Doing the view seems like a lot of work! How do I start writing for it or start becoming a contributor?
I mean, What You Missed series are a good start if you don't have ideas of your own. Otherwise just send us a message and we’ll probably have a laundry list of project articles on the back burner waiting to be bust out. Or you know, just ask and Jen will probably find a spot for it.
--Keith “Saegan” Cronyn
I would say it’s like a lot about the Realms. Ask yourself if there are any current articles you want to contribute. Ask yourself if you have any stories, art or poems you would like to share with the world. Ask yourself if there is something you feel the View is missing, and you want to try to fill that niche. Then convey what you would like to do to someone on the staff. You can either contribute “one shot” items, or if you have the time, you can try contributing on a more regular basis.
-Steven “Therian” Matulewicz
The View accepts all type of content! Generally, anything you think that you’re good at is most likely something that could be published in the View. Do you like to write stories? We’re always glad to accept those - they can be short one-installment pieces, longer serial stories, and anything in between! Do you like to draw, create digital art, or do other types of crafting? Send along scans or photos - we’ll run them! Have you written any poems, songs, or bardics? We’ll take those! Is there a particular Realms topic or issue that you feel strongly about or are particularly interested in? Write up an article and send it along! The only real request we have is that submissions be related to the game or to a fantasy-based genre in general, and capture the spirit of contributing to the community.
There are other ways to contribute too! We run a few features that rely on questions such as this lovely one you’re reading now, Ask the Editor, and we also have our resident agony aunt, Syruss, who is always willing to tackle important issues. Have a question for us or for him? Feel free to message any member of the View staff and pass it along. We do several interview features such as Fresh Faces (a set of questions geared towards newer players), Fireside Chats (a set of questions that are completely in-character), and 10 More Questions, an expansion of the popular original series of OOC questions that focuses on player experiences and memories of the game. We will also be debuting a new interview series soon, 10 Questions with an Event-Holder, which aims to delve deeper into different aspects of throwing an event. If you haven’t done one of these yet, please reach out to a member of the staff! We would be happy to send the questions to you. You fill them out and send them back - super easy! We are always looking for people to write up What You Missed event reviews/synopses as well!
The View is a community newsletter. It is run for the community by the community. We always welcome submissions from the community. Have an idea about something to write, content you’d like to see, or items you want to submit, or just generally want more information, feel free to reach out to any member of the staff. We’d be happy to chat with you!
-Jen “Areni” DeNardis-Rosa
This question is very personal for me, because honestly, I thought I had no business helping out on the View. I had written a few pieces as part of my squireship, but beyond that, I believed that my writing skills were pretty meager and I was better off dedicating my time to other pursuits. Ultimately, I decided that the View from Valehaven is an important way for our community to connect positively with each other, so I decided that I would find a way to help behind the scenes. From there, I started to write pieces that were important to me, like How to Have Fun at Queen of Hearts, and regularly contributing to the Why I Want to Go Column--and you know what? I found out that I actually really enjoyed writing and that the View helped connect me to the people that I love the most. So honestly, if you want to know how to contribute to the View, I’d say in whatever way feels right to you. Going with your gut is a great plan, and every time you push yourself out of your comfort zone, I think you’ll find that you are satisfied with the results. No matter who you are, your voice is important, and we would love to have you share it with us and the rest of the community.
-Lani “Gwen” Jones