#tips for interview

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

Job interview tip I got from a tiktok but it's genius:

If you were unemployed for a while, they're going to ask if you can explain the gap in your resume. Unless you were actually doing something cool & relevant, this is hard to answer in a way that makes you sound like a good corporate cog. So here's the best and infallible answer -

No you cannot, because you signed an NDA.

You now sound mysterious, desirable, worldly, experienced. They can't even really ask you more about it! Perfect.

[itstweeds]

Reminiscing (Louis look was 100% inspired by Jacob's look as Scipio in Timestalker)

[userarmand]

I could be on my knees in a second.

[interact-if]

Writing Spotlight: Infamous (Interview)

We had the great pleasure to interview Amy, author of the massively beloved IF Infamous (@infamous-if). She shared some tips, tricks, and insights on her approach to writing.

One of the most notable things about Infamous is how quickly readers get sucked into its world and invested in its web of characters — be it Orion or Blake or G or Victoria or the slightly controversial Seven. They are all incredibly multi-faceted, complex, and sometimes heartbreakingly real.

Amy says:

“I’ve read something by a writer once that I’ve followed faithfully: you should always know what’s happening in the other room. Even if it won’t be available to readers, it helps establish the world and characters as real, tangible things that don’t just poof out of existence once they walk ‘off-screen’ so to speak.”

Here’s the full interview:

1. What drew you to interactive fiction as a storytelling medium? Did you have any experience writing in other formats before, and if so, would you say there’s any differences in the way writing for IFs should be approached?

There’s so much about writing interactive fiction that I love, but I think the main one is the freedom that comes with it! There are so many ideas I can explore, so many endings and storylines. It’s just as fun for writers as it is for readers to push the limits of what their world and characters can do. You can truly sink your teeth into it and develop the story in ways you don’t see often. 

Coming from writing traditional fiction and having never written an interactive story before, I did need to change my mindset a little. You have to learn to be flexible. Very often, I’m writing routes I wouldn’t particularly take as a reader, and it’s interesting to go against my gut to offer a varied experience. I’ve discovered a lot of fun things about Infamous and its characters from routes I would never take if I were reading it in another IF!

2. What does your writing process look like?

I am a plotter to my core! I am endlessly envious of writers who can pants their way through a scene or a chapter. I need to outline every single beat, every scene, every conversation. The plot comes to me first and then I slowly build the main character around that and ask myself what kind of story I want to tell with that main character.

The MC in Infamous leans heavily into the ‘underdog’ trope. That’s how I got much of MC’s personality from. The main thing I ask myself when building the main character is: what do they have, what do they want, and what do they need? I use that to inform the rest of the cast and the stats. My main goal is that every piece works in tandem with the others. They all make sense in my head! 

3. What does good writing / good characters / good world-building etc. mean to you, and what are some central tenets or principles you follow to achieve that? 

A story that gets me invested is a success in my eyes. I want to care for the characters and feel like the world is one that truly exists somewhere. I’ve read something by a writer once that I’ve followed faithfully: you should always know what’s happening in the other room. Even if it won’t be available to readers, it helps establish the world and characters as real, tangible things that don’t just poof out of existence once they walk ‘off-screen’ so to speak. The characters had lives before the story started, people they knew and things they’ve experienced. It informs their personalities and builds them what they are once you meet them on page.

The world is still turning even while the main character is asleep. Things are still happening everywhere…even when we don’t see it. That’s how I try to approach every story to bring it to life. 

4. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone just starting out in interactive fiction?

Be firm! It’s so easy to get swept up in the excitement of having an audience and wanting to keep that audience. It’s not uncommon to make the mistake of overpromising to please every reader. You won’t be able to, trust me! You’ll only write yourself in a corner. It’s healthy to find a good balance between sticking to your gut and accepting/being open to suggestions. 

A tinier one but: know your endings! It’s best to know what you’re writing toward. It’ll be so much easier to stick to the story and avoid meandering through the plot if you know how each route ends. Everything I write is to get to that ending in one way or the other.

5. Where do you find your ideas or inspiration for new stories or mechanics?Where did your story idea originate? Has it strayed far from that concept/evolved during the writing process? 

I guess it’s quite on brand to say that almost every story idea I’ve had came from a song, Infamous included. My head is always thinking of songs as potential needle drops or playlists as movie soundtracks. Infamous in particular, was formed from Brie Larson’s cover of Black Sheep in the Scott Pilgrim movie. It features a Battle of the Bands sequence that made me want to read a story with the same concept. I scoured and scoured for a band IF that scratched that particular itch but didn’t find any. Eventually, I gave in and did it myself! That’s one of the best parts of the community; you can just do it. 

Surprisingly, this is one of the few stories of mine that hasn’t strayed far from the original idea. I think it helps that I’m writing exactly what I wanted to read once upon a time.

End of interview

—

A big thanks once again to Amy for her insightful answers, and @veswrites-if for taking the time to coordinate the interview. Hope that this was a fun and interesting read.

Stay tuned for more of these interviews :)

[dreadfuldevotee]

we arent exaggerating their height difference enough

[omegalerc]

Please tell me you've seen this my God he looks so ejsheushek

https://x.com/sweetyoua/status/1870892887975813429?t=CJ2OQk1SsGukvNUvC71Oiw&s=19

OFCCCCCCC I HAVE!! one of the most incriminating lifechanging charles gifs ever.. now i encourage everybody to click the link and fully take in this masterpiece, but let’s focus on and appreciate these two specific frames.

[zepskies]

⋆˙⟡ Alex (she/her | 29) | writer | Dean Girl ~ EST 2014 | Latina POC 🇨🇺🇵🇷🇩🇴

☕️ Fandoms I currently write for: ⟡ Supernatural ⟡ The Boys ⟡ Big Sky ⟡ Tracker ⟡ The Last of Us ⟡ Narcos ⟡ Dark Angel ⟡ Smallville ⟡ 10 Inch Hero ⟡ Dawson’s Creek ⟡ Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

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Check out my Tag List Form here and choose which characters you'd like to be tagged on. **Please note: I will periodically remove blog names from these lists to prioritize people who engage with posts more than "likes."

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(Bingo masterlists, podfics and podcast interviews, fic recs, and questions answered about writing and Jackles characters below the cut):

✦ Bingos

Jacklesverse Bingo 2024-25 Masterlist

✦ Podfics

Stories that have been narrated in podcast form by Sandra, one of the lovely hosts of the Idling in the Impala podcast. Go here to check out the full YouTube playlist of podfics.

✦ Podcast Interviews

⟡ "Y/N & Let Y/N: Fanfic Author Interview" - (September 24, 2024)

Sandra and Kasey, the lovely hosts of @idlingintheimpalapodcast — the podcast for all things SPN and fanfiction — invited me on the pod for an interview…

We chatted about Dean Winchester and Jensen Ackles’ early roles, the best and worst seasons of SPN, the joys and pains of writing Soldier Boy, and much, much more.

For all the timestamps of key moments, fic recs, and SPN writer shoutouts, see this post (you'll find the link to the video there too).

⟡ “Words have power.��� Minority and Cultural Representation in FanFiction - (June 3, 2025)

Sandra and Kasey invited me back on the pod for an interview on a topic that's very close to my heart…

We talked about the fun moments and challenges about reading and writing fanfiction that represents specific racial and ethnic cultures, being bicultural/multicultural, the immigrant experience, and much more.

I offered my own experience as a Latina POC writing in the fandom space, specifically Supernatural and The Boys (and adjacent Jackles fandoms).

For all the timestamps of key moments and fic recs, see this post (you'll find the link to the video there too).

✦ About Writing

My thoughts on creative writing and fanfiction, the writing process, tips I've learned or been given, and questions people ask me.

⟡ Ways to Say I Love You

⟡ There Are Two Kinds of Writers: Architects & Adventurers

⟡ 10 Top Favorite Romantic Comedy Movies

⟡ 5 Tips to Stay Motivated to Write

⟡ 5 Tips for Beating Writer's Block

⟡ Writing a Good Kiss/Romantic Scene

⟡ Where Do I Get My Writing Ideas?

⟡ Asking the "What If" Question & Developing Plot Ideas

⟡ How to Build a Tumblr Following (In My Experience) - 3 Tips

⟡ 6 (More) Tips for Building a Tumblr Following (In My Experience)

⟡ What Does "Supporting Writers" Mean?

⟡ PSA on Tumblr Tags: Tag Lists & # Tags

⟡ 4 Ways to Create a Tag List

✦ Characters, Fandom & Fic Rec Lists

⟡ Why We Love The Boys: A Review of Supes Ain't Always Heroes

⟡ Tips on Writing Dean Winchester

⟡ 3 Tips for Writing Soldier Boy (Ben)

⟡ Writing Angst with Soldier Boy (Ben)

⟡ Supernatural Fic Rec List

⟡ Dean Winchester AU Fic Rec List

⟡ Beau Arlen Fic Rec List

⟡ Soldier Boy Fic Rec List

⟡ August 2024 Fic Recs

⟡ The Venn Diagram of Jackles: Similarities & differences between Dean Winchester, Beau Arlen & Soldier Boy (Ben)

✦ Author's Note

[rad-roche]

big big influence for me is q hayashida. love how she inks, love how she colours, love how greasy and grody everything looks. like if you touched the page your hand would have a residue on it. love it, love everything about it

[gothiccharmschool]

So I want to say something about the various tips about job interviewing that I’ve seen and reposted. THINK OF THEM AS CHEAT CODES. Especially if you are ND.

Part of the reason hiring managers, especially in tech, ask questions like “tell me how you handled a conflict” is because we’re hoping for an answer that shows how you looked for a solution to an issue and how you handle any pushback. Do I want to occasionally tell coworkers to fuck off and stop being a pain in the ass? Of course I do. Doing that won’t fix things, so I rein in my temper, come up with a solution, and when the coworker is still a pain, I point out that I offered a solution, please get back to me when they have some workable solutions we can discuss.

Let me put it another way: I interviewed a dude for a position on my team. His resume was great, he was exactly the sort of writer I was looking for. He showed up to the Zoom interview in a sleeveless ripped t-shirt, put his bare feet up on the desk, and used “fucking” in every answer.

I am not a formal office type. This is known. But his behavior showed he wouldn’t be a useful member of my team because he wasn’t showing the basic courtesy of understanding it was an important conversation. He presented himself as an example of a middle-aged white tech dude who didn’t think he had to take other people into consideration.

The way modern business interviews are structured isn’t going to change any time soon, more’s the pity. THE INTERVIEW TIPS ARE CHEAT CODES. Use them.

EDITED TO ADD IN RELATION TO OFFICE JOBS: if you (generic) have gotten to where the hiring manager is talking to you, they have to think about if you will be mostly a help to the team (mostly because everyone is going to have times where things fall apart), or if you will be someone who the team and co-workers have to work “around” in order to get things done.

[drolta]

Shouting GET AWAY FROM HER and idek which one I’m talking to

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

Episode 2.6 is on YouTube!

Erin Alladin’s new e-book “Gentle Gardening: A Guide for Uncooperative Bodies” is transformative, specifically covering the issues of gardening with chronic fatigue and the other complex disabilities that can accompany it, and reframing gardening as an accessible and fun activity. Ariel talks to Erin in this episode about her journey with gardening to where she is now, the book, a bit about gardening on Turtle Island as a settler, and tackling the gardener’s mindset and impostor syndrome that may come with it.

[nobigneil]

elijah kamski.

[teaisana]

the early years

[adorkastock]

Take care of your body and mind, art friends. ♥ Need help with the basics? Check out Mind. Body. Artist. It's a blogcast site @astrafauna & I started about taking care while making art. It's on hiatus right now but there's tons of useful stuff in the archive. Content breakdown below the cut ✂️

Introduction to MBA List of topics we have done and hope to do Meet the hosts: Sarah Dahlinger Sarah Forde

Mental Health 🔵Dealing with Crowdfunding Stress 🔵Define Who You Are 🔵Monthly Wrap Up 🔵Is This What You Want to be Doing? 🔵Use “And” 🔵What does a trout have to do with social media trolls. 🔵How to Take Advice to Win 🔵Do What You Need to do to Succeed 🔵Using an Alternating Schedule to Balance Both Art and Fitness (or whatever recharges your battery) 🔵One Success Metric to Win 🔵Art and Grief 🔵There Is No Time Limit for Getting Back Up 🔵Pick your Perfects to Achieve your Real Goals 🔵Can't work? Time to study! (with short exercises) 🔵Creating with ADHD 🔵How to Balance Creative Work and Day to Day Work 🔵Overcoming Self Doubt and Creative Burnout 🔵Getting Back Up After a Failure

Physical Health 🔵How to Roll Out Your Arms for Tendonitis Relief or Prevention 🔵Four Way Wrist Curls 🔵Ice/Hot Baths for Tendonitis Relief 🔵Stretch Your Wrists and Forearms 🔵Stretch Your Hamstrings: My favorite hack for eliminating low back pain. 🔵Tendonitis Flare Up: Fixed in a Few Days 🔵What I Learned from a Year of Never Missing a Workout. 🔵Let’s talk with a Licensed Massage Therapist about pain while making art.

Food Prep 🔵Recipes Intro 🔵Egg Muffins 🔵Lavish Bread Mini Wraps 🔵Five Minute Crock Pot Veggie Chili 🔵How to Make All Your Meals for a Week Without Really Trying 🔵All Week Salad 🔵Chicken with Onions 🔵Slow Cooker Pork Stew

Artist Interviews 🔵Interview with Loish 🔵Interview with Iris Compiet 🔵Interview with Doug Hoppes 🔵Interview with Heather R. Hitchman 🔵Interview with Brynn Metheney

[transldpdl]

Claudia • No Pain

[exotic-dinostuff]

I'm so rry guyses

I had to loc k in....