SJ Longthorne

Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't happen for you immediately, especially if you're straight out of uni. It's normal. Keep working at your craft and appreciate unexpected lessons. Your route is valid. https://t.co/VJbkqDsYLW 

I was in marketing for years before I broke into narrative design, and I toyed about with several other different roles before that. I learned a lot that would turn out useful. It's okay if you have to do something else for a while.

Marketing is something most industries need, so I applied to do roughly what I was already doing at game studios. Once I was there, I got speaking to some of the higher ups, told them I was a writer and wanted to contribute. They gave me several opportunities to contribute...

...things like lore books, short stories, etc, which went down well. People started approaching me for similar stuff, and eventually I was asked to write the barks for a new character in Block N Load. Also took part in game jams, game design competitions, etc...

By the time I left, I had enough for a small portfolio, and I plugged the hole with original work. Jagex wasn't about to open up a role for me when I was already doing this stuff for free (a whole other story), so I left and set myself up as a freelancer...

Got most of my gigs from networking, both online and at conferences. I reached out to people and some of them passed on work, or even contracted me themselves. That's kinda how the mentorship with Greg happened too. Two months later...