to have someone send an invite link to join the Discord server, although we prefer new members establish themselves on the forum first. There's no extensive initiation or anything, but we'd just like to get to know you better here first :3 thank you for the welcome! <3 and gotcha about the discord server, I’ll be sticking around for sure! Also you can never tell me they weren’t as legit haha, in my memories they’re all right up there with Peanuts. Oh gosh, my old stories. You can tell I had the biggest crush on Garin from The Curse of Maraqua plot. There’s a little story about him and Hannah, and then a series where my pets meet him (and impress him of course, pshh). And there’s a comic my best friend did the art for! Our magnum opus haha. I also made one singular comic of my own, with the art painstakingly Frankensteined by tracing over various stock photos (free to use! Little me was very aware of artist’s rights!). I don’t draw anymore, except for doodling in the margins of my pages, but I’ve kept writing. A LOT of fanfiction. But you know, I've sort of found myself planning out story beats that are popular and people will want to read rather than genuinely enjoying the writing process, so that’s another reason I want to revisit writing for the Times. I’d be just as happy with completing it, and I wouldn’t be subconsciously worrying about hits. I’ve decided on new customisations for all of my pets, and dressing them up inspired some new backstories! I want to try developing those into a few proper stories; and I’m also toying with a time travel idea for a Valentines theme story (hopefully mid-Jan will not be too late to submit for that issue? I’d write it either way if I can figure out a plot line I like!). It’s not in any kind of shareable state yet, but once I have a draft I’ll most likely be visiting those boards you mentioned! Thank you so much <3 |
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 12:48:07 GMT -5
Oh, that makes sense, thanks for telling me! Am I supposed to PM one of them? Or is there a thread I should reply to? As Twillie mentioned, you can make a request on your welcome thread or send a PM (Private Message) to them Right, saw after I replied to you! I was going to edit my original reply, haha. But thank you for the clarification. |
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Post by Twillie on Dec 27, 2022 15:14:44 GMT -5
Also you can never tell me they weren’t as legit haha, in my memories they’re all right up there with Peanuts. Haha fair! There's even some artists that went onto professional creative endeavors, and there are NT comics that I could easily see being in a newspaper! Lol I think we've all been there with including embarrassing elements to our early stories xD I'm just thankful that the first drafts of my comic series, Blossoms, will never see the light of day. But those all sound fun! And yeah, that can really be a double edged sword with posting online, in that you get more attention on your stories, but the audience can influence what you choose to write about. I'm hoping the NT can help out with letting you write what you want, then. Ooh, nice! I think mid-January would be fine for submitting to the Valentine's Day issue, yeah; the current editor, Stone, has been accepting themed entries closer to the deadline lately. I look forward to seeing what you have in store! :3 |
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Post by Carolyn on Dec 27, 2022 18:59:15 GMT -5
Ahoy! Lovely to meet you. My name is Carolyn and I help to coordinate collab events with the forum. We're all pretty chill here, so feel free to post away. The NT truly is a wonderful place to write, and I've enjoyed participating over the years. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the Times! As a heads up, we do have a themed collab edition coming up in February! The theme is the "The Sea!" We'd love to have you aboard, if you're interested! |
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Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Dec 27, 2022 19:06:12 GMT -5
Hey Stella, welcome back to Neopets!
It's always kind of bittersweet for me to see a new face because the site is such a shadow of its former years. :') The current team seems strained of resources and doing their best with the little they have to keep the site afloat. That being said, the Neopian Times is one of the site features they're managing to keep running (though it runs on a biweekly schedule now instead of weekly). There is still some joy to be found here as long as you keep expectations low. ^^;
Some upcoming special issues to plan for:
- Jan 13 is issue 975, a landmark/milestone/anniversary edition
- Feb 10 is themed "The Sea"
- Feb 24 is the Valentine's edition
And then sometime after that is an Illusen Day edition in March, I believe, if it follows the same schedule as last year.
Hope to see you around!
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Post by Kat on Dec 27, 2022 19:09:05 GMT -5
Hi, welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Much of my ancient work is kinda...yikes, when I look back on it, but if it weren't for those forays into creative writing, I probably wouldn't be here now. I dropped off the face of the NT myself for several years before making my Grand Return in 2020 to play fairly regularly again.
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Post by Killix on Dec 27, 2022 20:32:06 GMT -5
Hello!
Welcome to the NTWF! :D
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 22:15:18 GMT -5
Ahoy! Lovely to meet you. My name is Carolyn and I help to coordinate collab events with the forum. We're all pretty chill here, so feel free to post away. The NT truly is a wonderful place to write, and I've enjoyed participating over the years. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the Times! As a heads up, we do have a themed collab edition coming up in February! The theme is the "The Sea!" We'd love to have you aboard, if you're interested!
Hi, Carolyn! Thank you for the welcome <3
I'm definitely interested! I don't know if I'll have time to whip something up, but I'll try my best. Maybe I'll get myself obsessed with Garin again  Hey Stella, welcome back to Neopets! It's always kind of bittersweet for me to see a new face because the site is such a shadow of its former years. :') The current team seems strained of resources and doing their best with the little they have to keep the site afloat. That being said, the Neopian Times is one of the site features they're managing to keep running (though it runs on a biweekly schedule now instead of weekly). There is still some joy to be found here as long as you keep expectations low. ^^; Some upcoming special issues to plan for: - Jan 13 is issue 975, a landmark/milestone/anniversary edition - Feb 10 is themed "The Sea" - Feb 24 is the Valentine's edition And then sometime after that is an Illusen Day edition in March, I believe, if it follows the same schedule as last year. Hope to see you around!
Thank you for the welcome, Stephanie! Yes, I'm really glad the Neopian Times has survived, and people are still sending in such lovely work, even if it's not as stuffed full of art and stories as before.
Oof, probably going to have to miss #975, I don't think I'd have anything ready that's appropriate to submit to a landmark edition. I'll try to get something done for both The Sea and Valentines editions. <3
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 22:19:02 GMT -5
Hi, welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing more of your work. Much of my ancient work is kinda...yikes, when I look back on it, but if it weren't for those forays into creative writing, I probably wouldn't be here now. I dropped off the face of the NT myself for several years before making my Grand Return in 2020 to play fairly regularly again.
Hahaha, am I allowed to ask about your older work?
I know far more embarrassing than anything in the NT is the stuff buried in my old google account's docs. But I also think they're really pure. I mean, it's an unabashed self insert fantasy, and in some ways I'm still the target audience for what little me wrote... so I don't know, I'd never show it to anyone, but I enjoyed looking at it recently.
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Post by Stella on Dec 27, 2022 22:20:18 GMT -5
Hello! Welcome to the NTWF! 
Hello!! Glad to be here <3
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There was more than one summer vacation I spent holed up in my room just writing and reading! 
