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 Dicrel Seijin wrote:

I'm curious, could you post the briefs that got you in?

Sure.

Test Brief Part 1
Watching icons on his helmet display flash green, Dorben saw the rest of the White Scars were ready. The orks were dropping to the fire of the 276th Steel Legion at a terrible rate but it was not enough. They covered the last few yards with a blood-curdling howl, magnified by their numbers.

Dorben raised his bolt pistol as a large ork leapt over the barricade, swinging its huge axe back and forth to send men flying. He fired, but the mass reactive shells simply ricocheted off the heavy metal plate the beast had slung across its chest. Annoyed, it roared at Dorben then approached with something of a grin spreading across its face.

Muscles bulged as the creature swung its crude weapon, and sparks flew as Dorben’s chainsword met the stroke, deflecting it away. Even so, the blow pushed him back some distance, servos in his power armour hissing as they failed to compensate. A growl rising, Dorben withdrew his blade then slashed at the ork, forcing it backwards. That gap was all he needed and Dorben stepped forward to smash the brow of his helmet into the ork’s open mouth, sending teeth flying in all directions.

The momentum of the blow staggered the ork and it fell on to its back. Before it could rouse itself to attack again, Dorben planted a heavy armoured boot on its chest and watched the ork’s head explode as he fired a single explosive bolt. Looking up, he searched for another target.

Test Brief Part 2
A barely visible beam of light lanced through the air, betraying a sniper up ahead. Instinctively, the scouts ducked, all except Marcus, who could not quite hide his grin as he gripped his combat knife even tighter.

‘Easy there, scout,’ Sergeant Vorenus warned him. ‘That traitor will pay for his temerity, firing upon the Ultramarines, but we will do this properly, by the dictates of the immortal Guilliman’

‘Yes, Sergeant,’ Marcus said, but Vorenus could see the scout was eager to dive into his first firefight. Too eager. The rest of the squad, at least, had the appropriate level of apprehension. This was, after all, as much a test for them as a battle.

‘Up ahead, elements of the 4th Medean regiment occupy the woodland on the high ground,’ Vorenus said, bringing his attention back to the rest of the scouts. ‘They have turned from the light of the Emperor and so have lost his protection. That is where we come in.’

‘That sniper is the first target?’ Serjanus asked, as he shifted the weight of the missile launcher on his shoulder.

‘Indeed, scout,’ Vorenus said. ‘We cannot be free to act while constantly watching for a laser in the back of our heads. Serjanus, you lay down frag shells right across the treeline. Titus, Gaius, use the cover of the rocks on the flank to advance and get into the trees.’

The scouts nodded their assent.

‘Marcus, you come with me. I have a special task for you…’

 -Shrike- wrote:

MongooseMatt wrote:
If it helps anyone any, just got a letter to say I am in.

Well done!

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that GW rejected applications that didn't use standard English spelling, given their location.

Of course that'd be surprising. Why would such an irrelevant and completely arbitrary thing be a 'secret sudden death disqualifier' that is so important it's not even mentioned in the rules?

 Portugal Jones wrote:

 -Shrike- wrote:

MongooseMatt wrote:
If it helps anyone any, just got a letter to say I am in.

Well done!

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that GW rejected applications that didn't use standard English spelling, given their location.

Of course that'd be surprising. Why would such an irrelevant and completely arbitrary thing be a 'secret sudden death disqualifier' that is so important it's not even mentioned in the rules?

My comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but if you insist...
1) It's not irrelevant. GW are a British company, and as such, would use the standard form of English specific to that part of the world.
2) Arbitrary? Hardly. If everyone uses the same form of the same language, it makes it much easier to compare pieces of writing.
3) Did the rules say you have to write in English?

I applied and made it to the test phase, they turned me down the day after submitting my tests (dunno if that's better or worse) but all they said was my spelling and grammar were unacceptable :(. Damn you Open office! I should have spent longer on it and got someone to proof read but i thought it would be impressive if i completed the test in only 2 days.

Their are no spelling mistakes so i guess my grammar sucks, shame because they didn't point out any other problems like they seem to have with others.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
On the offchance anyone is interested here are my submissions, i would appreciate any criticism no matter how brutal since GW did not specify what was wrong and it would help me improve...

Test 1...
The trap was sprung!

We leapt from our perch into the rocky valley below, thunderous jump packs startling our Greenskin prey. Grenades burst all around as we fall upon them with vengeful fury, black armor glistening in the night. I land hard onto one knee driving my Powersword into the nearest xeno's filth, cleaving him from neck to navel.

A huge Ork roars, his dark green skin a network of scars loosely covered with red metal. Around his neck hangs a blue skull medallion, a clan symbol, half a dozen human heads are strung about his waist.

“WAAAAGH!” Charging he fires his battered pistol while raising a massive power clawed fist into the air.

Releasing the sword I raise my arm to block the coming blow, drawing a combi melta with the other. His shots do little more than scratch the white raven emblazoned on my shoulder but the downward strike shattered armor and arm alike. That hideous scarred face mocks me but I feel no pain, pain is for the faithless.

“Yoo'ze 'n trouble now oomie” yells the beast raising its rusty claw again.

The creature was to slow, calmly I fire my weapon instantly turning a victorious scream into an agonized wail. Its face melts away as the brutish thing falls to its knees and collapses. My brothers had done their work well, the carnage is over as suddenly as it began.

All was silent now save the wet sound of my sword being pulled free...


Test 2...
"Your time has come", Sargent Pollious spoke with a rough voice we had come to know well, like stone grinding stone.

"The treacherous scum plaguing this world seek to attack the surviving loyalists before they can regroup"

He spat the words from a maimed face, more scar than feature. The red light of a cybernetic eye his dominant detail, legend has it a Genestealer tore out the original before he beat it to death. A rumor the vicious old man relishes, one only a fool would doubt in his presence.

"The ruins we stand in were once a city, a city they must pass through"

He indicated to the pile of explosives we had carried, mile after torturous mile, to this forsaken place.

"We have five maybe six hours to prepare a fitting welcome"

I recall the day i challanged the Ultramarine's for the right to join them, foolish child that i was. He broke every part of me that could be broken, including my pride, but it was merely the beginning of my journey to this moment.

"Remember your training, trust your brothers, have faith in the Emperor!"

We hated the old tyrant, but each of us would die for him. His tutelage has made us more than men, today as Astarte's scouts we would prove our worth.

"Why do you fight?"
"We fight for Macragge!" The whole squad chorused.

A smile, something we had never seen him do, flashed across that unforgiving face.

Many traitors would die today...

 Gantoris wrote:
I applied and made it to the test phase, they turned me down the day after submitting my tests (dunno if that's better or worse) but all they said was my spelling and grammar were unacceptable :(. Damn you Open office! I should have spent longer on it and got someone to proof read but i thought it would be impressive if i completed the test in only 2 days.

Their are no spelling mistakes so i guess my grammar sucks, shame because they didn't point out any other problems like they seem to have with others.

To be fair, the problems they've pointed out were baffling to most of us. Plus, on my second try, they just rejected it without explanation, too.

As a critique, I went through it in red. I only noted grammar issues, not ones of plot or anything else. In my view, you have some decent stuff here, but sadly it is indeed marred by grammar errors. I also noted that your profile/location says you're English, but you use American spellings. Not a big problem, just a curiosity on my part.

Test 1...
The trap was sprung!

We leapt from our perch into the rocky valley below, thunderous jump packs startling our Greenskin prey [this sentence is past tense, but the rest is in present. Mixing tenses is generally frowned upon. Grenades burst all around as we fall upon them with vengeful fury, black armor glistening in the night. I land hard onto one knee driving my Powersword into the nearest xeno's filth [using the possessive apostrophe like that means that what you're saying is he drove the sword into some filth, which belongs to the Xenos, which isn't the point you're trying to make, cleaving him from neck to navel.

A huge Ork roars, his dark green skin a network of scars loosely covered with red metal. Around his neck hangs a blue skull medallion, a clan symbol, half a dozen human heads are strung about his waist.

“WAAAAGH!” Charging he fires his battered pistol while raising a massive power clawed fist into the air.

Releasing the sword I raise my arm to block the coming blow, drawing a combi melta with the other. His shots do little more than scratch the white raven emblazoned on my shoulder [missing comma] but the downward strike shattered armor and arm alike. That hideous scarred face mocks me but I feel no pain, [really you'd most probably use a semicolon here, not a comma] pain is for the faithless.

“Yoo'ze 'n trouble now oomie [missing comma]” yells the beast [comma] raising its rusty claw again.

The creature was to [should be too] slow,[full stop or semicolon, not comma] calmly I fire my weapon [missing comma] instantly turning a victorious scream into an agonized wail. Its face melts away as the brutish thing falls to its knees and collapses. My brothers had done their work well, the carnage is over as suddenly as it began.

All was silent now [missing comma] save the wet sound of my sword being pulled free...[no real need for ellipses here. A full stop would have worked fine.]

Test 2...
"Your time has come", [the punctuation was outside of the speech marks, and in this case it should have been a full stop rather than a comma] Sargent [Sargent is a name. Sergeant is the rank] Pollious spoke with a rough voice we had come to know well, like stone grinding stone.

"The treacherous scum plaguing this world seek to attack the surviving loyalists before they can regroup"

He spat the words from a maimed face, more scar than feature. The red light of a cybernetic eye his dominant detail, legend has it a Genestealer tore out the original before he beat it to death. A rumor the vicious old man relishes, one only a fool would doubt in his presence.

"The ruins we stand in were once a city, a city they must pass through"

He indicated to the pile of explosives we had carried, mile after torturous mile, to this forsaken place.

"We have five maybe six hours to prepare a fitting welcome"

I recall the day i [small I] challanged [should be challenged] the Ultramarine's [wrong use of possessive apostrophe] for the right to join them, foolish child that i was. He broke every part of me that could be broken, including my pride, but it was merely the beginning of my journey to this moment.

"Remember your training, trust your brothers, have faith in the Emperor!"

We hated the old tyrant, but each of us would die for him. His tutelage has made us more than men, today as Astarte's [again, wrong use of possessive apostrophe] scouts we would prove our worth.

"Why do you fight?"
"We fight for Macragge!" The [should be ''the'' because it's not a new sentence] whole squad chorused.

A smile, something we had never seen him do, flashed across that unforgiving face.

Many traitors would die today...

Thank you for your critique, its appreciated.

As for the spelling i obey the spell checker lol, i guess i need to go through its settings!

Never trust the spell checker, as that's all they check, and quite often they get that wrong if they're set to 'US' English. The example of 'too' instead of 'to' is often missed, for example.

Akrath, i have tried to re submit taking your suggestions to heart. I am hoping they might consider my second try since i technically still have 4 days, if it works out i most definitely owe you a beer one day m8!

I dont suppose you guys could recommend a better word processor than Open Office, one with better spell checking and Grammar? Even Yahoo mail spotted spelling mistakes Open Office missed.

Pro tip -- most writers don't rely on spell checkers. You give your writing a proper EDIT, because spell check won't catch instances where you've spelled the wrong word correctly.

I've never seen a grammar checker that was worth a gak. More than half the time those give you the *wrong* advice.

 Gantoris wrote:
Akrath, i have tried to re submit taking your suggestions to heart. I am hoping they might consider my second try since i technically still have 4 days, if it works out i most definitely owe you a beer one day m8!

I dont suppose you guys could recommend a better word processor than Open Office, one with better spell checking and Grammar? Even Yahoo mail spotted spelling mistakes Open Office missed.

You either go through it yourself or you give it to somebody else to proof-read. The latter is better because a fresh pair of eyes will spot things you won't or can't.

 Gantoris wrote:
Akrath, i have tried to re submit taking your suggestions to heart. I am hoping they might consider my second try since i technically still have 4 days, if it works out i most definitely owe you a beer one day m8!

I dont suppose you guys could recommend a better word processor than Open Office, one with better spell checking and Grammar? Even Yahoo mail spotted spelling mistakes Open Office missed.

As said, don't rely on spell checkers. In my experience a good proofreader is one of the best assets a writer could have. Whilst reading it yourself is always a good idea, I find that the writer often ends up blind to their own mistakes. Especially if they're mistakes because the writer lacks knowledge in a certain area.

If you want to write more, the best advice I have is to study. Sounds a bit patronising, but there's no real alternative to just learning more about how to write, how to use grammar and how to structure a story.

Your right and i appreciate the advice, i had 7 days and only used 2 of them which was foolish. I should have proof read it more and found someone to proof read it for me before submitting.

If by some miracle they accept my re-sub i guess ill be refreshing myself on proper grammar!

I would also suggest you practice the discipline, even on forums such as this.

"Your" means someone you're addressing; "You're" means you are.

"I" not "i"

"There" somewhere not here; "Their" someone else.

"ill" are you feeling unwell or "I'll" be back?

Expect the editor, reviewer, or whomever it is at G.W. to be the biggest Nazi about every little detail, especially if they have a big pool to pick from. I know that when reviewing a collection of resumes in a large, or tight, group of people, the ones who have 'poor' attention to detail are the first to go and poor is very subjective.

Poor could be forgets to put a full stop at the end of a sentence or overuse of commas.

Dont tend to spend much time proof reading forum posts

 Gantoris wrote:
Dont tend to spend much time proof reading forum posts

If you do it will help your writing immensely. Forum, Facebook, even texting: all the professional writers I know write in these areas with as much care to spelling, punctuation, and grammar as they do in their professional writing.


So, side question: does anyone know how much GW freelance writers make? (I know: not much.) Do they pay them by the job, or by the word?

Yeah, Gantoris, the stuff in red. A mix of past and present tense, use of 'to' when you meant 'too', and others. I just read a couple sentences, but the grammar stuff popped up immediately. Agreed that spelling seemed fine, but your tenses were all over the place and some improper word usage definitely detracted. Have a friend proof read for you next time, preferably one that has gone for an advanced degree in English. Should help ya out.

Actually, that advise goes for everyone: if it's not an important piece of writing, you don't really need someone proof reading. But something you intend to use for a job interview, a thesis or a résumé...yeah, get somebody else to proof read for you. Always.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Actually, that advise goes for everyone: if it's not an important piece of writing, you don't really need someone proof reading. But something you intend to use for a job interview, a thesis or a résumé...yeah, get somebody else to proof read for you. Always.

Advice*

But yea, truth. Better still if, like me, you can use a couple of readers. At least that's what I've found.

Feelin like a fool now tbh, i recon they were good enough apart from the schoolboy errors :(

That's kind of the thing - you don't want 'schoolboy' errors showing up when you're submitting something for professional considertion.

Given the generous deadlines, not correcting gives the impression like you don't really care.

Lastly, with how many people submitted, if you had two submissions of equal quality, the one with basic spelling mistakes and typos is going to be rejected every time.

You are right of course, it was a stupid thing to do and have been beating myself up over it all week :(

Well, they're listing an opening for a full member of the writing team, whose due date is coming up. All you've got to do is submit a 'why you want this job,' and 2000 word short story of Ultramarines fighting orks, to earn your shot at redemption!

 Bookwrack wrote:
Well, they're listing an opening for a full member of the writing team, whose due date is coming up. All you've got to do is submit a 'why you want this job,' and 2000 word short story of Ultramarines fighting orks, to earn your shot at redemption!

This job? http://jobs.games-workshop.com/2015/06/26/fiction-writer-nottingham-uk/

That reads as being based at their HQ, so it's not an option for most of us.

But it was an option to the person he was responding to, who had the Union Jack for his location flag.

I wonder if anyone applied for that positon and feels like speaking up? They only had to write about an 8x larger story, but Ultramarines vs orks certainly isn't a difficult topic.

Akragth wrote:

 Bookwrack wrote:
Well, they're listing an opening for a full member of the writing team, whose due date is coming up. All you've got to do is submit a 'why you want this job,' and 2000 word short story of Ultramarines fighting orks, to earn your shot at redemption!

This job? http://jobs.games-workshop.com/2015/06/26/fiction-writer-nottingham-uk/

That reads as being based at their HQ, so it's not an option for most of us.

I submitted for it, and was not immediately rejected for being a filthy colonial, receiving a nice e-mail saying that my application had been received and was under review.

Of course, I might've tricked them by the fact that I live in Nottingham... USA.

 Portugal Jones wrote:
But it was an option to the person he was responding to, who had the Union Jack for his location flag.

I wonder if anyone applied for that positon and feels like speaking up? They only had to write about an 8x larger story, but Ultramarines vs orks certainly isn't a difficult topic.

Not necessarily. Not everyone can move for a job.

 Bookwrack wrote:

Akragth wrote:

 Bookwrack wrote:
Well, they're listing an opening for a full member of the writing team, whose due date is coming up. All you've got to do is submit a 'why you want this job,' and 2000 word short story of Ultramarines fighting orks, to earn your shot at redemption!

This job? http://jobs.games-workshop.com/2015/06/26/fiction-writer-nottingham-uk/

That reads as being based at their HQ, so it's not an option for most of us.

I submitted for it, and was not immediately rejected for being a filthy colonial, receiving a nice e-mail saying that my application had been received and was under review.

Of course, I might've tricked them by the fact that I live in Nottingham... USA.

They probably wouldn't reject you purely for being elsewhere when you apply, but if it's based at their HQ then you'd obviously be expected to move close enough to be able to get to the office. Which, as I said above, isn't an option for most folks Of course, I could be wrong, and they might let people work from home, in which case they should really specify so.

I sent my application.

Got through to testing, then got a rejection.

The only thing i was rejected on:

Make it Readable
We require a high standard of written English, including accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. Whilst these things alone do not constitute good writing, the absence of them would unfortunately make it impossible for us to consider adding you to our freelance author pool, no matter how fantastic your story is.


That was the only thing.... THE ONLY THING!!!!

Welcome to my world :(

 Gantoris wrote:
Welcome to my world :(

I know, i mean i understand that im feeling annoyed but surely if my pacing and writing style is ok, i can easily change a bit of grammar

It just amazes me!

With so many applications i expect they are spoiled for choice, why tolerate someone who might need excessive editing.

The most depressing thing about my entry is i got it in after 2 days, i had fully 5 days to get it proof read by someone. Feel like such a mug for screwing up in such a stupid way.

 Gantoris wrote:
With so many applications i expect they are spoiled for choice, why tolerate someone who might need excessive editing.

The most depressing thing about my entry is i got it in after 2 days, i had fully 5 days to get it proof read by someone. Feel like such a mug for screwing up in such a stupid way.

But that's like saying the best basketball player in the world can't join the Chicago Bulls because they don't have the right shoes