FloatingPoint Blog

Well, it is NanoWriMo (2008) kick off time. Horray!

Good luck fellow Writers

Glen

At the Bismarck Barnes & Noble, around Tues. 7pm, Oct. 28. We are having a Wordsmiths meeting. The public is welcome to attend or join.

= It is NanoWriMo - Write a Novel time again. Last year, about mid-November, I got off track, and stopped really writing. Hopefully, I'll try some new ideas, this year, and complete it.

Barnes & Nobles has a new "My B&N" site. Curious, myself, I just check the forums, occasionally.

Glen

• Blogging is the easiest way, to put the word out.
• Don't blog to hurt others, make people angry, or offend others. (D Winer - case in point. Your reputation is at stake.)
• Why do I blog? Not going to say!
• Just trying to be interesting & help the world.

= However, here is another spin on it.

"Blogging isn't an end, but a means to an end—just one tool (and not always the best one) that you can use to spread the message that you are (or you publish) an interesting person who has something to say about the human condition worth paying attention to.If you can't bring yourself to do that, you need to step back and consider some very fundamental questions about why you want to be a writer or a publisher. It would be great if we could just drop a book on the table and expect everyone to be bowled over by its intrinsic rightness—but we all know that's not going to happen. So we've got to go out into the world, and present our authentic selves in such a manner that what we have to say will resonate with others when they come across us in their own wanderings.

Galleycat

Also: Should Authors Even Bother Blogging?

Glen

One of the last of the greatest Science Fiction writers has died.

= We owe him such a debt of thanks for broadening our horizons.
= If you can believe it or not? Life in the 1950s to 1960s was far more basic, than today. Computers were something only major Corporations, rented or "perhaps?" owned one. Apple and Microsoft were just a dream and Intel didn't exist.
= Computer Science didn't even become a regular degree offering till after 1970.

The movie 2001 made him an household name.

Glen

It is only natural, we all get stumped on new ideas, what was that word, and spur of the moment - thoughts.

= One of the tricks, I use is to think of words with association.

For instance, it is handy in new situations, to consider other factors in relationship to the problem. Obviously, the first problem is identification. Then, finding the property to describe it's nature. This is where association games come into play.

Glen

My attempts at a novel for 2007, didn't work out. My month started off and I reached 15k words, within about two weeks. (K for thousand.)

However, the drain of the Holiday season and long days. Just made it out of reach.

Plus, like my fellow Nano authors admit. It seems for 50k words. There are only a good 12--20k in there, of real substance. My venture into Nano, this year was for the fun of it. It was also to test some GTD ideas, of Nano.

Nano purports you need a deadline and I agree. This is an important part of successful projects. Starting with a progressive calendar to focus only on one chore -- is useful.

However, putting all too many trivial tasks off is important, too. This is where delegation and mandating others contribute positive effort, to the tasks is needed.

Glen

PS. There are more Nano posts, here.

November started as a quiet month. It is a little hard doing 2,000 words a day. Especially, when you don't know. What your characters are going to do, next.

One needs inspriation.

Glen

= Yes, I am a Science Fiction writer. Why?

1. Simple, I enjoy reading SciFi the most.
2. Unlike, other fiction, you can write almost anything, and still call it SciFi.
3. Yes, I have seen some SciFi shows, have no idea. How is that Science Fiction? (Some of the Horror SciFi novels - come to mind.)
4. Technology is my friend, so I hope. Ergo, electronics, computers, robots, questioning other cultures, studying history, knowing our commonalities; all things I perceive in our world.

Glen

Genre: n 1: a kind of literary or artistic work - WordNet v2.0

Oh, to use the humble comma, or not to use thee?

That is the question.

• Several writers are guilty of writing too long sentences.
• Other writers, just write fragments.
• Yes, I try to be niether. However, perfect prose does allude me.
• My opinion, I side on using commas. Better to have a sentence with some pause, for breathing. Don't you think?

Glen