Editor Elizabeth Preston sent us this announcement:
MUSE wants YOU! Well, we want your stories, anyway. Do you have something unique to share? Have you traveled with a circus? Are you the last known speaker of an indigenous language? Maybe you always wanted to write a Math Page about your original geometry research. We want to hear your voices. Starting in September, everyone else will hear you, too. Send us an email (no attachments, please).
Here’s what Elizabeth says about the new section:
Starting in the September issue, we’re including a new column called the “Reader’s Report.” The idea arose because one girl sent us a series of well-written emails about a bird-rescue experience she’d had, saying we should do an article about it. And we thought, why not have what she sent us BE the article? So she’ll be the first one. The idea is a one- or two-page regular feature, written by a reader and laid out/illustrated like any other article, about an experience or viewpoint unique to that person (i.e., not “This is how I feel about gun control” or “My report on rocket ships”). I’m hoping the kids get excited about it and send lots of submissions. But we need to get submissions coming in before it’s announced in the September issue.
[The magazine’s e-mail address is muse@caruspub.com.]
Wow!
so is this supposed to be like an article or a column?
also (sorry for double post) did we get a new editor again? i missed something here
great! I’d love to send in some of my writing!
Dearest darlingest GAPAs? i know you’ve read these posts because they’ve been moderated…want to answer the questions? p*easeyp*ease?
3- Yes. D.L. seems to have left us.
She left months ago. Unless I’m mistaken, Romana Prokopiw is the new head editor. I think she fired Ivars Peterson. Now she’s trying to get cheap labor.
Romana left. Elizabeth Preston is the new editor.
8- Huh. I hope she’s better than Romana. I didn’t like her at all. Still, Diana was the bestest.
Is Ivars gone for good or just taking a break? I miss the Math Page.
fired ivars WHUT?
no! muser protest, organize one two!
(8, 9) Elizabeth is an editor. I’m not sure of her exact title. We’ll see when the September issue comes out.
(10) I miss the Math Page, too, but Ivars Peterson’s new job was too demanding for him to continue writing it. (He was not fired; he left voluntarily.) I run into him here in Washington every now and then and will mention his fans on the blog.
(2) It’s a regular column that will run one- and two-page articles by readers.
*sighs*
Poor Ivars. Poor Diana. Poor Muse.
12-oh ok *breathes again*
that sounds cool. might do it if i get bored enough…idk with euro and lit though, they both have crazy amounts of hw
THAT IS SO COOL.
Finally, an opportunity to get our Mostly Harmless articles published!
16-
good idea.
it would be fun for me to inter view my grand pa about some kind of brain dis order (he’s a neurologist) or my uncle about his thought s on global warming (we have many scientists in our family)
11- *sniff* Poor Ivars… I loved him and his intensely confusing articles.
Well, this is intensely awesome. I could interview my dad about dental implants… or my mom about teddy bear making… (geez, their’s no one interesting in my family…)
OH! I know! My friend’s aunt is a famous author in Iceland! I could contact her!!!!! *googles name for email*
OK, scratch that, her UNCLE is a famous SOCCER player in Iceland. His name is Eidur Gudjohnsen. (don’t worry about snipping, GAPAs; she has a different last name than him)
So, better find a way to contact him………
Wow… ummmm, I don’t think I’ve done anything interesting enough to get its own article. Maybe, from now on, I’ll record all the grammar errors I find on official signs! …Nah.
I really really really want to write about something.
I don’t know what to write about.
Grr.
are major school charities important enough for an artical? we raised like $1, 047 or something. not bad for a tiny school (80 kids will be in my graduating class). if not, can I make something up?
Let me Sell my screenplay, and We’ll be all set!
ok, I really don’t know what to do
This is so cool!!! I can’t wait to start writing!
Completely awesome. Totally and completely going to be my summer project…my life project now that finals are done. Now all I need to do is hit upon a sufficiently interesting Muserly subject…
That would be funn…except I have no idea what to write about.
Maybe I will go on a fantastical journey to another world!
…
No. I wish I could go to a cosplay convention.. *starts daydreaming*
Do these have to be nonfictional?
Wow. I wouldn’t know what to write. Nothing exciting ever really happens to me.
28) I’m assuming yes.
YAY! I’ll start an article as soon as I finish finals on Wednesday.
*excitement*
*jumps around room*
Cool. Sounds neat…..I don’t know that I’d have anything to write about though…..
so, is it for fiction, non-fiction, or both and everything the Musers can think of? Hmm, that would be interesting indeed.
Perhaps we should write up a thing on the big Kokonventions in Washington DC of last year…..that might be interesting……
*ponders*
I think that’s cool.
We should publish a fanfiction.
About how many words is it supposed to be? I know 1-2 pages, but is that double/single spaced, etc.?
*yes, Pan is over-thinking things again*
Hmm… maybe something about my trip to Australia last year. Or I could wait a few weeks and write about Space Camp.
I like this idea…
Ivars Peterson is gone? My, I am behind in my reading (I let the Muses pile up for a long time before I sat down to catch up, so I’m only on April 2007 at the moment). I’ll certainly miss his page!
Hmmm, not much happens here. I could write about being a page in a public library (shelving is definitely more complicated than it looks). But I don’t know if that would interest anybody else.
I am very happy with this happening.
Can we lay the articles out too? Send a PDF? I see “no attachments”, but perhaps just how we’d like for it to flow…
34- Metoo.
Hmmm… What to write about… I wonder if game programming would interest people? Or recording and editing music? Or the Bunny Apocalypse? *leaves to think and write*
OMG – Sam and I should send in an article about the Marine Biology program were in. Its like so museish.
man I have good ideas
I have a topic! And I’m not disclosing it just yet…but you shall see…OH YES! *cackles maniacally*
Around two and a half pages double-spaced sound right?
DE JA VU! the kokonspiracy had this same idea a while ago, and now the editors like it?
Resistance is Museless.
I don’t know what to write. *Sits and Thinks*
Support the Kokonspiracy or be assimilated. Resistance is Museless. Finally, to be able to unite all Muse readers in one, supreme legion. Mwahahahaha….
I’d like to write something, but I’m not sure what.
Maybe I’ll just assist with an article about Mostly Harmless.
42- Indeed. *smirks* *grins* *manical laughter is heard*
44- A fellow kokonspirator? YAY! We shall not at last find out what the non-muse bloggers think!
And Samantha Sordyl’s back, right?
Hehe. I knew about this two months ago. GWAHOOHAHAHA!
I am so doing like a million columns for this xD
Huzzah! Started writing…or rather, editing that which I have already written! As of this moment, my internal qualimeter puts it at about nada, but with painstaking care, it might be improved…. at least a pinch…
My Titan Essay!!! Yay!!!
Dear Muse Staff and Editors:
Could you please print this in the fan mail section? We would really appreciate it.
Dear Musers:
Deep within the cyberspace, in a universe known only to the modern Muser, a conspiracy is afoot. Its mission: world domination. As you probably know, what sets Muse head and shoulders above most ordinary magazines on the rack is the unique culture that has come to be associated with it over its 10+ year existence. What you may not know is that the website musefanpage.com/blog is dedicated to sharing this culture, which it calls ‘La Vida Koko’.â€
You have probably seen various references to MuseBlog in the letterbox. Perhaps you thought this was a place where Muse readers discuss the magazine. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the MuseBloggers are extremely ambitious. They’re ambitions extend to everything up to and including taking over the world.
In the troubled times that we live in, a group of MuseBloggers have formed a group of conspirators and sworn nonsecrecy to the common cause. In fact, the mission is so nonsecret that the group constantly tries to get attention.
The reader at this point may ask, “Why is world domination preferable?â€
We MuseBloggers have found the current world leaders incapable of doing their job. Therefore, we have started a plot called the Kokonspiracy, codenamed Mostly Harmless, which calls for world domination, Kokopelli for present, and pies in every face. Already, we have begun carrying out the first stage of our plan: letting people know that we exist. Have you found leaflets with mentions of Muse in your library books lately? Or found washed up bottles on the beach containing messages about Muse? Or seen any other odd things that have to do with Muse?
Don’t be worried if you haven’t, because we can assure you that other people have.
We do use the phrase “world domination†jestingly. What we want is an enlightened society. A society of no wars, no cultural problems such as racism or sexism, and no idiotic politicians getting us into all sorts of trouble. A society where the environment, animals and people are respected.
It sounds like an extremely corny kid’s movie. Pipe dreams. We must remind ourselves that in twenty, thirty or forty years we will be the politicians, the lawyers, the doctors, the juries, the judges, and the grocer at the grocery store. We will be in the position of power.
What this society needs are more people who read Muse. We are not advertising, we are just trying to make the world a better place. If you want to help us make this happen, then visit our site at https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=1149. We can change the world.
Sincerely,
The Kokonspirators, soon to be the Kokonquerors
Have we already sent this? This could be the article.
50- I agree. we have afew kinks to work out, since there are some people who believe that they are incorrectly represented.
Dear Muse Staff and Editors:
Could you please print this in the fan mail section? We would really appreciate it.
Dear Musers:
Deep within the cyberspace, in a universe known only to the modern Muser, a conspiracy is afoot. Its mission: world domination. As you probably know, what sets Muse head and shoulders above most ordinary magazines on the rack is the unique culture that has come to be associated with it over its 10+ year existence. What you may not know is that the website musefanpage.com/blog is dedicated to sharing this culture, which it calls ‘La Vida Koko’.â€
You have probably seen various references to MuseBlog in the letterbox. Perhaps you thought this was a place where Muse readers discuss the magazine. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some of the MuseBloggers are extremely ambitious. They’re ambitions extend to everything up to and including taking over the world.
In the troubled times that we live in, a group of MuseBloggers have formed a group of conspirators and sworn nonsecrecy to the common cause. In fact, the mission is so nonsecret that the group constantly tries to get attention.
The reader at this point may ask, “Why is world domination preferable?â€
We Musekonspirators have found the current world leaders incapable of doing their job. Therefore, we have started a plot called the Kokonspiracy, codenamed Mostly Harmless, which calls for world domination, Kokopelli for present, and pies in every face. Already, we have begun carrying out the first stage of our plan: letting people know that we exist. Have you found leaflets with mentions of Muse in your library books lately? Or found washed up bottles on the beach containing messages about Muse? Or seen any other odd things that have to do with Muse?
Don’t be worried if you haven’t, because we can assure you that other people have.
We do use the phrase “world domination†jestingly. What we want is an enlightened society. A society of no wars, no cultural problems such as racism or sexism, and no idiotic politicians getting us into all sorts of trouble. A society where the environment, animals and people are respected.
It sounds like an extremely corny kid’s movie. Pipe dreams. We must remind ourselves that in twenty, thirty or forty years we will be the politicians, the lawyers, the doctors, the juries, the judges, and the grocer at the grocery store. We will be in the position of power.
What this society needs are more people who read Muse. We are not advertising, we are just trying to make the world a better place. If you want to help us make this happen, then visit our site at https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=1149. We can change the world.
Sincerely,
The Kokonspirators, soon to be the Kokonquerors
I made afew chenges. Does anyone have any objections if we send it in? I know it was sent in once, but the editors probably took it as a joke.
When no one has any objections to it here, we will post it on the random thread to make sure no one has any problems with it.
And I’llo take full responsability for the contents of this article— so if anyone needs to complain then COMPLAIN TO ME!!!
Whoa… I go away for two days and everything happens!
I like the idea of readers writing aritcles. I just hope it won’t lower the tone of the magazine too much. What I’ve always liked about Muse is that it runs articles about stuff that not too many people know about and is interesting. I don’t want to see bad stuff coming in. Although maybe I’m overreacting, considering what’s been happening to Cicada.
-52 send it.
Don’t send it yet!! It still says “Kokopelli for present.” Change it to “president” and send it on. And put in, “Resistance is Museless” somewhere. Maybe in place of “sincerely.” Some :idea:s would also be flamablamablous.
18- Teddybear making is interesting! I would totaly read an article about it.
I could interview my mom. She’s had a fascinating life. Or someting else……
*Continues to Ponder Writing an Article*
i lurked for like, 3 years.
Is back! hurrah!
I do circus classes, it’s not a traveling circus, but it’s close! We have a camp!
GAPA darlingz, will you tell me whether or not that’s good enough?
58- ‘Ello, Jugglebug!
(58) Hello, JB! Welcome back. We don’t know what the editors consider “good enough,” but maybe Ms. Preston will come on the blog and drop a few hints.
53 – Yeah, exactly. I think it’s fine as long as the articles are really, really, really good.
(53) What has been happening to Cicada?
I just hope that everyone who writes can…y’know, write.
52 – Brilliant!
58 – Hihi, welcome back!
60 – Any advice would be appreciated.
After I go to NJCL convention this summer, I might send in an article about that. The atmosphere there always seems Museish to me, even though I have yet to meet another Muser there.
62 – Well, it got a new editor about a year ago, and the quality of it started to go down a bit. Then they completely revise the format, which made much less overall page space. They also started publishing a lot more stuff from the “Slam” which appears to me to be a lot of inane, unintelligible poetry. There’s still some good literature in there, but…Anyway, I’m seriously considering asking my grandma not to renew my subscription.
I just spent ten months in a foreign country. Does that count as interesting and something that others would want to read?
65- All the magazines are going downhill. The good editors leave and the bad editors take over. Everything just gets worse.
Hmm… Will traveling in Europe for over a hundred days count as interesting?
60- advice would be beautiful. i’d love her forever if she gave some.
Also, i’m sort of making my own comic strip thing complete with website/wordpress, and that might be cool to talk about or send in.
it’s nice to be back.
Hi everyone!
It’s great to see that you have lots of ideas already for your “Muser-generated content.” But it sounds like you’d like some more advice from me, so here goes: the most important thing is that whatever you write should be about YOU. That way, other people reading the magazine can get a little glimpse of the big universe of Musers out there. Rather than something anyone can write about (like a research project for school), I want to see something that only could have come from you. For some people, maybe that’s a big adventure or a trip or a project; for others it might be a unique perspective or a good story. This is an experiment, so surprises are welcome!
Does that help?
52- live free or be pied hard!
So, it has to be non-fiction? Or could we write a story? Well, the story would be for Cricket wouldn’t it? Anyway, maybe I’ll write about my trip to Mexico. Zip-Lining, Flying Through the Trees. Hehe. I like the sound of that. Falling off a boat into the middle of an ocean with sharks.
Approximately how many words should articles be?
69- Hi, EP! So, Can I write something about Building a Computer?
emmatheduck: Oh, good question about word count. The final article will be at least 300 words, and probably not more than about 800 words. If you write something longer than 800 words, that’s fine; it just means that if we use it for the magazine, we’ll work with you to edit it down. But be reasonable–don’t send a novel! Let’s keep it under, say, 1600 words.
Beatlesrockr: Yes, it should be nonfiction.
TMFA&P: Sure, if building computers is something you do. (I’d be especially interested in “How I Built a MUSE Editor a New Computer for Her Office”…just kidding.)
65/67 – Sounds interesting to me, but I’m obsessed with travel.
Thanks for the advice!!!
74- *Hids 40,000 word NaNoWriMo novel Beheind Back*
76- *snatches* *gives once-over* *gives back* Nice.
There should be an article by a reader in EVERY issue. That would be AWESOME! 8D
77-I think that’s the plan.
This is going to be pretty cool. Thanks for the help, EP.
One more thing: we need submissions by the end of June for the October issue. (Seems like a long way away, doesn’t it?) Since the new column won’t be announced in the magazine until the September issue, we really need submissions over the summer. (Hey, and there’ll be less competition!)
Thanks!
I’ll see if I can write something! I was actually going to write and ask about having a page/article/section by readers!
…
Are you psychic?
81- Apparently, all vegetarians are psychic. But I can’t tell what anyone’s thinking. Except for my friend Mae, who thinks about Gaara, 24/7.
81- Naturally.
I think I’ll prolly do mine on… The Beatles, but, no, anyone could write about em’, so, how about my trip to Mexico? Or I could interview the little third grader in my old teachers class that is blind, because studies show that, people who are blind, they dream differently than sighted people. Example:
A sighted person dreaming about a monster would see it’s an icky green, and has long sharp teeth sticking out of it’s mouth, and has four eyes, twelve ears, and 15 legs. A blind person would feel how slimy the monster is, smell its foul breath, and hear it roar its monstrous roar.
Interesting to me. I did a report on dreams in 4th grade.
OH, I KNOW!!!! I’LL DO MINE ON HOW WAL-MART IS DESTROYING AMERICA!!!!!!
I’m either going to write about my trip to China last summer or my trip to Peru that is beginning TOMORROW!!!!
I’ll also write about airplanes if I start getting lessons this summer.
I’m getting really excited for this!!
When we submit articles, will we receive some sort of notification if they’re accepted?
87- Of course. We’ll respond either way, just to let you know we got your submission–although don’t worry if you don’t hear back quickly, because we have a lot of email to wade through! And if your piece is chosen, I’ll be in touch to let you know how the edited version will look, whether we need any more information, etc.
I guess something on the spelling bee would fit the bill here. Now the question is how would I present it?
89- The spelling bee would be a great topic to write about. (I used to do the spelling bee back in my day, but I never made it to the national level! That’s pretty amazing.)
For everybody: don’t worry too much about how to “present” your piece. If you’re wondering how to start, just imagine you’re telling your story to a friend (or distant magazine editor) who can’t wait to hear what happened. The story doesn’t have to have a punchline or a moral…it just has to be interesting, so your audience doesn’t get bored and wander off!
I might write one on how I’ve been trying to construct a language…
91- That’s creepy. I was thinking of writing about the exact same thing. Maybe someone should write one about ESP…
89-Yes!!! I considered doing that, but figured you were much more qualified than I was :p
90-Ooh, froody! What word(s) did you misspell?
I submitted my article a few days ago.
Hmmm. It’s been along time since I sent my article, and I still haven’t gotten amail back, Should I send it again?
Hi friends,
I see this thread has been bumped off the bottom of the home page, but maybe I can give it one last gasp on the “recent comments”! Just wanted to remind everybody that you should write something, and send it to us, like now. Your odds of getting published will never be better than right now, when no one else knows about the new column!
95- We have a big email lag time. Don’t worry.
93- The saddest year was 5th grade, when I got out in the first round of the televised (local) bee–everyone else was getting easy words, and they threw me “mayoralty.” It’s not pronounced like it’s spelled, either. But I’m, um, totally over it now.
Would my older brother writing about his community service trip to India, Thailand, and Fiji be good, or my new method of finding the area of circles that is currently accurate up to the millionths be a good idea?
97- Yes. And, yes!
what is a good length for one?
like one page, two pages, three pages, four, plus one or two for diagrams, or higher?
98: one time, i was a millionth of a centimeter off of what piR2 said it was.
100th post!
How about a language I invented?
99- See comment #74. (Words are an easier way to work than pages–whatever word processing program you use should have a “word count” option somewhere.) Diagrams would be great. Just remember whatever we print in the magazine won’t be longer than 2 pages.
101: what’s it called, and is it a variation from an already established language, or a new one altogether?
103- Altogether new one. I call it Imimaabv.
I’ve considered making a language. I’m not sure, though. The grammar I could handle, but I’m not great with making up new words. Actually, hmm.
How do you pronounce Imimaabv?
eem-EEM-abv. Bv is like the Spanish v, as in vidrio. “A” is pronounced as in “man.”
Will July still be a good time to send in articles, or is that too late?
Any time is a good time to send articles! We want one for every issue, after all…
Are we supposed to provide our own pictures/illustrations, or is just sending the article okay?
I have a question about the editing. I know that it is standard procedure for the publishers of someone’s work to edit that person’s work. However, the last time I had my work published, when I showed the draft to my editor, he told me to fix some things in it. Not unexpected. But then he went and rewrote about half of my article himself, after telling me to go and fix it. My question is this: Does editing mean “editor tells you to fix these mistakes/awkward sentences/etc. yourself” or does it mean “editor rewrites most of what you wrote?”
I don’t think I’ve really done anything interesting enough to warrant an article in the All-Mighty Muse.
Only things I can think of:
-Being a national finalist in a math and science competition (I just got done with this)
-Learning Spanish from the age of 5
-My current school, a magnet, project-based school that is extremely cool
And that’s about it.
Although, something about POSOC’s language-inventing article strikes me as pretty cool. I’ve always been interested in making things up, whether it be languages, stories, or entire worlds. Maybe I could do an article on that sort of thing.
Hmmm.
I’m, like, really hyper right now. And rather unfocused. And jittery. There is no way I can focus on an article right now.
Not that I have anything to write about.
-sigh-
I’m going outside.
Hey! I thought this thread was dead.
To groundhog22: Yes, editors do plenty of editing after they’ve gotten something from an author. “Mistakes and awkward sentences” are part of it, and are the easiest thing for us to fix ourselves. (If I see you’ve misspelled something, and I know the correct spelling, why not just fix it myself? And if the sentence you wrote isn’t quite saying what I know you meant to say, why not rearrange it so your point comes across more clearly?) We also edit for “house style.” In Muse, for example, we aim for a certain tone, as well as a certain reading level.
If you send us an article we want to publish, we might ask you to add something to it. We will also edit it ourselves, but we will show you the changes we made before it gets published. If you have problems with any editing that’s been done, you can always say so.
114 – What tone and reading level would that be?
I’m planning to write about the National Junior Classical League convention, which won’t happen until July 28th. I’ll get home on August 2nd and submit an article (hopefully) soon after that.
Dearest GAPAs? I was just wondering if anyone had mentioned doing an article on NaNoWriMo yet? I skimmed through this thread and didn’t see one yet… I would like to write one if so.
It might take a while to do but if I asked do you think the editors would be willing to publish it in September of 09 (since there’s probably no way it’d be able to be in this year’s september what with the advanced publishing and all). But I think if it was in that month, more people would remember and participate.
Though of course, any month at all would be absolutely fine
*I meant October there. For some reason, it went missing as I counted out the months in my head. Sorry guys we’re only having 11 months this year.
What be this trickery? XD
116 – That’s a great idea!
118- I thought so when I first thought of it (which happened to be late at night as I was trying to sleep, and after it was thought my search of slumber became near fruitless).
)
But it would be personal enough for the requirements, but also something other Musers could join in on, and it’s a ton of fun. Seems Muse-worthy to me, if I can do a proper article for it (ironically, I think the issue I would have would be staying within the word count, because of how used to expanding everything I now am
NaNoWriMo sounds like a great idea! Definitely a Muser activity.
119 – Sounds good to me! I think word count is where I’ll have problems too.
The one advantage of not having Internet for two days is that I actually made some progress on this. I decided to do my article on, well, you guys. It’s more or less on how the Internet has changed the definition of a friend in some ways, but not others.
I haven’t done anything on my article since I last posted – but I’m still trying to finish it! How is everybody else doing on their articles?
123- I forgot all about it. Cake. And I won’t have an opportunity for a long time, as school starts soon.
31- That would be cool. We could get everyone to write a paragraph or two on their opinions, maybe, and a schedule of events. I know there are pictures somewhere… (I can still contact those who were there and are no longer on MB)
Also muchly yes to an article on NaNoWriMo.
I don’t know if there’s anything interesting to write about in my life, but I will try to think of something and write about it.