A Writer’s Guide to Learning About Second Life (Part 2)

Welcome back!  I hope you’re finding Second Life half as intriguing as I do!   In Part 1 of this series, I described these six steps that helped me — and I hope can help you — in Second Life:

1. Learn a little about Second Life before you enter this virtual world.
2. Sign up for Second Life (it’s free).
3. Take all the tutorials offered on Orientation Island — then leave!
4. Bypass “Help Island” and teleport to one of the excellent resident-run locations that support newbies.
5. Log out of Second Life before you get overwhelmed by it!
6. Watch more of Torley Linden’s tutorials!

Steps 1-3 are pretty much one-time only; steps 4-6 you may take repeatedly; and if you’re like me, you’ll take step 6 every time you hear that Torley Linden has released a new video!

In Part 3, I’ll cover some more general tips and suggestions for getting the best experience possible in Second Life.

But today, in Part 2 of this series, I want to focus on getting connected with resources for writers in Second Life.  So, without further ado:

Alas Zerbino’s Newbie Guide for Writers
(and Anyone Else) in Second Life: Part 2

Step 7:  Start recording your SL experiences!

Second Life offers this fabulous snapshot option that lets you take photos of what’s on your screen and save them to your hard drive.  I wish I’d started my shutter-bugging sooner!  Photos of your earliest looks and experiences are priceless — and impossible to reproduce later.  (The photo at left is the only one I have of my first few days in SL – sob-sob!  And as long as you’re just saving them to your computer, it costs nothing to take them. (It does cost a fraction of a cent each to upload them into SL.)

You can also keep a record of all your text chat (local or IM chat) on your computer.  It’s great fun to go back and re-read certain conversations — especially those with avatars of famous people.  And if you go to events such as workshops or Athena Isle Writers Meetings, you can use your recorded chats as notes.

To take photos in SL:

• You can take a snapshot at any time by pressing Ctrl-Shift-S on your keyboard.  (Or, open the File menu on your top menu bar and click the snapshot option.)
• The first snapshot you take in any session will cause a window to open, letting you choose the folder to save the photos in, as well as the naming style.  All subsequent photos will be saved to that folder, with the same name and the next higher number (e.g., exploringSL_001, exploringSL_002, etc.)
• The default setting for snapshots will cause a camera-click sound, and your avatar’s hands will come up to its face, mimicking taking a photo.  Most people find this quite annoying, especially because it’s hard to take a photo of your own avatar without that hands-to-the-face image. But there’s an easy fix: 

1. Look at the top menu bar of your SL viewer to see if the last item is “Advanced.”  If yes, continue.  If not, press Ctrl-Alt-D (that’s the “D” key, not delete) on your keyboard.  Ctrl-Alt-D toggles the Advanced menu on, which is a good thing to have.
2. Open the Advanced menu and click the “Quiet Snapshots to Disk” option (an X should appear in front of it).  Now you’ll be able to take pictures without unwanted sound or facial expressions.

To log your SL chat:

1. Open your Preferences window (Ctr-P or Edit menu>Preferences).
2. Click the side tab labeled Communication.
3. Look at the Logging options.  You need to make sure these options are checked: “Save a log of IM on my computer” and “Save a log of Local Chat on my computer.”  (I have all the options checked, but that’s my personal preference.)
4. Click the Change Path button.  The SL default is to bury the logs in a sub-sub-sub folder of the “Documents and Settings” directory on Windows PCs (I don’t know where it goes on Macs).  I changed the directory path to a folder in My Documents, which makes it a lot easier to find and access, for me.
5. When you’re done, click Apply on the Preferences window to save your choices, and click OK to close the window.

Have fun!  (Oh, and if you take any photos or type any text that you really don’t want anyone else to see, be sure to delete them from your hard drive!!)

Step 8:  Sign up for as many writers’ groups as you have the time and interest for.

The very best way I know to find the places and events that interest you is to join groups in Second Life related to writing.  See this post for more details on why and for suggested writing groups to join.

Since I wrote that post, I’ve discovered more great groups and regular events for writers.  But if you’re like me, you’ll probably find that all of your 25 group slots allotted by Linden Lab are taken!  This discovery most often occurs just as you’re trying to join another cool group!

The 25-group limitation is one that has frustrated so many SL residents that the technical wizards who reside there have come up with a number of options around it — things called “Hippo groups” and “Subscrib-o-matic,” for example.  These options have no limits and provide the same level of information updates that SL groups offer.

So how do you choose?

• For groups where you primarily want to receive news updates and information from the group, choose a non SL-group option if you can.  Look for the signup posters that mention “Hippo,” or “Subscrib-o-matic,” or clearly state that joining the group will NOT use an SL group slot.
• Some SL groups allow anyone in the group to send notices to the entire group.  These are great for when you want to announce an in-world event (e.g., reading from your newly published novel, offering a workshop, etc.).  So if you think you might have your own announcements to make and/or you want to hear about other writers’ events, choose these SL groups to join.  I belong to two such groups:  P.S. and Writers Guild.
• Another reason to choose a Second Life group is to participate in group instant messaging (IM) chats.  A feature of SL groups (if the owner has turned it on) is that anyone in the group can start a group IM chat, which will then be broadcast to all members of the group currently online.  Many groups (especially large ones) have turned this off (and many more should, in my not-so-humble-opinion) because the barrage of group IM messages gets quite annoying.  (Not to mention the embarrassingly personal conversations that inadvertently go to the entire group!!) But this feature is especially good for small groups looking for an easy way to communicate as a group.

The essential point about groups:  It’s one of the best ways to find activities you’re interested in and to connect with other writers in Second Life.

Step 9:  Visit as many writing-related locations in SL as you can.

When you go into Second Life, be sure to teleport to my home, Story Mountain Center for Writers.  You’re welcome to spend as much time there and even use it as a home base until you’ve found your way around SL.  And inside the Story Mountain Lodge itself, you’ll find:

• A clickable sign that lets you learn about and join many of SL’s writers’ groups
• A more-or-less comprehensive calendar of ongoing events for writers in Second Life.
• Very soon (if not by the time you read this) a display containing information and teleport links to many of the writers’ locations in SL.

Below is a list of the writers’ locations I know about in Second Life (I’m sure there are plenty more I haven’t yet discovered).  The name of each one contains a link to the Second Life SLURL site, which will teleport to that location if your Second Life viewer is running.  SLURLs are a bit part of making your way around SL, and it’s a good thing to learn about!

And now, I give you “Alas’s List of Awesome SL Sites for Writers:”

Inkygirl Haven for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators:  This should be one of your first destinations in Second Life because Inkygirl (author/illustrator and writers-market maven Debbie Ridpath Ohi in real life) has organized an awesome orientation station that is especially geared to writers!  I learned a bunch of new tips there recently, and I’m not what most people would still consider a newbie (though in some ways, I think, we remain newbies our entire virtual lives!).

In addition to the superb Learning Center, Inkygirl has created a beautiful build that supports writers in many ways (with more to come — she’s only just started).

Creative Showcase for Writers at The Learning Experience:  Here you’ll get an idea of some of the published and emerging authors who are active in Second Life, along with landmarks and Web links for further exploration of their work.  While you’re here, teleport to the top floor, and hang out for a while in the awesome Writers’ Retreat TLE has created.   You can read more about in on the Web at this blog.

The Written Word:  This organization provides so many wonderful resources for writers, you really need to look at an earlier post I wrote about them, “Written Word: This Virtual Group Offers Tremendous Support for Real Writers,” to get a better perspective.  Written Word also maintains a great Web site where you can get a lot more information.

INKsters Writing Community: Here’s another fabulous organization, located along with The Written Word on SL’s Cookie Island.  INKsters runs a daily cash-prize writing competition (read “One Writing Competition in Second Life You Can’t Lose” for more), as well as spaces for writers, writing events, and a weekly beach party.  Check out INKsters’ blog for more information, too.

 Book Village on Book Island & Publishing Island:  Book Village is one of the bigger writer locations in SL.  It bills itself “for books, magazines, and writers,” and consists of blocks upon blocks of storefronts inhabited by authors, publishers, magazine editors, and anyone else related to the book or publishing industries.  Many published authors, as well as some publishers and agents, keep office hours there.  Book Village also hosts a variety of events for writers/publishers.  Check out the Book Village blog for more information.

Blue Angel Poets’ Dive:  There are a host of writers’ pubs and cafes in Second Life, but Blue Angel Poets’ Dive is one of the first and best.  Blue Angel hosts a number of events for writers every week, including the Sunday open mic for poetry, which is the longest-running open mic in Second Life.  You can read more about Blue Angel and the open mic in this blog post.

Bookstacks: Another one of my long-time favorites, Bookstacks offers regular open mics, information about writing-related activities around Second Life, and has the greatest writers’ pub I’ve seen yet in SL.  They are based on their own SL island — Bookstacks Isle — where they collaboratively host another writing community–

Milk Wood: The Guild of UK Writers group (which is open to writers from any country) hosts many of its readings, workshops, and other writers’ events on Bookstacks Isle, as well as running a writers community on Scotland Plarmigan.  Most recently, Milk Wood began a biweekly writers’ meet to motivate writers to write.  Check out the Guild’s blog for more information and a calendar of events.

Storybook Island: A relatively recent addition to the SL writing community, Storybook Island offers the amazing “Story Trail,” which I wrote about in the post, “The Story Trail in SL:  A Magical Experience for Creative Writers.”  This a “must-see/do” for writers in SL!

sLiterary: The Metaverse Literary & Arts Collective, as it’s subtitled, is a large Second Life location that offers a vast range of events and activities for writers and other artists.  Among other things, sLiterary publishes a premiere literary magazine using the work of writers in Second Life.

ThirdLife Books & Farpoint Media: Here’s the Second Life home of real-life science-fiction novelist Michael A. Stackpole (Noble Charron in SL), where he keeps regular office hours, hosts events for writers and sci-fi fans, and runs ThirdLife Books, “an SL publisher of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Erotica titles.”

You can also find many libraries in Second Life.  Here are three that I’d recommend for writers to check out:

•  The Library at Driftwood Beach
•  Caledon Library
•  Alliance Virtual Library 

And then there are all the pubs and cafes and other hangouts where writers meet informally or for readings (both guest readings and open mics).  These make for too long a list to add to this post — and they change hands, go in and out of business, etc., just as in the physical world — but you’ll learn about them from other writers and groups — and maybe even start your own.

Step 10:  Find a home base for yourself until you set up your own SL home.

If you discover that Second Life is a good place to be, you’ll probably end up renting or buying a home.  (It’s certainly not required, but it doesn’t cost much to do.)  Until then, I highly recommend finding a friendly locale where you can set up a temporary home base.

After trying out a few other places, I “camped out” on Cookie Island until I rented my first house. I found a secluded corner of the INKsters Rose Garden, and created a landmark there so I’d have it in my inventory.  Then I’d always teleport back to that corner before I logged out of Second Life, and because I set my SL viewer to log me into the last location, that’s always where I started out.  It kept me “grounded” in this virtual world!

Later, when I joined the INKsters group, I discovered I could even set my Home location to the rose garden.  The nice thing about that is that if you ever want to “get the hell out of [SL] Dodge” (or for any reason want to go “home”), all you have to do is press Shift-Ctr-H and, woosh! you’re teleported to your SL home.  (You don’t even have to click your heels three times!!)

Cookie Island, which hosts both Written Word and INKsters, is a good possibility for a temporary base, especially if you join the INKsters and/or Written Word groups (which actually are two of the best groups for writers in SL). 

Another one is my own place, Story Mountain Center for Writers, and yet another is The Learning Experience, which has a large spread with several little parks. 

Wherever you choose, make sure it’s a place open to the public, yet not full of traffic, and that you don’t interfere with the owners’ activities.  And if you’re told to leave — go!  It may be open to the public, but it’s not public land.

Well, since 10 is a nice even number, I’ll stop here.  If you take away nothing else from these posts, I hope you’ll remember this:  Second Life has a steep learning curve mainly because it offers so many opportunities and resources!  Those include the amazing, and growing, number of resources for writers, and I think it’s worth being a “newbie” for a while to discover them!

In Part 3 (which I expect to be the final part of this series — which, incidentally, started out as a single post), I’ll provide more tips and offer the list of Second Life skills that I think are most important to know to participate in the writing community in SL.  So, if there’s something you think needs to be added to this “guide,” let me know so I can include it in Part 3!

Hope to see you soon in SL!

Tagged as: Blue Angel Poets' Dive Bar, Bookstacks, INKsters, Inkygirl's Haven, Milk Wood, Second Life libraries, sLiterary, Story Mountain Center for Writers, Storybook Island, Torley Linden, writers resources, Written Word