A.J. Race's Blog, page 23

SERIOUSLY?! (Tech Blog Edition)

 think by now I’ve made my disdain for tech blogs and tech bloggers pretty evident. So then, why can’t I stop reading reviews on various tech that I’m kind of curious about?

A few things you should probably know about me, I’m fairly new to the tech blog review world because up until my transition into the Windows Phone market I’ve never had need for it. As an Apple user my choices were Macbook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air and iMac. All built by Apple and all really great, the only real choices depended solely upon your needs, I always loved it because it was simple and did everything I needed (and continues to do so). But my Windows 8 phone has been a bit of a slippery slope into the Windows world for me and as a Mac user that’s put me in a particularly precarious position (try saying that five times fast). I don’t want to get rid of my Macbook Pro by any means, but the OSX UI is getting sort of tiresome… I think my real issue is that I want Metro for the Macbook. Some could (and sort of have) argued that Mac has had it for years, in Dashboard, but Dashboard to me is sort of like Ping, a failed experiment that outstayed it’s welcome and really just needs to die (thankfully Ping recently did. Back when I got my first Macbook in 2006, I had loved Dashboard, that love lasted all of about six months. The problem is that the way Apple set it up, Dashboard is a world away and for most computer users, it just isn’t worth the trip.

For a while now people have been ringing the death knell for Apple, and in a lot of ways I somewhat understand that, at least from an innovation standpoint. I’m a huge Apple fan, I always have been, but to me, adding Siri and Maps into whatever comes after Mountain Lion isn’t really enough. Not to mention the fact that as much as I love the iOS/OSX integration as a concept, it’s lead to a lot of new apps that I don’t use and now can never get rid of (ie: Game center. It’s a pointless App on iOS as far as I’m concerned, and even worse on OSX).

So I’ve been looking at Microsoft’s Surface, because I’m curious about it, it fascinates me and I’m in love with the Metro/Live Tile experience. It’s something that I definitely feel Apple should try to come up with something better, but the fact is, because their sales are so great, they don’t need too. I mean that’s why people say they aren’t innovating, they don’t feel that they have too, they have a loyal fanbase, and the products will sell regardless.

And for those who might argue that they have been innovating let’s be clear. Making the iPhone 5 thinner (again) and a little bit taller are not innovations. Hardware-wise okay sure they’re innovating, sort of, but the software is what counts. Software is where they’re lagging and software is ultimately what matters. Or at least what should matter. But largely thanks to Apple we’ve become a society obsessed with svelte design rather than good design. I swear to goddess if I read one more review where someone bitches that the device is to thick or heavy I’m going to scream.

Let’s be honest here folks, less than a decade ago, laptops and computers couldn’t do half of what they can today. iPad and iPhone weren’t a thing and technology moves at light speed, yet we’re still never happy with anything. I would love to be a tech blogger and get to review new gadgets because I have a lot to say on them and frankly a lot more substantive things to say than it’s too heavy, or what the hell ever. Complain about something real…

PS: I think I’ll start by reviewing my new phone and life with Mountain Lion.

Out of Order

s of late, writing book three has been notably exhausting and extremely difficult, and I still haven’t entirely figured out why. I had hoped that being in a new environment would somehow alleviate some of my writing woes, but I think I spoke too soon. (Though ironically I have written a lot more blogposts as of late, so that’s something I guess). Upon the advice of my mother I decided to finally attempt writing the end first, only… sort of. Actually what happened is I decided to skip ahead to what I think is sort of the major turning point in the book. Not the climax necessarily, but definitely a turning point.

Generally speaking I write in a very linear fashion, that is to say I begin at the beginning and end at the end, so when I really considered writing the end first or skipping around I have to admit I was intrigued but at the same time I was pretty sure I would never actually do it. As writers we are notoriously stuck in our ways sometimes, and I think in this case I’m glad I tried something new. Surprisingly it’s not as weird as I would have thought to be in a word cutting corners. I plan to fill in the gaps eventually, probably not until I’ve finished the entire first draft, but I never like to rule anything out.

Only time will tell whether or not this will ultimately mean my writing more of book three than I otherwise would have, but for now I’m just happy that I’m getting a little bit of work done. Which reminds me I should probably get back to that.

As for my fellow writers, I’m sort of curious, do you ever change up your method of writing, or is it really ‘better the devil you know?’

Transcending Trends

imestamp mini-stories are the new trend in fanfic, but does it have the ability to translate into the mainstream novel market?

For those of you who don’t read fanfic I feel I need to explain… timestamps are a relatively new phenomenon I’ve noticed in the fan fiction world in which (usually a short) story that is unrelated to the main story but apparently was still felt important is published along with the story. Sort of like a behind the scenes deal. The closets thing I can imagine being similar would be (maybe) the Short Second LIfe of Bree Tanner (Stephanie Meyer) or the entire concept of Pottermore in which J.K.Rowling occasionally reveals new information about the series that was previously unknown to the readers.

The concept itself is fairly interesting but I’m curious if it’s something that necessarily could translate into the mainstream in either the form of short stories/novella as in the case of the Short Second Life… or perhaps into a blog/website exclusive, like in Pottermore. Or perhaps as book apps become more popular (if they ever do) it could be an exclusive with the app.

Personally I have mixed feelings on the concept. On the one hand I definitely feel that it’s an interesting idea, however my concern lies almost entirely with the knowledge that as a writer, if something isn’t important enough to make it into the final draft, perhaps it isn’t important at all. That said, anybody who’s been on Pottermore can attest to how fun it is to read some of the backstory on characters like Professor McGonnagall and the like.

Into the Cloud

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog post to bring you well… probably one of the worst things that can happen to a writer. My computer crashed taking everything with it.

It’s a very very long story, that encompasses a lot more detail than just that it crashed, but suffice it to say, there’s a lesson to be learned in all of this.

I’ve known for a very long time that I need to back up my computer as often as possible, but for whatever reason I’ve been sort of lax on this fact. I’ve sort of just tried to ignore it thinking that nothing’s going to happen, because I had gone a very very long time without this kind of disaster and then… as it often does… the unthinkable happened. Suddenly I found myself staring at a screen that told me that my only option was to save as many files as I could (funny seeing as how I couldn’t even get to it) then erase the entire harddrive and start over. Oh is that all? I thought. Just erase the entire thing, and start fresh. Amusingly I had actually thought about erasing my harddrive and starting fresh but at the time I had wanted to actually do so on my terms. Ensuring that every single last thing I could possibly need was saved. Still… it could have been far worse and so in a lot of ways I’m very lucky and very thankful that it wasn’t. Needless to say I will be backing up my computer a lot more frequently from now on, because the truth is, you just never know when a technological disaster will strike, and it’s good to have everything backed up just in case.

What’s in a P.O.V.?

ven though I have far more to go on the final book in the Secrets of Witches trilogy than I even care to think about I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I want to be writing after Secrets is over.

And in the case of at least one novel I’m pretty sure it’s going to be written from multiple points of view, or at least multiple character points of view. I’ve debated at various times whether or not the book should be first person or third person, but it had never really occurred to me to come at it from different character points of view instead. It’s a wholly uncommon practice (or at least that I’ve noticed) and frankly doing it well is tricky even for the best of authors. The Casual Vacancy is proof of that.

Obviously I still have quite a bit of time to consider what I want to do, and nothing is set in stone, that said I am curious how other writers feel about the concept of writing a story from multiple character view points, and honestly can it even be helped? I’m dying to hear your opinion in the comments.

Secret Soundtrack Revisited

 few weeks ago, I wrote about my soundtrack to the final Secrets of Witches novel. At the time there were really only about two or three songs on the list, since then however I’ve managed to update the list quite a bit and so I thought I would share that revised list with you. PS: If you are in the least bit curious about the spoiler alerts, just highlight the text with your cursor.

Yesterday I wrote how music has the ability to inspire a multitude of things (including several posts about inspiration on my part), but I also find that songs tell a story, and sometimes, quite unexpectedly that story is similar to the story you wish to tell in your novel.

As a general rule I like to make playlists in either Spotify or iTunes that I title with the current title of my book and fill it with songs that I think would be appropriate for the Soundtrack version of my novel when it’s made into a movie that occasionally I listen too while writing to help bring that mood across.

At one point I had created a playlist for Bridge of Memories and even, I think, one for Goddess, but for the life of me I can’t really find either, so I decided to create one specifically for the final (as of yet unannounced title) novel. Previously in this post because there wasn’t much I just named the song, however this time I’d like to go track by track and if possible explain my reasonings without giving too much away.

1. Cease Fire by Christina Aguilera– I’m going to be honest when I say, when I first heard the tracks on Christina’s most recent album Lotus I wasn’t feeling it. Bionic, had been so edgy and exciting that I really wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to get into this one. (It’s worth noting that I now currently own the better part of the album). As I said in the original version of this post, even if you’re not a fan of Christina this is a song worth listening too because if has an incredibly powerful story to tell. (Interestingly in an interview on the album she explained that she felt Cease Fire would go perfect for a movie, and I quite agree).

2. My Dark Side by Glee Cast– I may not particularly be a fan of Glee any longer, but I literally cannot figure out who originally sang this song, and I absolutely love this version. It’s powerful and it really really fits the dark nature of the final novel.

3. Skyfall by Adele– I love Adele and I absolutely loved Skyfall, though I admit it doesn’t so much fit the book as I find it inspiring and lyrically beautiful. Maybe a few lyrics could fit. Actually Let the sky fall, when it crumbles, we will stand tall, face it all. Might be a bit more appropriate for Goddess of Carnage, wouldn’t you say?

4. Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You by Madonna– I’m a huge Madonna fan as I’m sure I’ve made clear in every which way I possibly can, but this particular song has always held a strange inexplainable resonance with me, and like most songs on this album just fits the final novel superbly.

5. Rehab by Rihanna– In book 3, I wanted to explore a different side of Chris and Eric’s relationship and this song (as well as some of the aforementioned songs) are really about that aspect of the novel.

6. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics/ Marilyn Manson– There are several and varying reasons for choosing both versions of this song, not the least of which is *spoiler alert* new diary that Eric will find himself lost in. 

7. Wildest Dreams by Brandy– While a good portion of book 3 is rather dark, I must admit there are some (sort of) happier moments. Including *spoiler alert* a new love interest for Eric.

8. Too Close by Alex Clare– The happy times probably won’t last…

9. Sorry by Madonna– This particular song goes back to the relationship between Chris and Eric.

As a final note, I’m ridiculously curious to see if anyone listens to these songs and has any kind of ideas what the third book will be about. 

Font Snob

never thought I’d see the day…. but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Recently while searching Smashwords (the site where my own ebook is published) for something good to read, I came upon a story that caught my eye, I opened it in a new tab (so as not to lose my place in the search in case I didn’t end up liking it) and saw the cover in full view. There, right in the middle of the cover was the dreaded COMIC SANS!!! (*insert horror movie scream*). Overly dramatic you say?

I’m a font snob through and through and like any graphic designer there are just certain fonts you should never ever be allowed to use. Comic sans happens to be one of them.

I think what made this even more entertaining was that the book wasn’t exactly a child friendly book either (which if you look at Comic Sans that’s sort of the vibe you get). The book was erotica, which is just a fancy author term for literary porn. So… what in gods name possessed the author to use Comic Sans? Even assuming you were writing a children’s book there are still better fonts to choose from.

Of course… it’s not just self published authors that aren’t graphic designers that are to blame. Let’s be clear… Tyra used Papyrus for her TyraMail font on ANTM for a time. To that I can only say, unless TyraMail is the new name for the Mummy movies. Don’t. Just… don’t.

In closing the fonts you should never ever ever use ever, are the following:

COMIC SANS

PAPYRUS

I’m sure there are some others, but I can’t think of them.

… or are they just out of ideas?

ith all due deference to both authors I’ve begun to notice a trend lately between Stephen King and James Patterson (there may be others but I’m noticing it more with them) that more recent books from them have been co-authored with someone else. At first I thought maybe it was just a new trend, perhaps it makes for more interesting literature like the mother-daughter duo who wrote the bestselling ‘House of the Night’ series. Admittedly I’ve never actually read the series but it’s very popular which makes me wonder, is co-authoring the new vampire novel… or are they just running out of ideas?

Maybe one or two books I would think it’s just authors trying something new, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it on at least three from both authors, and I’m sure there are plenty of other authors out there doing it, but the question to me is why? And secondly…how? I am very personal with my writing, the idea of letting someone else, particularly another author come in seems horrifying.

It’s worth noting that in both cases, some of the authors that both James Patterson and Stephen King are co-authoring with are to my knowledge unknown. So perhaps it’s in the same spirit of unknown singers being featured on the albums of very well known singers in the hopes of getting people interested in that unknown singer or conversely getting a different generation interested in the older singer.

What do you think? Is this the same as new/unknown artists being featured on the album of bigger artists or are authors running out of new ideas?

Pre-Author

ong before I ever considered graphic design, in fact long before I even considered being an author… there was something I wanted to be, just as much, maybe even more… an architect.

Probably from the time that I was four years old, maybe even younger I remember that I would lie in my bed at night, tracing the angles of the ceiling with my eyes, over and over again… I have always had a special place in my heart for designing buildings and architecture, in fact long before I’d ever purchased books on writing I bought my first book about being your own architect. I tried to understand the ins and outs of designing a house (or really any building), I even had special software that allowed you to make up your own blueprints and render them in 3D. For Christmas when I was about eleven my aunt bought me an architects desk, she had had a friend who worked in architecture (or engineering I can’t remember which) and within one holiday I had special architects stencils, and a t-straight, special rulers and pencils and everything any aspiring architect could ever hope for. The only thing I was missing was the math skills. I have forever been horrible at math. Geometry (easily the cornerstone of architecture) was one of my worst subjects in high school (though to be fair I had taken it before Algebra as I was under the impression from the teacher who’d signed me up for classes that I did not need Algebra). I ended the year with a D (and only by the grace of every single math god in existence)… and probably even then only because I turned in my special Final exam practice packet for extra credit. It was not pretty, and it’s not something I’m particularly proud of but there it is. (Oddly in my junior year I did rather well with Trigonometry… though I did have a really easy teacher so I suppose I could chalk it up to that). The point is… I have always been bad at math. Even now I still add things up on my fingers (or with my phone calculator), whichever is easiest at the time. So… my first dreams of becoming a architect were dashed. I pretty much knew that, that dream was over by the time I was thirteen or fourteen (thankfully I then had writing to fall back on) but… it was still painful to realize. I still have a great love for architecture… I don’t think that will ever go away… the closest thing I have to it now however is a book called Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D. And while the cover is that familiar blue paper and white writing, for me it’s not quite the same. My math skills may never be quite up for the task of becoming an architect, every so often I like to pull out one of the many art pads I was given when I came to AI and draw the basics of blueprints for my future home.

A Change of Scenery

his weekend I was asked by my friend to house/pet sit for him while him and his family are away, being that my writing was basically nil, I leapt at the opportunity because I knew that a change of pace would with any luck, help inspire me to get some actual work done.

Writers block, or writers time-out (as one of my friends insists that unless I haven’t written anything for months I can’t reasonably call it a writers block) are tricky. They can be caused by a million and one things and each author has a different way of combating it. But one method that seems to work across the board, is getting a change of scenery. Which if your lucky enough to have a friend who needs house sitting is actually pretty easy to come by. However, if you are stuck, and you don’t have the money to perhaps rent a hotel room (it’s fairly cheap here in Vegas, so if I was really desperate I could do so rather easily), then you may have to get more creative. Depending greatly upon your ability to write in a less than empty environment you could go to the library, or over to a (quiet) friend’s house. I suppose even going to the park or (I shudder to even suggest it) a Starbucks or some other coffee house could be beneficial.

I realize J.K.Rowling wrote all of her books in a coffee house and on trains, but for me there’s something about attempting to write in a Starbucks (as there is literally no small coffee houses except maybe on the strip and I have literally no energy for that), has always seemed rather pretentious to me. I don’t want to be seen writing. That doesn’t intone being a writer to me, besides something about the sounds of blending coffee and how loud it can get in a Starbucks makes it difficult to even imagine getting anything written… maybe with music in, but frankly I could get more work done in a classroom or in the library at my school than I ever could in a Starbucks.

All of these aforementioned places may or may not work for you, in fact, depending on how bad exactly your writers block is, a change of scenery may not be enough, but it’s a start and I’m hopeful that it will be enough to get me back to work after a very very long ‘intermission’ let’s say.

PS: Obviously a change of scenery helped me come up with this blogpost, so it’s a start.