And in another deviation from the norm on my blog, today's post is in honor of the internet blackouts happening on some key cornerstones of the web. While putting my site in a blackout wouldn't make much of a difference except to my small but loyal followers, I can use this space to post a very important link:
http://www.google.com/takeaction/
As someone who spends a lot of time generating content for the online community, this is a very important issue to me, and one that may very well change how the internet operates in the future. Please, take a few moments and click on the link above to find out more about the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and what you can do to make sure these horrible bills do not become law.
Protect your internet, or lose the wealth of creativity and information that it presents forever!
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computers. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Everyday Divinities Is Available On Nook, Too!
Wow, is it Wednesday already? It seems like just yesterday I'd put my short story anthology up on Kindle, and now I have more wonderful news just in time for the holidays!
Everyday Divinities, a collection of 5 short stories originally released on this very blog, is now a digital book available on BOTH Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
Man, this week has been so draining on me. It's hard maintaining so much excitement for so many days! I've always wanted to present my writing to a much larger audience, and now it's up in the two major e-reader stores. It's crazy!
Aside from all that good news, I also have an author page on Goodreads! And you can add Everyday Divinities to your Goodreads bookshelf! Can you believe it?! It's too awesome, and it makes me very excited every time I log into that site now. I'll be making use of its various features come January, so keep a watch for that in 2012.
I hope all of you have checked out the anthology, or are about to over the holidays. If you like it, recommend it to friends! If you REALLY like it and feel that $2 is not nearly enough for the extraordinary short stories you've read, or you want to see more stories in a second collection, I'd encourage you to vote with your wallet and use that wee little "Donate" button just to the right of The Everyday Divinities Project links. If you didn't like it... well, constructive feedback is always welcome and encouraged, and knowing what doesn't work for you is just as important as knowing what does. Leave your feedback in the comments below and let me know what I could do differently.
Also, if you'd like to see my digital anthology in another e-reader format, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do. I'm no miracleworker, but I do want to make sure that everyone who wants to read my writing is able to, regardless of the device they use.
I think that about covers it for now. I'll keep you all posted on Everyday Divinities news, as well as my other projects. Enjoy the anthology, and happy holidays!
Everyday Divinities, a collection of 5 short stories originally released on this very blog, is now a digital book available on BOTH Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
Man, this week has been so draining on me. It's hard maintaining so much excitement for so many days! I've always wanted to present my writing to a much larger audience, and now it's up in the two major e-reader stores. It's crazy!
Aside from all that good news, I also have an author page on Goodreads! And you can add Everyday Divinities to your Goodreads bookshelf! Can you believe it?! It's too awesome, and it makes me very excited every time I log into that site now. I'll be making use of its various features come January, so keep a watch for that in 2012.
I hope all of you have checked out the anthology, or are about to over the holidays. If you like it, recommend it to friends! If you REALLY like it and feel that $2 is not nearly enough for the extraordinary short stories you've read, or you want to see more stories in a second collection, I'd encourage you to vote with your wallet and use that wee little "Donate" button just to the right of The Everyday Divinities Project links. If you didn't like it... well, constructive feedback is always welcome and encouraged, and knowing what doesn't work for you is just as important as knowing what does. Leave your feedback in the comments below and let me know what I could do differently.
Also, if you'd like to see my digital anthology in another e-reader format, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do. I'm no miracleworker, but I do want to make sure that everyone who wants to read my writing is able to, regardless of the device they use.
I think that about covers it for now. I'll keep you all posted on Everyday Divinities news, as well as my other projects. Enjoy the anthology, and happy holidays!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Everyday Divinities Is Available On Kindle!
It's here! The long awaited arrival of my short stories to the world of digital publishing!
Everyday Divinities, a collection of 5 short stories originally released on this very blog, is now a digital book on Amazon Kindle!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
I can't even begin to tell you the gauntlet of emotions that I've run since clicking that "Save and publish" button last night. This is the first time I've really put my writing out there to see if people are willing to pay money for it. It's new territory for me, which is exciting and scary and awesome and terrifying and joyous and... well, you get the picture. This is a BIG DEAL to me, and you, my loyal followers, are here to witness how crazy it will make me! Isn't that exciting?!
Now, let's talk a bit of business. This is only the tip of the digital iceberg for this mini-anthology. True to my word, I'll be converting this document into file types for use on other devices this weekend, starting with the Nook's "PubIt!" service. If there's a particular file type you'd like to see it in, post it in the comments section below and I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises, especially if it's an obscure file type that my conversion software doesn't support, but I'll definitely make every effort to give my work the widest audience possible.
Speaking of which, those of you who know about such things will be happy to know that my anthology is completely DRM-free. I hate it when I can't transfer music or books to other devices easily, and as much as I'd appreciate the extra income, I won't make my loyal followers buy more than one copy of my work just so they can have it on multiple devices. Put it on your e-reader, your phone, your computer, even all of the above. If you like it, recommend it to friends! If you REALLY like it and feel that $2 is not nearly enough for the extraordinary stories you've read, or you want to see more stories in a second collection, I'd encourage you to vote with your wallet and use that nifty little "Donate" button up there in the upper right corner of my blog. If you didn't like it... well, I always encourage feedback, and knowing what doesn't work for you is just as important as knowing what does. Drop me a line and let me know what I could do differently.
I think that about covers it for now. I'll keep you all posted on my further plans to bring Everyday Divinities to new devices, as well as my other projects. Enjoy the anthology!
Everyday Divinities, a collection of 5 short stories originally released on this very blog, is now a digital book on Amazon Kindle!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
I can't even begin to tell you the gauntlet of emotions that I've run since clicking that "Save and publish" button last night. This is the first time I've really put my writing out there to see if people are willing to pay money for it. It's new territory for me, which is exciting and scary and awesome and terrifying and joyous and... well, you get the picture. This is a BIG DEAL to me, and you, my loyal followers, are here to witness how crazy it will make me! Isn't that exciting?!
Now, let's talk a bit of business. This is only the tip of the digital iceberg for this mini-anthology. True to my word, I'll be converting this document into file types for use on other devices this weekend, starting with the Nook's "PubIt!" service. If there's a particular file type you'd like to see it in, post it in the comments section below and I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises, especially if it's an obscure file type that my conversion software doesn't support, but I'll definitely make every effort to give my work the widest audience possible.
Speaking of which, those of you who know about such things will be happy to know that my anthology is completely DRM-free. I hate it when I can't transfer music or books to other devices easily, and as much as I'd appreciate the extra income, I won't make my loyal followers buy more than one copy of my work just so they can have it on multiple devices. Put it on your e-reader, your phone, your computer, even all of the above. If you like it, recommend it to friends! If you REALLY like it and feel that $2 is not nearly enough for the extraordinary stories you've read, or you want to see more stories in a second collection, I'd encourage you to vote with your wallet and use that nifty little "Donate" button up there in the upper right corner of my blog. If you didn't like it... well, I always encourage feedback, and knowing what doesn't work for you is just as important as knowing what does. Drop me a line and let me know what I could do differently.
I think that about covers it for now. I'll keep you all posted on my further plans to bring Everyday Divinities to new devices, as well as my other projects. Enjoy the anthology!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Between the Lines - The Desktop and Laptop Computers
The release of my short story anthology is imminent! To celebrate, I thought I'd give my loyal followers another peek behind the creative curtain with a new Between the Lines post. We'll skip past The Copier for reasons I'll go into at another time and go straight toward the second to last story in the collection...
The Desktop and Laptop Computers
To start, this story was created with a specific purpose: To give expression to my very judgmental feelings regarding a certain chain of eateries. I don't know if they're like this in every city they're in, but this particular bakery is about as trendy as it comes, which of course meant that I had to poke fun at it in writing. It used to be that I'd make fun of people in Starbucks for the collection of laptops occupying every table. Now my mockery has a new target. I can't come right out and give the eatery's name, of course. That would be A Bad Thing, and I'm not about to sabotage my writing career before it starts by getting sued for libel. I can, however, switch around a couple of letters to create a fictional eatery with a similar enough name that astute readers should be able to figure out what it is without me coming out and saying the actual name. If you got it, points to you! If you didn't, don't worry about it, you're not missing much.
Aside from riffing on this eatery and the people who patron the establishment, I've been meaning to delve into gods who are co-workers as well as friends, similar to what I did with the Television and the Remote Control story. I wanted to take them out of the work situation and put them in casual mode, so I set the story in a bit of "downtime" that the two gods might share in the course of their duties. After all, even the most dedicated of gods needs to forge connections to those of like minds to expand their influence. I had my setting and my discussion, now it came down to forging the voice of each god.
It made sense to make the laptop god, who naturally would be ranting about this eatery that his domain is taken into constantly, the younger and hipper of the two computers. Being so mobile, he would be more well-traveled than the desktop computer, so I made him sort of a free-spirited, jet-setting kind of character. His counterpart, the desktop computer, would be older and more reserved. The contrast was a natural one, which I emphasized by putting the desktop computer in a business suit, to reflect the sheer number of desktops used in a corporate setting. While I didn't go into detail in the laptop's attire, I pictured him as much more casual and relaxed in his clothing (despite his energetic rant).
The names came to me easily enough. Since HP and Dell are two of the most widely used computer brands out there, it made sense to adapt them to my naming conventions. HP became the initials for Holland Parcell, and Dell became Dall. Parcell, incidentally, is a variation of a name found in my family, so my thanks go out to my cousin for marrying into a family name that I could use in a story!
Since I'm a big fan of MMOs, I couldn't help but bring them into a discussion between two computer gods. For curious parties, I used to roleplay on Sentinels server in World of Warcraft under the name Cynlan on Horde side, and these days I'll be active in Star Wars: The Old Republic as Jace Colton on the RP server Vrook Lamar. Feel free to say hi to me if you run into me in-game, but don't be too distressed if I don't get back to you right away. I may be in the middle of roleplay, or I could be in a boss fight.
Incidentally, if you have to ask what Dall meant by that comment of the other "good time" people use computers for, you're better off not knowing.
Finally, major props go out to Karuna Tanahashi for giving this story a critical eye and making some very sound editorial suggestions. It really made the difference in comparison to previous stories. Thank you, Karuna!
Got a question you'd like to ask about The Desktop and Laptop Computers story? Feel free to post it in the comments section below, and I'll answer it right on this very page!
The Desktop and Laptop Computers
To start, this story was created with a specific purpose: To give expression to my very judgmental feelings regarding a certain chain of eateries. I don't know if they're like this in every city they're in, but this particular bakery is about as trendy as it comes, which of course meant that I had to poke fun at it in writing. It used to be that I'd make fun of people in Starbucks for the collection of laptops occupying every table. Now my mockery has a new target. I can't come right out and give the eatery's name, of course. That would be A Bad Thing, and I'm not about to sabotage my writing career before it starts by getting sued for libel. I can, however, switch around a couple of letters to create a fictional eatery with a similar enough name that astute readers should be able to figure out what it is without me coming out and saying the actual name. If you got it, points to you! If you didn't, don't worry about it, you're not missing much.
Aside from riffing on this eatery and the people who patron the establishment, I've been meaning to delve into gods who are co-workers as well as friends, similar to what I did with the Television and the Remote Control story. I wanted to take them out of the work situation and put them in casual mode, so I set the story in a bit of "downtime" that the two gods might share in the course of their duties. After all, even the most dedicated of gods needs to forge connections to those of like minds to expand their influence. I had my setting and my discussion, now it came down to forging the voice of each god.
It made sense to make the laptop god, who naturally would be ranting about this eatery that his domain is taken into constantly, the younger and hipper of the two computers. Being so mobile, he would be more well-traveled than the desktop computer, so I made him sort of a free-spirited, jet-setting kind of character. His counterpart, the desktop computer, would be older and more reserved. The contrast was a natural one, which I emphasized by putting the desktop computer in a business suit, to reflect the sheer number of desktops used in a corporate setting. While I didn't go into detail in the laptop's attire, I pictured him as much more casual and relaxed in his clothing (despite his energetic rant).
The names came to me easily enough. Since HP and Dell are two of the most widely used computer brands out there, it made sense to adapt them to my naming conventions. HP became the initials for Holland Parcell, and Dell became Dall. Parcell, incidentally, is a variation of a name found in my family, so my thanks go out to my cousin for marrying into a family name that I could use in a story!
Since I'm a big fan of MMOs, I couldn't help but bring them into a discussion between two computer gods. For curious parties, I used to roleplay on Sentinels server in World of Warcraft under the name Cynlan on Horde side, and these days I'll be active in Star Wars: The Old Republic as Jace Colton on the RP server Vrook Lamar. Feel free to say hi to me if you run into me in-game, but don't be too distressed if I don't get back to you right away. I may be in the middle of roleplay, or I could be in a boss fight.
Incidentally, if you have to ask what Dall meant by that comment of the other "good time" people use computers for, you're better off not knowing.
Finally, major props go out to Karuna Tanahashi for giving this story a critical eye and making some very sound editorial suggestions. It really made the difference in comparison to previous stories. Thank you, Karuna!
Got a question you'd like to ask about The Desktop and Laptop Computers story? Feel free to post it in the comments section below, and I'll answer it right on this very page!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Coming Soon to a Kindle Near You
...And this time, I mean it!
After a sizable delay, my Everyday Divinities anthology is finally getting formatted! It's a tedious process of going through the Kindle self-publishing checklist to make sure everything conforms to their standards for proper conversion, but it's going to be so worth it to see my writing on a Kindle. I even downloaded the Kindle app to my phone so I can make sure it displays properly on any device!
"Wait, what about those of us who don't have a Kindle?" Don't worry, the Kindle formatting is a stepping stone to converting it into any ebook format. My goal is to have my anthology available on this blog in all of the major format types so you can read Everyday Divinities on any device you own. Ebooks for all!
I'll give you more updates as I move through the process, including an announcement once it's available for purchase later this month. This is so exciting for me as a writer, I can't wait to share my first ebook with you!
After a sizable delay, my Everyday Divinities anthology is finally getting formatted! It's a tedious process of going through the Kindle self-publishing checklist to make sure everything conforms to their standards for proper conversion, but it's going to be so worth it to see my writing on a Kindle. I even downloaded the Kindle app to my phone so I can make sure it displays properly on any device!
"Wait, what about those of us who don't have a Kindle?" Don't worry, the Kindle formatting is a stepping stone to converting it into any ebook format. My goal is to have my anthology available on this blog in all of the major format types so you can read Everyday Divinities on any device you own. Ebooks for all!
I'll give you more updates as I move through the process, including an announcement once it's available for purchase later this month. This is so exciting for me as a writer, I can't wait to share my first ebook with you!
Monday, September 12, 2011
I Speak Out With My Geek Out!
I'm freestyling this one instead of writing it up in Word first, because it's late but I still wanted to get something up for Speak Out With Your Geek Out. My apologies if this is not as polished as some of my other posts here, but I hope you'll bear with me.
I won't retread any geeky ground as I revisit my path to geekdom here. I've already done my fair share of, well, sharing little peeks into that world of video games, comics and roleplaying games here, here, here, here and here. I try to keep from going geek overload on this blog, instead using my Tumblr for the kind of stuff that doesn't quite fit into a blog about writing. Still, this event focuses on writing about being a geek, and since I'm a geek who writes, I should take the time to address that huge part of my life.
As I write this, I'm surrounded by pieces of my geek life. Cloud and Tifa stand atop my computer, guarding it with a wild-eyed dragon, though my name tag from the DigitalLA panel on digital comics infiltrated one side. When I pause to take a drink and consider my words, it's from a travel mug adorned with J!NX stickers. Behind my monitor, Cap's shield peeks from behind like a rising sun, a souvenir from my coverage of a comic book store event for Comic Booked. To the left of me are boxes of comic books and my World of Warcraft hoodie. To the right, a bookcase that is patrolled vigilantly by Optimus Prime, Spike, and a trio of characters from Kingdom Hearts. Behind me lies another bookcase full of role-playing books, predominantly from White Wolf Publishing, and mostly Mage books.
My life is filled to the brim with geekiness. On Tuesday nights, my friends and I get together around a conference room table and roll dice for Game Night. On Wednesday night, I'll get together with other friends and tear it up on either Xbox or Wii. I drive to work with fuzzy d20 dice hanging from my rear-view mirror, and my rear bumper is decorated with the blood elf emblem. On my wrist is a bracelet that says GEEK. I may be dressed in a button-down shirt, but my undershirt says "U.S. Department of Gaming Affairs" on it... and I may or may not be wearing Transformers boxers. And that's only my work attire. Once I'm out of the office, I fly my geek flag proudly with a legion of geeky t-shirts that declare my dragonslaying prowess, or my love of 8-bit games, or that my d10 does indeed go up to 11.
I love my geeky life. I love that I write about comics and pop culture for Comic Booked. I love that both Star Wars and Star Trek are part of my lexicon thanks to my mom. I love that I can quote Ghostbusters or The Princess Bride and my friends will follow it up with the next line of dialogue. I love that I have friends who draw comics and create shows for the web and sing about Buffy the Vampire Slayer villains. And I love that the world is full of people just like me who live geeky lives and aren't ashamed to admit it.
I also love that my gorgeous partner Loki brought over The Crow tonight... both the graphic novel and the movie. I'll cut this short, but expect more geekiness later in the week!
I won't retread any geeky ground as I revisit my path to geekdom here. I've already done my fair share of, well, sharing little peeks into that world of video games, comics and roleplaying games here, here, here, here and here. I try to keep from going geek overload on this blog, instead using my Tumblr for the kind of stuff that doesn't quite fit into a blog about writing. Still, this event focuses on writing about being a geek, and since I'm a geek who writes, I should take the time to address that huge part of my life.
As I write this, I'm surrounded by pieces of my geek life. Cloud and Tifa stand atop my computer, guarding it with a wild-eyed dragon, though my name tag from the DigitalLA panel on digital comics infiltrated one side. When I pause to take a drink and consider my words, it's from a travel mug adorned with J!NX stickers. Behind my monitor, Cap's shield peeks from behind like a rising sun, a souvenir from my coverage of a comic book store event for Comic Booked. To the left of me are boxes of comic books and my World of Warcraft hoodie. To the right, a bookcase that is patrolled vigilantly by Optimus Prime, Spike, and a trio of characters from Kingdom Hearts. Behind me lies another bookcase full of role-playing books, predominantly from White Wolf Publishing, and mostly Mage books.
My life is filled to the brim with geekiness. On Tuesday nights, my friends and I get together around a conference room table and roll dice for Game Night. On Wednesday night, I'll get together with other friends and tear it up on either Xbox or Wii. I drive to work with fuzzy d20 dice hanging from my rear-view mirror, and my rear bumper is decorated with the blood elf emblem. On my wrist is a bracelet that says GEEK. I may be dressed in a button-down shirt, but my undershirt says "U.S. Department of Gaming Affairs" on it... and I may or may not be wearing Transformers boxers. And that's only my work attire. Once I'm out of the office, I fly my geek flag proudly with a legion of geeky t-shirts that declare my dragonslaying prowess, or my love of 8-bit games, or that my d10 does indeed go up to 11.
I love my geeky life. I love that I write about comics and pop culture for Comic Booked. I love that both Star Wars and Star Trek are part of my lexicon thanks to my mom. I love that I can quote Ghostbusters or The Princess Bride and my friends will follow it up with the next line of dialogue. I love that I have friends who draw comics and create shows for the web and sing about Buffy the Vampire Slayer villains. And I love that the world is full of people just like me who live geeky lives and aren't ashamed to admit it.
I also love that my gorgeous partner Loki brought over The Crow tonight... both the graphic novel and the movie. I'll cut this short, but expect more geekiness later in the week!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Quick Take On Klout
So, in addition to social networking, I've also gotten into this Klout thing, which measures your influence online. In addition to showing you who you influence and who influences you, it also gives you charts that show how your influence has played out online over time, as well as a list of your influential areas. My influence, according to the site, includes authors, writing, movies, comics, and... food? Well, Klout is still in beta, so it's probably not perfect, but if you want to see how my influence is apparently felt across the internet, check it out here!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Levelling Up My Epub Skill
While I gear up for my tour a long time ago (this Friday), in a galaxy far, far away (in Disneyland), I'm working hard to get my anthology finished and ready to go online. All but one story is edited now, with appropriate changes made, and I'll be doing the second pass on my introduction today or tomorrow. This is really happening!
Meanwhile, I'm exploring Calibre with the intention of transforming .pdf files into .epub and .mobi for my grand scheme. My guinea pig in this effort is a revised and abridged version of the World of Warcraft blood elf paladin roleplay guide I wrote a couple years back, Chivalry & the Blood Knight Order. Seeing as how it's still racking up the hits on WoWFiction.net and spreading across such WoW sites as Sentinels Wiki and various server and guild forums, fans of my work might be interested in having my piece of community roleplay writing as an ebook. I still have a lot of work to do, mostly with the preservation of formatting between file types, but I'm making progress!
I'd also like to have a cover image done for the anthology, to make it look as professional as possible, but it's not a tragedy if I can't figure that part out. The important thing is getting my writing out to you, loyal followers, and to the world at large.
That's where things stand at the moment. I'll keep you updated on my progress here, and as always, you can make your inquiries in the comments section below. Thank you all for your support and encouragement through this grand ebook adventure!
Meanwhile, I'm exploring Calibre with the intention of transforming .pdf files into .epub and .mobi for my grand scheme. My guinea pig in this effort is a revised and abridged version of the World of Warcraft blood elf paladin roleplay guide I wrote a couple years back, Chivalry & the Blood Knight Order. Seeing as how it's still racking up the hits on WoWFiction.net and spreading across such WoW sites as Sentinels Wiki and various server and guild forums, fans of my work might be interested in having my piece of community roleplay writing as an ebook. I still have a lot of work to do, mostly with the preservation of formatting between file types, but I'm making progress!
I'd also like to have a cover image done for the anthology, to make it look as professional as possible, but it's not a tragedy if I can't figure that part out. The important thing is getting my writing out to you, loyal followers, and to the world at large.
That's where things stand at the moment. I'll keep you updated on my progress here, and as always, you can make your inquiries in the comments section below. Thank you all for your support and encouragement through this grand ebook adventure!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Day Two and Three of WriteOnCon
Okay, to make up for yesterday's lack of a Day Two review of WriteOnCon, I'll fold it into today's review of Day Three to make it an uber-post.
First of all, major kudos to the convention's founders/administrators/organizers - Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Jennifer Stayrook, and Lisa and Laura Roecker - for getting such a huge number of writers, agents and editors to take part in the first online convention for writers I've ever heard of. Blog posts, vlog posts, and live chats (both text and video) were presented in rapid fire and so smoothly to the eager writer aspirants in attendance. You ladies made it all look so easy!
Now to the meat of it. As a writer of YA (AKA young adult) fiction, it's always a good idea to know more about your community in the publishing world. WriteOnCon gives you the red carpet treatment as it welcomes you in, hands you your beverage of choice, and proceeds to roll out advice, tips and secrets of the kidlit world all from the comfort of your own softly humming computer. As much fun as it can be to go to a convention center and interact with people, getting caught in the press of the unwashed masses is something you'll never have to contend with here, nor will you have to leave one room to find another panel you want to sit in on at a different room. It's the ultimate in convenience - the convention quite literally comes to you at the click of a mouse button!
And what a convention! So much information is imparted from so many different sources in so many different ways, I'm still catching up on some of the posts from Day Two. Fortunately, the convention isn't going anywhere, even when it's over. For those of us who had to work throughout the bulk of the convention, all the information posted over the past three days will remain online for easy reference. As for the live segments, transcripts will be made available on the web site and video chats will be uploaded to YouTube. It sure beats having to scribble down notes in an overly air-conditioned hotel room, that's for sure.
I can't even begin to tell you how helpful the information imparted through this convention has been to me. There are questions I didn't even know I had that got answered, in addition to my own curious musings. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing my name pop up in the transcripts as my questions were posed to the professionals. (Even got a few of my humorous comments past the moderators and into public view - score!)
What were my favorite topics? I'm so glad you asked! Er, you didn't? But you were thinking it, right? Right? Right. Anyway...
Day Two was a racy day at the con, what with such topics like "Romance in YA," "Sex in YA: The ABC’s of Hooking Up," and "Authentic/Edgy YA" spread throughout the day. In addition, I gravitated instinctively toward the "Writing Genre Fiction," "Creating Memorable Characters," and the live chat where the topic was voice - both author's voice and character voice. For the record, though it's not written exactly as I posted it, the final question of that panel was one that I'd put through at the last minute, and got some good responses and a couple of books named as examples of my particular character voice question.
Day Three attempted to cover everything else that hadn't been said, and I'm still poking through a lot of it. The first topic I read about the moment I got to the site today was "Creating New Mythologies," not surprisingly. Beyond that, I was drawn into such topics as "Writing a Complete Story as Part of a Trilogy," "Writing Realistic, Captivating Dialog," and "The First Five Pages," which gave a sobering peek into how those first few pages of your manuscript will either net you an agent's request for more or a solid pass. The convention wrapped with the final chats, and I snuck in some comments and questions there, too. You'll just have to wait for the transcripts to see what made it and what didn't.
Now that it's over, I have the time to go back and read over every topic and revisit the ones that impacted me and my writing the most. As much research as I've done over the years on writing and publishing, you never really stop learning, and these three days presented me with a lot more ammunition to bring to bear as I get my trilogy up and running. I feel like I'm part of a grand community of writers going through a similar journey with their own manuscripts. More importantly, I feel like a successful writer for having made it this far. I may not be published yet, but I'm farther along than I've ever been, and I call that a win.
First of all, major kudos to the convention's founders/administrators/organizers - Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Jennifer Stayrook, and Lisa and Laura Roecker - for getting such a huge number of writers, agents and editors to take part in the first online convention for writers I've ever heard of. Blog posts, vlog posts, and live chats (both text and video) were presented in rapid fire and so smoothly to the eager writer aspirants in attendance. You ladies made it all look so easy!
Now to the meat of it. As a writer of YA (AKA young adult) fiction, it's always a good idea to know more about your community in the publishing world. WriteOnCon gives you the red carpet treatment as it welcomes you in, hands you your beverage of choice, and proceeds to roll out advice, tips and secrets of the kidlit world all from the comfort of your own softly humming computer. As much fun as it can be to go to a convention center and interact with people, getting caught in the press of the unwashed masses is something you'll never have to contend with here, nor will you have to leave one room to find another panel you want to sit in on at a different room. It's the ultimate in convenience - the convention quite literally comes to you at the click of a mouse button!
And what a convention! So much information is imparted from so many different sources in so many different ways, I'm still catching up on some of the posts from Day Two. Fortunately, the convention isn't going anywhere, even when it's over. For those of us who had to work throughout the bulk of the convention, all the information posted over the past three days will remain online for easy reference. As for the live segments, transcripts will be made available on the web site and video chats will be uploaded to YouTube. It sure beats having to scribble down notes in an overly air-conditioned hotel room, that's for sure.
I can't even begin to tell you how helpful the information imparted through this convention has been to me. There are questions I didn't even know I had that got answered, in addition to my own curious musings. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing my name pop up in the transcripts as my questions were posed to the professionals. (Even got a few of my humorous comments past the moderators and into public view - score!)
What were my favorite topics? I'm so glad you asked! Er, you didn't? But you were thinking it, right? Right? Right. Anyway...
Day Two was a racy day at the con, what with such topics like "Romance in YA," "Sex in YA: The ABC’s of Hooking Up," and "Authentic/Edgy YA" spread throughout the day. In addition, I gravitated instinctively toward the "Writing Genre Fiction," "Creating Memorable Characters," and the live chat where the topic was voice - both author's voice and character voice. For the record, though it's not written exactly as I posted it, the final question of that panel was one that I'd put through at the last minute, and got some good responses and a couple of books named as examples of my particular character voice question.
Day Three attempted to cover everything else that hadn't been said, and I'm still poking through a lot of it. The first topic I read about the moment I got to the site today was "Creating New Mythologies," not surprisingly. Beyond that, I was drawn into such topics as "Writing a Complete Story as Part of a Trilogy," "Writing Realistic, Captivating Dialog," and "The First Five Pages," which gave a sobering peek into how those first few pages of your manuscript will either net you an agent's request for more or a solid pass. The convention wrapped with the final chats, and I snuck in some comments and questions there, too. You'll just have to wait for the transcripts to see what made it and what didn't.
Now that it's over, I have the time to go back and read over every topic and revisit the ones that impacted me and my writing the most. As much research as I've done over the years on writing and publishing, you never really stop learning, and these three days presented me with a lot more ammunition to bring to bear as I get my trilogy up and running. I feel like I'm part of a grand community of writers going through a similar journey with their own manuscripts. More importantly, I feel like a successful writer for having made it this far. I may not be published yet, but I'm farther along than I've ever been, and I call that a win.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day One of WriteOnCon
Now that I've finished watching "Working With Agents and Editors: A Live Video Workshop with Literary Agent Mark McVeigh," I can officially declare that I've fallen in love with online conventions. Sure, there's nothing quite like meeting someone in person and shaking their hand, but the next best thing is hosting a free convention that is accessible anywhere there's internet service. That's what WriteOnCon is, a 100% online convention for kidlit writers that is totally free to attend. It's just like a regular convention - you have guest speakers, panels and the like, all geared toward a particular topic, all laid out over a few days - only you don't necessarily need to bring pen and paper to jot down notes, most of it is presented in a convenient text format! (You may want to jot down notes for the live video chats, though. While the questions are presented in text, the answers are given over live video chat!)
Most of the topics are geared specifically toward writing for a younger audience ("Illustrating Children's Books" and "Writing Middle Grade" stand out there), but there's also a lot of material that applies to every writer, such as "Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Revision" or "Give Yourself Permission." If you fancy yourself a writer, you owe it to yourself to check out the convention here and bookmark it for future reference. You'll be glad you did!
Most of the topics are geared specifically toward writing for a younger audience ("Illustrating Children's Books" and "Writing Middle Grade" stand out there), but there's also a lot of material that applies to every writer, such as "Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Revision" or "Give Yourself Permission." If you fancy yourself a writer, you owe it to yourself to check out the convention here and bookmark it for future reference. You'll be glad you did!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Gamer Geek
Yes, In addition to being a writer, I'm a gamer geek. It's how I landed a Geek Consultant title on a web series about LARP, and it's why I was running a tabletop roleplaying game last night for my friends instead of watching whatever major sports game was on TV. I'm a gamer geek, and I'm proud of it!
This was a big week for my fellow gamer geeks, because it marked the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. Yes indeed, all the major game companies (with a few exceptions) come out for E3 to show off their upcoming releases in games and gaming technology. Unfortunately, the convention is largely closed to the public, so guys like me can only get in if they somehow arrange temporary employment with one of the companies within to demo their games (like I did back in 2005). Fortunately, the press is all over this convention, and they faithfully report on the amazing announcements made within the convention halls so we can all drool in rabid anticipation of our favorite upcoming games.
I'm not going to go into detail on every little thing that was announced at E3. This isn't that kind of blog, and you can find plenty of websites that will happily note every little detail of every game revealed, with video footage of new game trailers and live game play demos. No, instead I'll be gleefully noting a handful of games that I'm looking forward to, discussed from a writer's perspective. That means the game is likely full of story - good story, at that - and not sports or random explosions. For example...
Epic Mickey: The first thing that grabs you about this game is the steampunk-ish art. Then there's the unique "combat" mechanic of using paint and paint thinner to affect the game world and the enemies within it. THEN there's the creamy center of an incredible story that brings in obscure elements of Disney's early animation and ties them together in new and interesting ways. The end result is a sort of retro feel to the game, re-imagining Mickey Mouse for a new audience who may not be familiar with his early work while remaining faithful to his origins. Do you want to play the mischievous Mickey of old who always gets into trouble? You can do that! Do you want to play the squeaky clean hero that Mickey has become in recent years? You can do that, too! It looks like the story is built around how Mickey interacts with his environment, and I'm most curious to see how the choices you make in the game affect the plot as it leads to the inevitable confrontation with Disney's forgotten creations.
Portal 2: GLaDOS is Still Alive and ready to begin testing once more! With the amazing success of what was originally a short and sweet puzzle game filled with quirky dialogue and portal projecting madness, this sequel is set up to give fans even more of what they loved from the first game, along with all-new mechanics to challenge Chell. That's right, the silent hero of the first Portal is back, released once again from stasis to jump through the mind-bending hoops set up by the sinister AI, GLaDOS. While the controls stay largely unchanged, there are new features in the environment that will challenge how you think with portals. But what about the story? Rather than reinventing the wheel with a new protagonist, they're keeping the Chell/GLaDOS dynamic in place to explore that continued relationship in the wake of the first Portal's ending. Add in a few other quirky AIs and you have even more characters to interact with in the course of the game. Of course, the question on my mind is this - will Chell ever free herself from the Enrichment Center? I guess we'll find out next year!
DC Universe Online: Okay, so a lot of people have given Sony flack for how they've mistreated their previous MMOS. I'm ready to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, considering how closely they've worked with DC Comics to bring the DCU to life in an online game. As a big fan of comics, I've been sadly disappointed with the superhero MMOs thus far, mostly because I want to play alongside recognizable heroes, not cheap knock-offs, and this game will finally deliver on that. Story-wise, I'm excited because they've been bringing on DC Comics writers to build their in-game quests and storylines while recruiting legendary artist Jim Lee to build the visual component of the game. This means we'll see less of the ol' "kill these creatures and bring me their toenails" quests and more along the lines of their Doomsday adventure, where you can either work with the good guys to thwart Superman's nemesis or work with the bad guys to recruit the big brute to the forces of evil. Story aside, however, I confess that there are two things that really make me want to play this game - running with the Flash using my own tricked-out speedster, and targeting Wonder Woman with a flirt emote. If I can do both of those things later this year, I'll be a happy geek.
Star Wars - The Old Republic: This is it, the Star Wars MMO I've been waiting for! If there's one thing I've learned about Bioware, it's that they rock at RPG games. They have great stories, great characters, and great dialogue... and we'll get all that and more in The Old Republic. Not only will this be the first MMO that has full voice-over for every character - yes, even yours! - it's also the first that has put a solid emphasis on story. There are cutscenes that propel your character's adventure forward in-between the action, and your choices in how to reply will affect how the story plays out. Make enough bad decisions that cost people lives, and you'll start to slip into the Dark Side. Choose to do the right thing, and you'll become a shining beacon of the Light Side. Anyone who has played their Knights of the Old Republic game is familiar with this mechanic, which means it's absolutely possible to have dark Jedi serving the Republic and Light Side Sith working within the Sith Empire. Plus, customizable characters! Player-owned starships! Companion characters you can banter with! This game is going to ROCK.
Okay, the geekgasm is over. Time for me to get back to writing the next short story. But first, maybe a quick round of Portal...
This was a big week for my fellow gamer geeks, because it marked the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. Yes indeed, all the major game companies (with a few exceptions) come out for E3 to show off their upcoming releases in games and gaming technology. Unfortunately, the convention is largely closed to the public, so guys like me can only get in if they somehow arrange temporary employment with one of the companies within to demo their games (like I did back in 2005). Fortunately, the press is all over this convention, and they faithfully report on the amazing announcements made within the convention halls so we can all drool in rabid anticipation of our favorite upcoming games.
I'm not going to go into detail on every little thing that was announced at E3. This isn't that kind of blog, and you can find plenty of websites that will happily note every little detail of every game revealed, with video footage of new game trailers and live game play demos. No, instead I'll be gleefully noting a handful of games that I'm looking forward to, discussed from a writer's perspective. That means the game is likely full of story - good story, at that - and not sports or random explosions. For example...
Epic Mickey: The first thing that grabs you about this game is the steampunk-ish art. Then there's the unique "combat" mechanic of using paint and paint thinner to affect the game world and the enemies within it. THEN there's the creamy center of an incredible story that brings in obscure elements of Disney's early animation and ties them together in new and interesting ways. The end result is a sort of retro feel to the game, re-imagining Mickey Mouse for a new audience who may not be familiar with his early work while remaining faithful to his origins. Do you want to play the mischievous Mickey of old who always gets into trouble? You can do that! Do you want to play the squeaky clean hero that Mickey has become in recent years? You can do that, too! It looks like the story is built around how Mickey interacts with his environment, and I'm most curious to see how the choices you make in the game affect the plot as it leads to the inevitable confrontation with Disney's forgotten creations.
Portal 2: GLaDOS is Still Alive and ready to begin testing once more! With the amazing success of what was originally a short and sweet puzzle game filled with quirky dialogue and portal projecting madness, this sequel is set up to give fans even more of what they loved from the first game, along with all-new mechanics to challenge Chell. That's right, the silent hero of the first Portal is back, released once again from stasis to jump through the mind-bending hoops set up by the sinister AI, GLaDOS. While the controls stay largely unchanged, there are new features in the environment that will challenge how you think with portals. But what about the story? Rather than reinventing the wheel with a new protagonist, they're keeping the Chell/GLaDOS dynamic in place to explore that continued relationship in the wake of the first Portal's ending. Add in a few other quirky AIs and you have even more characters to interact with in the course of the game. Of course, the question on my mind is this - will Chell ever free herself from the Enrichment Center? I guess we'll find out next year!
DC Universe Online: Okay, so a lot of people have given Sony flack for how they've mistreated their previous MMOS. I'm ready to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, considering how closely they've worked with DC Comics to bring the DCU to life in an online game. As a big fan of comics, I've been sadly disappointed with the superhero MMOs thus far, mostly because I want to play alongside recognizable heroes, not cheap knock-offs, and this game will finally deliver on that. Story-wise, I'm excited because they've been bringing on DC Comics writers to build their in-game quests and storylines while recruiting legendary artist Jim Lee to build the visual component of the game. This means we'll see less of the ol' "kill these creatures and bring me their toenails" quests and more along the lines of their Doomsday adventure, where you can either work with the good guys to thwart Superman's nemesis or work with the bad guys to recruit the big brute to the forces of evil. Story aside, however, I confess that there are two things that really make me want to play this game - running with the Flash using my own tricked-out speedster, and targeting Wonder Woman with a flirt emote. If I can do both of those things later this year, I'll be a happy geek.
Star Wars - The Old Republic: This is it, the Star Wars MMO I've been waiting for! If there's one thing I've learned about Bioware, it's that they rock at RPG games. They have great stories, great characters, and great dialogue... and we'll get all that and more in The Old Republic. Not only will this be the first MMO that has full voice-over for every character - yes, even yours! - it's also the first that has put a solid emphasis on story. There are cutscenes that propel your character's adventure forward in-between the action, and your choices in how to reply will affect how the story plays out. Make enough bad decisions that cost people lives, and you'll start to slip into the Dark Side. Choose to do the right thing, and you'll become a shining beacon of the Light Side. Anyone who has played their Knights of the Old Republic game is familiar with this mechanic, which means it's absolutely possible to have dark Jedi serving the Republic and Light Side Sith working within the Sith Empire. Plus, customizable characters! Player-owned starships! Companion characters you can banter with! This game is going to ROCK.
Okay, the geekgasm is over. Time for me to get back to writing the next short story. But first, maybe a quick round of Portal...
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
My Blog Is Now Networked
It's true - R. B. LeMoyne's Blog is now a part of NetworkedBlogs on Facebook. What does that mean, exactly? It means that, if you're on my Facebook fan page, you'll get instant updates through their news feed when there's a new entry to read. You can also Like, Rate and Share my blog easily with just a click. More than that, you can Follow my blog directly on Facebook by going to the page here!
So what are you waiting for? Spread the joy of my blog to your Facebook account today!
So what are you waiting for? Spread the joy of my blog to your Facebook account today!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hey, I'm On Facebook!
It's true! If you're a fellow Facebooker, you can check out my fan page here and join my small but devoted fan base. I'm also going to post updates on the page so you'll know the moment there's a new entry on my blog, as well as other exciting news about me and my writing!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Quick Take On The Shattered Glass Project
I'm spreading the word - not only is Jess Hartley an awesome writer and editor in the gaming community, I believe her project is an exciting sign of things to come for writers/ authors in the future. Lend your support to The Shattered Glass Project and support writers who think outside the box!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tools of the Trade
I’ve mentioned earlier in my blog a few items that are in my writing arsenal. Since it’s the holidays and sales are par for the course over the next couple weeks, I thought I’d discuss my writer’s assistants along with a few other things that aid in my wordcraft.
As a writer on the go, I’ll start with my portable writing companions first. Back when I was toiling through NaNoWriMo, I wanted something lightweight, compact but still capable of storing a novel-length work (and accompanying short stories), with the appropriate programs to allow me to store a large text document and transfer it to my desktop computer at the click of a button. I looked into laptops, but since I was still toiling away as a mere file clerk at that time, I wasn’t exactly rolling in the spending money. The answer was simple – a PDA would serve all the functions of a laptop that I needed in an affordable and easier to carry package. Enter the HP iPAQ rx1950 Pocket PC. This little beauty operates on Windows Mobile 5.0 and includes a basic version of MS Word for your writing needs, a memory card slot to expand its storage capacity, built-in WiFi for coffeeshop internet access, ActiveSynch to move your files to your desktop easily, and even has Windows Media Player if you want some video clips or music files to inspire you. You can even hit the easily accessible record button to dictate flashes of inspiration. The rx1950 is better than the Palm PDAs in that you can replace the battery if it ever craps out on you (and it will if you don’t keep it charged properly), but you have to be very gentle with tapping the stylus on the touch screen. Too much repetitive tapping in one area may damage your touchscreen. (Also, you can find the latest and greatest HP PDAs here.)
While we’re on the subject, a good accessory to this PDA is the Think Outside stowaway wireless IR keyboard. While it’s not quite a full-size laptop keyboard, the FN keys give you access to everything you need for touch typing so you don’t have to hunt and peck with the stylus to type. It corresponds well with the built-in infrared of the rx1950, folds up nicely for ease of storage, and it has an extremely long battery life to keep you typing well into the night.
My PDA carried me through much of the development on what would become my trilogy, but the actual writing of my three-book epic requires something a little more powerful, yet still affordable. For this, I turned to the HP Mini 110, a notebook laptop that has everything the techno-savvy writer needs to write away from home. It’s got Windows XP and the full Microsoft Office suite installed, which means I’ve got access to everything that I’d normally have on my desktop while I’m out and about. It’s got QuickSynch capability, so transferring your files back and forth is just as easy as with the PDA, and I’d dare say that it’s easier to use the Mini’s built-in WiFi capability for those moments when I need to fact-check something online. It’s not as versatile as your average laptop – there’s no CD/DVD drive, but there are three USB ports to plug in everything from flash drives to headphones and everything in-between, and the optional 6-cell battery puts the Mini at a nice angle to use the keyboard comfortably. I’ve only had it for a couple months so I don’t know what drawbacks might crop up after a year or two of constant use, but I’ve fallen in love with it already. (And again, you can find more HP laptop options here.)
Not every tool of the writer’s trade has to be high tech, though. Some of the best are actually very mundane. I tend to keep a stack of index cards on my desk for jotting down the odd note, or for writing out summaries of my chapters to see if they need to be rearranged to improve story flow. There’s also something to be said for carrying around a pad of paper, if you want to go that route, too. Both options require a reliable pen on hand at all times, and I’ve got them scattered everywhere. A writer without a pen, after all, defeats the classic stereotype.
And there you have it, the equipment in my writing arsenal. There are others, of course, including digital recorders, cell phones and Blackberry devices, and even Post-it notes. Not all of them will be your cup of tea, but with a little experimentation, you may find just the right tool to aid you with your own wordcraft.
As a writer on the go, I’ll start with my portable writing companions first. Back when I was toiling through NaNoWriMo, I wanted something lightweight, compact but still capable of storing a novel-length work (and accompanying short stories), with the appropriate programs to allow me to store a large text document and transfer it to my desktop computer at the click of a button. I looked into laptops, but since I was still toiling away as a mere file clerk at that time, I wasn’t exactly rolling in the spending money. The answer was simple – a PDA would serve all the functions of a laptop that I needed in an affordable and easier to carry package. Enter the HP iPAQ rx1950 Pocket PC. This little beauty operates on Windows Mobile 5.0 and includes a basic version of MS Word for your writing needs, a memory card slot to expand its storage capacity, built-in WiFi for coffeeshop internet access, ActiveSynch to move your files to your desktop easily, and even has Windows Media Player if you want some video clips or music files to inspire you. You can even hit the easily accessible record button to dictate flashes of inspiration. The rx1950 is better than the Palm PDAs in that you can replace the battery if it ever craps out on you (and it will if you don’t keep it charged properly), but you have to be very gentle with tapping the stylus on the touch screen. Too much repetitive tapping in one area may damage your touchscreen. (Also, you can find the latest and greatest HP PDAs here.)
While we’re on the subject, a good accessory to this PDA is the Think Outside stowaway wireless IR keyboard. While it’s not quite a full-size laptop keyboard, the FN keys give you access to everything you need for touch typing so you don’t have to hunt and peck with the stylus to type. It corresponds well with the built-in infrared of the rx1950, folds up nicely for ease of storage, and it has an extremely long battery life to keep you typing well into the night.
My PDA carried me through much of the development on what would become my trilogy, but the actual writing of my three-book epic requires something a little more powerful, yet still affordable. For this, I turned to the HP Mini 110, a notebook laptop that has everything the techno-savvy writer needs to write away from home. It’s got Windows XP and the full Microsoft Office suite installed, which means I’ve got access to everything that I’d normally have on my desktop while I’m out and about. It’s got QuickSynch capability, so transferring your files back and forth is just as easy as with the PDA, and I’d dare say that it’s easier to use the Mini’s built-in WiFi capability for those moments when I need to fact-check something online. It’s not as versatile as your average laptop – there’s no CD/DVD drive, but there are three USB ports to plug in everything from flash drives to headphones and everything in-between, and the optional 6-cell battery puts the Mini at a nice angle to use the keyboard comfortably. I’ve only had it for a couple months so I don’t know what drawbacks might crop up after a year or two of constant use, but I’ve fallen in love with it already. (And again, you can find more HP laptop options here.)
Not every tool of the writer’s trade has to be high tech, though. Some of the best are actually very mundane. I tend to keep a stack of index cards on my desk for jotting down the odd note, or for writing out summaries of my chapters to see if they need to be rearranged to improve story flow. There’s also something to be said for carrying around a pad of paper, if you want to go that route, too. Both options require a reliable pen on hand at all times, and I’ve got them scattered everywhere. A writer without a pen, after all, defeats the classic stereotype.
And there you have it, the equipment in my writing arsenal. There are others, of course, including digital recorders, cell phones and Blackberry devices, and even Post-it notes. Not all of them will be your cup of tea, but with a little experimentation, you may find just the right tool to aid you with your own wordcraft.
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