Bill Conrad's Blog, page 22
October 20, 2021
My Dear Friend
On June third of this year, my computer’s processor failed. Getting it working was an epic journey of frustration:
http://interviewingimmortality.com/bl...
Since my reboot (of course, I used a computer term) I have reflected upon this incident and the place in my life that my computer occupies. The adventure forced me to realize my computer is a profoundly essential part of my life, in some ways more important than my car. I suppose we cannot truly understand how important something is until we lose it. The time apart from my computer was brief but unexpectedly difficult. The loss added stress to my life, and after my computer returned, I was not the same for at least three weeks.
Because of this incident, I changed the way I back up my system. After every writing secession, every single Microsoft Word file gets backed up on a separate drive I installed for this single purpose. Before, I backed up every 1-3 weeks depending on my mood or if I needed to open the safe.
This new scheme made me wonder why I could not accept a few days of lost effort. I think my paranoia stems from the way I think linearly and set logical goals. Every writing aspect has to be organized and pondered well in advance. Unfortunately, that life plan does not include re-starting a project, and I have difficulty conceiving such a reality.
I was willing to wait six weeks to avoid losing one week of editing work. How would I describe this behavior? The term obsessive covers my actions.
My blogs fall into this same category. I obsess over them and would hate to re-start/re-edit one. That darn linear thinking. However, there was a benefit. My obsessive backups took the pressure off my life. I also did a better job of backing up files I keep in the safe.
Losing something is never easy, and we certainly appreciate getting it returned. I am happy to have my computer back, and I still need to name her. Does she feel like a Sarah or Gwen? Hmm. “Grace” popped into my head as I was editing. This task will be something to ponder while I am typing away late at night in the warm glow of my returned friend, whom I missed so dearly.
http://interviewingimmortality.com/bl...
Since my reboot (of course, I used a computer term) I have reflected upon this incident and the place in my life that my computer occupies. The adventure forced me to realize my computer is a profoundly essential part of my life, in some ways more important than my car. I suppose we cannot truly understand how important something is until we lose it. The time apart from my computer was brief but unexpectedly difficult. The loss added stress to my life, and after my computer returned, I was not the same for at least three weeks.
Because of this incident, I changed the way I back up my system. After every writing secession, every single Microsoft Word file gets backed up on a separate drive I installed for this single purpose. Before, I backed up every 1-3 weeks depending on my mood or if I needed to open the safe.
This new scheme made me wonder why I could not accept a few days of lost effort. I think my paranoia stems from the way I think linearly and set logical goals. Every writing aspect has to be organized and pondered well in advance. Unfortunately, that life plan does not include re-starting a project, and I have difficulty conceiving such a reality.
I was willing to wait six weeks to avoid losing one week of editing work. How would I describe this behavior? The term obsessive covers my actions.
My blogs fall into this same category. I obsess over them and would hate to re-start/re-edit one. That darn linear thinking. However, there was a benefit. My obsessive backups took the pressure off my life. I also did a better job of backing up files I keep in the safe.
Losing something is never easy, and we certainly appreciate getting it returned. I am happy to have my computer back, and I still need to name her. Does she feel like a Sarah or Gwen? Hmm. “Grace” popped into my head as I was editing. This task will be something to ponder while I am typing away late at night in the warm glow of my returned friend, whom I missed so dearly.
October 13, 2021
My Favorite Books
My recent blogs have concentrated on the writing process, and while my four blog readers find such topics interesting, the goal of this blog is to hook readers and get them to click BUY IT NOW.
What do readers what to see in a blog? They want to read about reading. Game on! Let’s discuss my favorite books. I lightly touched on this topic in the past, but I did not provide a formal list. However, there is a problem. I read often and have nearly 300 book reviews on Goodreads. Listing them all would be overwhelming, so I only selected the tip of the iceberg.
I need to start with the brilliant authors. Douglas Adams, Tom Clancy, Ken Follett, Alex Berenson, Jack London, and Neil Gaiman. All their books were fantastic, and most of my storytelling style came from reading their works.
There are a few other books that stand out:
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Coalwood series by Homer Hickam
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
Mars and Venus series by John Gray
Digital Apollo by David Mindell
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
All the Trouble in the World by P.J. O'Rourke
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
Wow, that is probably not the list you were expecting. The Mars and Venus series? That book changed my life, and I think schools should make this series required reading.
Should my four blog readers go out and download all these titles? Allow me to reveal a secret to selecting the best movie or book to read. If somebody shares a list of titles they like, compare the list to your own favorites. If you have already enjoyed a few of these titles, take a closer look at the titles you have not experienced. If an overlap is not present, I will pass on the recommendations.
What does this list say about me? I like stories that make readers think. None of the titles are lighthearted (except for Douglas Adams.) However, we can see some missing categories: romance, western, drama, political, religious/spiritual, and fantasy.
Do I have a must-read book? The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman comes to mind. Will this book change your life? Not really, but it is still a good read.
It is good to think about our lives from a high-level perspective, and developing a list of favorites is a good idea. I also think sharing certain lists of things with others. However, it is also essential to remain lighthearted. If my above books are not to your liking, that is fine. We all have differences, and life would be boring without them.
What do readers what to see in a blog? They want to read about reading. Game on! Let’s discuss my favorite books. I lightly touched on this topic in the past, but I did not provide a formal list. However, there is a problem. I read often and have nearly 300 book reviews on Goodreads. Listing them all would be overwhelming, so I only selected the tip of the iceberg.
I need to start with the brilliant authors. Douglas Adams, Tom Clancy, Ken Follett, Alex Berenson, Jack London, and Neil Gaiman. All their books were fantastic, and most of my storytelling style came from reading their works.
There are a few other books that stand out:
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Coalwood series by Homer Hickam
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
Mars and Venus series by John Gray
Digital Apollo by David Mindell
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
All the Trouble in the World by P.J. O'Rourke
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
Wow, that is probably not the list you were expecting. The Mars and Venus series? That book changed my life, and I think schools should make this series required reading.
Should my four blog readers go out and download all these titles? Allow me to reveal a secret to selecting the best movie or book to read. If somebody shares a list of titles they like, compare the list to your own favorites. If you have already enjoyed a few of these titles, take a closer look at the titles you have not experienced. If an overlap is not present, I will pass on the recommendations.
What does this list say about me? I like stories that make readers think. None of the titles are lighthearted (except for Douglas Adams.) However, we can see some missing categories: romance, western, drama, political, religious/spiritual, and fantasy.
Do I have a must-read book? The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman comes to mind. Will this book change your life? Not really, but it is still a good read.
It is good to think about our lives from a high-level perspective, and developing a list of favorites is a good idea. I also think sharing certain lists of things with others. However, it is also essential to remain lighthearted. If my above books are not to your liking, that is fine. We all have differences, and life would be boring without them.
October 6, 2021
Mistakes Are the Plot
If we think about any factual story, much of the drama resulted from mistakes. In hindsight, we can easily spot incorrect decisions that should have been obvious. Before I write further, I think I should define the term “mistake” for this blog. A mistake is something that we have knowledge about and still make an incorrect decision.
A real-life example would be a person who rides a bicycle without wearing a helmet and gets injured. We see the apparent mistake using hindsight because the bike rider had enough knowledge to see what could happen. There is a distinction between this example and the injury resulting from an experienced rider crashing because they misjudged a turn. What if the experienced rider went too fast? This is not a mistake because hindsight does not reveal an obvious problem (the rider had fast riding experience and took precautions like wearing a helmet.)
If I were to write about this helmet incident, it would be an exciting story. The moments up the crash would be vetted, and readers would expect the impending injury because they know what it means to ride without a helmet. What if the collision did not take place? IE, the rider did not put on their helmet and had a pleasant ride? Not an exciting story. “Bob rode his bike and came home.”
Now, wait, other things can happen on a bike ride. Bob could meet another rider, find $100, fall off, or get chased by a mountain lion. All true, but such incidents are added drama because they could not be predicted. (To my blog readers. If you know a bike trail with $100 bills sprinkled around, please let me know.) However, there is another aspect. Bob does not learn a lesson from a pleasant ride.
What about foreshadowing? Is this not the same thing? This is a related term, but foreshowing implies impending doom. For example, riding on an icy road without a helmet would be an obvious example of foreshowing.
I like plots with mistakes. It is excellent character-building quality, and adding mistakes hooks the reader into the story. For example, after the bike crash, there is a “see, I told you so” connection in the back of the reader's mind. They can also visualize themselves making that same mistake. Then, as the rider recovers, the reader relates to the healing process and this new attitude of “maybe I should start wearing a helmet.”
Mistakes come in all sizes and end in all kinds of consequences. The reader has experienced their own mistakes, which helps them to connect to the character. Even a simple mistake like a character forgetting another character’s name is a good hook. Such events make the character seem real. On the other hand, a character who is perfect is not relatable or fun.
In life, we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. I think this applies to plots as well. The best plots have the best mistakes. Do my blogs have fantastic mistakes? Umm, I hope not.
A real-life example would be a person who rides a bicycle without wearing a helmet and gets injured. We see the apparent mistake using hindsight because the bike rider had enough knowledge to see what could happen. There is a distinction between this example and the injury resulting from an experienced rider crashing because they misjudged a turn. What if the experienced rider went too fast? This is not a mistake because hindsight does not reveal an obvious problem (the rider had fast riding experience and took precautions like wearing a helmet.)
If I were to write about this helmet incident, it would be an exciting story. The moments up the crash would be vetted, and readers would expect the impending injury because they know what it means to ride without a helmet. What if the collision did not take place? IE, the rider did not put on their helmet and had a pleasant ride? Not an exciting story. “Bob rode his bike and came home.”
Now, wait, other things can happen on a bike ride. Bob could meet another rider, find $100, fall off, or get chased by a mountain lion. All true, but such incidents are added drama because they could not be predicted. (To my blog readers. If you know a bike trail with $100 bills sprinkled around, please let me know.) However, there is another aspect. Bob does not learn a lesson from a pleasant ride.
What about foreshadowing? Is this not the same thing? This is a related term, but foreshowing implies impending doom. For example, riding on an icy road without a helmet would be an obvious example of foreshowing.
I like plots with mistakes. It is excellent character-building quality, and adding mistakes hooks the reader into the story. For example, after the bike crash, there is a “see, I told you so” connection in the back of the reader's mind. They can also visualize themselves making that same mistake. Then, as the rider recovers, the reader relates to the healing process and this new attitude of “maybe I should start wearing a helmet.”
Mistakes come in all sizes and end in all kinds of consequences. The reader has experienced their own mistakes, which helps them to connect to the character. Even a simple mistake like a character forgetting another character’s name is a good hook. Such events make the character seem real. On the other hand, a character who is perfect is not relatable or fun.
In life, we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. I think this applies to plots as well. The best plots have the best mistakes. Do my blogs have fantastic mistakes? Umm, I hope not.
September 29, 2021
Double/Single Space
I occasionally watch "Epic rap battles" on YouTube. They are funny musical debates between two prominent figures. The subject is historical or scientific. For example, Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla discuss electricity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1Mz...
I wish they would have an epic rap battle about using single space versus double space. I refer to the two spaces after a period and entering two returns at the end of each line. While this blog topic seems simple, there is significant debate. Where did double spaces come from? The best answer is that newspapers and books used to have poor printing technology. It was difficult to see the period, and lines of print often ran into each other. (The text was not always parallel.)
My teachers taught me to add two spaces after each period on the typewriter and use double (extra return) spacing for important documents. To me, a sentence does not look correct unless there are two spaces after each period. However, the entire fiction of the period is, "You have completed a thought. Stop typing and move on to the next sentence."
The same is true with double spacing between lines. When writers use this technique, the document “looks important” and should be must taken seriously. Single-spaced documents “look casual.”
Society and computers have moved beyond double spaces. Paper is expensive, and so are digital bits. I agree, but my space bar does not. When I write, I still use two spaces after every period. I cannot shut it off.
Let's put an end to this topic. I give myself a magic wand. What do I want the world to do? Hmm. The answer is nothing. Saving paper is excellent advice for the planet, and we need to eliminate double spaces from all future documents. I really need to use the magic wand on myself and blank out the mental path that puts in two spaces after a period and ignores double-spaced documents. There, I did it again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1Mz...
I wish they would have an epic rap battle about using single space versus double space. I refer to the two spaces after a period and entering two returns at the end of each line. While this blog topic seems simple, there is significant debate. Where did double spaces come from? The best answer is that newspapers and books used to have poor printing technology. It was difficult to see the period, and lines of print often ran into each other. (The text was not always parallel.)
My teachers taught me to add two spaces after each period on the typewriter and use double (extra return) spacing for important documents. To me, a sentence does not look correct unless there are two spaces after each period. However, the entire fiction of the period is, "You have completed a thought. Stop typing and move on to the next sentence."
The same is true with double spacing between lines. When writers use this technique, the document “looks important” and should be must taken seriously. Single-spaced documents “look casual.”
Society and computers have moved beyond double spaces. Paper is expensive, and so are digital bits. I agree, but my space bar does not. When I write, I still use two spaces after every period. I cannot shut it off.
Let's put an end to this topic. I give myself a magic wand. What do I want the world to do? Hmm. The answer is nothing. Saving paper is excellent advice for the planet, and we need to eliminate double spaces from all future documents. I really need to use the magic wand on myself and blank out the mental path that puts in two spaces after a period and ignores double-spaced documents. There, I did it again.
September 22, 2021
That Editing Feel
I now understand editing is a left-brain artistic process and not a technical one. The fundamental difference is the attitude that one enters the process with. Editing requires a zen atmosphere, which comes from a relaxed mind. On the other hand, the actual editing (typing, grammar, story logic, flow, and spelling) is a technical right-brain activity.
What does editing feel like? The answer is nothing. Good editing requires blank emotions. If I am angry, upset, preoccupied, tired, hungry, bored, or frustrated, then things go wrong right from the start. So, I have learned that if I sense any hesitation, I immediately stop. Otherwise, it takes an enormous amount of effort to undo the damage. I find editing to be enjoyable, relaxing, and fun. It is like I am running on automatic and have become a crazy passenger watching the story from 30,000 feet.
When I edit, I have a specific goal which is a right-brain beginning. For example, locating errors or attacking dialog. However, I sometimes edit for fun. Or is this security? By security, I mean maintaining a “warm fuzzy” feeling that the document is ready for others to read.
During the process, words absently enter my mind. Once processed, the words are corrected if needed. That's it. There is no excitement, joy, anger, or reaction. I am like The Terminator. Well, this is not entirely true. I get upset when I discover a big mistake, and I get excited about the plot. However, these positive and negative feelings have decreased over the years.
While editing, I continue until I notice I am no longer in the blank mindset. Sometimes this occurs when I uncover a significant issue. 30% of the time, I can switch to a different document, and the blank slate returns.
What is the difference between editing and writing? When I write, the feeling is adventurous, engaging, forward-thinking, and focused. My mindset is 20% on the last sentence, 30% on the topic, 10% on the following sentence, and 40% on the present sentence. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, story, plot, and other super important aspects are on autopilot. The zen slate is also not present. Writing is an active and engaging process that requires right-brain activity. Yet my stories are all left brain, idealistic, and thought-provoking. Hmm. Something to think about.
What about professional editors? I do not know how they work their magic. If somebody forced me to be an editor, I would be terrible. Granted, I occasionally edit other people's work.
I still find editing enjoyable, but I cannot always get in the mood. I am lucky that at the moment, I have many documents to work with. Yet, I see the same mistakes repeated. Hmm. Something to blog about.
What does editing feel like? The answer is nothing. Good editing requires blank emotions. If I am angry, upset, preoccupied, tired, hungry, bored, or frustrated, then things go wrong right from the start. So, I have learned that if I sense any hesitation, I immediately stop. Otherwise, it takes an enormous amount of effort to undo the damage. I find editing to be enjoyable, relaxing, and fun. It is like I am running on automatic and have become a crazy passenger watching the story from 30,000 feet.
When I edit, I have a specific goal which is a right-brain beginning. For example, locating errors or attacking dialog. However, I sometimes edit for fun. Or is this security? By security, I mean maintaining a “warm fuzzy” feeling that the document is ready for others to read.
During the process, words absently enter my mind. Once processed, the words are corrected if needed. That's it. There is no excitement, joy, anger, or reaction. I am like The Terminator. Well, this is not entirely true. I get upset when I discover a big mistake, and I get excited about the plot. However, these positive and negative feelings have decreased over the years.
While editing, I continue until I notice I am no longer in the blank mindset. Sometimes this occurs when I uncover a significant issue. 30% of the time, I can switch to a different document, and the blank slate returns.
What is the difference between editing and writing? When I write, the feeling is adventurous, engaging, forward-thinking, and focused. My mindset is 20% on the last sentence, 30% on the topic, 10% on the following sentence, and 40% on the present sentence. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, story, plot, and other super important aspects are on autopilot. The zen slate is also not present. Writing is an active and engaging process that requires right-brain activity. Yet my stories are all left brain, idealistic, and thought-provoking. Hmm. Something to think about.
What about professional editors? I do not know how they work their magic. If somebody forced me to be an editor, I would be terrible. Granted, I occasionally edit other people's work.
I still find editing enjoyable, but I cannot always get in the mood. I am lucky that at the moment, I have many documents to work with. Yet, I see the same mistakes repeated. Hmm. Something to blog about.
September 16, 2021
My First Second Edition
Five years ago, I published my first book, Interviewing Immortality. Since that amazing event, a few people read it and offered praise. This positive energy felt great, and I cherish every single compliment. However, a few readers discovered errors and suggested improvements.
I planned to update this book in the distant future, but the pile of mistakes was too big to ignore. So, two weeks ago, I started editing a second edition. Most updates focused on dialog integration, which is the supporting words surrounding a character’s spoken words. Since I wrote Interviewing Immortality, I have learned better techniques and the result are more readable. In addition, I trimmed flowery descriptions to improve the flow. I also corrected fundamental typos and clarified sections. However, I did not add or change the story because I respected my original work despite the plot flaws.
My first pass was messy. I moved sentences, added dialog support and fixed many errors. I also clarified and deleted unnecessary junk. When I finished the pass, the results looked good. The original story still holds up, and the problems were not as bad as I feared. However, I uncovered some large errors that my readers failed to point out.
My second pass used Prowriting Aid and Grammarly to take a deep dive into sentence mechanics. Unfortunately, this pass revealed many issues which took two solid weeks to correct. My last pass looked at all the changes to make sure the results made sense. Fortunately, I did a good job and only had a few single word tweaks.
What did I learn from this adventure? Taking a high-level view, many issues came out of a flawed writing goal. "I want to make this paragraph as long as possible. Readers get impressed by an enormous book." I have since learned to do a better job at trimming away wordy messes. On the flip side of this issue, I am better at explaining (describing) concepts which are in my head but in words.
Overall, I altered ~10%. The big changes were deleting three long-winded paragraphs. They did not add to the story and slowed down the flow. The overall word count went from 65 thousand words to 60 or a reduction of 0.9%.
I discovered many big grammar and spelling mistakes. There were two sentences without periods, one extra space between a period and a quote (“Like this. “) I found several misspelled words and encountered my old patterns: appreciated/appreciated, imbursed/embarrassed. Plus, the epic battle between less and fewer. Finally, I loaded the coma shotgun and blasted away until my keyboard was red with blood.
I feel bitter-sweet about the ultimate result. I am pleased with my original story, but the many changes disappointed me. Nevertheless, this re-writing pilgrimage shows me how much my writing ability has improved, and that realization is something to be proud of.
There is another aspect to think about. I can release a second edition. In school or a job, when you turn in your report, there is no second chance. I have read many books with ten editions. It looks like I have something to look forward to. Is this blog going to require a second edition? Hmm. So far, I have not tweaked my earlier blogs. Something not to look forward to.
I planned to update this book in the distant future, but the pile of mistakes was too big to ignore. So, two weeks ago, I started editing a second edition. Most updates focused on dialog integration, which is the supporting words surrounding a character’s spoken words. Since I wrote Interviewing Immortality, I have learned better techniques and the result are more readable. In addition, I trimmed flowery descriptions to improve the flow. I also corrected fundamental typos and clarified sections. However, I did not add or change the story because I respected my original work despite the plot flaws.
My first pass was messy. I moved sentences, added dialog support and fixed many errors. I also clarified and deleted unnecessary junk. When I finished the pass, the results looked good. The original story still holds up, and the problems were not as bad as I feared. However, I uncovered some large errors that my readers failed to point out.
My second pass used Prowriting Aid and Grammarly to take a deep dive into sentence mechanics. Unfortunately, this pass revealed many issues which took two solid weeks to correct. My last pass looked at all the changes to make sure the results made sense. Fortunately, I did a good job and only had a few single word tweaks.
What did I learn from this adventure? Taking a high-level view, many issues came out of a flawed writing goal. "I want to make this paragraph as long as possible. Readers get impressed by an enormous book." I have since learned to do a better job at trimming away wordy messes. On the flip side of this issue, I am better at explaining (describing) concepts which are in my head but in words.
Overall, I altered ~10%. The big changes were deleting three long-winded paragraphs. They did not add to the story and slowed down the flow. The overall word count went from 65 thousand words to 60 or a reduction of 0.9%.
I discovered many big grammar and spelling mistakes. There were two sentences without periods, one extra space between a period and a quote (“Like this. “) I found several misspelled words and encountered my old patterns: appreciated/appreciated, imbursed/embarrassed. Plus, the epic battle between less and fewer. Finally, I loaded the coma shotgun and blasted away until my keyboard was red with blood.
I feel bitter-sweet about the ultimate result. I am pleased with my original story, but the many changes disappointed me. Nevertheless, this re-writing pilgrimage shows me how much my writing ability has improved, and that realization is something to be proud of.
There is another aspect to think about. I can release a second edition. In school or a job, when you turn in your report, there is no second chance. I have read many books with ten editions. It looks like I have something to look forward to. Is this blog going to require a second edition? Hmm. So far, I have not tweaked my earlier blogs. Something not to look forward to.
September 15, 2021
New Book!!
I just released a new book! Please check it out:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
September 8, 2021
My Dirty Laundry
In my past blogs, I revealed a writing tick; I duplicate my thoughts. Sometimes this occurs in the same sentence. After much consideration, I now understand I need to reiterate my point. Doing it twice for good measure. See, I did it again.
It took a while to identify this tick, and when I write, I duplicate my thoughts less often. So I thought it would be a fun exercise to collect a few boo-boo's and discuss them. Without further ado, here they are:
"I'm not sure how to feel right now," Gabe said in a weak voice. "I don't know what to feel."
I guess Gabe really wanted us to know he did not know. I must have edited this section ten times over two years. Wow.
That night, Gabe spent the evening looking for new jobs in the likely event that tomorrow would be his last day.
Knowing it would be his last day was important. Day, day, day!
Chastising a person for not having experience is not nice. Should all those teachers and employers talked down to me? No, but it is human nature to feel superior.
These three sentences are from a recent blog, and the issues are more subtle. Still, this is confusing.
Without speaking, team members quietly took images.
Quietly being quiet for quiet's sake. Quietly.
I did not understand, and it took eight seconds to comprehend that somebody had spoken to me.
This sentence is like watching a car crash into another car and then crash into a third.
In all off-world instances, an ACO has full authority. We have full authority to contain the situation by any means necessary.
Apparently, they have full authority to keep speaking.
Steve showed me an amazing mind self-explore. It's amazing.
Is it amazzzzing?
Russell let out an enormous sigh. "The Racer X key breach," he guessed with a big sigh.
How many times can a person sigh?
The result was a bloody mess. She turned to look at the man she had been struggling with. There was blood all over him and the wall.
I wonder if I got any blood on my keyboard?
There were many great scenes and descriptions. This is an outstanding first work with tight dialog, crisp scenes, and wonderful descriptions.
These two sentences are from a book review, and the amount of duplication is hysterical. What was I thinking? Thinking?
Afterward, each franchise went back to doing their traditional work, and the two groups never interacted again. It is unlikely we will ever see the two characters legitimately together again.
Wow, these two really do not want to be together.
We are counting on you to make successful contact with my son. All three of our lives depend on your success.
A successfully unnecessary second successful sentence.
During the long flight, the family interacted little. Emma looked straight ahead for the entire flight with her hand on Kim's leg.
Apparently, it is essential to communicate how long the flight was.
When I opened the box, I found my laptop, Arturo's knife, and my other Dawson's Creek notebook inside the box.
Did I open the box twice?
His hands shook, and I thought he would fall over. He almost fell over while staggering out of the room.
I uncovered these two sentences an hour ago. It made me so mad that I had to get up and walk around.
We all have our minor problems, and I should be grateful for not having severe writing issues. What does this tick say about my writing? I am passionate about my topics but inexperienced about how to express them. Wow, I wrote a lucid sentence. What a spectacular sentence. I did it again. Darn it!
It took a while to identify this tick, and when I write, I duplicate my thoughts less often. So I thought it would be a fun exercise to collect a few boo-boo's and discuss them. Without further ado, here they are:
"I'm not sure how to feel right now," Gabe said in a weak voice. "I don't know what to feel."
I guess Gabe really wanted us to know he did not know. I must have edited this section ten times over two years. Wow.
That night, Gabe spent the evening looking for new jobs in the likely event that tomorrow would be his last day.
Knowing it would be his last day was important. Day, day, day!
Chastising a person for not having experience is not nice. Should all those teachers and employers talked down to me? No, but it is human nature to feel superior.
These three sentences are from a recent blog, and the issues are more subtle. Still, this is confusing.
Without speaking, team members quietly took images.
Quietly being quiet for quiet's sake. Quietly.
I did not understand, and it took eight seconds to comprehend that somebody had spoken to me.
This sentence is like watching a car crash into another car and then crash into a third.
In all off-world instances, an ACO has full authority. We have full authority to contain the situation by any means necessary.
Apparently, they have full authority to keep speaking.
Steve showed me an amazing mind self-explore. It's amazing.
Is it amazzzzing?
Russell let out an enormous sigh. "The Racer X key breach," he guessed with a big sigh.
How many times can a person sigh?
The result was a bloody mess. She turned to look at the man she had been struggling with. There was blood all over him and the wall.
I wonder if I got any blood on my keyboard?
There were many great scenes and descriptions. This is an outstanding first work with tight dialog, crisp scenes, and wonderful descriptions.
These two sentences are from a book review, and the amount of duplication is hysterical. What was I thinking? Thinking?
Afterward, each franchise went back to doing their traditional work, and the two groups never interacted again. It is unlikely we will ever see the two characters legitimately together again.
Wow, these two really do not want to be together.
We are counting on you to make successful contact with my son. All three of our lives depend on your success.
A successfully unnecessary second successful sentence.
During the long flight, the family interacted little. Emma looked straight ahead for the entire flight with her hand on Kim's leg.
Apparently, it is essential to communicate how long the flight was.
When I opened the box, I found my laptop, Arturo's knife, and my other Dawson's Creek notebook inside the box.
Did I open the box twice?
His hands shook, and I thought he would fall over. He almost fell over while staggering out of the room.
I uncovered these two sentences an hour ago. It made me so mad that I had to get up and walk around.
We all have our minor problems, and I should be grateful for not having severe writing issues. What does this tick say about my writing? I am passionate about my topics but inexperienced about how to express them. Wow, I wrote a lucid sentence. What a spectacular sentence. I did it again. Darn it!
September 1, 2021
It's Not Magic
I recently read a book where one character "used their magic to cast a spell." It occurred to me that this term was incorrect. For example, when one of my characters needs to tighten a bolt, I would write, "He tightened the bolt." Logically, readers would understand what had occurred and fill in the technical aspects. However, my readers would dislike these sentences: "He used mechanics to tighten the bolt." "He used baking to add the cinnamon." "She used driving to turn the steering wheel." "She used art to paint the picture." Wow, these are terrible sentences.
In magical stores, wizards cast spells, and witches brew up potions. They can break the laws of nature because the story is fictional. Yet, in real life, magic also "exists." For example, a magician can use sleight-of-hand to make a card "magically" disappear. However, this human's skill follows all the laws of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. But we still call this action "magic."
In a book where magic is possible, the term "magic" is invalid because past characters had such abilities, and new characters followed in their footsteps. She did not "cast a magical spell"; instead, "she cast a spell." He does not have "magical levitating abilities," he has "levitating abilities." Using "magic" cheapens the action and puts the reader at a distance. "Bob, the wizard, can cast a spell, but I (the reader) cannot." The goal of a talented author is to bring the reader into the story. Yes, you, the reader of this blog, can cast a spell. You just have to believe!
Why do authors use "magic?" Such words help bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. Yet, I think these words are literary crutches, and therefore I am not magically ending this blog.
In magical stores, wizards cast spells, and witches brew up potions. They can break the laws of nature because the story is fictional. Yet, in real life, magic also "exists." For example, a magician can use sleight-of-hand to make a card "magically" disappear. However, this human's skill follows all the laws of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. But we still call this action "magic."
In a book where magic is possible, the term "magic" is invalid because past characters had such abilities, and new characters followed in their footsteps. She did not "cast a magical spell"; instead, "she cast a spell." He does not have "magical levitating abilities," he has "levitating abilities." Using "magic" cheapens the action and puts the reader at a distance. "Bob, the wizard, can cast a spell, but I (the reader) cannot." The goal of a talented author is to bring the reader into the story. Yes, you, the reader of this blog, can cast a spell. You just have to believe!
Why do authors use "magic?" Such words help bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. Yet, I think these words are literary crutches, and therefore I am not magically ending this blog.
August 25, 2021
Bill, the Philosopher
I never took philosophy seriously. To me, people who embraced this foolish pursuit of knowledge were wasting their time. However, something changed two weeks ago. I pondered a new blog topic (why are we here?) and did an internet search. Surprisingly, the question had already been vetted by philosophers. Really? Is that what philosophers do?
I decided to download a few free philosophy books to obtain "light information on the topic." However, I quickly realized I did not know the basics of philosophy. Philosophy is the study of thought and an attempt to answer big questions.
The more I read, the more I wanted to learn. Yet, I ran into a big problem. If you read a philosophy book, they fall into two categories. The first begins with, "in year X, the great philosopher Y said Z." Each chapter has different X, Y, Zs. The second type of book answered "life's biggest questions." Each chapter has a big question, and the answer is the supreme philosopher Y said Z and Y1 said Z1… These books are not philosophy doctrines. Instead, they are chaotic history lessons.
The result of all these different philosophy experts seemed as if there were a distant target and people kept shooting arrows at it. Unfortunately, each philosopher could not clearly see the target and then said, "Look, I hit the center."
Why did so many great visionaries miss? In my opinion, philosophers got hung up on religion, methods of proving their point, and unnecessary/unrelated tangents like mathematics. Plus, they diverged into strange pseudoscience areas like numerology, mythology, astrology, or folklore. Each method did not agree with the others, and there were many holes. The largest was they did not answer my questions.
Granted, I obtained some useful knowledge and could see there was value in further studying the topic. For example, "Until we stop fearing death, we cannot enjoy life." "Don't figure out the right solution. Instead, figure out the right question." A lot of wisdom in those words.
Another area I appreciated was their approach. As in Engineering, philosophers developed a logical problem-solving method. It started by taking a step back, organizing the information, and undergoing a methodical approach. I covered this concept here:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
I know we (humans) do not have all the answers, but I had expected that we would be much closer by now. At least there would be a universal philosophy outlook or some commonly accepted ground. Nope. We only have different flawed approaches.
Now, wait. We used to have all kinds of flawed ideas about chemistry, mathematics, language, and history. However, scholars got together and developed universal terms along with official rules. The result got embraced, and users continue to improve their discipline. So why haven't philosophers done the same? Indeed, they could come up with "accepted philosophic principles." Nope. Why? I think the number of differences between the many approaches is too large. I also think the existing philosophic work is not good enough to build a solid foundation.
Are we on the right track? From my reading, I concluded, no. Philosophers got stuck on the false X, Y, Z foundation. I find this circumstance odd because philosophers write thousands of well-researched papers every year. It also is apparent that when somebody tries to come up with something new, they get ridiculed.
What does philosophy have to do with writing? Motivation and logic. Why did Sally do… Understanding philosophy basics improves my ability to define and describe character motivation. Why? To make a proper motivation, an author requires a logical foundation to base their character reasoning. Reading about philosophy is helping me in this area, but I still have a long way to go before considering myself a philosopher. Will reading about this subject improve my blogs? Only time will tell.
I decided to download a few free philosophy books to obtain "light information on the topic." However, I quickly realized I did not know the basics of philosophy. Philosophy is the study of thought and an attempt to answer big questions.
The more I read, the more I wanted to learn. Yet, I ran into a big problem. If you read a philosophy book, they fall into two categories. The first begins with, "in year X, the great philosopher Y said Z." Each chapter has different X, Y, Zs. The second type of book answered "life's biggest questions." Each chapter has a big question, and the answer is the supreme philosopher Y said Z and Y1 said Z1… These books are not philosophy doctrines. Instead, they are chaotic history lessons.
The result of all these different philosophy experts seemed as if there were a distant target and people kept shooting arrows at it. Unfortunately, each philosopher could not clearly see the target and then said, "Look, I hit the center."
Why did so many great visionaries miss? In my opinion, philosophers got hung up on religion, methods of proving their point, and unnecessary/unrelated tangents like mathematics. Plus, they diverged into strange pseudoscience areas like numerology, mythology, astrology, or folklore. Each method did not agree with the others, and there were many holes. The largest was they did not answer my questions.
Granted, I obtained some useful knowledge and could see there was value in further studying the topic. For example, "Until we stop fearing death, we cannot enjoy life." "Don't figure out the right solution. Instead, figure out the right question." A lot of wisdom in those words.
Another area I appreciated was their approach. As in Engineering, philosophers developed a logical problem-solving method. It started by taking a step back, organizing the information, and undergoing a methodical approach. I covered this concept here:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
I know we (humans) do not have all the answers, but I had expected that we would be much closer by now. At least there would be a universal philosophy outlook or some commonly accepted ground. Nope. We only have different flawed approaches.
Now, wait. We used to have all kinds of flawed ideas about chemistry, mathematics, language, and history. However, scholars got together and developed universal terms along with official rules. The result got embraced, and users continue to improve their discipline. So why haven't philosophers done the same? Indeed, they could come up with "accepted philosophic principles." Nope. Why? I think the number of differences between the many approaches is too large. I also think the existing philosophic work is not good enough to build a solid foundation.
Are we on the right track? From my reading, I concluded, no. Philosophers got stuck on the false X, Y, Z foundation. I find this circumstance odd because philosophers write thousands of well-researched papers every year. It also is apparent that when somebody tries to come up with something new, they get ridiculed.
What does philosophy have to do with writing? Motivation and logic. Why did Sally do… Understanding philosophy basics improves my ability to define and describe character motivation. Why? To make a proper motivation, an author requires a logical foundation to base their character reasoning. Reading about philosophy is helping me in this area, but I still have a long way to go before considering myself a philosopher. Will reading about this subject improve my blogs? Only time will tell.
