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rgranville Elite user Boston area 463 Posts |
Quote:
Jaxon says: Jaxon, I applaud your appreciation of the value of proper spelling and grammar. It takes considerable effort to wade through ungrammatical constructs and misspellings to figure out what the author is trying to say. I personally would much rather have a reader expend such effort on thinking about what I'm saying. To answer your question, there are several ways you could find people who can help you edit a manuscript. If you're near a college, you could approach either the faculty or students of the English Department. Alternatively, with forums like the Café you should be able to find people who know their way around prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses. You might want to consider collaborating with such a person. :carrot: |
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blindbo Special user Bucks County, PA 790 Posts |
Good work, Ron.
Brings to mind a Yogism... "If you can't imitate him, don't copy him." |
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sloopcamelot New user 13 Posts |
Jaxon,
Don't worry about grammer or sentence structure when you first begin writing. Get the ideas down on paper (or computer.) Too often worries about spelling or grammer get in way of ideas. So sit down and write, write, write. As you write, the layout of the book will probably become obvious to you. Later comes the hard part: editing. This means critically looking at your own work, just like you do when you polish a new act. This is where you tighten up sentences, correct spelling, research references, etc. This is when others can help. But be careful, if you bring them in too soon, criticism can stunt your creativity. I am new to magic, and have found your many posts extremely helpful. Please, Go for it! Fay |
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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
I'm just surfing around the board looking at discussion I've participated in and haven't checked in on for a while.
I'm still writing and working on this project but I'm in no hurry to get it done. I want to make sure it'll be something worth reading so I'm taking my time on this one. Writing thoughts and ideas down as they come then I'll go back and figure out which parts I'll use and polish them up. So who knows how long it'll take to put this together but I feel it deserves to be done right. Thanks for the encouragement everyone. Ron Jaxon |
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Roldero New user Central Florida 34 Posts |
Ron,
I just started getting into magic a few months ago and so qualify as a member of the target audience for your "Beginning in Magic" book. I have tons and of thoughts and suggestions regarding this topic. I'll try to get them down coherently and not to ramble too much. I liked the "Don't be a clone" article and can see where you are coming from, but I'm wondering how important it is for the beginner magi. I noticed that you yourself stated that it took several years to develop your own style, (maybe because you didn't have an older you giving advice?) so how important is it to some one starting out? I think most magic books I have read suggest you substitute your own patter, or say "..or words to that effect" which seem to indicate that you should use what you are comfortable with. However, as a beginner, I need to be told what to do and say so I know how to perform a trick. Once I can perform a trick, then I'll start to adapt it to my style. Having re-read the above, I'm wondering if your article is more aimed at the magi that ARE copying Blaine or Copperfield, or at the real beginner. Which now makes me wonder what you mean by "beginning in magic". Is it someone who has never picked up a stripper deck and wants to start learning some magic, or is it a hobbyist who now wants to begin a career as a professional magician? (or neither or both?) The biggest problem for me as I started my journey into Magicdom was being overwhelmed by the many different areas of magic that I wanted to learn: Cards, Coins, Rope, Sponge Balls, Cups and Balls, TT, IT, Mentalism, etc, etc. With all of these area, there are amazing demo videos that make me say “Yes, that’s what I want to do!”. Come to the Magic Café and search around and you’ll find that, for each of these areas, there are three or four books and several DVDs/Videos that are recommended. So where do I start?! I do have Mark Wilson’s “Complete Course In Magic” and do realize that it covers a lot of these areas, but, so far, have found the few tricks I have tried not as effective as I had hoped (I’ll freely admit that this could have been down to my inexperience rather than the trick). I also found that this book is lacking in how to put together a routine and make your effects transition from one to the other. I think my ideal book would: - Introduce me to all the different types of magic around, with a brief description of what they are like and how to get started. If possible, a brief effect in each area that would be included in the following: - A good 30 minute routine that has a suggested patter that has good transitions from one effect to the other - Where to go next to learn about a specific area that interests the reader. (could be a chapter in the same book) I realize that my “ideal book” may not be what everybody is looking for, but as a hobbyist, I set myself the goal of doing a short Christmas show for friends and relative’s. I’m actually at the point of not doing the show this year, as I am not comfortable enough with what I have. With regard to writing your book, I would suggest the following, if you haven’t already done so (My wife is a Romance author who had her first book published this year and has sold two more, so I have learnt some of this stuff via osmosis). - Identify your target audience and set a goal for this book. I.e. “This book is intended for complete beginners in magic. The goal is to get them competent enough to perform their first 30 minute show.” - Outline the structure on how you are going to reach your goal - Write your material as you see fit when your “muse” allows. Don’t worry about grammar, etc. when you first put your ideas down; just get them down as they come to you. You will be going back and revising them later anyway. - Avoid editorial services that you have to pay to edit your book for you. - Find a couple of knowledgeable friends that are willing to critique your book for you and give you constructive feedback. (Don’t ask your Mum, she’ll like everything you write:)) I hope some of this makes sense and is useful to you. Good luck with your endeavor. Mike |
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Foucault Elite user New Jersey, USA 424 Posts |
Mike - I think you've really hit the nail on the head. There are some great books out there (Wilson's included), but each has strengths and weaknesses. I think you've correctly identified the weaknesses in the Complete Course.
I think it's important for complete beginners to try the "clone thing" for a while. When novice musicians start, they usually begin by playing other people's music, in other people's styles, and later they begin to find their own voice. I think the same is true for magic. It can be most bewildering to be told "You've got to be original" before you've performed a trick. Try someone else's words and actions, and see why they work (or don't!). I think Whit Haydn has some good thoughts on this subject, and there are some methods available which try to bridge that gap. "Magic for Dummies" is very good, because it not only teaches tricks, but gives you the presentation, gives you help with what to do when something goes wrong, with routining, etc. From what I've heard, Ron Bauer's series of individual trick manuscripts has this same philosophy. |
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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
Thanks so much for your feed back and advice. Your advice on making the book is very helpful Roldero and I thank you for taking the time to share that with me. Do keep in mind that this is only a small portion of what I'm writing. The above excerpt about "Don't be a clone" is far from finished and I've written and rewritten a lot of it since then. The thing is my thoughts, ideas and I guess you can call them lessons are of a wide variety. So what I'll have to do is go back and find the ones that fit a structure and polish them.
So far the articles I've written most about are: -Don't be a clone -The importance of learning the basics -The three types of sleights and how to present them. -The shakes(on confidence and nervousness) -Have you considered your looks -Know when to Stop Performing -Getting their attention -Creating your own Magic -The Growing Audience There are some others but I haven't written enough on them to even mention them here. As you can see the topics are pretty stretched but I do feel that many of the points will be useful to someone who's new to magic or is working to improve their performances. For example if they find themselves getting nervous before a performance they might find something in (The shakes) chapter to help them. If they get hired to perform walk around then some other chapters such as (Know when to Stop Performing), (Getting their attention) and (The growing audience) might give them some useful advice. The things I'm writing about are things that either I personally experienced and learned lessons from or things that magicians I've help (Kind of mentored) had trouble with and we found the solutions together. I will teach some tricks in the book. The tricks I'll include will mainly serve the purpose of illustrating the lessons of that chapter. For example in the (Three types of sleights) I'll teach some tricks that illustrate those kinds of moves. Anyway. Thanks again for the advice and I'll keep working on it. I hope it turns out useful to someone. I just had a thought. I'm going to post a portion of another article here on the Café just to get some feed back on it. Look for a post titled (The importance of learning the basics) in this section of the board. Ron Jaxon |
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Roldero New user Central Florida 34 Posts |
Thanks for the support Foucalt, I was afraid to answer the front door for a few days in case the magic police were coming to get me for not raving about Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
I have read "Magic for Dummies" and did like the way the book focused on more than just the trick. I was lucky enough to find the book at the library, and will probably borrow it again at somepoint to review it in the light of what I have learned. Ron, I'm glad my comments have helped. I'll definitely be checking out your other posts and plan on giving you some feedback. Mike |
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magicman226 Loyal user San Antonio, Texas 234 Posts |
I liked that excerpt, Jaxon.
I admit when I first started out, I tried to copy Blaine. I was good, but I had nothing going. I soon found I'm better at performing when I'm wisecracking. Everyone loves a short, wise-cracking 13-year-old magician. |
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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
I know this is an old discussion but someone just posted another discuscion that contains a couple fo videos that kind of demonstrate the "don't be a clone".
Check it out here: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......=7&5 Even if the acts is flawless and the video editing is expertly done. Who they seem to clone is obvious. There's nothing wrong with being inspired by others but there is a line that shouldn't be crossed in my opinion. Ron Jaxon |
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