u/Dark_creativity

I graduated college in 2024. I had three internships and was lucky enough to land an entry level job. I don't want to go too much into it but I had to quit after 1 year. It was genuinely horrible for my physical and mental health. People were getting laid off and it was in a small town so there weren't really other jobs I could do. It was clear the gig was done. I quit in late 2025 and since then I haven't been able to rejoin my industry. I'm working in customer service. I used to average 4 interviews a month but now I haven't had any since July. Am I cooked, being underemployed for a year now? What do I even do, where do I go?

Any advice is welcome.

Hey y'all! I'm curious what the consensus is on starting a novel with a flashback or flash forward, especially when the subject is not the MC. I've heard some people say it's not good writing but I also feel like some books pull it off. So what do we think generally?

Hello! I have a question that is probably pointless. I've finished my first novel (87k). I'm just waiting on beta feedback before querying. I have two other WIPs and I'm wondering which I should work on next.

The first WIP is sitting at 42k and will finish around 90k. It will def be under the 120k threshold for trad published scifi. It's a pretty simple story, one main character, and it follows a hero's journey layout.

The problem is that I wrote a majority of it as a 17 year old, and it will need heavy edits. It will also need to be plotted out in detail, since I never exactly got around to that.

My second novel is a 78k nightmare with 3 split perspectives. It's one of those novels where the characters start out in seemingly unrelated circumstances before being weaved together by fate. I'm more passionate about writing this, and it's all plotted out. The problem is I have about 10 massive ass chapters left and a wordcount that could easily balloon to 150k. I know this is a bit more acceptable for a second novel but I can't help but look at the damn thing and go "this is a waste of time. Who would publish this?"

Also yes I know it's incredibly foolish to be asking these sorts of questions, and I am probably overthinking, but I thought I'd just post my BS and see what people think.

Thanks

Hello! 

I am looking for one beta reader for my scifi horror novel. I would prefer to work with someone who wishes to swap.

Blurb: 

Andershy’s Pa has always warned him about the most important rule: Don’t get attached to the animals.

But as Andershy grows up on his family’s farm, he finds that rule hard to follow. One of the animals, Dottsy, becomes his best friend in the whole world. 

Determined to save Dottsy from slaughter, Andershy does whatever it takes to protect her. Andershy’s determination leads him to discover that Dottsy behaves in ways he hasn’t seen in other animals.

Feedback needed:

The biggest thing is that I am hoping to find someone who has experience with children, as my MC spends the entire novel as a child and teenager. I want to make sure he feels authentic. Otherwise general feedback is also appreciated (grammar, pacing, coherency, if a scene is boring). 

After the beta read is complete, I plan to send 10 short questions about spesific plot points that I have.

Content warning: 

Gun violence, graphic descriptions of meat processing, child abuse shown in flashbacks. If you have a specific trigger please feel free to ask. 

Info for swapping:

I'm an avid fan of scifi, fantasy, and horror. Not interested in slice of life or romance novels unless you happen to need an ex-foster youth sensitivity reader. Would prefer the swap to be first 10k words or first 2 chapters at first to ensure we're a good match and interested in each other's projects. I'd appreciate 2-3 weeks of turn around. 

Please DM if interested. 

Well folks, I am getting real sick of this crap. I applied to an entry level job only to get an employment form sent to me. Turns out, to actually finish your application, you had to send in the name and number of every manager you've had for every position on your resume, and on top of that, they need a coworker too. This is before the first interview, if there even is one. Usually I'm okay with three references, but you need a coworker from 5 years ago to vouch for my moral character?

I'm tired boss.

Anyway in the time it would have taken me to fill out that form I applied to 5 more jobs. Anyone else experience this?

Hey y'all! I have a whisky setup to play a windows only game on steam and the download keeps corrupting. Strangely enough the disc progress keeps falling. is anyone able to point me to how to fix this issue? I'm very bad at tech like this so I am def not able to fix this for myself. I tried restarting and it did not help.

Hey y'all! I believe I can ask for advice on this subreddit but if not pls let me know. I was wondering if I could get some advice that could help my boyfriend. He is autistic and doesn't like the taste and texture of water. Usually he drinks milk and soda. The only problem is that he often goes a very long time without drinking much of anything. We'll hang out for an entire day and he'll drink half a can of Coke. He also does strenuous activity like hiking with no water. I rarely see him use the restroom and he'll easily go 14 plus hours without using it. He's aware and pretty nervous about health complications that could come from this.

My question is if anyone else who has autism has found a way to incorporate more fluids in their diets if they do not like water? I've tried vegetables and strong tea but he didn't like either. Even when I do keep his favorite drinks in stock, it's rare that he'll drink them.

Thank you!