A Work in Progress

New Year’s Resolutions: 2012 – “R” is for Realistic

2012-02-05T12:31:00.001-08:00

re·al·is·tic

adj /ree-uh-lis-tik/

interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.

New Year’s Resolutions: 2012 – “U” is for Uncompromising

2012-01-29T13:51:00.001-08:00

un·com·pro·mis·ing

adj /ˌənˈkämprəˌmīziNG/

not making or accepting a compromise : making no concessions : inflexible, unyielding

New Year’s Resolutions: 2012 – “O” is for Optimistic

2012-01-22T10:31:00.001-08:00

op·ti·mis·tic

adj /ˌäptəˈmistik/

Hopeful and confident about the future.
Involving an overestimate: "previous estimates may be wildly optimistic".

I’m thinking more along the lines of definition 1.

2012-01-18T10:57:00.001-08:00

New Year’s Resolutions: 2012 – “C” is for Confident

2012-01-14T08:38:00.001-08:00

con·fi·dent

adj \ˈkän-fə-dənt, -ˌdent\

full of conviction : certain <confident of success> <confident that conditions will improve>
having or showing assurance and self-reliance <a confident young businessman> <a confident manner>

New Year’s Resolutions: 2012

2012-01-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the new thing in New Year’s Resolutions is to chose a single word that will exemplify and guide you during the year ahead.

As I’ve had uneven success using the more traditional approach, and I fancy myself a writer who works with words, it seemed a sensible approach.

My word for 2012 is:

COURAGE

And for those of you more visually oriented, here’s a pictogram to accompany it:

(I will explain the meaning of the supporting words in later posts.)

What’s your word?

Have a happy and successful New Year everyone!

Writing Wardrobe Wanted: Part 2

2011-12-23T06:06:00.001-08:00

From the Signal catalog . . .

Give your frenemies fair warning!

Writing Wardrobe Wanted: Part 1

2011-12-21T09:40:00.001-08:00

From the Signals catalog:

You know you want it!

NaNoWriMo 2011 Report: An All-Time High

2011-12-01T09:50:00.001-08:00

Final word count: 60,035
Average words per day: 2,001

What can I say? It was a great NaNoWriMo year!

I probably would not have believed it on November 1^st, but this turned into a 60,000-word year. Somehow, I went from concern over whether the plot concept could support a novel-length story to a tale where there’s still more to tell.

All told, I’m pretty pleased with how the story came out, how the backstories of the characters played out . . . and got some surprises from the dark mysteries of their pasts. I still need to work of them out, but that’s a task for another time.

Beyond the valuable exercise of doing NaNoWriMo itself, this was a terrific experience in giving me an opportunity to get to really know my characters. It was the first story that I had done with them that provided me with a reasonable framework in which to explore their pasts and how they came to be together. This will be invaluable when I go back and start the series from the beginning.

I’ll close with this:

Top 5 Things That Will Happen During NaNoWriMo

You will get sick in some mildly miserable way.
It will not be enough to completely knock you down, but sufficient that when you later read what you wrote during that period, you wonder just what they put in those cold medications.
The cat will go into heat.
There’s nothing like having your car wandering the house, howling at the top of its feline lungs, while you’re trying to commune with your muse and form words and sentences.
Your friend/family member’s computer will suffer a catastrophic failure.
Because you’re trying to squeeze your writing into every spare minute after work and between other commitments, someone in your life will suddenly need large chunks of your time because November is when their computer decided to suffer digital seizures.
You will suddenly have a life.
Although you might not have much of a social life, come November, suddenly you will receive invitations to parties, dinner, and other events from people you have rarely spoken with in months. (Maybe this is prompted by your Facebook/Twitter/Google+ post on November 1^st, “Are you ready to NaNoWriMo?”? I don’t know.)
Your day job will suddenly demand additional attention.
I think this might be related to NaNoWriMo being in November, close to the year-end for many businesses, but it seems as though some kind of departmental reorganization. sweeping budget changes, or new project processes all seem to poke their heads up just when you need to try to steal extra time for writing.

NaNoWriMo 2011 Report: Week 4

2011-11-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Current word count: 56,150
Average words per day: 2,307

As you can see from the stats, I had a very productive week!

This is in spite of it getting a nasty head cold and it being Thanksgiving week. The muse got a bit fixated on the interactions between two of the characters and, like the Energizer Bunny, just kept going . . . and going . . . and going.

I purposely tried to drive myself toward more dialogue this week and learned two things: 1) it builds word count much more slowly than exposition, and 2) the writing can really seem to fly by when two (or more) characters really get chatting (which helps to negate the effect of #1).

November 30th is definitely not going to see the end of this story. I still have not explored the backstories of two of the major characters, nor have I completed all of the ideas that I wanted to present in the main storyline. I’m not really sure where this current plotline is heading next, but I plan to dedicate November 30^th to writing the final scenes to ensure that those get written down as part of this month’s efforts.

Just two more days—and some hundreds of words—to go . . .

NaNoWriMo 2011 Report: Week 3

2011-11-22T07:24:00.001-08:00

Current word count: 40,004
Average words per day: 1,880

My total word count is nicely above both where it needs to be and above my personal goal. My daily average word count for the week is done slightly from last week due to one night where I just couldn’t eke out even a thousand words. (And that, boys and girls, is why we try to get a little ahead on word count early on!)

My muse and I have not really been locked on mortal combat much this year. She has demonstrated some reluctance from time to time, but has always come through. (The one night with below-average word count wasn’t her fault. That was more a function of me being too damned tired to write after a very long day at work.)

The past few days have been both interesting and a little disturbing. I had always known that one of my main characters had experienced a less than ideal childhood and home life, but I had never really explored it in detail until now. I would probably be much more alarmed about it if I was not aware of where it’s coming from. Let’s just say that sometimes writers don’t always mine just their own lives for source material; sometimes they borrow it from others.

A little over a week more to go. I think I can start “cheating” now and write some of those scenes that I have saved in my head.

Until next week . . .

NaNoWriMo 2011 Report: Week 2

2011-11-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Current word count: 26,846
Average words per day: 1,951

The second week went pretty well, with daily word counts being consistently over target (except for the one day that I knew that I was going to be short because of previous social commitment).

Surprisingly, the story has continued to develop sequentially from the start. I’m not expecting that to continue through Week Three, as many of the scenes I have in mind take place further ahead in the story.

I passed the halfway point on Sunday, ending the day with 25,165 words. This is a new record for me—by 145 words. (2007 was the only other year that I passed the halfway mark before November 15^th.)

Once again this year, I have the final scenes of the story already in mind. If I get crunched for word count some night, I might write those out, but won’t post them to the blog until after the last day as to not ruin the ending by publishing it out of sequence.

Back to the keyboard now . . .

NaNoWriMo 2011 Report: Week 1

2011-11-08T09:09:00.001-08:00

Current word count: 13,188
Average words per day: 1,884

The first week has gone pretty well. I’ve been managing to keep to my aspirational goal of averaging 1,800 words a day (a bit more than the 1,667 needed to keep on track for a November 30 finish).

Surprisingly, I’ve been able to maintain momentum from the start of the story moving chronologically forward. I don’t think that I’ll be able to sustain that during the remaining three weeks, though, as many of the scenes in my notes take place far later in the story.

I know the theme that I want this story to revolve around, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet. All of the ideas I’ve had so far to appropriately set up the situation feel trite or hackneyed. I’m hoping that somewhere in the upcoming scenes that something will fall into place that will work.

I’ve saved several scenes in reserve for nights when the muse adamantly refuses to play along. I don’t know if there’s enough of them to keep me going until November 30, so I’ve been hoarding them for later use.

That’s all I have for now. Back at it!

Novel Things Happen in November

2011-10-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, it’s that time of year again.

Snow has begun to fall (well, in some places, not yet here in California), the leaves have changed to autumn colors, and there is a brisk feeling in the air that wasn’t there a mere few weeks ago. The winter holidays approach all too quickly. The thoughts of writers everywhere (okay, maybe not everywhere, but in lots of places throughout the world) turn to . . . National Novel Writing Month!

For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it’s an annual form of madness that overtakes the fiction writing community during that time when the last of the Halloween candy has been handed out (although not necessarily eaten) and the last of the leftovers from Thanksgiving are gone from the refrigerator (depending, of course, on the size of your turkey—your poultry mileage might vary).

This year’s effort is planned as a sequel to the story I wrote in screenplay form for Script Frenzy in 2008. At first, I didn’t think the story concept, while a sound one, had enough substance to support the goal of 50,000 words. Over the past few weeks, though, as I’ve given it some thought, more details and other pieces are beginning to fall into place. I’m feeling more confident that’s an achievable goal with this idea now.

From the “As If That’s Not Challenging Enough” Department:
I half-joking told a waitress at a local restaurant that if she didn’t behave that I’d put in her in my novel next month. (She was actually doing her usual top-notch job. She’s one of our favorite employees there and one of the reasons that we keep going back.) Rather than react with either appropriate chagrin or that look of “Uh huh, no more Hefeweizen for you”, she just gave me a characteristically impish smile and said that she was looking forward to reading it. I do believe that she was completely serious. Yikes. We’ll see how this works out . . .

As usual, you can follow the statistics for my daily progress here and whatever I’ve written for the day here.

Write on!

(For the Want of a) Polite Society

2011-10-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

This week, I merely offer this . . .

“A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot . . .”

Robert A. Heinlein

One typically needs to look no further than our city streets and freeways for proof of this.

Serial Numbers, or Subscribing to a Theory

2011-10-15T18:43:00.001-07:00

I’ve been pondering on the subject of eBooks and digital distribution of books—well, any content—and began to wonder if there is an opportunity for writers and publishers to adopt a different model or, actually, give new life to an old one.

It has been a long-standing practice in monthly magazines to serialize chapters from an upcoming novel. One advantage of this is that readers can get their monthly fix without waiting for the entire novel to be published.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the Internet age, with information available instantly at ones fingertips, is the reduction in the amount of time that many people are willing to wait to get what they want: the phenomenon half-jokingly referred to as “short attention-span theater”.

What is wonder is this: Would readers would be willing to “subscribe” to a book if its chapters were published on monthly basis, rather than waiting until the book was completed?

Magazines sell monthly subscriptions. Some software is available on a subscription basis, allowing users to get free upgrades for a specified period of time. Could this same model be applied to other content?

Following a model similar to online gaming, readers could be offered “tiers” of subscription levels: preview content for free, complete content for a basic subscription, additional content for an additional charge, and perhaps access to all of an author’s work (or all editions of a work) for a “lifetime subscription”.

I can see all sorts of details that would need to be worked out, particularly around pricing:

Would a subscription cost more or less than the final book? (I can see readers willing to pay a little more not to have to wait.)
Might a subscription price also include a reduced price (or free) edition of the final book?

I can see some advantages:

For readers: As previously mentioned, readers would not need to wait months (or years!) to follow the adventures of their favorite characters. In addition, they would receive only the content that they want. (I don’t know about you, but I’ve purchased magazines just for the chance to read a single article or story. While I’m sure that the publishers loved that, it did irk me.)
For writers: It could provide a steady stream of revenue for writers and publishers, knowing that they have a committed audience for the length of their subscription to the work. It would also make it much easier for them to keep in contact with their audience, giving them a direct connection to provide their readers with information about upcoming work and appearances.

What do you think? Would you be willing to subscribe to a book?

Imagine There’s No Star Trek . . .

2011-10-01T15:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this post is a little bit tardy. The month of the September was the time of Star Trek series premiere anniversaries. However, I could not let is pass unremarked upon, particularly considering the prolonged—and possibly evenly profound—impact that Star Trek has had on my life.

As the 45th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek approached, I began to wonder what kind of world we might live in today were it not for its creation. Even those who are not fans of any the series or films have been in some way touched by their impact, if not in a personal, then in more subtle cultural ones.

In no particular order of importance or attempt at categorization, I’m going to start with these:

Would William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (or any of the other cast members from any of the series) be the celebrities they are today?
Would we have known Patrick Stewart aside from the occasional Shakespeare production from across the Atlantic?
Would some of the scientific and technological advances of the past 40-plus years taken the form they had were it not for the models and ideas that Star Trek popularized?
Would there still be as large a group of people—fans and non-fans alike—who would have such fervent beliefs in a better future for humankind and a possible model for it?
Would there have been Star Wars, Stargate, Babylon 5, or Battlestar Galactica?
Would there have been another such unifying (and, occasionally, polarizing) phenomenon among science fiction fans?
What might have replaced the catchphrases “He’s dead, Jim.”, “Beam me up, Scotty.”, “Long Live and Prosper”, and “Make it so!”

I could go on, probably for hours, but these are just some of those that have come to my mind as I consider the possible implications of the past 45 years of Star Trek.

To Star Trek, in all of its forms: Live Long and Prosper. Make it so!

The Future of Books

2011-09-14T18:16:00.001-07:00

I’ve been pondering the future of books.

Well, printed books, that is.

As much as some visions of the future might have us believe otherwise, I am no longer convinced that printed books are going to survive as a mass-market commodity. For those of you who know me, you’ll probably realize that this is a significant—perhaps even shocking—change in my opinion.

Even with all the changes in publishing and media distribution, I have trouble believing that books as an art form will go away. Long forms of fiction will continue. If anything, it should reopen the market for other short lengths of fiction (such as novellas and novelettes) that might otherwise have had trouble getting published or distributed.

There’s no denying the allure and impact of the eBook r/evolution. As much as I totally enjoy holding a printed book in my hands, I can completely understand the ease and simplicity of having them in digital form. Carrying around an entire book series on your Kindle or tablet is a lot easier than transporting them in your luggage.

There are going to be some people who will still want to feel paper beneath their fingers, and bindings beneath their palms, but I think they can be more than adequately served through print-on-demand services.

I was pondering this during the session at WorldCon, “Publishing in the Age of e-Books”. Someone asked the question about what would happen to getting authors to sign your books. One of the panelists responded by saying that he has them sign his Kindle and, when the back of it is full, he’ll get a new one. An interesting solution, but, I think, an ultimately unsatisfying one.

I’m not sure there’s quite the same satisfaction for book collectors of getting an author’s signature on a one-of-a-kind copy of a book that they got printed out at their local POD vendor. They’d have the autograph, sure, but the book itself might have no other unique value beyond that, as anyone else could print out a copy just like it.

Perhaps the next evolution in book collecting will come in the form of very limited print runs with the specific intent of being distributed with the author’s signature. It might also have a special layout or design that would not be available to the print-on-demand audience. I can see value in this.

I honestly don’t know. I can foresee current books becoming collectible antiques once they no longer become commonplace. And I dearly hope that the love of reading does not diminish as time passes.

What will the future bring?

I guess we’ll just have to turn the page of time and see . . .

It's Good to Have a Plan . . .

2011-09-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

It seems to me that when creative individuals are confronted by structure and organization, they immediately revert into a passive-aggressive mode of operation.

Maybe this is why so many artists miss deadlines? I know creativity does run answer to a timeclock, but really? Having a goal is rarely a bad thing. It gives you something to aim for—a target to shoot at.

The Cylons had a Plan. The Bene Gesserit had a Plan. Hari Seldon had a Plan.

Now, we’ll ignore that most of those plans lasted decades and centuries. But how do you know how you’re going to get from Starting Point A to Finish Line B without having a Plan? How do you accomplish something like, say, writing a book without having a Plan?

Or, as a friend of mine put it oh-so-succinctly, “Focus, Steven! What's your PLAN????”

Well . . . umm . . .

I really have no excuse. Trained in project management, I can’t find direction on my own personal endeavors. Bad form. Worse yet, bad example!

So, I spent my Sunday morning putting one together: setting a SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goal, specific objectives, and a list of scheduled milestones. I won’t bore you with its details there. Suffice to say, it exists.

Now we’ll see how well I do in sticking to it.

Excuses, Excuses . . .

2011-09-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

"And I have this little litany of things they can do. And the first one, of course, is to write - every day, no excuses. It's so easy to make excuses. Even professional writers have days when they'd rather clean the toilet than do the writing."
Octavia Butler

Okay, I admit it: I’m running out of excuses for reasons not to be writing.

Shall we tackle a few “reasons” and see what happens?

I don’t have time.
Hmmm. You have time in November to scratch out an average of 1,667 words a day, but you can’t find time on a daily basis for one page—250 words? That 15% of the number needed daily during the month of November. Want to try again?
There’s other things I need to do.
Uh huh. Aren’t there always? See above. Actually, see both Octavia’s quote and the excuse above. 250 words? How much times does that really take, particularly if you think about what those words need to be while you’re doing “other stuff”?
There’s too many distractions.
True. There might be. However, you do have some measure of control over that. If you can’t change your environment, then you can change which environment you’re in. It’s not a matter of “fair”—get over it.
I don’t know what to work on.
Oh. Gee. What a burden it must be to have too many writing projects to choose from. Pick one. Or two. And then finish them. Set goals. Meet goals. Simple.

I think those are the main objections. What to try to think up a few more? Or spend that time writing some words?

Say Hello to My (New) Little Friend . . .

2011-08-27T17:41:00.001-07:00

Yes, I’ve entered the tablet computing revolution (evolution?).

The day when the HP TouchPad first went on sale (at a decent discount for employees), I spent my lunch hour lined up at the WebOS Retail Store in Sunnyvale (as they were offering an additional discount on accessories and you could bring your shiny new HP TouchPad home today).

Now, I adore my HP netbook. It’s an ideal traveling companion when not on business—and perfect during NaNoWriMo, as I can easily carry it everywhere I go so that I can squeeze in a few extra minutes of writing while waiting for doctor’s appointments, oil changes, and so on.

However . . .

After spending only a few hours with my new TouchPad, I knew that my netbook was now obsolete. The TouchPad was lighter, more flexible, and had a much longer battery life. While I initially bemoaned the fact that it did not support native Microsoft Office file editing, I recognized that very little of my writing required any of the tools that Word provides. Importing from plain text format into Word required very little effort in exchange for the flexibility that the TouchPad now offered. (I also purchased the separate Bluetooth keyboard, so my TouchPad has all of the keyboard functionality that my netbook does.)

The “instant on” capability of the TouchPad, and immediate access to most of my instant messaging and e-mail accounts, made it ideal for my trip to WorldCon 2011. Having the convention program on the TouchPad was totally awesome. During lunch and other breaks, I would bring out my keyboard to make blog posts and complete my notes, as well as answer the occasional e-mail or three. (Not always easy, as the WiFi connectivity there was spotty at best outside the main area.) I even watched the streaming broadcast of the Hugo awards on it from my hotel room.

Would I recommend the HP TouchPad? Definitely. At it’s original retail price, that might have been debatable, but at the current $149 price (I have the 32GB model), there is no doubt. It does almost everything I need in a much more portable package than my netbook (something I never would have thought). I’m looking forward to seeing how it behaves during this year’s NaNoWriMo.

Taming the Beast, or Silencing the Internal Editor (with a Capital “E”)

2011-08-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

As usual, I came back from WorldCon totally inspired and ready to win a Hugo. (It’s good to have dreams and a lofty goal, you know.)

I had the story in mind—the one that I was going to dust off and send off for publication—dug it out of my files . . . and immediately froze up.

While writing an original draft, I can usually silence the internal editor, or at least keep her murmurings at a distance far enough that they can be effectively ignored. Editing, however, is a whole other matter. (And see? I’m writing this instead of working on that.)

I suffer from no illusions that my first drafts are pristine and perfect, but I have often turned them into second (and sometimes third) drafts that are often worse. I’m never certain whether the changes I see are the right ones. I know I get too close to the work and its characters, finding it difficult to edit their lives based solely on some half-baked notion on what might or might not be working in the story.

(It does not help that when I do start in on the next draft, my Myers-Briggs Type tendencies creep in and want to explore alternate modes of the storyline. I think that I could, if left unconstrained, turn out half a dozen variations on a single story idea. That, however, is not the goal.)

Anyone have any tips for editing your own work?

WorldCon 2011 Report: For anyone who might be following along . . .

2011-08-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'll fix up these blog entries, put them in correct chronological order, add the photos, and tag them once I get home. My TouchPad doesn't seem quite up to the task on this platform. (WordPress it seems to handle much better.)

Edited: This is completed now. The posts match the order in which they occurred at WorldCon 2011 and photographs have been added (where I have them).

Enjoy!

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Four – Publishing in the Age of e-Books

2011-08-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

There was definite agreement agreement that the publishing industry is undergoing, as agent Eleanor Wood puts it, a "sea change".

Although we are in a period of transition, there is still strong demand for printed as well as e-books. Many people want both--and would like it in both formats.

(I see an opportunity there that I think the traditional publishing industry is currently missing. Much like DVDs come with a digital copy that you can play on your portable device, why don't printed books come with a key for a free or reduced-price copy in e-book format?)

Most large traditional publishers still don't quite get it, as they are pricing e-book editions at the same price, very slightly lower ($1), or even slightly higher (!) than printed editions. There also seems to be a "sweet spot" around $5.99 for purchasing.

There was some comment about the pricing structure that Amazon uses for its "royalty" payment bands. (Personally, from a business and e-book pricing perspective, it makes sense to me.) No one seemed happy with how Apple is currently handling things.

E-book publishing is a great way for authors to get their out-of-print backlists back into print, without having to share a cut with the publisher. It's also a way to publish elements of their series that might be too small or for too small a segment of their audience for traditional publication.

The biggest challenge in e-book publishing (or self-publishing, for that matter) for the new writer is in getting yourself known and recognized among the flood of other books out there. (The matter has gotten worse now that it is so easy to e-publish.)

There was a very interesting discussion regarding who the new "gatekeepers" would be. Traditionally, it's been the agents, editors, and publishers. With this shift, there will be still be a need for someone to sift through everything available and recommend it to readers (word-of-mouth is the best publicity), but who that will be moving forward is not clear. There was a general consensus that reviewers would become even more important.

One of the greatest potential areas of change is in education. When e-readers hit the $99 mark, a lot of schools will decide that it’s less expensive to distribute them to students than printed textbooks. (The statement was made that technology is not quite there yet until the Kindle supports color, but I’m not sure I agree. If tablet computers ever drop near range, I think this becomes a non-issue.) The textbook industry just needs to be get in line behind this, but they are one of the strongest holdouts.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Four – Can Computers Think?

2011-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

There was much discussion about Watson and what it (he?) represented in terms of advancement in terms of computer-based artificial intelligence. (I don't think anyone considers Watson a true AI.)

The concept of what most people consider a true AI is based on HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey". We aren't there yet.

What we keep discovering is that when we program systems, they don't respond like humans. The example was given of the Google car that does not see or drive that a human being does.

If a computer evolved to the point where it could rule us, would it want to?

If a computer was developed that could develop improved programs for itself (or other computers), it might evolve so quickly that we might not realize or recognize it until too late.

Advances in hardware (processing power) has been the chief--not sole driver--in recent advances in computer "artificial intelligence", but the questions (and limitations) seem to have remained fundamentally unchanged in nearly 40 years.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Four – The Craft of Writing Short Science Fiction and Fantasy

2011-08-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Writing short stories in a kind of writing shorthand. You can't get lost in the details, but find ways to describe the main character's world with short hints and references.

Short stories should focus on an important event in the main character's life. Novels should focus on an important time in the main character's life.

There were was definite diversity in the opinions of the writers in terms of outlining or not, plot over character or not.

Assume that the editor will read only the first page and the last page when making a decision whether or not to consider your story further.

The general consensus seemed to be that 70% of their time was spent on the first draft vs. editing and revising additional drafts.

(I like Connie Willis' stories. She would scare me as a writing instructor.)

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Four – SF Physics Myths

2011-08-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

(Gregory Bedford [the moderator] is always entertaining.)

Favorite quote: "Stars are facts; constellations are theories."

Exceeding the speed of light is *not* the same as breaking the speed of sound. The latter relies simply applying more energy to the problem. The former is limited by the fundamental structure of the universe.

You cannot go from concept to implementation quickly. Science and invention take time. Things almost never work the first time.

Why aren't spaceships spherical?
A very practical reason: It's much more difficult to stack equipment and people in a spherical shape. (There is a common belief that the shape in space doesn't matter, but that point was not addressed.)

Theories are created to fit the facts as observed. This can often be influenced by the observer's experiences and frame of mind. Many stories are based on the extrapolation of theories as if they were proven to work. (There seemed to be some dissatisfaction with this. Personally, I'm okay with this. Isn't that kind of the definition of "speculative fiction"?)

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – New Producer, New Doctor, New Companion

2011-08-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you are well aware, I am (and have been) a HUGE Doctor Who fan. For that reason, I found this panel interesting and occasionally thought-provoking.

Main takeaway: Some people take Doctor Who FAR too seriously.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – F*** Your Knight and The Horse He Rode in On

2011-08-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

This was a session intended to discuss fantasies based on non-European cultures (what they also referred to as "non-Tolkien-esque" fantasies).

Fantasies of this type seem to be much more common outside the of United States and UK.

Two of the writers on the panel, Aliette de Bodard and Saladin Ahmed, had created works based on Aztec and Arab cultures, respectively.

The most interesting and useful bit of writing advice I heard during this panel was related to world-building: Take the iceberg approach to describing your world to your audience. Show the tip--and maybe a few feet below the surface--but enough so that they feel confident that the rest of the iceberg (detail) is there underneath.

This started off as a fairly light-hearted panel. ("My name is Saladin and I have written Tolkien-esque fantasy." "Hello, Saladin.") Once audience questions began, it started far deeper and more serious. Still quite interesting, but less light-hearted.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – Reading: Lisa Goldstein

2011-08-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

"A Mask for the General" is one of my all-time favorite novels. I first heard about Lisa Goldstein back in the late 1980's and heard her interviewed on "Hour 25". That prompted me to read "A Mask for the General" and "The Red Magician", as well as watch for her work in the magazines.

A small, but illustrious, group attended this reading. Included in the group (front row) were Cory Doctorow and Dean Wesley Smith. Quite a show of support for Ms. Goldstein, I would say.

She read from her latest book, "The Uncertain Places". It was wonderful (both the story and hearing her read it).

She has quiet, self-deprecating manner that I can *so* associate with. I remember that from that interview I heard way back when. It's also probably why I go and seek out her work.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – Pitching the Project

2011-08-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lizzy Shannon, the moderator, had a very nice casual style that put people at ease. (Had I actually come prepared, I might have stood up and given a pitch.)

Focus on character, not plot in the hook of your pitch.

Check out thrillfest.com: "What if, so what?" (I couldn’t find this.)

Why should someone (particularly the agent!) care about the protagonist?

Physical presence: hand gestures, eye contact, pauses

Recommended length: 25 words

Possibly end with a question--or leave a question in the agent's mind that will cause them to ask the next question

Keep the followup to about a paragraph, but watch the reactions

What is the conflict?

Don't be a formula. Be yourself.

Use active words like "flung"

Check out agentquery.com for additional hints.

Don't "cold call" an agent or editor by just walking up to them. Make sure they're receptive to listening.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – Social Media for Writers

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

I got the impression that nearly everyone on the panel felt that social media interaction was a necessary evil, yet also a valuable means to interact and hear from ones audience. Beware, however, of it becoming a distraction from the real work of writing.

Twitter seems to be the preferred method of communication, with feeds to other avenues such as Facebook.

They use Facebook as a "hub" to collect their content from other avenues (Twitter, blogs, etc.) and find that most of their feedback comes through Facebook and not through the original source.

Privacy was a concern regarding some of the social networking platforms, particularly Facebook and Google+. In general, Facebook and Google+ both got pretty negative feedback from the panel.

There was a general consensus to use social media to recommend, not to sell.

Cory Doctorow's advice was to use the ones that you find satisfying.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Three – SF We Love by People of Color

2011-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

I walked into this one at the end, planning to get a good seat for the next session (Social Media for Writers).

It seemed like a very good and involved discussion, but I only caught the last five or six minutes of it.

What I heard recommended:

From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain
Jewelle Gomez

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Two – The Ethics of AI

2011-08-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Artificial intelligence likely to be different from human or other biological intelligence we know. Will we recognize it when we see it? Will we recognize it soon enough?

The majority of the arguments focused on "sentience" and "self-awareness". How do we measure sentience, particularly in a non-biological system? The Turing Test? Is that enough? Or is it possibly biased to recognize human-like intelligences?

How do we measure self-awareness? Is the "mirror test" truly reflective (sorry!) of self-awareness or just demonstrative of understanding of how a mirror works?

For machine-based systems, the "person" is in the data. This leads to all sorts of good questions and parallels in terms of the function of operating systems, physical structures, and their similarities and differences in both types of life.

Humans have differing physical structures, but similar core elements: skeletons, circulatory systems, etc. and an autonomic systems to drive them (an operating system?). Computers have motherboards, processors and operating systems to drive them.

Humans have memories; computers have data. The argument was made human personalities are based on their knowledge and memories (data + subjective analysis). Can computers be subjective?

Can compassion be programmed into a computer? At what point does it become more than data and programming? How do we quantify human compassion?

An interesting point was made that we legally grant rights to humans at the age of 18 (this assumes a certain level of maturity--that got a laugh). How would we measure the "maturity level" of an AI? Children and developmentally disabled individuals are not granted certain rights in order to protect them. Their caregivers are assigned responsibility. How might this apply to an AI?

What happens should an AI misbehave or contradict--in other words, behave like a child? What happens if an AI commits a crime--intentionally or unintentionally? What would be an appropriate punishment?

A very interesting statement was made during this panel: The Three Laws of Robotics (from Isaac Asimov) are a form of slavery. Think about it.

(Note: Some of the questions and extrapolations included are mine as they occurred to me during the session.)

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Two – The Alternate Alternate History Panel

2011-08-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting panel which discussed various pivotal historical events that, in retrospect, must have been influenced by time travelers due to their otherwise somewhat inexplicable nature, particularly in terms of some of the "coincidences" that allowed them to come to pass.

Much of the discussion focused around events during the American Civil War. (For some reason, this period seems to be a favorite for alternate history aficionados.) The key points centered chiefly on political and military leaders.

At the end, unfortunately too late to be discussed at length, came the question about key scientific, technological and sociological changes that might have proven to be pivotal. I would have found this line of discussion particularly intriguing. Alas, it was too late and was barely touched upon.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Two – Writing Non-Human Characters

2011-08-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Two of the key elements to consider are biology/evolution and environment.

Many alien characters that audiences identify with are not always representative of their species, giving audiences characters that they can relate to. Examples were given from Star Trek (Spock) and Ringworld (Nessus and Speaker).

There are several ways to approach getting an alien viewpoint. Understand their needs and motivations, based on their situation and surroundings.

Slightly off-topic, there was some discussion about whether starting the story action in media res or at the start was preferable. The panel seemed equally divided on the topic.

This session was good, but I found it more interesting to hear how the writers thought about and approached the issue rather than learning much in the ways of new techniques for handling it.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Two – Concert: Devo Spice

2011-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

From the program:
Nothing says "hip-hop" like a red-headed white guy singing comedy music!

I saw this guy at the Dr. Demento session on Wednesday night. After seeing that performance, I *had* to see more!

He's part of something called The Fun Music Project (FUMP), dedicated to keeping funny music alive and distributing it on the Internet. If you're a fan of comical music, I highly recommend these guys!

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day Two – Making a Living as a Writer

2011-08-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Do it because it's what you love, not just for the money (unless you're the non-fiction guy!)

Keep good records.

Have a separate writing space. Some writers even have two different computers, with the one dedicated to writing without an Internet connection to avoid distractions.

Writing from home as a living requires discipline. Set it up so that when you're going to write that you're "going to work".

Find a way of working that works for you. You might need to you need to mix it up occasionally to avoid it becoming *too* routine.

There are definite advantages to working on writing away from the house. Most writers find that working in a place such as a coffee house is not as hard as it seems, as the surrounding sounds just become "white noise", whereas you often feel compelled to react to sounds at home.

Most writers are not accustomed to the idea of a regular paycheck. Self-publishing has changed that since the payment checks come in regularly--monthly or quarterly.

WorldCon 2011 Report: Day One – Arrival

2011-08-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

I got a slightly later start than I had expected, as we'll as hitting some heavy traffic just outside Reno due to what looked like a serious accident (two fire trucks and at least two Highway Patrol cars), so I didn't get here until a little after 2:30pm.

As a result, I missed the Cory Doctorow reading I was hoping to see at 2:00pm. I got all registered, though, and discovered that the WiFi coverage is spotty (if not completely unavailable) in some of the more distant session rooms. This is hardly a significant inconvenience; it just delays being able to on-the-spot updates outside of Twitter.

I did attend the Dr. Demento session at 5:00pm. (Did you know that he now hosts the program on the web?!) We won't discuss the average age group of the folks attending that session, but a good time was definitely had by all. I look forward to dropping in on the 3-hour block on humorous science fiction music. (Dropping in—not staying for the entire session.)

Script Frenzy 2011 Report: Fading to Gray

2011-05-01T09:49:00.001-07:00

30 days, 110 pages.

As you might surmise from the page count, the muse woke up yesterday and decided to spout out a generous number of pages. (It was also due to me holding back on writing the climatic scene for a day when I was completely blocked, but I had never had to resort to that, so it came out last night.)

While Script Frenzy is finished (and successfully won), the script itself is not. While I sincerely doubt it will have the length of the series pilot turned mini-series that my 2008 effort became, it still has several more pages to go. If I had to hazard a guess at this point, I’d say that the completed first draft will finish out at around 130 pages.

I’ll probably come back and finish it off during the next two weeks, as I dislike leaving these sorts of the things unfinished. (Completing first drafts I’m good at; after that, not so much.) I might or might not post those additional scenes as they’re written. We’ll see.

Until then . . .

FADE OUT.

Script Frenzy 2011 Report: Week 4

2011-04-29T19:03:00.001-07:00

28 days, 94 pages.

Despite a day out with the flu, and a couple of days lost due to newfound family drama, I’ve managed to force the muse to spill forth with a respectable number of pages.

It’s been both a struggle and an occasionally astonishing mystery. Fortunately, my characters tend to speak with minds of their own and have managed to carry on quite nicely. There have been two unusual twists that I had not seen coming. Subtle ones, and neither particularly vital to the plot, but interesting to be sure.

Two more days remain. So until then . . .

DISSOLVE TO:

Script Frenzy 2011 Report: Week 3

2011-04-22T19:35:00.001-07:00

21 days, 68 pages.

That’s two pages behind the suggested goal of 70 pages—and well behind my personal goal of 84 pages.

I lost three days due to a family visit. I had hoped to squeeze in a few pages during that time, but that wasn’t to be. (I knew that was the case when I pulled out my netbook on Sunday night and it refused to restart because the battery was drained.) I had, however, possessed foresight enough to go into the weekend about four pages ahead of the goal at the time, so it could have been worse.

I’m at the painful stage in the story where I’m trying to get to the ending from where the plot currently is. Even in novels, I find that I tend to falter at this stage. I know the conflict that is coming; I just can’t quite figure out how to get there from here—yet.

Back at it . . .

DISSOLVE TO:

Script Frenzy 2011 Report: Week 2

2011-04-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

14 days, 57 pages.

The story keeps moving along.

I’ve reached the point in the plot where my central idea came from. This typically leads to trouble, as I often have trouble building toward an exciting enough climax and conclusion. We’ll see . . .

As is also usual for my second week of a writing project, I know exactly how it ends. I have mentally written the dialogue and actions for the last scene. (I’ve been holding them in reserve in case I run into a stretch of days when the muse just doesn’t feel like cooperating and no amount of urging will suffice to spur her.

So, on to Week 3 . . .

CUT TO:

Script Frenzy 2011 Report: Week 1

2011-04-08T19:23:00.001-07:00

7 days, 29 pages.

That’s just slightly above my personal goal of 4 pages per day.

So far, I’ve just been setting up the story. Act I, I guess you could call it. Events are slowly building toward . . . something.

I have a general idea of where the story is heading, and what happens next, but I’m once again wondering how the climatic ending will play out. It needs a stronger ending than what I currently have in mind.

Well, I’ve got 3 weeks and 71 (or more) pages to figure it out . . .

DISSOLVE TO:

Working Myself into a Frenzy

2011-03-31T20:53:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, April 1^st, begins this year’s Script Frenzy event.

I was going to report that I have only the barest concept of an idea for this year’s story, and not likely enough to sustain for 100 pages . . . but that would be repeating my claim from last year. (Do you sense a recurring theme here?)

Both my muse (and corresponding enthusiasm) for this year’s event seems to be lacking, but I intend to rely of my sense of discipline and churn out 4 pages of script each day for the next 30 days.

(That this event begins on April Fool’s Day is not lost on me . . .)

You can check here for my daily stats and here if you’re interested in reading the day’s work.

Get ready to . . .

FADE IN.

Passing Through the Stages of Receiving Feedback

2011-03-12T08:29:00.001-08:00

Like myself, I think many artists have a love/hate relationship with getting feedback. Even the most jaded and suspicious of us secretly bask in the glow of praise. Of candid criticism—not so much.

On that thought, this is just a little something that passed through my mind this week . . . adopting the steps of this widely-known model to stages of dealing with feedback of our work:

Denial
This reviewer is an idiot. It’s not my fault that they have such narrow tastes in art. They’re obviously not my intended audience.
Anger
They completely missed the point of the piece! It must be sad to have such a narrow view of life that you can’t relate to any of my characters!
Bargaining
What if I changed the gender of this secondary character and made this one’s hair brown? How about if I cut out 1,000 words out of the middle? What if I change the typeface?
Depression
Fine. I get it. All of my work is worthless. I don’t know why I even spend time trying. I might as well give up. Where’s the shredder?
Acceptance
Okay. Maybe they have a point here . . . here . . . and here. The build-up does take a little too long. Yeah, I guess the exposition does go on a bit here and could use more dialogue and less description. Yes . . . I suppose the three-page diversion into the main characters obsession with goldfish in second-grade is unnecessary and doesn’t really move the story along . . .

Artists out there: Do you agree?

The Most Awesome Dog Ever -- R.I.P.

2011-03-07T20:44:00.001-08:00

Starr . . .

You passed from this life with the same quiet dignity in which you lived. Now you are free to run through the fields of eternity.

You will be missed.

What the Inner Editor Says . . .

2011-01-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

I often ask myself the same question about 3/4 of the way through . . .

Resolutions

2011-01-01T20:36:00.001-08:00

You might note that I changed the title of this blog.

As my single paid publishing credit is a single non-fiction book from some years ago, I felt it a bit pretentious to keep the title as it was. Also, this new blog title reflects my intended perspective going into the new year.

As far as I am aware, there is nothing particularly numerologically significant about the year or number 2011. That doesn’t mean that it cannot be a year of transformation and change. How that will play out during the course of the year, I don’t know yet.

Here is what I am going to do:

Get serious about my writing . . . and the publishing of it. I know that what I’m producing isn’t perfect, and I also know that I’m my own worse editor, so I’m going to find out what the mistakes are that I’m making and strive to correct them.
Take a serious look at self/e-publishing. I’ve read two blog articles lately that have finally dispelled any final myths I’ve long held about the so-called legitimacy of being published by one of the big publishing houses (and the long odds against being successful at it). If you’re curious, those articles can be found here and here.
Read more books. I have an ever-growing stack that isn’t getting any smaller. I’m thinking a reasonable goal is probably two per month. I can ratchet that up if it seems too easy. I need to get over my personal guilt trip of “If I’m reading, I’m not writing.” That excuse only flies in November and maybe in April—maybe.

There are probably more goals that should be included on this list, but these are the three I intend to focus on.

New Year: Day 1. Ready . . . set . . . go!

NaNoWriMo 2010 Report: Cruising at 56,000 Words . . .

2010-12-01T20:35:00.001-08:00

Well . . . another year, another successful NaNoWriMo . . .

First, some statistics:

Total word count: 55,921
Average daily word count: 1,864

This year’s personal challenge—and I always seem to end up setting myself up for one once I get started—was to write a story that was deliberately not going to be structured in chronological order in its final form.

While this did free up the muse (somewhat) to wander around to whatever scenes she liked from day to day, it did present some challenges of its own. I can see that I’m going to need to keep careful track of what happened when and to close out any half-finished sequences in time.

This year’s post-NaNoWriMo challenge (not unlike almost every other year): actually complete the novel, revise it, and submit it.

Anyone want to place any bets on any of those?

NaNoWriMo 2010 Report: Week 4

2010-11-28T16:25:00.001-08:00

With four weeks behind me, and only two days left to go, here are my current statistics:

Total word count: 52,941 (well ahead of target, and actually completed, if you want to get technical about it)
Average daily word count for the week: 2,329 (a new personal best of any week for any year that I’ve participated)
Nearly all of the sections written this week were large sequential chunks. There are a few “stragglers”, but chiefly in places where there needs to be some kind of transition between the opening and the main event of the sequence.
I am still struggling to find an overarching plot. Most of these week was spent on (probably overly) exploring vignettes involving personal life events, so any plot itself has not moved along much. I do have a general idea for the climatic battle scene now, but need to flesh it out more.

For the remaining two days, I will probably strive to hit my personal goal of 1,800 words each day and then call it in sometime Tuesday night.

Until then . . .

NaNoWriMo 2010 Report: Week 3

2010-11-21T17:17:00.001-08:00

The statistics at the two-week milestone (and nearly halfway point) include:

Total word count: 36,638 (nicely pacing just ahead of target)
Average daily word count for the week: 1,797 (just under my aspirational goal of 1,800, chiefly due to an underproductive day on Thursday)
This week again there have been large sections written as sequential chunks.
I’m still struggling with a plot . . . I think. And a main antagonist has not yet reared its villainous head, but I think I’m starting to arrive at a concept for one.
Two important breakthroughs this week:
- I have a final scene. (It came to me just minutes before I wrote this.) It provides exactly the kind of ending I wanted. It isn't the conclusion of the plot, though, so that's still an issue.
- I understand the theme of this book now. I suspect I knew what it was all along, but had not recognized it at a conscious level. I'm not going to reveal it here, but will say that involves a societal issue that has long bothered me.

I have a handful of scenes in mind to write next week, but I have a feeling that Week Four is going to be a challenging one nonetheless. And this is definitely not a book that will be complete in 50,000 words.

NaNoWriMo 2010 Report: Week 2

2010-11-14T21:02:00.001-08:00

The statistics at the two-week milestone (and nearly halfway point) include:

Total word count: 24,056 (right on target, and just a few words short of my personal best for the second week)
Average daily word count for the week: 1,511 (a bit below target due to almost no progress as expected on Tuesday through Thursday)
Although I still plan to structure the overall novel as a series of vignettes, large sections of this week’s work have been sequential chunks.
I still have only the vague notion of the overall plot—and almost none at all about the main antagonist.
Even if this turns out to be the (fictional) biographical study of a superhero, it’s going to need something climatic at the end. I don’t think either a “He lived happily ever after.” or “He died quietly in his sleep.” is quite going to work.

Here’s hoping that it all starts to come together in Week Three!

NaNoWriMo 2010 Report: Week 1

2010-11-07T15:45:00.001-08:00

And we’re off! At the one week mark, my statistics look like this:

Total word count: 13,479 (Looking back, that’s a new personal best for Week 1)
I have a (working) title: Heroic Measures.
I have several characters who are actually doing things, or starting to do things.
Average daily word count for the week: 1,926

Although the “voice” of this novel is similar to other things I’ve written before, it is the first time that I have deliberately set things up to not be in sequence. The story is constructed as a series of vignettes in the main character’s history.

I anticipate my progress being zero (or close enough as not to matter) from Tuesday through Thursday due to work-related commitments, so my statistics next week are likely to look kind of wonky in comparison to usual. However, but plan to go into the week with a two-day buffer, so hopefully that will help.

Onward!

‘Twas the Night before NaNoWriMo . . .

2010-10-31T05:56:00.001-07:00

Yes, it’s that time of year again—the insanity that strikes right before the even greater chaos and mayhem that are the traditional winter holidays: National Novel Writing Month. 50,000 words in 30 days. Who in their right mind does this?

Since there are many out there who would be more than willing testify under oath that I am often not in a “right mind”, I guess this includes me. So, a preview of this year . . .

Here’s where I am so far:

a main character
a vague sort of concept for the story
a world setting
something of a storytelling timeline structure
a few ideas for a handful of supporting and other minor characters
some half-formed metaphors that underlay the story
the lack of a solid plot
the lack of a key antagonist

At this moment, I’m very concerned that there isn’t enough here to sustain through 50,000 words. If I can fill in some of the gaps quickly, though, I think it just might work.

As usual, if you care to, you can monitor my progress here. Weekly updates will be posted as always.

Writing as Work (not as Work Therapy, just Work): Part Two

2010-10-23T19:59:00.001-07:00

There seems to be a general public perception that writing—or almost any artistic endeavor for that matter—is not work.

I’ve often wondered why this is. Is it because the odds of being “successful” at it seems so remote? It is because people who are not artists do not understand the efforts and skills involved in producing a piece of quality work? Does it stem from a sense of personal jealousy from people unwilling to take the same risks themselves? Or it is because, at some level, it involves a certain level of “make believe”, so it cannot be real work?

For any given detractor, the real answer (or answers) probably might be any one of these, a combination of any of them, or even some reasoning entirely different.

I have found, generally, that almost any attempt at explanation, at describing the process and effort required to produce a creative piece of work (and notice the word choice there—work), tends to be met with skepticism or disdain, rarely with admiration. The attitude often changes if we can produce some sort of proof that we have actually been published or otherwise recognized for our efforts, but there seems to be little regard or consideration while we are in the process of creation. During that time, it feels as though we are treated as a dilettante, a grownup playing at childish things that we should have long put away.

Working at one’s art requires time, commitment, and energy—any or all of which can often be in short supply while we try to keep the mortgage/rent paid, food on the table, our families clothed, and our employers reasonably content. Even those of us fortunate enough to have among our circles of acquaintances other artists who understand, the wider chorus of voices around us provide little support for our creative endeavors. Most often, some kind of lip service is offered up, but in the end it rarely takes the form of anything tangible or material.

What is the answer, I wonder? How do we get our society to respect and truly support its artists? By this, I mean the ones struggle to make it happen, not the ones who walk the red carpets at the Academy Awards (and other) ceremonies who are publically and financially well-rewarded for their efforts. (I do not mean to imply that they are not worthy as well, but I have wondered how many artwork exhibits or small press publishers might be funded by the cost of the clothing worn to those events alone.)

Is it that what the public wants is glitz and glamour? That the hard-working writer who dutifully and expertly writes their page or two a day, gets published in a few thousand copies, is simply not interesting enough because they lack a good publicity agent? That if you’re not on Oprah or publically placed in rehab or involved in some vaguely notorious scandal, you’re not worthy of the title of “successful artist”?

It’s a strange and baffling world out there . . . Maybe it is really is as they say: Truth is stranger than fiction.

I Have the Right to Write

2010-10-10T21:52:00.001-07:00

Let me begin by expressing my gratitude where rightfully due: to Laureen for (strongly) recommending this book, and to Holly for loaning me a copy until I could get home to purchase my own.

I’ve needed a good, swift kick in the proverbial pants, writing-wise, of late. My inner editor has been screaming loud and long. And, when she hasn’t been screaming, she’s taken to whispering vague (but still demoralizing) bits of criticism in my mind’s ear. (One of these days I really need to figure out whether my muse and inner editor are related, hero and arch-villain, or two disparate personalities within the same being. But that’s a discovery to pursue at a later time.)

This little book was exactly what I needed, when I needed it. (Yeah, yeah, I can see you nodding smugly over there…) I was so moved by what I found within its pages that, while reading it during a recent plane flight, I actually dug my notebook out of my onboard luggage and completed the first three exercises and nearly all of the fourth.

Let me say this about the book so far. The chapters are short, the writing personable and personal—and to the point, and the lessons based on experience are dead-on. This one definitely looks like a keeper, and one that I will likely return to whenever the muse and editor are deadlocked.

Did I Miss a Memo?

2010-09-25T18:40:00.001-07:00

Apparently it was “Behave Like a Jerk” Day and no one told me?

On my way to the local farmer’s market this morning, in less than a ten-minute span, these two incidents happened:

A man gesticulated at me significantly (you can imagine which gestures I’m certain) because he rolled through a stop sign behind another car—without slowing—and I nearly pulled out into his path. Silly me for stopping at my own sign and thinking that he would do the same at his.
A woman driving a large pickup truck honked at me to get out of her way as I pulled into a parking space because she wanted to drive forward from the spot she had just pulled into in front of me so she could leave more conveniently. I know we are taught to drive defensively, but park defensively?

Is it me, or have some people lost all sense of perspective and courtesy?

Writing as Work (not as Work Therapy, just Work): Part One

2010-09-05T21:48:00.001-07:00

In recent conversations with other writers, I hear concerns that, as they’re working on a new piece for the first time, what they’re writing isn’t good enough, they aren’t sure they have the characterizations right—various worries like that. My stock answer is usually, “That’s what second drafts are for.”

About the same time, I overheard other some conversations between students about how much effort writing is, that two pages—or four or six or eight or ten or however many—is a lot to have to write. (Personally, I think I would barely break a sweat having to write a two-page paper, other than from the effort of keeping it down to two pages in length, but that’s a whole other topic.)

Both of these together got me thinking about how far we’ve come—for good or bad—over the years in terms of the tools we have to get words onto paper. Back in the days before affordable word processors (staying within the timeframe of the last century or so), writers worked on typewriters—lucky or wealthy ones used electric ones, but that really only provided the chief advantages of speed and reduced effort to press key to paper. Correcting errors—and writing those off-handedly referenced second drafts—required actually retyping of the actual pages. Editing, insertion, and deletions of large chunks of text was something writers saved until the last moment, because it could mean typing many, many pages to bring the page numbering back into alignment. Writing was work.

I can remember typing up passages and then realizing that I wanted to add something in between and typing a separate page numbered XXa and inserting it into the stack so it would be there when I retyped the entire thing for the final draft. I can also remember reading over pages of my purported “final draft”, only to discover misspelled or missing words. Many teachers wanted clean, pristine pages and would not accept papers with handwritten corrections or smears of correction fluid. So, once more, a fresh sheet was inserted to be retyped—often so new errors could be created.

The amount of effort required to write an effort was significant. It was more than just the willingness (or insanity?) to sit before a typewriter and compose pages for hours on end, but also backspace, erase, pencil in, overtype, pause in the middle of thoughts to insert a new sheet a paper, and add new ribbons of ink (which would usually occur late on a Sunday when you discovered you had used your last one and nearly all of the stores that might the one for your typewriter was probably closed). It also meant accepting that those same pages might be retyped several times before being considered “final” and published. Sending it out for possible publication also meant that it might have to be re-typed again, but I think at that point there was sufficient financial incentive to embrace the task.

We’ve come a long way since then. And, almost unequivocally, I’m grateful.

A Writing Challenge

2010-08-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

After helping out my good friend properly motivate her muse to complete the book she had already pre-sold, she turned the tables and challenged me to actually complete a book over the next two months (finishing on October 25th as to give me a week to recuperate before NaNoWriMo 2010.

My muse immediately began belligerently defending her ability to accomplish such a feat. Since then, however, she has gone into denial. Too many ideas, she claims. Not enough time right now, she whines. None of the concepts are really good enough, she protests.

Uh huh.

Today is supposed to be Day One of this grand challenge. If it happens, you can watch it unfold here.

The Artist’s (Right of) Way

2010-08-17T22:17:00.001-07:00

I guess modern artists have always known—or certainly been told by others—that the game is rigged against them. For most of us, our chief desire is to reach an audience that appreciates our work and wishes for us to produce more of it. The path to acquiring and keeping that audience can be a difficult one indeed.

Artists require feedback to know whether they have achieved their goals, reached their audience in the ways that they had intended. This can often be as great a challenge as the creation of the work itself.

I hear from many artists that they are hesitant to submit their work for professional consideration because they fear rejection. I find this a perfectly understandable reaction, for who wants to learn that the creation they have labored on for weeks or months—or even years—has been judged unsuitable for publication?

Most publishers offer their rejection in the form of a vague, legally-acceptable form letter that provides the artist with little useful information as to reason (or reasons) that their work was deemed unsuitable for publication. Was it the writing quality? Narrative style? Uninteresting characters? The purchasing editor was having a bad day?

I understand the rationale that most publishers receive more unsolicited submissions than they can reasonably respond to in a more personal and detailed manner. This has been the accepted practice for decades, but does little service to the artist.

So it comes down to persistence, with the artist repeatedly submitting their work, sometimes with modification and sometimes not, until their work is either finally accept or the artist gives up on that particular piece of work—sometimes permanently.

So, if you can, and your artist friends ask for your opinion of their work, please make at least a small effort to do so. Even terse, brutally honest is better than none at all. More often than not, it just inspires us to try harder.

Synthesis

2010-08-16T22:07:00.001-07:00

I once had an instructor at the community college I attended tell me that I was very good at “synthesis”—bringing different things together into a cohesive whole. I find the same to be true of my writing: I believe my best work—certainly my best character interactions—come from the ideas and suggestions of others.

I recognize that most of my characters, particularly many of the main ones, tend to be internally focused. (What a surprise…) Their weaknesses and conflicts are usually confronted more within their minds and thoughts than through their actions and dialogue. For most readers, a little of that can go a very long way.

I am fortunate to associate with people who carry other perspectives, who can imagine characters who are more “out there” in terms of personality and character flaws. Through them, I believe my stories have become more interesting and provided opportunities for character interaction and insight that I do not think I would have achieved alone.

While my Myers-Briggs personality type might be adept at providing all of the information one might desire about the “box”, I consider myself privileged to have friends who are capable and eager to look outside it.

Listening to the Silence

2010-08-15T17:36:00.001-07:00

Is it because writing is such a solitary vice that writers struggle so with belief in their own abilities?

It occurred to me while locked in an ego battle with my muse (best summarized as: “I’m tired of writing just to entertain myself”), that while the writing process—or the creation of most art, I suppose—is generally a solitary act, it relies on some level of interaction with an audience to inform the writer whether or not they have succeeded in their intent.

I’m not sure what the right answer is in achieving this. I’ve tried Creative Writing classes, but my experience has been either that most instructors and students are too caught up in what I term the “literary” qualities of stories rather than the fundamentals of just telling a good story. Only one instructor I’ve had so far has even been open to the idea of genre. (One was downright hostile about it.) The few writing groups I’ve tried has tended to turn combative or fizzle out. (Probably due to the nature of writers in general, I suspect.)

I do my best to try to create characters, universes, and situations that can lead to what I hope to interesting stories. They seem interesting to me, but I don’t plan to be the sole purchaser of my own books.

As the method acting saying goes, “What is my motivation?”

To tell a good story: certainly. To have an audience who wants more: definitely.

Maybe that’s enough. Are you out there?

The Daughter of “A Page a Day”

2010-08-11T21:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay . . .

As requested (and to keep me honest), I’ll post whatever it is I write each day.

What you find there will consist of whatever the muses offers up that day. So, don’t necessarily expect an consistent, cohesive story.

As always, though, any feedback would be appreciated and welcome. Enjoy.

The Death Spiral of the Publishing Death Spiral

2010-08-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

I've been following this discussion for the past week or so: The Publishing Death Spiral.

I'll leave it to you to make your own judgment on the opinions espoused within, but I do find Part Three pretty much dead on. My questions are:

How long will it take before the inevitable evolution wins out?
And what happens to authors in the meantime until it does?

(I know there's a lot more questions to be asked, but I thought I'd start with just two...)

Whatever Happened to Hope?

2010-08-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

"I think we gave it the ability to create its own sense of purpose out of our own human weaknesses, and the drive that compels us to overcome them."
Admiral James T. Kirk, Star Trek: The Motion Picture

If I read "post-9/11 sensibility" in one more book or movie review, I just might scream out loud. In deference to the horrific events of that—and the days that have followed--I would like to say this: We get it. As Q told Picard in "Q Who", "It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."

I see movies and television series being praised because they are "gritty" and "real". The recent Battlestar Galactica fell into this category. I'll grant that it made for good drama, but as a friend of mine said in one of her comments, "I don't like any of the characters; none of them is anyone I'd want to be friends with, or even live down the block from. And the universe is totally hopeless." While I don't entirely agree with her dramatic assessment, I concur with the sentiment.

When did we lose hope?

I read an article somewhere (I wish I could remember where so I could post a link to it) offering the premise that Star Trek held little relevance in our current world, even with the not-insignificant success of the recent movie. I find this opinion more than a little sad and depressing. One of the things that Star Trek, in any of its incarnations, offered was a message of hope—hope that we would find our way past our global chauvinism and tendencies toward various types of self-destruction to a future of peace and common vision.

I guess my question at the end of this rambling essay is this: Do readers and viewers still want to experience stories of a hopeful future? Or is the new common denominator a collection of vampires, paranoia, and post-apocalyptic despair? If so, I won't be writing about it.

Script Frenzy 2010 Report: Fade Out

2010-05-01T06:04:00.001-07:00

Two days, nine pages. It almost wasn’t much of a challenge. (Note to self: Never, never, ever, say that aloud to the muse.) Actually, the story came together nicely. All the gaps were closed up. The page count was achieved.

From a story perspective, I think it’s all there. I have concerns whether it works as a standalone story (but not overly concerned, as it’s intended in be an episode in an ongoing series, I assume readers would have at least passing familiarity with the characters and existing situations).

I do think at least one additional scene needs to be added that better link the two parallel stories within it. I’m not entirely sure what it is, as so far all of the ones that have come to me feel contrived and forced. I figure I’ll deal with the issue when the time comes to novelize it.

On to the next project . . .

Script Frenzy 2010 Report: Week 4

2010-04-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

There’s not much to report, really.

Word count is right on track. The muse is behaving (mostly). The story is coming together (mostly).

There are surprisingly few gaps in the flow of the story compared to previous years. Nearly all of the scenes have been written in sequential order.

I have little doubt that I will hit the goal of 100 pages this year. I’ll be surprised, though, if it goes more than one or two pages over, though. But that’s okay.

Due to commitments at work, I’ve missed two days of writing. Thank goodness I kept on track and am slightly ahead on word count.

Okay, back at it for the last two days . . .

Script Frenzy 2010 Report: Week 3

2010-04-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

The script remains steadily on course. The muse has been generally cooperative, granting just enough to keep pace with my daily word count.

The scenes are being written mostly in sequential order. Earlier in the week, as so often happens as I’m working on a story, the final scenes came to me. This is probably not a bad thing, as it keeps me somewhat directed toward a specific dramatic goal rather than wandering all over trying to find an appropriate and satisfying ending.

Slightly more than a week to go . . .

Script Frenzy 2010 Report: Week 2

2010-04-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

Steady as she goes . . .

I’m two pages behind of the halfway 50-page mark, but I’m not overly concerned about it because I know what the the next 2-4 pages are.

The script is progressing steadily. I’m actually surprised that the story concept looks like it will sustain itself for the entire 100 pages. I guess it really will be a “Special 2-Hour Episode” after all.

This project has been an interesting in that it has felt much more like a well-paced marathon than the usual series of sprints that I usually experience. The story is growing steadily, characters enter and leave as needed, and it is progressing toward its end.

I’m reaching the end, though, of the mental list of scenes I had developed going into this project. Next week could be rough. We’ll see . . .

Script Frenzy 2010 Report: Week 1

2010-04-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

So, I went for the idea that could potentially turn into something salable. The concept is not as fully developed as the other idea, but when has such a challenge ever stopped me? ;-)

I’m not feeling the love from my muse. We’re on speaking terms, but she doesn’t seem particularly engaged this year.

My word count progress is acceptable, but not at last year’s levels. Nor am I feeling the thrill of creation to its usual degree. I don’t think it’s a symptom of boredom, but more likely the results of turmoil in real life events. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to figure out how to apply them (even in a metaphorical way) to this story.

That’s all for now. Back at it . . .

Is it “Shooting Script”, or “Shoot the Script”?

2010-03-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

Yes . . .

It’s that time a year again and I begin to wonder, as I probably should have before, whether Script Frenzy isn’t some kind of cruel and sadistic practical joke pulled on compulsive writers for the month of April. Not that I’m into conspiracy theory, mind you, but it’s something to think about . . .

Anyway . . .

I’m at a bit of a loss this year. I have two possible ideas, but neither of them feels sustainable for 100 pages: one is a television script for a series of (possibly saleable) stories that I’ve been working on for a few years; the other essentially qualifies as fan fiction, as there is almost no chance that it will be saleable. The second one feels like more fun, and I have a better idea where I want to the story go. For the first, I have the basic concept of the story, but very little else.

So . . .

I have only a few hours to decide (or hope that the muse provides me with an entirely full-blown concept and story, a la Athena borne from Zeus). I’m tempted to tackle both and see which one works out the best in the end.

Stay tuned . . .

Free Speech, or what is it worth to you

2010-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I am completely out of patience with people who complain when they must pay for something that they believe, for whatever reason, that ought to receive for free. The contexts of this are many, but it has surfaced again and I figured it was finally time to say something about it.

If content creators—whoever they are, whether they provide blogs, videos, books, music, video games, or programming code—wish to provide access to their creations for free, that is entirely up to them. There are some interesting and reasonable arguments for doing this, but it is quite another for consumers of this content to expect and demand it. Do they expect to provide whatever services they perform for a living at no cost?

Boys and girls, it would be great if all games and content were free, but this is not yet the twenty-fourth century. People have mortgages or rent to pay and groceries to buy. The companies that provide the games you play have employees to pay and servers to keep running. None of these are free services.

Artists of any type are no different. Certainly, I can offer my fiction on the web at no significant cost. Any praise you might reap upon me, while much appreciated, does not keep my electricity on. Expecting all artists and organizations to provide you content for free simply because some do (and did you note how much of that "free" content is supported by bundles and bundles of often-intrusive advertising?

I really, really want someone to explain to me why I should provide them with access to my creations for free. I won't lead the witness here, although I have many more questions I'd like the ask. I just would like to understand.

Do the Right Thing? Or Do the Write Thing?

2009-12-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

I find myself at one of those crossroads again.

This is not one of the great age-related milestones. Nor is it even all that large in scale in terms of Big Life Decisions. But it does reflect what I’ve discovered has been a recurring theme in my life.

Pretty much everyone is familiar with these lines from Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

It’s so often easier, particularly in these confused and perilous economic times, to make the “safe” choice. You know the one: the one that ensures that the mortgage keeps getting paid. (I do wonder these days—a lot—just how “safe” that choice really is.)

Yes, it can be argued that it’s possible to do both, pay the bills and feed the muse. But there is the reality that there are only so many waking hours in the day, hours that get eaten up by working, commuting, choring, and so on.

What brings this all on you might ask?

I just finished completing an online course in Flash animation. It’s something I also wanted to learn, but never took the time because it really wasn’t all that pertinent to my job and there were always other things to be done. (If you’re at all curious, here is one of my class projects. It was the one I had the most fun with!)

Having done that, I am seriously considering enrolling in the Advanced course. Then, that annoying little voice spoke up and reminded me that I really should complete my PMI enrollment and take the PMP exam so I can be a certified Project Management Professional. <cue appropriate impressive-sounding bass tones here> (Yes, that is probably every bit as boring as it sounds, but could be potentially useful in any future job search.) I could so both, but that’s a whole lot of work on top of a full-time job.

The point of this was not to whine or otherwise bemoan taking on a potentially heavy workload. I know that there are plenty of others who have done—and are doing—far more just to survive. It was just that even giving voice to that possible decision re-raised the long-standing issue for me.

Which will I choose? I don’t know yet. Maybe one. Maybe both. Maybe neither.

NaNoWriMo 2009 Report: Only a Little Over the Top

2009-12-01T10:38:00.001-08:00

Total words: 53,306 (official NaNoWriMo count)
Average words per day: 1,777

It looked like it was going to end with a word count of 50,566, but then the muse would not shut up yesterday (3,194 words).

Yes, I “won”. The story itself is far from finished. At the 53,000-word mark, I think it’s probably about one-third completed.

This year was a bit less difficult than 2006, but seemed nowhere near the flowing ease of the 2007. (It’s interesting how memory fades. I went back and re-read those reports from 2007 and saw that I was struggling there too, but persistence won out.)

My next task is to put the scenes in the proper order so that later drafts will make a bit more sense. I also want to write up more complete notes on each of the main characters—particularly those who did not exist when I first started the story.

It’s been an interesting writing adventure this year.

NaNoWriMo 2009 Report: Week 4

2009-11-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

Fourth week down and two days to go . . .

Total word count: 49,513
No new characters introduced this week. Okay . . . no new major characters. I gave some of the characters in the background first names so they weren’t just anonymous drones, but that doesn’t really count.
Average daily word count for the week: 1,865. Nicely above average, thank you. I had set myself a stretch goal of 1,800 words a day and was pleased to not only meet, but exceed it this week.
The muse cooperated for the most part this week. It hasn’t been as smooth of sailing as 2007 was, but definitely much less painful than 2006. (Never again!) I still don’t think I’ve quite found the voice for this novel, but I think it will sort itself out shortly.

And why didn’t I just push through and crank out those last 487 words and finish two days early? Because it was late, I was tired, and I knew I still had two more days to go. (And also I there were scenes I still wanted to try to write between now and the 30th.)

See you in two days . . .

NaNoWriMo 2009 Report: Week 3

2009-11-22T13:17:00.001-08:00

And on Week 3, this is what NaNoWriMo did to me . . .

Total word count: 36,458
I introduced another character this week. I also realized that there are two of them that I know I need, but have done little more than introduce them. One of them needs to connect up with the main character, but I have yet to devise a believable manner of doing so that doesn’t smack of cliché.
The muse has been kind, particularly during the latter part of the week. I’ve learned that she gets nervous when I take her away from the work and then starts spouting off ideas. Good muse! Biscuit!
Average daily word count for the week: 1,759. This is back up from last week and just about dead on where I want it to be. I’m shooting for a minimum of 1,700 words each day, with a push toward 1,800 words if I can manage it.

And one last note . . . true to form, the muse has already determined the last scene in the book, as well as a scene in the sequel. (I had not originally planned on a sequel to this book, but the muse had her own ideas on the matter. And I do like how she tied it into another book of mine [yet to be written].)

One week and a small number of days to go . . .

NaNoWriMo 2009 Report: Week 2

2009-11-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

On the second week of NaNo, my muse she said to me . . .

Total word count: 24,142
I have introduced a new character that will help immensely in dealing with one of the main thematic issues in the story.
The week continued to be almost exclusively sequential storytelling, from the beginning toward the end. I can see, however, that starting to slip away. But words is words. There’s nothing in the rules that said they had to be in the right order.
Average daily word count for the week: 1,685. This is slightly down from last week, that’s chiefly due to a lesser word count than expected on Saturday. Thank goodness I was (and still am!) slightly ahead.

The muse tended to stay fairly focused this week, (that lower count on Saturday was not her fault), but I can see her attention wondering. I have a bad feeling that Week Three is going to be, for me, nearly everyone else’s Week Two.

That’s all the procrastination for now. Until next week . . .

NaNoWriMo 2009 Report: Week 1

2009-11-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Let’s see . . .

Total word count: 12,345 (yes, really)
I have a title: Soul of the Machine.
I have some main characters who are doing things, or starting to do things.
Average daily word count for the week: 1,764

I have to admit, although it’s taken a swift kick in the adverbs to get the muse going some days (she usually decides to poke her head in around word 1,200 or so), it has been going a bit better than I originally anticipated. Am I going to end up with a readable, interesting story out of all this?

Ask me again on December 1^st.

Something Wicked This Way Comes . . .

2009-10-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight is October 31. In addition to it being Halloween, it is also the eve of the madness known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for short).

This year shows promise to be an interesting and challenging one. Several of my writing friends who had taken one or both of the previous two years off are returning to share in the mutual insanity. This year, I tossed my proverbial hat into the proverbial ring and picked up not one, but two newbies to serve as their mentor in all things NaNoWriMo. While it is said that writing is a solitary vice, apparently it is both contagious and highly communicable between those who are susceptible to such syndromes.

For this year's writing effort, I have an idea. Okay, I have slightly more than an idea. I also have a main character, a bit about his background, and some information about technology that he interacts with. What I don't have at this moment is a plot. What I have is the thinnest notion of an concept for a story. You know: the kind they base entire Tom Cruise movies on.

I'm really hoping that this will turn out to be one of those stories where the character drives the plot, and that events will unfold in an interesting and readable manner. Otherwise, I suspect this novel will be my personal equivalent of God Emperor of Dune. (I seem to be one of only five or so people who actually like that book in the "Dune" series, but that's a topic for another time.)

As in NaNoWriMo years past, I will post weekly reports of my progress here, as well as a summary at the end. If you're interested in reading it as it goes along, you can find it here: http://sfwriter13-nanowrimo2009.blogspot.com.

Management, by objection

2009-08-28T20:33:00.001-07:00

People leave managers, not companies.

Prior to moving to my current place of employment, I was a people manager for more than seven years. During that period, outside of layoffs and other such actions, I had a 0% voluntary attrition rate. That's right. During that period, which spanned both the dot-com boom and collapse, no one voluntarily left my team.

Several times since then, I have been asked if I would be interested in managing people again. Each time, I have declined. Not because I didn't enjoy it. Not because I don't believe that I wasn't good at it. The basic reason is this: Most organizations have made it almost impossible to manage people effectively.

I have watched while, for various reasons the benefits for employees have been whittled down to barely more than a regular paycheck and basic health insurance. My observation is that the companies have removed nearly all of the tools for rewarding employees, leaving managers only with ways for punishing them. Almost entirely gone are raises, bonuses, and forms of compensation beyond the financial. Employees are expected to work longer hours with fewer rewards. As good and compassionate as any manager might be, they need ways of making their employees feel valued without having to dip into their own pockets.

In find it becoming more and more difficult to be a corporate worker bee that contributes little else than to a company's bottom line. There is a scene in Star Trek: Generations where Kirk addresses Picard that often echoes back to me:

Well let me tell you something. Don't! Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you're there... you can make a difference.

I think there are points in our lives, where we want to do more than earn a paycheck, when we want to make a difference. Maybe this isn't true for everyone, but many people I know have expressed such sentiments. Perhaps I simply hang out with a more enlightened crowd. I don't know.

When I did manage a team, I did feel like I made a difference—at least to them. Even as the rewards diminished, I felt as least I gave them what I could in terms of candor and honesty. Yet even that will only go so far.

I do miss having a team of people to manage. In many ways it is much more fulfilling than just project management. I think, though, that will likely be a long time before I'm willing to do it again in the current business environment. I shudder to hear employees referred to as "human assets". I guess I should be grateful that at least we're still referred to as "human".

Say Hello to My Little Friend . . .

2009-08-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it, sometimes I get it completely wrong.

When netbooks (those small, ultra-light portable computers) first arrived on the scene, I thought they were an interesting little niche product. Sure, they were compact, lightweight, and even occasionally stylish. There were also, in my opinion, woefully underpowered. Why would someone in their right mind spend that kind of money when, for a little more money, they could get a full-featured notebook computer?

Several months ago, I tried one out of curiosity. I spent probably a grand total of less than 30 minutes with it before concluding that, although it seemed fast enough, the screen was too small, the smaller-than-usual keyboard made typing on it maddeningly annoying. That, for me, seemed to be the end of it.

I completely missed the point. It wasn't about power; it was about portability. For many people, the main uses of their computer are for checking e-mail and browsing the web. Neither of these activities require a lot of computing firepower. Provide these in a computer that is not only relatively inexpensive, but also portable and, apparently, you have a winner.

Through a somewhat complex series of events, I ended up owning one of these netbook computers. Although I don't use it as primary system, I also can't imagine not having it. Its portability makes it ideal for when I need a computer along to check e-mail and perform various activities on the web. It is perfect for when I want to wonder around the house, but be available via e-mail or instant messages.

I've also discovered that it is capable of running Microsoft Office 2003 capably. (It's no speed demon in that regard, but it more than adequately handles basic word processing without me having to worry about formatting hiccups transferring files between Works and Word.)

While I'm not ready to give up my desktop system, as the price-to-performance ratio is still better there, I can now see why netbooks are all the rage. I'm even ready to believe that these systems are poised to fundamentally change the consumer personal computer market for the reasons given above.

So, yes, contrary to popular belief, I am capable of admitting when I'm wrong.

Business, as usual

2009-08-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

I learned a long time ago that the business world is neither fair nor just.

Many, many years ago, while in high school, some friends and I decided to take our lunchtime gaming activities to the next level and petition the school to make it an official club. After jumping through all of the proverbial hoops, our application was rejected on the grounds that there was a perception that games such as Dungeons & Dungeons involved witchcraft and other possible dark arts. (It also didn't help that there had just been a heavily publicized case of a student whose disappearance had been reported to have been related to his participation in the game.) Knowing that the decision of the school management was based on misinformation, I decided to petition the students in an attempt to reverse the decision.

At the same time, I was employed by a small, family-owned office supply store. I mentioned the situation to my boss, along with my plans to appeal the school's ruling. I was told, in very clear terms, to drop the matter if I wanted to continue my employment. As the school district was a major customer, it would not be appropriate for someone recognizable as part of that business to challenge the school on such an issue. (It was also far more complex than that, as this was also a highly active Catholic area, but I'll leave the religious angles out of this discussion for some other time.)

Stunned and hurt by the lack of support, I did not further persue the issue. It was my first job; I was saving for a car and college--and it was several steps above dealing with daily grease spatters at one of the neighborhood fast food places. The lesson was well-learned though: fear of losing one's regular paycheck can trump the spirit behind many a just cause.

Flash forward to present day . . .

Last week, I was greeted by this report by CNN. Let me share just a brief excerpt, but please read the rest on your own later:

(CNN) -- Blog fans in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw PittGirl as their masked superhero -- a comedian and local commentator who jibed the mayor without reserve and ranted freely about her hatred of pigeons.

But despite her effort to keep her real name secret, people started to figure out who PittGirl was.

Feeling pressure to take control of her identity before someone else outed her, PittGirl on Wednesday posted pictures of herself on her blog and introduced readers to her real-world self: Virginia Montanez, a 35-year-old married mother of two who worked in the nonprofit sector.

On Thursday morning, Montanez was fired from her job because of her online persona, she said.

What I find interesting about this article is that in none of the cases does it state, specifically, the reason why the individuals were fired other than for espousing their opinions online under pseudonyms. It is not stated whether those opinions were at odds with those of the organizations they had been part of, whether their remarks were potentially legally actionable against both the individual or the organization, or whether the actions taken were the collective result of other factors entirely.

Although I might be reading more into it than there is, the message I get from it is this: If you work for any organization, don't go public with your opinions--any opinions. If you do so anonymously, they can and will find out. In fact, there is even a statement in the article that goes as far to say (and I paraphrase on purpose here) that to hide behind an online pseudonym is akin to cowardice.

Now while I definitely agree that people should take care about the opinions they provide on public online forums, particularly if they involve bad-mouthing their employers. That strikes me as just good common sense. However, this feels to me like a serious blurring between an individual's professional and personal lives (and heaven knows that organizations are already trying to claim more than their fair share of one's time).

In this time of constant fear over losing one's employment, I see this as yet one more tool in a company's arsenal of tools for maintaining control (and, I would even daresay, ownership) over its employees. No longer are an inidividual's personal opinions and activities their own, but they can now come--legally--under scrutiny and subject to possible retalitory action by the companies that employ them.

I wish I had something concrete to recommend here other than expressing your outrage (and then possibly putting yourself at the same risk as those mentioned in the article). In a country that prides itself for having Freedom of Speech, I find what this article reports (and what it doesn't say) alarming.

Side Note: I happened to see this article at the same time that I was struggling with the future direction of this blog—and whether there was even going to be one. Part of me was prepared to toss reserve and caution to the proverbial wind and begin putting out my opinions as I had not done before. I'm not saying that I won't still do so, but the coincidence of the appearance of the article was unsettling.

Rebooted, or a renewed kick in the pants

2009-08-23T07:51:00.001-07:00

This blog has been neglected for several months (not that anyone has noticed, I suspect). There are several reasons for this:

Although I created this blog as a means to express my personal opinions on matters, I had failed so far to find a sufficiently interesting slant that might be of interest to others. There are innumerable blogs espousing opinions on political, social, and corporate matters. While I could offer my perspective to that sea of words, the odds are that they would be lost in that ocean of voices.
Blogging on matters of writing alone feels a bit egotistical and self-serving with only one published book to my credit, and that one out of print.
I have no desire to use my blog as a public diary. My personal life is just that—personal. I have little wish to share its intimate details with the online masses, nor does my ego support the supposition that my day-to-day activities might be of even remote interest to anyone other than close friends and family (and that's even doubtful).

All that said, I found myself unable to simply delete this blog and move on. So, I tidied up a bit, dusted away the digital cobwebs, and added a fresh coat of paint.

We'll see what happens.

Mid-March Madness

2009-03-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

What I'm Reading Now: Q & A by Keith R. A. DeCandido

I'm at all certain what this story is about yet, particularly as Q has not even made more than a passing appearance. To be fair, though, I'm only about 30 pages into the book.

What I'm Listening to Now: Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Okay, I'm a completist. Having finished the audiobook edition of Chapterhouse Dune, I had to see once more how the entire end-story played out.

What I'm Watching Now: Watchmen

I deliberately did not re-read the original graphic novel before viewing the film. I didn't want to have the story that fresh in my mind with the accompanying expectations and preconceptions. That disclaimer now out of the way . . .

I thought the film was very, very good. Rather than possibly spoil the story for anyone who has not seen it or read the original graphic novel, I'll roughly summarize it by saying that it makes last year's The Dark Knight seem sunny and cheerful in comparison.

Returning to Strange New Worlds

2009-03-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

What I'm Reading Now: Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman

They've done an interesting thing over at Simon & Shuster with the Star Trek series of books. Previously, other than for the occasional trilogy, most of the books tended to be completely standalone, like extended written episodes from the various incarnations of the television series. Recently, though, they've become a much more connected set of novel, with a connected series of backstories.

While it is possible to read them independently, there are definitely nuances and inferences that readers might not fully grasp the significance of. Some readers might complain, but I'm finding it a more compelling reason to go back and read some of the books in the series that I might have otherwise missed so that I can have a greater appreciation and understanding of the new books published in the future.

And What Have I Been Up To?

2009-03-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

What I'm Reading Now: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

I have enjoyed Octavia Butler's stories for many, many years. I was very disappointed to hear about her death almost exactly two years ago, knowing that there would be no more stories from this wonderful author. She has a writing voice unlike any other I can recall--simple, direct, and yet incredibly evocative.

I have owned this book for a few years now, but had not placed it at the top of my "To Read" list until now. By happy coincidence, my son is reading it for school. Of course, I'm enjoying the pleasure of that far more than he is.

What I'm Listening to Now: Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert

Yes, I'm listening my way through the entire original Dune series, much like when I read through them all with a co-worker five or six years ago. (Has it been that long?)

When this first book was first released in print, one of my college apartment-mates and I rushed directly from our classes to the Crown Books just around the corner from the apartment we rented. I remember him being seriously annoyed because he was working in the Chemistry lab storeroom that night and I would get a headstart.

Shift Happens

2009-02-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

I offer this without comment . . .

The Year 2008 in Review, The Year 2009 Ahead

2009-01-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see how I did this year . . .

2008 Accomplishments

Here are my 2007 writing-related goals and how well I did during the year:

Finish a new draft of "Building Baby Brother" and submit it.
Um . . . no. I did have two other people read it and got some really good additional feedback. (Thanks, Wir!)
Begin work on the second draft of Battlefield.
Nope. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along . . .
Participate in NaNoWriMo 2008.
Participate: Yes. Win: No. 20,000 words, though. As I worded this as "participate", I guess I get this one?
Participate in Script Frenzy 2008.
Participate: Yes. Win: Yes. Can you also say, "Uh oh, what have I created here?" Was was supposed to be a 100-page script (which I envisioned as a two-hour pilot for a television series) ended out at 285 pages--so a six-hour mini-series. I completed the first draft last night (01/01/09). It needs some work, but it is finished. Trying to finish this pretty much consumed the bulk of my writing in the latter half of the year, hence why some of the other writing work didn't get done.
A page a day. If nothing else: a page a day.
Yes. I think so, anyway. I'm sure if I calculated the total page count for the year, I probably did. Hmm ... maybe I need to keep an actual log this year.

2009 Goals

These are my writing-related goals for the year:

Finish what I start.
For 2009, I want to finish the first drafts of some of the unfinished work I have sitting around. This is actually the three NaNoWriMo pieces from 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Submit what I finish.
Maybe the third time's a charm for having "Building Baby Brother" on this list? As far as novels go, it would be nice to submit at least one this year, but I suspect committing to a second draft is probably a more realistic goal.
Participate in Script Frenzy 2009.
Script Frenzy 2008 was an extremely fun (if extended) experience.
Participate in NaNoWriMo 2009.
And win again this year. Without heroics.
And, as always, a page a day.
Of something . . . anything. Preferably on one of the above goals.

And here's hoping all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

O Captain! My Captain!

2008-12-12T17:55:00.001-08:00

For a variety of reason, both personal and literary, I've been doing some thinking about the characters of ship captains, particularly in science fiction.

For the most part, captains are the leaders of their vessel or stations, burdened with all the pressures of command. They are almost universally expected to be paragons. Although human, they are never allowed to be "human". Mistakes, any kinds of perceived weakness, are not permitted.

Who, then, can these people turn to when they need to be "human"? To expresses their fears, doubt—their feelings in general?

In thinking about it, I find it interesting that the majority are the confidantes that these captains have are, in fact, not human. Kirk has Spock, Janeway has Tuvok, Sisko had Dax. In my own stories, Devereux has Hope.

I'm not claiming that this is a universal character situation, but I found the recurring theme interesting. It does make sense in a way, though. Having an alien confidante would allow a captain to express human feelings without being judged by human standards.

Non-human insights also play a strong role in these relationships, providing the captain a point of view that he or she might not have considered.

I wonder if this is why we are often drawn toward people who are also unlike ourselves in some ways. Are we seeking the same insights about the world and about ourselves that only an "outside" opinion can provide?

Perhaps this is not the stuff of which great drama is made, but it does make for something worth watching and reading.

NaNoWriMo 2008 Report: The End of the Beginning

2008-12-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Total words: 20,018
Average words per day: 664

No, I didn't hit 50,000 words. Yes, I did hit 20,000 (20,018 to be exact). And an average of 664 words per day is much greater than the usual 250-word goal I set for myself each day.

I didn't "win", but I did hit my personal goal. I doubt that I'll ever put in a performance like last year, but you never know. And I did get 20,000 words done for a new novel.

There's always 2009 . . . :)

NaNoWriMo 2008 Report: Week 4

2008-11-29T09:02:00.001-08:00

Total words to date: 18,492
Average words per day: 605 (lowest of the month)

The lower average is chiefly because I missed one day entirely. if it weren't for that, my daily average would have been a much more respectable 705 words per day.

Reaching my goal of 20,000 words this year seems within reasonable reach. It's kind of disappointing after last year's 56,000 words, but 20,000 words is better than 10,000 or 5,000 or none.

Two more days and then it's done for this year . . .

NaNoWriMo 2008 Report: Week 3

2008-11-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Total words to date: 14,260
Average words per day: 674 (down from last week, but higher than Week 1)

Getting assigned to sit on a jury this week seriously ate into the available writing time this week as evenings were needed to get caught up work missed during the day. That said, I'm pleased that the daily average stayed as high as it did.

The muse has also chosen this week to be particularly stubborn, but I suspect that she's been distracted by other matters. With luck and perseverance, next week should be better.

NaNoWriMo 2008 Report: Week 2

2008-11-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

Total words to date: 9,550
Average words per day: 707 (slightly higher than last week :) )

The muse has been mostly cooperating; it's more been a matter of finding the time to write it down. She's usually been keeping two scenes in reserve, so I haven't had any days this week when I had no idea what to write.

I do need to better develop most of the main characters. Their personal flaws are too internal and too personal, so it's probably difficult for readers to relate to them and equally difficult to have them carry some scenes. I'm not yet sure how to fix it, but the writing will go on.

NaNoWriMo 2008 Report: Week 1

2008-11-08T06:57:00.000-08:00

As of last night, my word count is 4,595 words. For those who are counting, that's a little over 650 words a day. It's a far cry from the needed 1,667 words each days to stay on track, but slightly above the more realistic goal of 500 words per day I had expected.

50,000 words in 2008? Unlikely. 20,000 words? You betcha.

I figure any word count total greater than zero is a good thing.

My goal for the weekend is to write at least 2,000 words. We'll see!

What I'm Listening to Now: Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

They're finally getting around to recording unabridged versions of the later books in the Dune series. So far, I have found the reading to be very well done (although I do wonder why it was decided to give the Honored Matres a kind of pseudo-Russian accent).

Things That Go Bump In The Night . . .

2008-10-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening to Now: Valentine Pontifex by Robert Silverberg

The third in the Majipoor series, this book covers the period about ten years after the events in Lord Valentine's Castle. The book is performed by several readers, which adds to its variety and effectiveness.

HeroCon 2008

Yeah, I know this report is a little tardy, but still . . .

On October 18th, I spent some of the day at the inaugural HeroCon 2008, a fun-filled day of all things City of Heroes/City of Villains. I went to two panel sessions and one workshop:

Walking the Cat-Walk: Fashion in City of Heroes
Getting Your Foot in the Door: How to get a job in the industry
Making Movies with City of Heroes

I only took 10 photos, none of which are all that spectacular. But I post them here anyway for your amusement and bemusement.

It was interesting to see the wide breadth of ages (and cities of origin) of people who came to HeroCon. I was by no means the oldest person there. That was reassuring. :) There were a lot of couples there, both of whom were involved in the game. (I wonder if there's ever been a study . . .)

NaNoWriMo 2008

In five hours and thirty minutes Pacific Standard Time, NaNoWriMo 2008 officially begins. Expect only weekly updates here as time permits. As always, you can follow my progress here.

Slow News Day

2008-10-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening to Now: The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein

This is actually one of my favorite later Heinlein books, mostly because of the self-conscious revelation of the multiverse, literary paradoxes, and the "world as myth". I can understand why some readers found the book a little too annoying, but I think it's good clean fun by one of the masters.

The main advantage this production has over the previous one I had is that it is unabridged. I actually like Robert Vaughn's reading of it better in the abridged version. The reader of this production had an annoying cadence that took me a while to become accustomed to.

Flipping Pages

2008-10-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

What I'm Reading Now: Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

The others books done by Herbert and Anderson in this series have ranged from irritating to quite good. (I found their conclusion of the original Dune series in Sandworms of Dune to be almost as satisfying a conclusion as the last Harry Potter book.) I'm anticipating that it will be at least a moderately diverting read and I look forward to seeing how the events between Dune and Dune Messiah are explained.

What I'm Listening to Now: Majipoor Chronicles by Robert Silverberg

A sequel of sorts to Lord Valentine's Castle. It's actually an small anthology of sorts of short stories covering places and people in the history of Majipoor. Unlike the audio version of Lord Valentine's Castle, this audiobook is performed by multiple readers.

What I'm Writing Now: Emerald Flight - "Pilot"

Yes, still. And I need to finish it before NaNoWriMo begins on November 1st. I'm currently working at page 216 of 259. There's a sizable scene coming out that I am likely to cut entirely. There are a lot fewer gaps to fill in now, so completing by the end of the month. How long will it be when this draft is done? Ummm . . . a lot longer than it should be?

Like An Open Book

2008-09-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

What I'm Reading Now: Halo: Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten

Yes, my little secret is out. In addition to more, shall we say, literate works, I also indulge in media tie-in books. I'm a sucker for wanting to sustain my visits to fictional locations that I find particularly appealing. For example, there was a time (many, many years ago) when I could keep out with all of the Star Trek novels being published. With the introduction of Next Generation and then Deep Space Nine, it became simply impossible if I ever wanted to read anything else. However, I still indulge in this vice from time to time.

So far, I've found Contact Harvest slightly better than most of the other books based in the Halo universe. The best are, in my opinion, the two by Eric Nyland: The Fall of Reach and First Strike. I didn't have an overwhelming desire to learn about Sgt. Johnson's origins, but I was intrigued enough to find out what other insights into the Halo universe the book might offer.

What I'm Listening to Now: Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg

This was one of the first books I ever bought when I first became a member of the Science Fiction Book Club. I remember enjoying it thoroughly then and this time around, having been so long since I originally read it, it's almost like experiencing it anew again. It's a fantasy with science fiction elements, without feeling any real need to reconcile the two. This time around, I am finding some things that seem a little too obvious, but it's still very enjoyable and the reader is very good.

What I'm Writing Now: Emerald Flight - "Pilot"

The 100-page script that was intended to be a two-hour pilot for a potential TV series is currently now a 248-page script (about four hours) with more to come. Well, Battlestar Galactica started out as a four-hour mini-series, so why not this? Alternately, I might have a full half-season worth of episodes ready when I get done.

Music Hath Charms . . .

2008-09-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's potentially hokey and many of you have probably seen it long before I did, but there's something about this that gives me hope for future of the human race:

I think the music is nice, too!