A.J. Race's Blog, page 32

The Future of Reading Part II

arlier this year when acclaimed singer Bjork released her latest album as a stand-alone app Biophillia, there was a lot of chatter across the blogosphere that app-albums (or whatever one would call them) would be the new wave of music. Needless to say that didn’t happen (or at least not really yet), but the idea itself has implications for the future, not just of music, but of reading as well. What if books rather than being on a shelf were stand alone apps much like how Apple previously handled magazines? What if each other had their own app with their books, background on the books and in depth goodies that were completely exclusive to the app? What if each book was completely interactive and drew the reader into the world the way only the latest technology can? This isn’t really a new concept, actually a lot of authors are working on making apps for themselves, but most interactive books seem to be only childrens books. But why? If you haven’t already heard of augmented reality books, get ready because I believe that they might become the future of reading as we know it. 

Augmented reality combines the psychical book with digital content. (Almost like a QR code but from what I can tell a bit more complicated than simply taking you to a website or twitter). The biggest problem with all new technologies like this is that it’s niche and at the moment still far from becoming the new normal any time soon. Only a few books have even been made into Augmented reality, but the idea of the interactive book app is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Consider something like the maps one see’s in a book like Game of Thrones or Wicked. A certain amount of interactivity could allow the reader to view a 3d rendering of said worlds rather than simply a 2d map. The closest thing we have to a mainstream version of this sort of augmented reality reading is J.K.Rowling‘s Pottermore. It’s close in the sense that you get to experience more of the series than ever before thought possible, but still not quite the same because it isn’t based on an app and it doesn’t combine the psychical book with the game/website itself (though I wouldn’t doubt that will be coming soon).

I bring this up mostly because I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve even tried to attempt to learn Apple’s X-Code system for building an native iOS app at one point but it’s complicated and even with Apple’s own tools it would be of some use if I actually knew HTML better than I currently do. I have a lot of ideas of what I’d like to see for the future of reading, but unfortunately I’m in no position to attempt them myself. Not yet anyway.

Sound-off: What do you think about books/authors as stand alone apps? Is it a good idea or just another fad?

ICYMI: The Future of Reading

Originally Posted 2/9/12

t’s been said that ebooks are the future of reading, but when you think about it there’s a lot to suggest that ebooks haven’t changed much in the last decade since they were first introduced. Ebooks, by their nature have an amazing potential, especially on tablet devices like the iPad, nook tablet and the Kindle Fire. These devices were built largely around the ebook market, and could change the market… if only publishers would get on board. 

That said, I think Apple has (naturally) taken a step in the right direction with iBooksAuthor. It is to Apple’s credit that they’ve made it that much easier for publishers to make their books more interesting, more interactive. The problem I have with it however is that it’s aimed towards the educational market. I think Apple missed the ball on this one.

Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s because I, as a novelist want to make novels more exciting and interactive for the next generation of readers, but I do think Apple would have been smart to make iBooksAuthor something all writers could use. Rather than aiming it specifically for educators, they should have aimed it for self publishers who want to bring something a little extra to the table. Ebooks in the large part are kind of boring. They’re only slightly more customizable in terms of reading, you can change the font, the size and the background colors but there’s little else to the imagination here.

Look at magazines on devices like the iPad and you can see exactly what I’m talking about. The exciting exclusive content if you press this button or turn your screen sideways. Videos, audio, magazines have done something incredible with the digital format that it’s almost incomprehensible that books haven’t managed to do the same. Some might argue that what could you possibly add to the book to make it interesting? There’s a lot of things. If like me you’ve been writing the book for a long time (chances are you have) you’ll no doubt have many versions of many different scenes. Different scenarios of where things could have gone. Characters that didn’t make the final cut, or just ideas you had that for whatever reason you couldn’t incorporate. It’s that kind of exclusive content that could make a book that much more interesting, especially if you look at this, while reading the book for the second time. Mystery novels could have a sort of I Spy game to it, where you help the main character solve the clues as you read it. Maybe you could solve it first. If the book has a movie tie-in (which most do) you could cross promote by having little clips of key scenes from the book that are in the movie. Thoughts from the author or even from the editor. There’s no end in sight to the amount of things that one could add to the ereading experience that if done right could make the entire thing more interactive, more exciting and just simply a better read.

Get Off Your Ass and Write

ne thing that doesn’t get as much attention as it should on most blogs, but in particular this blog is the importance of movement. I’m not trying to be some weird kids show ad insisting that you get outside and move but let’s be honest here, writers are not known for being particularly physically active. We’re known for binge eating (particularly stress eating), binge drinking, chain smoking, overdosing on various drugs, and occasionally lurid amounts of sex. Perhaps the only difference between us and rockstars is that we generally don’t have groupies (unless your Stephanie Meyer). But I’ve seen writers with all kinds of crazy hair and tattoos, so even that part is fairly similar. Literary rockstars. Except maybe with quieter music… sometimes.

How this all came up in my mind is because last week I read an article from Writer Unboxed in which two authors expressed the importance of staying active for writers. And not just for our physical health either. Apparently studies show that being physically active helps your mental wellbeing (which I can guarantee every writer needs a little help with) promotes cell growth and stimulates your brain in all kinds of ways. And like most activities that don’t require a lot of thought, there’s a chance you could get a great idea that changes your entire book while exercising. (Like the 3 a.m. epiphany or the brilliant plot twist you get in the shower).

My Ah-ha moment ‘that Oprah continuously talks about’

I’m going to be completely honest here. I hate exercise. I do. I always laugh because people say that exercise releases endorphins which make you happy but when I’m actually exercising the only emotion I feel is blinding rage and hatred for the asshole who continuously perpetuates the idea that exercising makes you happy. That pleasant thought aside, I have a shit memory. Like, forget what your going to say as I’m saying it, bad memory. I can tell you the full name of an actress from a television show that debuted in 1964, the day she died and various other bits of trivia but what I ate for breakfast this morning. Not a clue. Like most writers I can remember things that most people don’t think matters, and I notice things that most people don’t notice or don’t care to notice as well. But if exercise boosts brain activity and brain activity is at least in part what controls memory and according to this article it does, then hopefully my memory will improve with time as well.

I’ve never been at what’s considered a ‘healthy weight’ for most of my life I’ve been pretty over-weight and it has been something that I’ve dealt with from bullies on the schoolyard and everything in between. Being overweight, gay, Wiccan, and I guess you could say nerdy for lack of a better term is a dangerous combination. Combine that with the fact I hated sports, and wore braces for a bit of grade school then later a lot of high school (it was a two phase process), it was not a good time for me, and it’s in large part because of all this that I am the diva bitch I’m known as today. My sarcasm and vicious wit came about, as it often does, out of necessity. People love that I can say something that should be mean, and still make them laugh. It’s part of my charm. (It doesn’t always work unfortunately so you really have to choose wisely when to use this power.)

So… keeping all of this in mind, I’ve decided to start working out. Nothing fancy. Just 43 minutes on the treadmill. Why 43 minutes? Because it’s the exact length of the Rachel Maddow show which I already watch everyday religiously. In fact it’s the one thing I can think of that I can count on every single day at the same time so that I can get myself into a routine of exercising. Because when you hate something as much as I do, you don’t want to do it. You have to create a routine so that it starts to become like getting dressed in the morning. If you do something long enough it becomes second nature, and so… I watch or listen to the podcast and walk. It’s about 2 miles over a 43 minute span and sadly not as many calories burned as you’d hoped. I mean truthfully I’m still not exactly eating as healthy as I should so I know that I’m not going to lose fifty pounds in a day like I’d love too, but it’s a start. And I encourage my fellow writers to join me… if not for yourself then for your craft.

Sleepless Epiphanies

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write,” –Saul Bellow

 

 had never heard this piece of writing advice before a few days ago when I found it on a graphic design tumblr (of all places), but ironically I’ve always sort of known this to be true. I have always maintained that I come up with my best ideas at night, and not surprisingly some ideas come at 3 am and you haven’t slept yet at all. Case in point… I recently outlined an idea for five novels, 2 novels, their sequels and a lone novel that is not going to be a part of a sequel, all within a 24 hour period. Three of these books I had been hoping to work on for quite some time now and I wasn’t entirely sure how I really wanted to go about writing them (and truthfully these aren’t hard outlines, it’s more of an extended synopsis to show me what I wanted to do). There are still questions to be answered, but it’s more than I have known about these three books in particular in a very long time. As for the other two books they were actually new ideas that I had never written before and that I’m actually really, excited for. 

I don’t want to make any sort of announcements about any of the books as of yet because while I have a pretty strong idea that at least the three will make full novels, I cannot as of yet, say that the last two will necessarily work out like I want. There are a lot of things I’m going to have to work out (more than likely during the writing process) for those two books in particular. But I can say this. I’m very very excited that these ideas, some of which have been in my head since ’07/’08 have finally come out in an exciting way that I actually had never considered before.

I still, for the record, have quite a few ideas that as of yet I don’t really have anything for, and I’m still nowhere near complete on the 3rd Secrets of Witches novel as of yet, but I’m excited. Hopefully I’ll have figured out which project to start in the New Year, but until then…it’s going to be a crazy few weeks as I prepare myself for the launch of book 2. I’m going to be very busy for quite some time with all this, I’m sure.

Write What You Know

t’s the age old advice that older writers, who have been doing it for years give to newer writers who are just starting out and have no idea what to write. But I have to say that I disagree, I mean if I just wrote what I knew, all of my characters would be brooding writers, who are perpetually single, often mistaken for a woman, have a tendency to fall for otherwise unattainable men, and with an inner monologue that sounds like Carrie Bradshaw, living in, not-so-fabulous (by the way) Las Vegas. 

I’m not entirely opposed to writing about writers, we do it all the time, and frankly Eric is a writer although you wouldn’t know it for how little he actually writes in the stories) but as writers we have the opportunity to write whatever we want. Especially in today’s world you can write a story set half way across the world in a place you’ve never been too and still have it sound as believable as if you’d set it in your hometown.  Sure it would be easier to write what you know and this is perhaps good advice for someone just starting out, but after a certain point I believe authors should branch out beyond what they know. Beyond what is safe and write characters and places that require some amount of research to get right.

I’ve never been to London, and I’ve only been to Manhattan once, but certain scenes of my novels have been set in both places, and it required a bit of research to make sure that when I wrote where events took place that I was as accurate as possible in my description, particularly where street names are concerned. Thanks to things like Google Maps and Google Earth, researching locales is easier than ever for a writer, and to my mind it’s kind of fun too. Who says you can’t write a novel about a astrophysicist living in Moscow just because you’ve never been there and aren’t an astrophysicist? You don’t necessarily have to get technical for it to be believable and god knows for your readers sake it might be better if you didn’t get technical (believe me after a few chapters of random math in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest I was ready to send my head through a wall. Truthfully there’s a lot about that trilogy that bothered me, chief among them the authors tendency to fall into a mix of journalistic and police report style writing.

Ultimately what your characters do for a living and where they live doesn’t necessarily have to be bound by where you yourself live or even what you do. Sure, having been a lawyer may help if you want to write crime novels, but it doesn’t necessarily make you any more adept to do so than anyone else.

Beyond the Trilogy

‘ve tried to write this post at least a few times now with varying amounts of success, so hopefully this will be the one. 

Back when I first started writing Secrets of Witches nearly a decade or so ago, it had originally been my intention for the book to become a series, rather than simply a trilogy. For one reason or another that particular dream never worked out for me, but I’ve never given up my desire to eventually write a series again. The key is coming up with the right idea, and perhaps most importantly, the story arc that will continue across all the books.

Thus far, I’ve had a lot of ideas for series but I can only seem to get as far as the first two books or so before it all just falls apart. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to put all my time and energy into the final Secrets of Witches, or maybe I’m just trying to hard to find an idea that isn’t ready yet. The idea will come to me when it’s ready and I can’t rush that. Patience is not necessarily a virtue I’ve ever possessed, but I know that it’s one I should learn. Some writers spend their whole lives hoping for a series… knowing this however does not make it any easier to be patient.

In the meantime I still have to figure out what I want my first official book after the Secrets of Witches trilogy to be.

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It

Today marks the start of finals week at my school which also means the start of my three week break before the start of the new quarter in January. So in the spirit of that vacation (in which I will no doubt be writing 24/7, I’m going to be setting up several ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) posts of some of my favorite posts of the last year, and a few new ones splashed in the mix too. Freeing up the next three weeks for me to write like crazy (and hopefully actually get a good amount of book 3 completed).

PS: Regular post is still scheduled today in 30 minutes.

Preaching to the Choir

t’s an old cliche that everybody’s heard and everybody understands… but maybe not as much as we should. I’ve made a habit, on my own personal Facebook page to talk about politics and various things that annoy me on a fairly regular basis, and the people in my life who agree with me like it and say so and those that don’t (which seem to be in the majority sometimes) sound off and tell me why I’m wrong. I know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind, so for the most part my opinions are preaching to the choir of people who already agree with me, and pissing off those who don’t. So why do it then if I already know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind? Why does anyone do it?

Why do people who are pro-life stand outside abortion clinics screaming at the top of their lungs? Why do people continue to run political campaigns on one issue or another? The answer can be found in President Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan.

Hope.

If you can change one person’s opinion about something, then there is hope.

A lot of my political rantings take the form of posts about gay marriage and gay rights because it’s an issue that directly effects me in a very real way. It isn’t just some political talking point that makes some people very upset, it’s a real issue that really effects people in ways that few really understand.

Not all that long ago there were those who suggested that gay people could have the same rights as married couples, but with a different name. This sounds good on paper, and maybe to some in the LGBT community that’s perfectly acceptable. But here’s why I think, it’s really not.

Words have meanings. Important, sometimes subtle meanings. Even sometimes multiple meanings. It’s why you don’t use words like fag, because they has a historical meaning that is offensive to people.

People are crying that you’d change the definition of marriage if you allow gay people to get married, but here’s the thing… the definition of words change all the time, and it varies from group to group.

In British idiom, Fag is a cigarette. Previously in English it also meant a bundle of sticks. Gay meant happy. So where did we go from those versions of acceptable usage to a pejorative to mean someone who is homosexual? Granted some of us are exceptionally happy people but I don’t think that’s it.

Is this fight really all about a word?

Yes and No. As I said, words have meanings, obviously people who are heterosexual understand that marriage has an important meaning. (Some, act like it’s some weird spell that if you alter the meaning somehow it will destroy their marriage). It’s so important that they want to keep it all to themselves. They go to ridiculous lengths to explain WHY it should not be changed. Because apparently to some, gay marriage is a gateway drug to beastality and polygamy. Frankly if you want to marry a goat or have six wives I could care less, because here’s the thing that doesn’t make anyone’s marriage any less real. If divorce doesn’t make people’s marriages less meaningful then why should my marrying another man? I’m not even asking for a church wedding. The separation of church and state is supposed to be pretty set in stone but that seems to be debatable.

Word Counts: Blog Edition

t any given time there will be some sort of debate regarding word counts for novels. Acceptable word counts per chapter, and of course for the novel on the whole, but you almost never hear about acceptable word counts for blog posts. Why is that?

As a general rule I try not to let my blogs go past 1k words, in fact once they hit about 700 I worry that it might be a bit too much, but if it’s necessary of course I’ll go past it. But what is the acceptable length of a blog post?

I have a feeling… this isn’t it.

Novcember Updates

or many of my fellow writers the last 24 hours have probably been a marathon of writing as much as you possibly can in an effort to win NaNoWriMo. For me, the last 48 hours, has been a marathon of edits in order to make sure that I was able to get a version to my editor by the 1st. (Can you tell I started this like at the tail end of November?) I finished by the way, but I’m posting this at all because it’s still true.

Is it just me or did November just fly by? I swear just before Thanksgiving I really thought  I had a lot more time between Thanksgiving and when Goddess of Carnage is set to drop, but as of today it is less than 20 days and counting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly excited that the second book is coming out, relatively soon, but I’m also incredibly nervous because of course I would have to do things right down to the wire. Somewhere in my head I’d convinced myself that actually I had more time for all of this than I actually did and so I wasn’t particularly worried about how long it would take for me to do the proof edits because, really I had plenty of time. As we near the stretch into the two week mark however, I’m in full blown panic mode and I’m really hoping that I can finish everything on time without issue. I’ll feel a lot better once the second book is already out, but for now I’m going to be on edge for the next few weeks, or so. With November out of the way and December threatening to go just as fast I’d still like to be able to get a good amount of book 3 finished before the New Year, though truthfully from where I stand I may be lucky if I get half way before February. Like it’s predecessor however I have absolutely no intention of making any announcements regarding book 3 until I’m absolutely sure I’m ready. I have a tentative idea of how I’d like the timeline for book 3 to go, but I’ve learned from the last two books that Murphy’s law is almost doubly true for an author hoping to self publish. It’s not necessarily that things have gone wrong, per se, as it is that I underestimated how long everything is going to take because I pretty much underestimated just how much things can change from draft to draft and how much you can actually find in a proof version of a novel. Writing takes time, but more than that, edits and re-edits take time. Formatting the interior of the book file takes time. All of these are things that take more time than you ever think they will because, I had assumed (wrongfully so, clearly) that since I had done this before I knew how long it would all take. But five rounds of edits takes a considerable amount of time. For reference, Bridge of Memories had probably two rounds of edits over the span of the four months between writing and publication. This time around I was eager to make sure that I had everything taken care of prior to publication. 80k words, 5 edits, and almost nine months later, here we are. December has begun and book 3 is the next great adventure, which will bring with it a new set of challenges.