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I have been absent for some time from this blog, in large part because I have been consumed for the past several months with holding space for people going through big changes in their lives. This has not been easy. Holding space for change never is. What has been confusing and confounding to me in this process is WHY I've struggled so much with what I'm doing. Helping people who... Read more →
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Attention, happy-hour lovers: this could be hard to swallow.
New Jersey's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control announced Wednesday that it had seized alcohol from 29 bars and restaurants as part of a year-long investigation into allegations that the businesses have been fooling customers by filling bottles from premium brands with cheaper well liquor.
More than 100 investigators fanned out across the state Wednesday morning to carry out the raids in an effort dubbed "Operation Swill."
Related: The lucrative business of cigarette smuggling
Among the establishments hit were 13 TGI Fridays locations. A Fridays spokesperson said Wednesday that the chain "was just made aware of this issue and is working closely with the franchisee and owner of the cited locations to review and investigate these serious allegations."
"We have one of the most extensive bar and beverage programs in the industry, which sets a very high standard in the quality and service of our beverages," the spokesperson said.
A spokeswoman for Ruby Tuesday's, whose location in Bridgewater, N.J. was among those investigated, said the chain was "gathering information" on the issue and "cooperating with the authorities 100%."
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said investigators had relied on "citizen complaints, confidential informants, and new technology used to test samples taken covertly from the licensed establishments by Division detectives." No word on whether any of those "confidential booze informant" jobs are still available.


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The Business Rusch: Perfection
Last week, I mentioned the blog post I had started, but decided not to publish in the midst of a busy workshop. Here it is:
At every craft workshop I teach, I make at least one writer cry. This week, I'm teaching a short story workshop for professional writers. These are workshop-hardened folk, people who have been eviscerated by the best of them, people who come to my workshops having heard that I make writers cry, expecting me to be the most vicious critiquer of all.
How do I bring writers to tears? Usually by saying this:
I loved this story. It's wonderful. Mail it.
That's my entire critique.
Is the story perfect? Of course not. No story is. Not a one. No matter how many times it's "polished" and "fixed" and "improved." No one can write a perfect story.
If such a thing existed, then we would all read the same books and enjoy them equally. We would watch the same movies and need reviewers to tell us only which movie is perfect and which one isn't. We would buy the same comics, again, going only for the comic that is perfect, and ignoring all the others.
Am I telling people to write crap? No. Because the choice isn't between crap and perfection. Those are false choices.
I learned this lesson long ago. Dean Wesley Smith and I were visitors at a writing workshop taught by science fiction writer and editor Algis Budrys. One of the early volumes of Writers of the Future, which he had edited, had just appeared, and he asked the students to read one of the stories in the volume.
Then, without telling Dean and I what he was doing, he asked us to comment on the story.
Here's what I remember of the piece: It was 2,000 words long. I think we spoke more than 2,000 words in our elegant, impressive critiques.
Algis looked at both of us sadly. Then he said, "Ignore them. The story is wonderful—or at least it is to this editor."
He had expected us to praise the story, thinking we all had the same taste. Instead, Dean and I both had gone after the story in critique mode. When a reader critiques something, he goes after it by searching for what is wrong.
And he will find something. Something is always wrong. From an infelicitous turn of phrase to a plot point that could have been stronger, something about the story does not work.
As I'm teaching this concept to my workshop-experienced students, I always begin by asking them this, "What's wrong with Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?"
Well, we're all raised to believe that Shakespeare is a god who never could do anything wrong. Had he done anything wrong, had his stories been less-than-perfect, we wouldn't be reading them? Right?
If William Shakespeare—professional writer—had turned A Midsummer Night's Dream in at a workshop I taught, I would have told him this:
"Bill, lose at least two of your endings. The main story of the play ends in Act IV, Scene 2—and then you go on for two more scenes. All of these endings would work. Pick one."
Bill Shakespeare, dutiful workshopper that he is, would nod sadly, go back to his room, and delete one of the most favorite and quoted scenes in all of English literature. Puck turns to the audience and says,
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
I would have said to Bill, "Lovely. Thematically significant. Beautifully written. Lose it. You can do the same thing elsewhere."
Yeah, right. My harsh words, spoken with authority, and Workshopper Bill's insecurity would have stolen 400 years of enjoyment from audiences all over the world.
Anything can be critiqued. Criticizing something is easy. It makes the critiquer feel smart, and just a little bit superior to the writer.
But that kind of critique serves no real purpose, because that kind of critique is wrong from the moment the critiquer picks up the story or the manuscript or the 400-year-old play.
Readers read for enjoyment. They vote for what they like with their hard cold cash. Traditional publishers who recently ventured into the world of free online e-book promotions were stunned to realize that people who receive a book for free are more apt to write a vicious, nasty review of that book than people who paid money for the same book.
There are a few reasons for that. One is that people see no value in something they get for free. Dean's discussing that bit on his blog right now.
But the one reason that's relevant to this essay is this: If people have paid a little for a book, they have a vested interest in it. They take a small bit of the blame if the reading experience didn't turn out exactly like they hoped. They should have looked at the cover more closely, perhaps, or read a snippet of the opening. But they didn't. So they got a book they didn't like. It was an accident. They'll do better next time.
Readers are more realistic than writers. Readers understand that many, many, many books out there in the universe won't be to their taste. All sorts of marketing tools have sprung up over the centuries to help readers find works that will be to their taste. From cover art to genre categories to back cover blurbs, all these things exist to help a reader choose the right book for them—a book they won't regret purchasing. A book they will enjoy.
When a reader samples an e-book, she gets a small portion of the novel. If it's to her taste, she will then decide whether or not to purchase. But if the book is really, really good, the reader will punch that "buy" button just to see what happens next regardless of price. (That's how a lot of e-books priced over $10 sell to people who swear they'll never pay more than $9.99 for an e-book. The reader samples, gets hooked, and buys, without checking price at all.)
What does that have to do with critique? Simple. Critiquers get the manuscript for free and they're asked to criticize it. Of course, they will find something wrong with it. In that circumstance, we all will.
So I change my students' mindset to a reader/editor mindset. How do I do it? By giving them only three valid responses to something they've read:
1. I liked what I read.
2. I quit on page [insert number here].
3. I liked what I read and I would have bought this.
Book and magazine editors don't have time to read every manuscript that crosses their desks, and certainly don't have time to critique them. Editors want to find something the readers will enjoy. Better yet, the editors want those people to return for a second bite from the apple. So they want the readers to enjoy the first book, and come back for the second by the same author. In fact, the editors want readers to return to the publishing house again and again, which is why imprints exist. (If you liked this book by Suzy Q. Writer, then try this book by Jane X. Author, published under the same imprint.)
In other words, editors also read for enjoyment. And if they're not enjoying a book on page 2, they'll jettison that book. The only time they use their editing superpowers on that book is if they bought it sight unseen from a professional writer and can't reject it for cause. Then they try to help the writer "improve" that book, when really, if the editor were an average reader, he would have simply tossed the book aside and asked for another book (maybe even by somebody else).
Harsh? Not really. Not compared to a thirty-minute critique of a romance novel by a hard-science fiction writer forced to read said romance novel as part of a workshop. You ain't heard harsh until then.
But I'm sure all you writers out there have heard just such a critique. And many of you have taken it to heart. I know dozens of writers who quit writing because they couldn't stand the pain they received from their peer-level writing workshop. That's a tragedy. How many stories have we lost? How many Bill Shakespeares have dumped the "unnecessary" second and third endings from their immensely enjoyable stories because some idiot told them to?
I don't let students drone on and on about a story, especially if they don't like it. I will occasionally give the student something to improve the story, but before I do, I remind the student that 1) I am no longer editing, so my word has equal weight to every other reader's word in the room; 2) I can be wrong; and 3) ignore everything I say if you disagree with me.
I go last, after I've heard the rest of the workshop. If anyone "buys" the manuscript at all and I didn't like the manuscript or had found "flaws," I remind the writer that someone already loved it and was willing to spend cold, hard cash on it.
Often, I tell writers this: Do not touch this story. Mail it. Everyone in the room liked it but me. Therefore what I have to say is irrelevant.
In other words, I never tell a student to make a story perfect. I often tell a student that the story is really good and needs to get out into the world where readers can find it.
I also teach writers bits and pieces of craft, things they might not be aware of. I don't want them to create my perfect story. I want them to write stories that only they can tell.
So many writers table perfectly good stories because someone—often someone with power (an editor, a writer with a few novels under her belt, a well-published nonfiction writer)—will nitpick the story to death. Or suggest revisions that will alter the story dramatically. If the story already works, who cares if it has three endings? Those of us who don't like the story don't know if the people who loved the story loved it because of those three endings, not in spite of them.
When I became an editor, I learned just how important taste is. The difference between the short stories in Analog and Asimov's, two of the science fiction digest magazines (that now have e-book editions each month if you haven't seen them before), isn't that there is such thing as an Analog story or an Asimov's story that I as a long-time reader can tell you about. The difference is in the taste of their editors. Stanley A. Schmidt of Analog likes different kinds of stories than Sheila Williams of Asimov's does. Occasionally their tastes overlap. Most often, they do not.
If there were such a thing as a perfect sf story, then both editors would always buy the same stories, and you couldn't tell the magazines apart.
As readers, you all know this. As writers, you forget it.
And when you forget it, you make the weirdest decisions.
You give control of your product to the wrong people. You submit romance novels to science fiction markets (and wonder why the editor didn't read your manuscript—was it the passive sentence on page 32?). You try to revise to please everyone in your peer-level writing group.
You self-publish your novel, make sure it's edited and copyedited, add a fantastic cover, and then revise to address concerns posted by reviewers who gave your book one star. That's complete and utter idiocy. Seriously.
Some nutty brand new writer, with one or two novels to her name, posted a blog on Digital Book World espousing just that. She says writers should always address their critics' concerns.
I read that and nearly snorted my tea all over my iPad. If I even tried to address all the nasty reviews I've gotten over the years, I'd never write anything new. If I tried to address all the somewhat valid criticisms I've gotten on my books, I'd still spend forever revising.
Only a writer with one or two publications to her credit would have time to even think such a thing is viable.
Her blog post has gone viral, and I've seen new writers everywhere wring their hands over the fact that they now have to pay attention to their one-star reviews and constantly revise.
I'm here to tell you this: If you want a career as a writer, ignore your critics.
When the book is finished, when the book is published for heaven's sake, then it's done. Irrevocably done. Mistakes and all.
And there will be mistakes. Lots of them.
One of my copy editors has been comparing my final manuscripts to the previously published editions of my novels as a final prep for the books' reissues. She's done that for two years now, and she's found many things that copy editors missed. (Failing to capitalize Diet Coke in a novel published by Dell, for instance.) We're fixing those tiny copyediting things because WMG Publishing is reissuing the books. Reissues always need proofs as they go into a new format because the format itself can introduce errors.
But she's been having fits over one of the latest two Grayson novels, which will be reissued this summer. She complained in person to me about it. I frowned and said that I seemed to recall a bad copyedit on one of the Grayson books.
She wrote an e-mail to me later saying, "You really did have a horrible [copy] editor on this one. S/he/it (and yes, that really does say a lot about it) faithfully reproduced nearly every misspelled word, and introduced some errors…in the ms. Yeesh!"
In other words, the entire book was riddled with typos—and yes, we're fixing them. But am I taking the opportunity to revise the book? No, I'm not. The book stands as it did when I originally wrote it. Readers loved those books. I'm not going to try to invalidate their reading experience by "improving" on it. I might take out the thing that they love.
A writer whose work I adore has revised my favorite novel of hers twice, publishing each revision as a new edition, neither of which I will not buy. I loved that first edition of that book. I don't care how much better she's gotten as a craftsperson. That book didn't need a word changed, in my opinion.
At the workshop, one of the students pre-critiqued his own manuscript right after I called his name. We were well into the workshop by then; the writers knew the drill. We'd talk about the manuscript and then the author could speak. But he picked up the manuscript and volunteered to throw it away before we could comment on it.
Another student turned on him and growled, "I loved this story." Then everyone else piled on. Yep, most of us had loved that story and all of us who had loved it were deeply offended that he thought it flawed.
When you learn a new bit of craft, when your skills have improved, when a reader points out a valid storytelling mistake in your published book that would take a complete revision of that book, what should you do?
Leave the book alone.
Incorporate what you've learned into the next book. You'll learn something new on that book that you can then incorporate into the next book. Keep writing, keep learning, keep improving. But for god's sake, don't look backwards. Those books are done.
How do you know when a manuscript is done? That's trickier. I think you should trust the process, fix the nits, and move to the next book. Writing is a subconscious art, not a conscious one. You heard your first story before you could speak, so your subconscious knows a lot more about writing than your conscious brain ever will.
Trust that.
Many writers don't believe what I just wrote, and that's fine. You need to define it for yourself. Set a limit on revisions, set a limit on drafts, set a time limit. (My book must be done in August, no matter what.) Then release your book on the unsuspecting public.
The book will never be perfect. Take the advice that those of us who've worked in broadcasting learned long ago. I think it was best expressed by Tina Fey in Bossy Pants: The show doesn't go on when it's finished; it goes on because it's 11:30.
Exactly. At some point, you must simply let go of that book or story or play and move to the next.
If our workshopping friend Bill Shakespeare strove for perfection, we would never have heard of him. We wouldn't have gotten all of that marvelous writing, all of those wonderful—flawed—plays. (You don't think A Midsummer Night's Dream is the only one riddled with possible workshop-identifiable errors, do you? Think of Romeo and Juliet. Why didn't those crazy lovesick kids just move to another town????)
With so many publishing options, it's harder now for a writer to believe in her work. Does she go to traditional publishing and ask them to validate her book? Does she self-publish and hope for the best?
I understand that. I also think that writers need to understand that they're not writing for one editor or agent or for a small subset of people like a critique group. Writers write for readers.
And it's up to the writer as to how to find those readers. As Sarah Hoyt said in last week's comments, ask yourself, "How will this book best reach its audience?" The key words here are "book," "reach," and "audience."
Not "How do I impress Editor A?" or "How do I get an agent?" But how does this book best reach its audience? Sometimes that answer is through traditional publishing. Sometimes that answer is to become an indie writer.
The question should never ever be, "How do I write the perfect novel?" because the perfect novel or short story or play or article or essay does not exist.
A better question is, "How do I make the book the best it can be?" That you have to answer for yourself. Me, I make sure I have outside help—a dedicated first reader or two or three before my book goes to my editor in traditional publishing or to the editor I hire when I self-publish. A copy editor in both cases to make sure that my dyslexia doesn't make my books impossible to read. A "stet" stamp so that I can disagree with said copy editor when I wanted a particular misspelling or poorly constructed sentence to stand for story reasons. (Allyson Longueira has a great post on this very topic.)
The best possible cover. The best possible interior design.
Sometimes I get a say in those last two things. Sometimes I don't.
I also don't always get a say in how the books get distributed either. Remember, my goal is to find my audience, and when my traditional publishers choose not to pursue every distribution option open to them (because it's too much work or there's "too little return"), I get angry.
My readership varies from book to book, series to series, genre to genre. I never know who will like something I wrote. I just have to give that person the opportunity to find what I did.
Sometimes readers like my work. Sometimes they don't. Once the book is released into the wilds of publishing, however, it's done. Finished. I will not revise a published book.
Is my craft better than it was twenty years ago when I published my first novel? Oh, hell, yes. But my craft is so much better that I could never have written that novel now. Because there's something in the middle of it that no established writer, steeped in craft, would ever attempt. At the time I wrote the book, I didn't know you couldn't do that thing, so I did it.
Had I workshopped that novel, more experienced writers would have told me to remove that thing. Yet that thing is what readers remark on the most about that novel.
When you strive for perfection in your writing, you're dooming yourself to perpetual failure. When you strive to be the best you can be, you will have a fulfilling life.
Writers who are always improving, always learning, move forward. They are secure in the knowledge that the book they wrote ten years ago is the best book it could have been given their level of craft and their understanding of the art of writing at the time they finished the book. They're better now, so they write new things, explore new pathways.
They grow.
They also realize that they have a career, not a novel. The people who tell you to endlessly revise, the people who tell you not to try something new until you've mastered the old, the people who believe that you should make every word perfect before you move onto a new project, those people don't have writing careers. They might have things that seem like writing careers, like a few published stories, one or two novels.
But they don't make their living from their craft (in other words, publishing their writing). They also approach storytelling from the point of view of perfection, not the point of view of enjoyment.
If a flawed novel entertains, it has done its job.
How do you know if a novel entertains? Talk to its fans. Look at its sales figures. See how many people recommend it to their friends.
How do you learn to be the best writer you can be? Step one: Read other people's work for enjoyment. Stop critiquing manuscripts. Stop thinking everything can be perfect.
Then write a lot. Practice, practice, practice. Find your audience—and respect them.
After all, they're forking out their hard-earned cash to pay for one of your stories. If they buy more of your work, then you're doing something right.
Perfection in publishing—like perfection in life—does not exist.
So why do people cry in my craft workshops? Essentially because I tell them they don't have to be perfect. They just need to have fun. They need to share that fun with their readers. Writers understand that. We all do. We like to share our work—the best work we can do—with other people. Not perfect work. The best. Even if it has two additional unnecessary endings.
Like this.
See why I didn't publish this last week when I had no time? I knew this one was going to cause a firestorm of comments, and I knew a bunch of you would ask for clarification. By the way, if you can't be polite in the comments, you're not going to get your comment published.
Someone once suggested that I shut off the comments to save time, but I value them. I value the e-mails and the links you send as well. I also value the donations, which keep me going on the nonfiction portion of my career. This nonfiction blog will continue as long as the readers support it financially. When that stops, I stop, because I have a lot of fiction stories to tell, and this blog takes some of that fiction time.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed in the past to keep this blog going. I appreciate it.
"The Business Rusch: "Perfection," copyright © 2012 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
256 responses to "The Business Rusch: Perfection"
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I have written a short story that is about EXACTLY what this article is about. And I've faced the criticisms that the ending is a little flat and that some of the descriptions are a bit alienating. Despite the fact that I'd say 90% of its readers have told me it uplifted them and even made them cry, I still feel the urge to go back and 'correct' what those two critics said to me. I really needed to read this piece today. I will leave my story as it is, flaws and all.
I'm a couple years late to the discussion but, boy this post should be reposted annually or become the anthem for we who belong to "perfectionists' anonymous." A lot of serendipity for me in reading this advice at this time. Someone else already said it, but it bears repeating, thanks for giving me permission to not be perfect.
Great post. Reading your book, "The Pursuit of Perfection", was like a light shining on my years of experiences with critique groups, both online and in person. I let indictment cast doubt upon my abilities when in truth the mere act of indictment itself was much more at fault.
That's why beta readers are so invaluable — the good ones read the story as a reader, not a critic. Not that you don't need an editor! But find one that knows how to put on the "reader's hat", and helps you grow and gain confidence as a writer, not just improve your work. People like that are worth gold.
This post just blasted away years of insecurity, confusion and paralyzing doubts for me. Especially the line saying "But my craft is so much better that I could never have written that novel now." I wish I'd found this two years ago when it was first posted. Thank you Kristine. Thank you, thank you.
Brilliant. Pure gold.
So needed this post — I read it several days ago and came back to read the comments today. No one can afford to listen to feedback that makes her feel bad about her work; listening to negative feedback of any kind and taking it to heart is the surest road to writer's block and depression.
There's a magic to constructive feedback that inspires me to make my story better and gives me new energy to write and revise, and that's what I listen for–that moment when someone says something that sparks an idea for a new scene or turn of phrase that will make my work-in-progress the best it can be. Constructive feedback resonates with the recipient. If it doesn't, then it's not constructive, and I ignore it as best I can.
I love the advice about setting a deadline to avoid the perfection trap. I've seen too many good writers get stuck on the flypaper of perfection.
At age 69, looking down the pipe toward the light, and trying to pick up where I left of more than 40 years ago, then with pencil in hand … I needed to hear this, Kris. Critique group serving well for mechanical stuff, but not "for feeling good" about my writing. I've been writing professionally for over 50 years, but most of it inside for clients and agencies. Rejuvenating the opportunity to write the fiction I've been carrying around in my head for decades is one of the wonders of post-retirement. And if I write like Heinlein, so what?
This echoes my epiphany of my MFA in Creative Writing that I wrote into my thesis. I realized that the same piece of writing elicited a wide array of responses from fellow students and professors, and I realized that I had vastly different opinions than other students.
What I put in my thesis was that readers have "filters" that they sieve what they read through. Those filters are made up of who the reader is, their experiences and education, their prejudices, etc. When a reader reads something, it goes through this filter. What is read often leaves bits of itself behind to color future reading, but sometimes it jars something loose or changes that person's earlier perceptions.
This means that no two people will "filter" a story in the same way. In fact, one person may not evaluate a story the same way twice since the make-up of the that person's filter is constantly changing.
This was one of the most valuable things I came away with from my MFA, but of course I forget it from time to time and take a critique or rejection personally. So thank you for your post. It's an excellent reminder and a verification that I'm not alone in my outlook.
I used to find the inability to produce perfection paralyzing. Especially in ending stories. Then I realized, if you don't end it, and get it out there, no one will have the delicious opportunity to tell you how bad it was. Or how good it was. Or anything at all.
Just get it out there.
But I'm sure all you writers out there have heard just such a critique. And many of you have taken it to heart. I know dozens of writers who quit writing because they couldn't stand the pain they received from their peer-level writing workshop.
I think this was my mistake; I joined an online crit group WAY too early. Left me discouraged for a number of years. I still wrote some stuff, but I refused to submit it anywhere, convinced that it was all drek.
Live and learn.
As for doing my own crits on others' work, I always, always, always prefaced any crit with something like, this is just my opinion, take what you think works/trash anything that doesn't. As you've pointed out, it's all so very subjective, and also, the last thing I want to do is to discourage people from writing. How do I know if I'm squelching someone who might someday sell lots of books, entertaining lots of people?
Not going to be me.
It's nice to see that my instincts on this were backed up by a long-time writer and editor like you.
My thanks to you for this constructive piece (and to Dean for pointing me here).
It has me energized enough that I am motivated enough to prevail upon you with a question that could help me get my first novel out the electronic door. I feel I am completing the first reader stage (with significant important feedback I might add).
Any thoughts for the unpublished among us on how to go about finding a professional editor as the last stage to launch? And is there a significant difference between an edit of a story and a copy edit? Ok that's two questions.
If I have somehow missed this in a previous post please slap my fingers and direct me there.
Best wishes to you and thanks for your professional tips on this blog.
I sent a "thank you" email to Dean just before reading this. You need a "thank you" as well. Years ago, I let someone talk me out of doing the kind of work I wanted to do, and my career sank like a stone wrapped in cement with lead weights attached. Somehow, you two have given me permission to do my work my way, and now I've sold a couple of stories, just sold a novel (with option on series), and I'm friggin' happy with my work for the first time. If the person weren't dead, I'd call him right now and yell at him. Meantime, I've spent a few days yelling at myself for listening, and then moved on. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for this post and your blog. This is the first bit of your work that I have read. I have to say it is very encouraging. I am still kind of in the beginning stages of writing and I often struggle. I have great idea's but fear they are not good enough. I will keep your words as a reminder. Perfect is not what sells. I am now going to change my goals from what I think publishers and editors will like to what I and readers like myself will like. I get a lot of joy from reading and it's one of the reasons I wish to write my own stuff. I love when you said to let bad reviews go and not to adress them because it's very true that you would be spending all day on it and the other part that really hit home was once a book is done leave it and move on to the next. Great advice and very encouraging. Thank you again for writing this. 🙂
In dance, there is a saying: "Dance is never easy or perfect, it only becomes possible." The best part of having been a dancer is that once a performance was done — well, it was done. No one could see it again. Good, bad, or indifferent, the performance could not be repeated in exactly the same way. If it didn't go well, and even if it did, the next time we performed a part, we could improve on it. Although we strove for perfection, we were never stopped by not being able to attain it. In some ways, this reality gave us the courage to work even harder at our craft — and even to take chances.
Great post, and I agree. I had to learn this lesson the hard way over a span of years and through a bout of severe depression and it never hurts to revisit it. Perfectionism is a coping mechanism, usually the result of trying to protect your ego. I'm proud of my stories, warts and all. I correct any typos that readers point out to me and that's it. I address the issues my beta reader brings up before publishing. The rest is what it is. The next story I write will be better.
You might find yourself quoted somewhere, madame.
Or perhaps you might find a church using your words as scripture.
A direct question, if I may: I have a novella finished and indie published. Where can try to have it published? I'm asking because there isn't a lot of markets asking for novellas but after reading this post I feel confident enough to give traditional publishing a shot with what I have and what I consider a good story.
Keep on paddling.
Love, love, love this!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this article! Sometimes this is what we writers need to hear, and thank you for saying it!
Love this article. Perfection is a creativity killer. Thanks.
This was wonderful! I have let my writing go because I felt I just couldn't improve my story. So, thank you, I'm not going to improve "one" of them, but will send it. I needed this and thank you, Annie Rayburn, for saying "read this."
I'll never forget the famously acerbic editor who replied to my query letter for the first book I ever sold. She said, "Send the friggin' thing… before it's been critiqued and hashed to death and your voice and every shred of originality has been sucked from it."
Though her email dropped my jaw, and then made me laugh, experience taught me how right she was about letting others have too much influence over my work. Although that editor didn't buy my book in the end, the second editor who read it, did. That first book is still selling well after six years.
Great post, Kristine. I've shared the link.
Best–Adele Dubois
Thanks for your excellent advice. I will refer to this article whenever I fret over my far from perfect first book, wondering if I should revise, re-edit, etc., to take advantage of all I have learned with four published books since as well as a new WIP.
I really needed to hear this. Been struggling to make my first novel perfect. I had already learned this lesson writing short stories, but somehow a novel just seemed so more weighty. I know I have a good book, not a perfect one, but one I would be proud to send out at this stage in my career.
Now I understand why I've been reluctant to post anything to my online workshop. Not because the critters are nasty–the site has rules, one of which is to find something nice to say about everything you crit–but because after I pour my heart and soul into a story and feel it's the best I can do, I know that someone will deconstruct it and tell me what "didn't work for them," and then it's all to do again! Your post reminds me to take those comments with a grain of salt, and look at the bigger picture. Did they enjoy it? Then "doing it all again" is probably not what I need to do.
Hi. Thanks for the post. I will save it and come back to it periodically. It has been years since I heard the phrase "perfection is the enemy of the good." Your blog reminded me of it.
Thank you for sharing this post. You have relieved a huge burden I have been carrying with me for years.
Thank you so much for this post. As a writer I often struggle to remember not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and your words here are freeing, inspiring, and strangely moving. I've posted a link to all of my writing groups (except for the one that led me here in the first place!). Thank you again.
Kristine, Loved this article. There are so many wonderful quotes that really resonate with anyone who is writing books.
Thank you! I really did need this. 🙂


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Gun advocates have been crying for close to two years about how long it takes the Maryland State Police to conduct background checks for prospective gun buyers. The delays have lengthened with the passage earlier this year of Gov. Martin O'Malley's gun control law that will impose a fingerprint and handgun qualification license requirement beginning Oct. 1.
So naturally one would think that anything the MSP could do to reduce that waiting period — which is now in the neighborhood of four months — would be welcomed by gun owners and those who advocate for them.
And, of course, you would be wrong.
Pro-gun advocates are complaining that state police have enlisted the help of several dozen state employees from other agencies to speed the process. Specifically, the police have transferred applications to encrypted disks and shipped them to state agencies where data entry clerks can enter names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of applicants into the state police database.
Del. Kevin Kelly of Allegany County and others have cried foul. They say that non-police personnel can't be trusted with "extremely personal" data. And Delegate Kelly has even gone so far as to call into question the legality of the policy and has stated his objections in a recent letter to Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.
To which one can only reply, really? As police have pointed out, these clerks routinely enter the exact same information for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Department of Transportation and others. Indeed, they probably see a lot more sensitive information, including mental health records, criminal records, driver's license and registration data on a routine basis, and nobody says, boo.
The data is entered, the disks destroyed, and then the people back in the MSP licensing division who actually have the sensitive part — investigating the applicant's background — do their thing. It's just one of the ways that the state police have tried to cut down on the backlog. They've also transferred 21 troopers and 17 civilian employees into the licensing office, and they've collectively put in 24,200 hours of overtime during the past year.
The real problem is that gun purchases have soared, particularly since the Newtown massacre in 2012, as people fear a government crackdown on gun ownership. Maryland has seen an increase from 744 applications a week several years ago to 2,400 a week today. It's driven in large part by the kind of paranoia that the National Rifle Association trades in — the ever-present fear that government will take away Americans' right to own a firearm. (Which is, incidentally, great for the business of gun manufacturers and dealers.)
One suspects that the real agenda here is to convince Gov. Martin O'Malley to loosen the rules. Gun dealers would love to see Maryland reduce its background check requirement to the more modest federal standards. That would not only reduce the backlog but make it far more likely that criminals and others who should be refused would slip through the cracks.
What makes this particularly appalling is that what the state police are doing — addressing a problem with a creative solution rather than blindly spending money to increase the bureaucracy — is exactly what conservatives usually want government to do. It's an attempt to be efficient and effective, and that really seems to tick the opponents off.
We applaud the state police for making such an effort — and gun buyers ought to be cheering them on as well. It was just weeks ago that gun advocates were suggesting that state police actually preferred to have a backlog in place in order to curb the sale of firearms. So much for that conspiracy theory of the moment. In reality, police want to get those background checks done as quickly as possible before dealers release firearms to their customers.
Average gun owners probably aren't all that worked up by the backlog or by whether the state police employ data entry clerks from the health department. The vast majority aren't much affected by the requirement and didn't rush out to bolster their inventory after the massacre of innocent children and school teachers in Connecticut.
Too bad their interests are so badly misrepresented by NRA-sponsored groups and politicians who seem to believe that gun owners are witless stooges. Polls have shown gun owners, like most Americans, overwhelmingly favor background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.
The state police should keep private information private — just as every state agency should. But they appear to have taken the proper precautions in this instance, and their critics ought to be just as cautious rather than play fast and loose with the facts.


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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law Dec. 23 a measure introduced by Sen. Elder Vogel that ensures high tunnel greenhouses are not considered permanent structures and categorized as real estate for tax purposes.
High tunnels, also known as hoop houses, are steel pipe frames covered by plastic that have a variety of agricultural purposes including plant protection, livestock housing, and storage.
"Hoop houses extend their growing season so farming families can improve the profitability of their farms. Growers can start their season 4 to 8 weeks earlier in the spring and extend the season 2 to 5 weeks later in the fall," said Vogel, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
"Subjecting these temporary structures to taxation places an onerous financial burden on farming families that can more than erase any profits they may realize from using high tunnels in the first place."
Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox!


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Every clover box is a life, so the more you've got the better it is. There are 5 clover boxes, and you start with two. The other three can be found at:
You can use it to break the seal of Sendel, and usualy you will get a lot of goodies. Sometimes there's a statue on top of a seal.
Here's a list of locations where you can use the seal.
At the library on Principal Island you will get directions on how to find the treasure. It's located on Proxima Island. When you follow the directions as said, thus: walk in discrete mode to the museum the first time you arrive on Proxima Island, a little Sphero will walk to you and give you a Coffee pot. Bring that coffee pot to the Grobo that lives in the house next to the store. He will give you a list of locations of clover leaves.
When you have to free Joe the Elf from the maze on the White Leaf desert, just walk one way until Joe starts walking, then just wait until he is almost at the entrance then walk to him, this will save you some time.
After he gives you the card don't hit him, he will reclaim the card again. When you show that card to the Raymond the Elf (on the Himalayi) you will get some clover leafs.


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10 best debate lines from Mitt, Obama
GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney went head-to-head with President Barack Obama at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Tuesday for the second presidential debate. Here are some of their most memorable lines from the town-hall event :
( PHOTOS: The in-your-face debate)
1. "When do you graduate? 2014. When you come out in 2014, I presume I'm going to be president. I'm going to make sure you get a job."
2. "When we're talking about math that doesn't add up, how about $5 trillion of deficits over the last four years. That's math that doesn't add up."
3. "We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our Cabinet. I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks.' And they brought us whole binders full of women."
4. "You shouldn't have to hire a lawyer to figure out how to get into this country legally."
5. "The president took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. And I think it's important to know that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet so they could start hiring more people."
( Also on POLITICO: 'Binders full of women' meme spreads)
1. "Gov. Romney doesn't have a five-point plan; he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules."
2. "When he said behind closed doors that 47 percent of the country considers themselves victims who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about: folks on social security who have worked all their lives; veterans, who sacrificed for this country; students, who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams but also this country's dreams; soldiers, who are overseas fighting for us right now; people who are working hard every day."
3. "We haven't heard from the governor any specifics beyond Big Bird and eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood in terms of how he pays for that."
4. "I don't look at my pension. It's not as big as yours, so it doesn't take as long."
5. "Gov. Romney was a very successful investor. If somebody came to you, governor, with a plan that said, 'Here, I want to spend $7 [trillion] or $8 trillion and we're going to pay for it, but we can't tell you until maybe after the election how we're going to do it.' You wouldn't have taken such a sketchy deal and neither would you, the American people."


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Glossary of Academic Terms
- Academic Advising
German: Studienberatung
The Student Advice Centre provides general information about study possibilities at RWTH Aachen and provides assistance with exam preparation and application procedures. Departmental student advising provides more detailed information for subject-specific questions.
- Academic Progress Certificate
German: Studienverlaufsbescheinigung
International students, who received a visa to study in Germany, are required by the Foreigners' Office in the Aachen City Region to submit an academic progress certificate after the typical length of studies has passed. On the academic progress certificate, the university confirms that the student is completing studies as scheduled and provides a prognosis on the expected academic degree. Contact your departmental advising to get an academic progress certificate.
- Academic Training
German: Studientraining
The Student Advice Centre offers trainings on different topics about shaping studied. The goal of the courses is to develop individual strategies in a group that can be immediately tested in everyday academic life and reviewed. Active participation and discussion with one another is a crucial requirement.
- Accreditation
German: Akkreditierung
It is legally required for courses of study to be accredited before they can be implemented. The goal of accreditation is to ensure the quality of teaching and studies by determining minimum standards. Accreditation is completed by external agents who use an elaborate process to review whether the course of study fulfills the demands. After successful accreditation and a certain deadline, courses of study must be re-accredited. Additional information about accreditation can be found at the link below.
- Admission Process
German: Zulassungsverfahren
There is an admission process for courses of study for which more applicants are expected than available study placements. The process is conducted by either the university itself (internal restricted admission) or by Hochschulstart, the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung, in Dortmund. The Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung in Dortmund is responsible for courses of study that have restricted admission nationwide.
- Alumni
German: Alumni
Alumni are graduates of a university. Additional information can be found at the link below.
German: ANABIN
The ANABIN database documents the education systems in about 180 countries. It provides information about the university institutions, types of degrees, and degrees. Individuals who possess a university entrance qualification certificate from another country can use the database to estimate the validity of their education with regard to the German education system. On the Anabin website you can find information on whether or not your completed education allows you to gain admission to a course of study or field. You can also learn more about the German grade system by having your grade point average or average grade recalculated.
- Apostille
German: Apostille
Transcript and certificates from RWTH Aachen that have the official stamp of the university are recognized without any problems in most countries. However, there are some countries that require these papers to have an apostille. This confirms the authenticity of the signature on the transcript or certificate. Apostilles can only be issued by state German office. The office responsible for RWTH Aachen is the District Government Cologne or Bezirksregierung Köln.
- AStA
German: AStA
The abbreviation AStA is short for Allgemeiner Studierendenausschus or the General Students' Committee, which is the executive student representation. Chairs, speakers, and officers of the ASta are elected by a committee made up of representatives from all of the student representative councils. You can find out more about the team, its responsibiities, and how to get involved on the AStA website.
- Auditor
German: Gasthörer
Individuals who participate in individual courses without a university entrance qualification certificate. They are now allowed to take exams or acquire proof of performance and do not receive an academic degree. Additional information can be found at the link below.
- Bachelor, B.Sc., B.A.
German: Bachelor, B.Sc., B.A.
The Bachelor is the first career qualifying degree and has a typical length of study of at least six semesters, eight semesters at the most. Depending on the course of study, students earn one of the following academic degrees: Bachelor of Science, B.Sc. for short, or Bachelor of Arts, B.A..
- BAföG
German: BAföG
The Federal Training Assistance Act or BAföG, regulates financial support for student from the state. It is issued independent of the parents' or spouse's income or from assets available.The longest period of funding available is the typical length of study for the course of study. Bachelor and Master are two courses of study. Half of the funding is awarded as a grant and the other half is an interest free loan. The Student Services Office of Federal Assistance can provide information about specific details.
- Block Course
German: Blockveranstaltung
A block course is a course that does not take place over the course of a whole semester but is concentrated over a few days, such as a week.
- Bridge Courses
German: Vorkurse
A service for first-year students to refresh or advance what they learned in school in subjects that are important for many courses of study. The goal of the courses is to enable an easier start to studies by repeating the basic knowledge required in the first semesters. Participation is voluntary and free of charge. You can get more information about the bridge courses from the Student Advice Centre.
- Career Service
German: Career Service
The Career Center is the intersection of the job market and RWTH Aachen. Here students and graduates can find support in entering the economy and academia. Additional information is available at the link below.
- Certificate of Good Standing
German: Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung
In order to enroll in a different course of study at RWTH Aachen, you must submit a certificate of good standing. You can get this from the examination board or departmental advising, for the course of study you wish to transfer into. You must submit all certificates about academic performance up to now, including previous studies at other German universities. A certificate about past studies at RWTH Aachen can be issued in RWTHonline or you can get a print out from the Central Examination Office.
- Colloquium
German: Kolloquium
A course with a small group of students, who talk with the lecturer and among themselves.
- Compensation for Disadvantages in Exams
German: Nachteilsausgleich bei Prüfungen
Students, who prove that they are at disadvantage because of a longer term or consistant physical handicap or chronic illness, can contact the examination board.
- Course
German: Lehrveranstaltung
A course is an instructional unit that is part of studies at a university. There are different types of courses. They differ in their didactics and the degree of qualifications required from the participant. There are practical and theoretical courses.
- Credit Points or ECTS
German: Credit Points oder ECTS
Academic performance in individual modules is evaluated and are weighted with credit points or CP for an average grade. They are the unit of measure for the amount of time students have to invest to participate in class and prepare, homework, and exams. The term and abbreviation credits or ECTS points are often used. A credit point corresponds to an estimated amount of work of about 30 hours. One semester is typically 30 credit points.
- Cross-Registration
German: Zweithörerschaft
Enrolled students from other universities can be admitted as cross-registered students to take classes and exams in another course of study.
- Curriculum
German: Curriculum
The work curriculum is sometimes equated to a teaching plan. A teaching plan is usually a list of lesson content. A curriculum mostly includes teaching times and the layout and schedule for a course of study.
- Dean
German: Dekanin und Dekan
The dean is a professor of a faculty elected by the faculty council. The dean represents the faculty and is also involved in teaching matters.
- Departmental Student Advising
German: Fachstudienberatung
Every course of study has its own departmental advising, that advises them on questions about the content of studies, surrounding studies, or problems about their course of study.
German: DIES
The Dies academicus or Dies are an academic holiday, on which courses are not held. Current information can be found in the semester dates.
- Diplom
German: Diplom
An academic degree that is awarded after a student has passed the Diplom exam from a university of applied sciences or a university in technical, natural science, economic, or social science courses of study. The Diplom degree is being replaced by Bachelor and Master degrees as part of the Bologna Reform. It is no longer possible to begin Diplom studies at RWTH Aachen.
- Diploma Supplement
German: Diploma Supplement
The Diploma Supplement or DS is an additional document that describes university degrees acquired and the corresponding qualifications. The DS explains the German university system and its degrees as well as the university awarding the degree, and concrete content of the course of study completed. The DS is issued in both German and English and included with the diploma. It serves to provide employers with additional information.
- Dissertation
German: Dissertation
An independent academic paper for the acquisition of a doctoral degree. All dissertations that are accepted by the university can be taken out from the University Library.
- Doctoral Degree
German: Promotion
"Promotion" is the German word for the process of acquiring a doctoral degree. It is uncommon to acquire the doctoral degree in a structured graduate program at German universities in contrast to Anglo-American universities. Instead, doctoral candidates work on a research project that is supervised by a university professor, called either the Doktormutter oder den Doktorvater. The goal of doctoral studies is to independently write a scientific paper that advances the level of knowledge in a selected field of research. A prerequisite for being accepted to doctoral studies is the completion of a consecutive Master's degree or a comparable degree. A doctoral degree is aquired by finishing a dissertation and completing studies with a preferable above average grade.
German: ECTS
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System or ECTS ensures that students' performance at univerisities in the European Higher Education Area are comparable and can be calculated and recognized if a student transfers to another university, even if it is abroad.
See Credit Points as well.
- Enrollment
German: Immatrikulation
Applicants become members of the university with full rights and obligations through immatriculation or enrollment. There is an enrollment deadline, provided in the admission letter, for Numerus Clausus subjects. If you do not enroll by this time, you will lose your spot. Enrollment takes place in person and electronically or in writing at certain times in Registrar's Office.
- Erasmus or Stays Abroad During Studies
German: Erasmus oder Auslandsaufenthalt während des Studiums
Erasmus stands for EuRopean (Community) Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. The fundamental elements are recognition of academic performanc abroad with the help of the European Credit Transfer Systems, ECTS for short, and financial support for exchange students via scholarships. If there is talk of Erasmus, people usually mean the organized and financially supported student exchange. A prerequisite for participating in Erasmus is that there be an agreement between the home university and host university.
- EU or EEA
German: EU oder EWR
European Union, EU for short, member countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Cyprus.
The European Economic Area, EEA for short, encompasses the European Union member countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
- Evaluation
German: Evaluation
Universities are required to accredit their courses of study and to implement an evaluation process for quality assurance. In order to minimize the amount of work for the faculties, course of study evaluations and the accreditation process are also conducted together at RWTH Aachen. Evaluation of the teaching units is conducted before the respective accreditation process, in order to use the knowledge gained during the reevalution and the elicted improvement measures for accreditation. Additional information can be found at the link below.
- Examination Board
German: Prüfungsausschuss
Examination boards organize exams. The examination boards makes sure that certain regulations in the examination regulation are adhered to and that exams are implemented according to the regulation. The examination board appoints the examiners. It is particularly responsible for decisions about contradictions to decisions made during the examination process. Furthermore it regularly informs the faculty at least once year about the development of exams and study times. It provides feedbac about reforming the examination regulation and the curriculum and publicizes the distribution of grades and final grades. The chair of the board can assume responsiblity of all regular cases. This does not apply to decisions about contradictions and the repot to the faculty.
- Examination Performance
German: Prüfungsleistung
Examination performances are all the performances students must finish during their studies.
- Examination Regulation
German: Prüfungsordnung
Each course of study has its own examination regulation approved by the Faculty Council. Students are included in the creation of the examination regulations. The University is legally required to include certain regulations in the examination regulations.
- Exercise or Tutorial
German: Übung
A course with a restricted number of students in which students learn and apply the scientific work methods of a field.
- Faculties
German: Fakultäten
A subdivision of the university responsible for the teaching and research in a field of academia, also called departments at many universities. There are a total of nine faculties at RWTH Aachen. You can refer to the course of study descriptions to find out which faculty your course of study is in.
- Fixed-Semester/Variable-Semester
German: Semesterfixiert/Semestervariabel
Examination performance is fixed-semester when it must be completed within a determined core semester of studies. An examination performance can also be semester-variable.
- Graduate Survey
German: Absolvierendenbefragung
RWTH Aachen is convinced that a degree from RWTH Aachen is a good ticket into a professional career. The graduate survey checks this conviction. The goal of the project is to improve the quality of studies based on feedback from graduates. While the first survey primarily serves to improve the quality of study conditions against the backdrop of starting a career, the repeat survey offers valuable recognition about our students' preparation for the first five professional years. A report of results is available to download.
- Habilitation or Post-Doctoral Lecturing Qualification
German: Habilitation
The process for acquiring the "Venia legendi," that is the right to teach as a professor. This process includes submitting an academic paper, teaching experience, and a presentation in front of the faculty.
- HiWi or Student Assistant
German: HiWi
Student assistant, comes from the word "Hilfswissenschaftler." Usually a student employee in a department or other university institution working a limited amount of hours for relatively low wages.
- HZB or University Entrance Qualification Certificate
German: HZB oder Hochschulzugangsberechtigung
You can acquire the university entrance qualification certificate in a variety of ways:
- General University Entrance Qualification, also the Abitur, is a general university entrance qualification for all courses of study at RWTH Aachen, a university or university of applied sciences degree is also recognized as a university entrance qualification, in the event that a restricted study permit had originally existed (subject-related university entrance qualification or university of applied sciences entrance qualification)
the subject-related university entrance qualification, also the subject-related Abitur, is a restricted university entrance qualification for certain courses of study at RWTH Aachen
Note: the university of applied science entrance qualification, also called the Fachabitur, is the entrance qualification for courses of study at universities of applied sciences
- Access for applicants qualified through professional training without a university entrance qualification certificate
- foreign secondary education degree, that is equal to the German Abitur, for example the International Baccalaureat, when certain conditions are fulfilled. It is possible that your foreign degree does not allow you to immediately begin studies in Germany. In that case, you may need to study for a few semesters in your home country or complete a Studienkolleg in Germany. You can get more information about the recognition of foreign school degrees in Germany from Anabin.
- Independent Study
German: Selbststudium
Independent study is when a student indepently learns the material for a field. All studies require students to learn a portion of the material independently.
- Individuals with German Secondary Degrees
German: Bildungsinländerin und Bildungsinländer
Individuals with German secondary degrees include international students or prospective students at German universities, who acquired their university entrance qualification certificate, HZB for short, in Germany or at a German school abroad.
- Kommilitonin oder Kommilitone
German: Kommilitonin oder Kommilitone
A term for a fellow student
German: L˛P
L˛P is the RWTH Aachen teaching and learning portal. In L˛P lecturers can offer virtual classrooms for each of their CAMPUS courses. A classroom is a protected area that supports teaching and the exchange of study materials and information. Additional information can be found below.
- Language Skills
German: Sprachkenntnisse
Students in teacher training subjects must learn two subjects in order to be admitted to preparatory service. Documentation of their language skills is typically fulfilled by the university entrance qualification certificate. English skills are indispensable for all courses of study, sense technical literature is usually published in English.
- Leave of Absence
German: Beurlaubung
In accordance with the enrollment regulation, a leave of absence can be granted upon documentation of an important reason. Applications for a leave of absence are submitted during the re-enrollment period. The RWTH Aachen Registrar's Office can provide additional information about this.
- Lecture
German: Vorlesung
A crucial form of teaching at universities. A lecturer presents a topic, and students listen, typically writing down the most important information. Lectures are often supplemented by additional aids such as slides, maps, transparencies, or projectors.
- Lecture Directory
German: Vorlesungsverzeichnis
A directory of all the courses offered at the university during a semester. It contains information about the course time, location such as lecture hall, seminar room, or lab, and the name of the lecturer.
- M.Sc., M.A., M.Ed., or Master
German: M.Sc., M.A., M.Ed. oder Master
Master courses of study require an initial academic degree such as Bachelor, Magister, Diplom, or Staatsexamen. Depending on the course of study, the academic degrees Master of Science or M.Sc., Master of Arts, M.A., or Master of Education, M.Ed. are awarded.
- Magister or Magister Artium
German: Magister oder Magister Artium
The academic degree Magister Artium was common for philosophical, linguistic, cultural, or historical subjects. It is no longer possible to begin or enroll in Magister courses of study at RWTH Aachen.
- Mandatory Modules
German: Pflichtbereich
The mandatory modules encompass all courses that are already determined and which all students must take.
- Medical Licensing
German: Approbation
The Staatsexamen in medical courses of study is a state finishing exam based on a unified exam regulation. THe medical courses of study are completed by the so called Medical Exam or Dental Exam. Medical licensing allows a doctor or dentist to practice medicine or dentistry.
- Mentoring Program
German: Mentoring-Programm
A mentoring program was created as part of the RWTH-wide initiative Excellent Teaching institutional strategy to improve study conditions. The goal of the program is to individually support and promote them. The service expands and supplements the services of the departmental student advising and student representative council to include personal and individual accompaniment throughout studies.
- Module
German: Modul
Modules are a collection of courses that are focused on a certain thematic or content-related focus. A module is teaching and learning unit that is over both content-wide and temporally. This unit is made up of different courses.
- Module Handbook
German: Modulhandbuch
The module handbook describes the individual modules including information about the core semester, content, duration, learning goals, SWS, prerequisites, frequency, grading, rotation, examinations, and language.
- Numerus Clausus or NC
German: Numerus Clausus oder NC
Numerus clausus, abbreviated as NC, is the restriction of admission to universities. The term comes from the Latin numerus for number and clausus for closed, and means a limited number, that is the the capacity for admission in certain courses of study.
- Oral Supplementary Exam
German: Mündliche Ergänzungsprüfung
If someone fails the second retake of an exam and receives a grade of insufficient or 5.0, the student has the opportunity to take an oral supplementary exam. Depending on the oral supplementary exam, a student will either receive a sufficient or 4.0 or an insufficient or 5.0.
- Orientation Period
German: Orientierungsphase
The orientation period is the first five weeks after lectures begin.
- Orientation Week
German: Einführungswoche
First-year students in Bachelor and Staatsexamen courses of study are welcomed at the beginning of the semester with the orientation week. The week is organized primarily by the student representative councils and begins with the orientation events on the first day of the semester. Then, smaller groups are formed that are accompanied by a tutor to the week's events. Some Master's courses of study offer orientation events as well. Additional information is available at the link below.
- Post-Examination Review
German: Prüfungseinsicht
After grades are announced students can view their corrected exam or examination paper.
- Practical Components (Teacher Training)
German: Praxiselemente (Lehramt)
The Bachelor's teacher training programs require an internship of at least four weeks in duration in a non-school context. The aim of this internship is to help students reflect on their choice of studies and career and broaden their horizons for their later activities as teachers.
Another practical component is the "suitability and orientation internship," which encompasses a preparatory seminar, the internship of at least 25 days in duration, and a written report by the students critically reflecting on their experience. The internship aims to introduce students to educational practice at schools and give them the opportunity to develop profession-oriented perspectives from which to pursue their studies.
The Master of Education program requires a "practical" semester, which is divided into a preparatory phase and a participatory phase at a school. The activities at school are in turn divided into a practical and theoretical part. The practical semester coincides with a 6-month school term. It is part of a two-semester period focusing on vocational aspects, complemented by seminars in the field of educational science and pedagogy.
All practical components must be documented in a portfolio. They are required for admission to the next stage in teacher education, the so-called "preparatory service."
- Preparatory Service
German: Vorbereitungsdienst
Preparatory service, formerly called Refendariat, is teaching training completed at schools and state centers for practical teacher education. It lasts at least twelve months and is completed in the subject, in which a student has studied and wishes to teach.
- Proof of Performance
German: Leistungsnachweise
The transcript of records offers an overview of your proof of performance. You can print out your transcript of grades yourself on Campus Office.
- PuL
German: PuL
The project "Reorganization of Processes Surrounding Exam and Course Management including the Introduction of an Integrated Software Solution" or PuL for short, aims at improving the related processes, including introducing corresponding IT support. The project is hosted and coordinated by the Department of Academic Affairs and Registrar's Office. The link below provides additional information.
- Reenrollment
German: Rückmeldung
Studients, who wish to continue their studies at RWTH Aachen, must reenroll before the start of every semester in order to continue studying. You are reenrolled as soon as you have paid the full student body and social contribution fee before the reenrollment deadline.
- Retirement of a Professor
German: Emeritierung
This is retirement of a professor due to old age. The professor can voluntarily continue to hold classes and events though.
- RWTHonline
German: RWTHonline
RWTHonline is the University's Campus Management System. It will accompany you throughout your studies – from when you first apply to RWTH to the day you graduate. In RWTHonline you can plan your studies, register for courses and exams, download certificates, and much more.
- Schein or Slip
German: Schein
A casual term for proof of performance
- Self Assessment
German: SelfAssessment
A self assessment is, simply put, an orientation test. It serves to help you to realistically assess your own abilities. The individual test results offer you an opportunity to orient yourself when choosing your subject. Our Self Assessments help you get to know not only your own aptitudes and tendencies but also the demands of certain fields of study, since the tests were created in close collaboration with representatives from the individual subjects.
- Semester
German: Semester
The semester indicates the academic half-year of a six month period. An academic year is broken down into a winter and summer semester. The summer semester lasts from April 1 to September 30, and the winter semester is from October 1 to March 31.
- Semester Ticket
German: Semesterticket
The Semesterticket is a ticket for all public transportation in Aachen and North-Rhine Westphalia. It is valid for one semester.
- Seminar
German: Seminar
Courses with a smaller group of students. Selected topics are discussed and discussions are led by a seminar leader. Students often have to give a presentation or present how they worked something out.
- Social Contribution Fee
German: Sozialbeitrag
Students pay a fee each semester, which finances different student institutions, Student Services, and the semester ticket, among other things.
- Staatsexamen
German: Staatsexamen
Some university courses of study are not completed with an exam by the university but rather an exam in front of a state exam office, the so-called Staatsexamen. RWTH Aachen has Staatsexamen in its teacher training subjects, which are being phased out and replaced by the Bachelor and Master, and human medicine and dentistry.
- Start of Studies
German: Studienbeginn
Many RWTH Aachen courses of study begin in both summer and winter semester. However some only start in the winter semester. Students interested in teacher training courses of study are recommended to start their studies in the winter semester. Prospective students should visit academic advising before beginning studies in the summer semester.
- Stay Abroad
German: Auslandsaufenthalt
Students are recommend to complete a stay abroad to expand their horizons, expand their social skills, for intercultural experience, improve foreign language skills, expand technical qualifications, and build up a network. Below are possibilities for going abroad:
- Exchange program through a university partnership
- Application for a scholarship from the DAAD or another organization
- Independent and individual planning for a stay abroad (independent planning, application, financing as a "free mover")
Additional information can be found at the link below.
German: MINT
STEM is short for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. RWTH Aachen has begun various projects to awaken and promote school students' interests in studies in one of these areas. The link belows provides additional information.
- Student Council
German: Fachschaft
A student council is a student administrative institution that represents students' interests at RWTH Aachen. Additional information is available at the link below.
- Student Course Evaluation
German: Studentische Lehrveranstaltungsbewertung
Student course evaluations serve to ensure and improve the quality and efficiency of individual courses. Its primary goal is to consistently review the teaching and learning methods practiced and to give teachers constructive feedback about the courses from students' perspectives. Teachers thus receive tips and estimations, on the basis of which they can implement short-term modifications. Student course evaluations are conducted once a semester. The link below provides additional information.
- Student ID
German: Studierendenausweis
After enrolling all RWTH Aachen students receive a student ID that services as a multifunctional chip card. This is the RWTH University BlueCard. The link below provides additional information.
- Student Services
German: Studierendenwerk
Student Services is a service provider for students that is responsible for the cafeterias, the different dormitories, and questions about the Federal Training Assistance Act.
- TBA or TBD
German: N.N.
This stands for "to be announced" or "to be determined" when a name has not yet been provided or determined.
- Teacher Training Center
German: Lehrerbildungszentrum
The RWTH Aachen Teacher Training Center or Lehrerbildungszentrum, LBZ, is a central academic institution and is not part of any of the faculties. It was founded in October 1999 with an integrated internship office and was restructured in 2010 due to law reforming teaching training from May 12, 2009 (Article 2). It then became the center of teacher training within the university.
- Teacher Traning Subjects
German: Lehramtsfächer
Teaching training subjects are subjects chosen within the framework of teacher training studies. Depending on the grade level, one instructional subject, a vocational subject , a small vocational subject, or a big vocational subject. The combinations possible are legally set.
- Termination of Enrollment
German: Exmatrikulation
All students who are ending studies or are switching to another university must terminate their enrollment. This means, they are no longer listed among students. Students who did not pay the semester fee on time or do not pass their course of study due to three fails also have their enrollment terminated after being previously notified.
- Testat or Credit Certificate
German: Testat
Proof of an exam you have passed or successful participation in an internship or practical experience day.
- Transcript of Records
German: Notenspiegel oder Transcript of Records
The transcript of records offers an overview of your proof of performance. You can print out your transcript of grades yourself on RWTHonline.
- Transfer Students
German: Hochschulortswechsel
If you have begun studies at another German university and wish to continue them at RWTH Aachen, you need recognition of your academic and exam performance as well as placement into a higher core semester of the chosen course of study. You can request recognition of past academic and exam work as well as placement into a higher core semester from the responsible examination board. The examination board must also issue a certificate of good standing in order for you to continue your studies. Please make sure you have information about the process, how long the process takes, and possible forms you need to submit.
If there is no restricted admission for the higher core semesters, you can enroll with just the placement certificate and certificate of good standing. If the higher core semesters have restricted admission, a selection process takes place. You can only enroll after you have been admitted.
- Transfer Students with New Course of Study
German: Quereinstieg
Changing subjects or courses of subject is always recognized as a Quereinstieg. To transfer with a new course of study you need recognition for your past academics and exams as well as placement in a higher core semester of the desired course of study. You must send a request to the responsible examination board to have your past academics and exams recognized and to be placed in a higher core semester. Please make sure you have all the necessary information about the process, the processing duration, and posisble necessary forms. If the higher core semester has open admission, you can enroll with the placement certificate. If it does have restricted admission and there is a selection process, applicants from this group are selected via a lottery.
- Tuition Fees
German: Studienbeiträge
Tuition fees were discontinued in North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW, after winter semester 2010/2011. The tuition or study fees, were fees collected by the university from students to pay for teaching.
- Tutor
German: Tutorin oder Tutor
Tutors are mostly student assistants who volunteer or get paid to lead exercises and practical experiences. There are also tutors in the student self-administration or the student dorms, who take care of newly enrolled students for example.
- Typical Length of Study
German: Regelstudienzeit
The typical length of study is the time period in which studies should be completed. It can depend on the course of study and academic degree.
- WiHi or Research Assistant
German: WiHi
Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft, a research assistant who is temporarily employed after final exams to assist wtih teaching and research
- Withdrawal
German: Rücktritt
it is possible to withdraw from an exam. Individual details are regulated by the corresponding examination regulation.
- Workload
German: Workload
This is the expected amount of work students will have, see credit points.
- Written Exam
German: Klausur
A written examination at a university taken under supervision of staff from the department within a set time limit. The result is usually part of the final course grade.


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Twitter has begun experimenting with an account, called @AchievementBird, that will direct message you 'achievements' that you earn with your tweets. The account is protected but has granted follows in the past few days.
Once you're on the list, the account will occasionally send you messages about how one of your tweets has performed. Xero engineer Owen Williams noted the account on Twitter, as well as a couple of the messages that he had received so far:
One of my tweets was 'used in an article' and AchievementBird notified me of the fact. When I clicked on the link, the relatively new 'Related headlines' feature showed me exactly where the tweet had been used.
Another Twitter experimental account called @magicheadlines is likely related to this effort, as it claims to let you 'See where tweets are embedded around the web' — though it could have some wider applications as a digest of newsworthy tweets. Update: This account appears to have been a part of a Twitter hack week project, as the bio has now been updated to reflect that. So probably not a part of Twitter's main 'experiments' pipeline, but something team members were working on as a side project.
When asked for comment on the AchievementBird account, Twitter referred us to the blog post on its continuing experimentation efforts.
It appears that AchievementBird is tapping into Twitter's analytics package to surface the results of user tweets. Though it rolled out analytics to business users and verified users first, anyone can now get access to the page using their 'ads' dashboard.
This is what it looks like:
If you're a frequent tweeter, you'll have some stats stacked up about RTs, favorites, followers and more. I've talked before about how Twitter is experimenting with an account called @magicstats, which appears to measure the popularity of tweets by velocity. In that piece I mentioned that third-party Twitter engagement tracker Favstar is one of my go-to sites on a daily basis.
One of the features that Favstar offers is accounts that hit you up when your tweets have passed fav milestones like '50' or '100'. It also offers a 'tweet of the day' award that you can bestow on friends or follows you think gave good tweet.
Who knows what Twitter will end up doing with the AchievementBird account in the end, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see it weave it into the main product as it did with the MagicRecs account. Having full access to Twitter's dataset means that Twitter can offer features Favstar can't, as it has to poll the API.
I still like Favstar's presentation better, and its integration with third-party apps, but it's early days for AchievementBird and Twitter could always revamp its analytics to be more friendly. Either way, this appears to be rolling along the track towards integration as a push notification, not a landing page.
Sending alerts to users notifying them that people are actually reading and even using their tweets in articles seems to be a good way to encourage those users to tweet more. And converting users from lurkers to active tweeters is important for retention and growth.
Image Credit: Jerine Lay


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Let us know how to assist you!
Urgent issues can be handled by appointment with the Registrar, Dave Anter. Make an appointment request directly from your @my.vcccd.edu account sent to email@example.com
Email requests and attach documents for submission as needed at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Admissions & Records Office is responsible for admissions, registration, and for the accuracy and maintenance of all student records. We offer convenient access to registration, grades, class, catalog and other essential information via MyVCCCD.
Admission to Moorpark College is open to any high school graduate, anyone possessing a high school proficiency certificate, a General Education Diploma (GED), or any adult 18 years of age or older and capable of benefiting from instruction. Students entering any of the public community colleges of California are subject to the residency requirements by the State of California.
OPEN TO ENROLLMENT: Each course offered by the Ventura County Community College District and its colleges is open to enrollment and participation by any person who has been admitted to the college and who meets the prerequisites to the class or program, unless specifically exempted by statute.
Office Hours
Monday & Thursday: 8am-5pm
Tuesday & Wednesday: 8am-6pm
Friday: 8am-12pm
The Admissions & Records Office is located in Fountain Hall.
Moorpark College
7075 Campus Road
Moorpark, CA 93021
Phone: (805) 378-1429


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June 11, 2010
Google Doodle Notifier
That's the reason why Google shows a small notification icon next to the logo when there's a doodles you can't see.
When you click on the colorful icon, Google shows the doodle on a white background.
I wonder if Google will use full-page doodles for users who picked a background image.
10 comments:
I've been using Yahoo Pipes to make an RSS feed of most of the Google Doodles for several months now, into Google Reader.ReplyDelete
Admittedly, on days when the doodle is global, it does get a bit cluttered, But I prefer to know that the Google Doodle has changed on the day the change occurs, not 2-7 days later, in the fashion of the Official Google Doodle RSS feed/page.
I wish they could have done it for iGoogle too.ReplyDelete
DO THE SAME WITH iGOOGLE PLEASE!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 11, 2010 at 6:35 PM
I see, if the search box doesn't have doodle above it, then the search engine won't work. :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 11, 2010 at 6:37 PM
If you have requested doodles and background images don't complain because the page loads too slowly.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 11, 2010 at 6:46 PM
I thing it is weird how people complain about Google loading slowly if they have a background on. It might take a second longer for the background to load, but if you don't want to wait a second you can still search while it is loading.ReplyDelete
Good, but how about the SSL version Google?ReplyDelete
I've been using an iGoogle widget for a while now...it displays the day's Google Doodle:
pleas post the same notification for igoogle home pages also.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJuly 24, 2012 at 5:07 AM
For the last month or so, this has not been working! For example, I couldn't see the doodle today, Tuesday July 24.ReplyDelete


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The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a music industry trade group dating back to 1933, released its annual overview of the state of the business today—and the news is surprisingly good. In 2012, worldwide revenue growth from digital music outpaced the ongoing collapse of CDs, LPs, and other physical media, meaning that overall sales grew for the first time since 1998.
Revenue from digital music last year totaled $5.6 billion, while physical music brought in $9.4 billion.
According to the report, digital music has benefited most from the advent of subscription services, such as Sweden-based Spotify, that allow users to stream an unlimited number of songs for a fixed fee. Subscriptions to such services grew 44% in 2012 from the previous year. But musicians continue to complain that they see just fractions of a cent each time their songs are played.


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The Nye County Manager, appointed by the Board of Nye County Commissioners, is the County's chief administrative officer.
The County Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of county government and facilitates implementation of the goals and objectives of the County Commissioners.
The County Manager is also responsible for the following departments and functions:


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The Forza Motorsport 4: Limited Collector's Edition is chock-full of extra cars you'll love driving in Forza 4... assuming you didn't order the game from Best Buy. It turns out the big box electronics retailer sold many more of the special edition than they actually had. Now they're going on a pre-order killing spree. Did you get screwed?
An editor over at The Daily Hoon was one of the individuals to pre-order the Collector's Edition, which offers 25 extra cars and a mix of other goodies such as a vinyl sticker set, custom book, and extra special case for $79.99.
But he's not getting the special pack because, according to an email he received from Best Buy, there was "overwhelming demand" and so they've decided to cancel his order. This appears to be corporate speak for "we couldn't count how many we had so we're screwing people who trusted us to only sell as many as we had."
Because of the inconvenience, Best Buy is offering a $20 gift card and 1,600 Xbox live points (the equivalent of $20) if you agree to order the standard edition from Best Buy before Friday.
This, of course, is corporate speak for "We're going to give you something you didn't want and force you either to try and find the pack somewhere for the original price (good luck) or accept our money and buy the regular game from us even through we screwed you over."
If you head over to Amazon you can get the pack for the low-low price of $170.
Did this happen to you? Vent in the comments below.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Jalopnik had an editorial tie-up with Turn 10 Studios on Forza Motorsport 3, this game's predecessor, on two DLC packs for the game. We are working on a similar tie-up on Forza Motorsport 4. Although no money has exchanged hands in this relationship, because it might be something you feel could affect our judgment and clarity in covering this game, we felt the transparency was important.


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EVERETT — The restaurant business has never been easy, as Chuck Delacerda knows well. The former Boeing Co. engineer has been in the industry for 14 years.
He recently opened The Austin Bar and Grill downtown, having previously owned J.R.'s Steakhouse in Marysville.
Delacerda's new place is one of several changes that bode well for Everett's nightlife now that the economy seems to be improving. But when it comes to getting the restaurant started, it's the usual trial and occasional tribulation.
"The biggest challenge is letting people know we have good food and it's affordable," Delacerda said.
The closing of J.R.'s and the opening of The Austin happened about a month sooner than Delacerda would have liked, due in part to a liquor-license deadline. That means not as many people know about the new restaurant at 2820 Oakes Ave.
The burger-and-steak joint, which features music nightly, opened in the space formerly occupied by Chopstix.
Chopstix opened five years ago in Everett, just as it seemed the downtown scene was flourishing. But as job losses piled up during the recession, so did restaurant casualties. The Flying Pig, a decade-old fixture downtown, closed its doors in early 2011. The Majestic Cafe relocated to the Pig's old space at 2929 Colby Ave.
Prohibition Grille at 1414 Hewitt Ave., which opened around the same time as Chopstix, recently got a makeover, courtesy of the Fox TV show, "Kitchen Nightmares." The show's star and renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay, renamed it Prohibition Gastropub, simplified the menu and marked down prices.
"Basically, it's like opening a brand-new business," owner Darlene "Rishi" Brown said. "It's the best thing that ever happened to me."
Sean Straub was one of the Prohibition diners selected by the network. Straub also is leading an effort to market restaurants in the Everett area. Straub thinks the restaurants that weathered the recession all did a few key things.
"Some of the restaurants that failed, they weren't sure what their identity was," he said.
Examples of restaurants that have strong, unique identities, Straub said, include Terracotta Red, an Asian-fusion restaurant at 2820 Hewitt Ave., and The New Mexicans at 1416 Hewitt Ave., which serves New Mexican-style southwestern dishes.
Providing good affordable food and drink is the other necessity to being a successful restaurant, Straub said. During the recession, some establishments tried to cut corners, maybe offered smaller portions.
"People are driven to value," he said.
That's the message that Delacerda is trying to accomplish with The Austin. His Marysville restaurant was known for steaks, which Delacerda says patrons can still find at The Austin. But people also can find burgers for under $10 and shrimp risotto for not much more, Delacerda said.
The Austin also hopes to capture the after-9 p.m. crowd in downtown with a variety of bands and DJs, including two-step Tuesdays, which was a popular feature at the Marysville location, Delacerda said.
The later evening crowd is picking up for the Fish Tale Brew Pub, across from Comcast Arena at 2019 Hewitt Ave. Manager Jason Dean is pleased with both Fish Tale's food and beverage sales since opening in late 2011. Like many restaurants in downtown Everett, Fish Tale does well when Comcast Arena has an event.
"Our area of Everett really hinges on the ebbs and flows of Comcast," Dean said.
More events at Comcast could give the restaurants in the area a boost. But like most, Fish Tale relies on regular customers to keep it going.
Dean isn't worried about the churn of restaurants and bars downtown. Like Delacerda and Straub, he knows the industry is a tough one.
"As long as places reopen, then I think we're moving in a positive direction," Dean said.
Herald reporter Andrea Brown contributed to this report.
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