Mike Duron's Blog, page 3
August 17, 2011
2004-2011: Rivals
Amazing. Has it really been seven years since I started cooking Rivals? I can't believe I will have been walking around literarily pregnant for seven years this coming October.
No matter. Regardless of the manuscript word count or the working title (now changed), the stew is still in the pot ... and it smells delicious.
In other news -- gazoonga.com lives as well.
I just sort of forgot to turn it on..... heh
Oh well. On to other things:
I've been reading and re-reading a lot of things lately. Everything from Tarzan of the Apes to Moby Dick, from King's On Writing to Gardner's The Art of Fiction has bubbled up from the bottom of the deep pond that is made up of ideas and works I love to stir and sniff and taste (and have wanted to experience for a long time but never really got around to experiencing until now -- like Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu).
I've been stacking up books on my nightstand (some borrowed from co-workers like Dawkin's Greatest Show on Earth, others pulled from the library right outside my bedroom (Kiss the Girls, Blowfly, The Bad Place). Besides going through actual paperbacks and hardcover books from various sources, I've also been reading e-books pretty extensively. In fact, I bought the books by King and Gardner mentioned above in e-book format and don't even own a hardcopy of either.
I do a lot of my e-book reading using my cell phone (Samsung Fascinate). It's convenient and I currently use only two proggies for this activity, though I could install more. The two I use are Aldiko and, of course, Amazon Kindle (mobile). I write 'of course' of the latter since, apparently, it's impossible to delete this little proggie unless you're a 12-year-old computer major in your junior year at MIT.
When I'm not using my cell phone to read my e-books, I'm using my Sony Reader. It's got a larger screen and I like the way the print looks on it. Still, after having used all three proggies extensively, I can say each has its merits and drawbacks.
With Aldiko and Kindle on my cell phone, reading is great. I can turn on the night-vision mode and read the print just the way I like it: white font on black background. I don't know, I guess it stuck with me from the eighties. For me, it just seems so much easier on the eyes when you're reading from a screen such as the one installed on my cell phone.
Another great thing I love about reading e-books on my cell phone is the fact I can hilight text, copy it to the clipboard, open up Wikipedia or Dictionary.com and paste whatever I want to look up directly into the search box. Wow! No need to sit by the encyclopedias in the library anymore, eh? Of course, the Kindle app has a larger store with more books available, but I keep wanting to use Aldiko for some reason. I'm not sure why, I just like the way it looks. Maybe I just resent the fact the Kindle app is basically being shoved down my throat?
At any rate, the big drawback about both these readers is that they don't give me the ability to hilight text and enter notes on the hilighted passages so that I can review the notes later and comment on my remarks. This is something easily accomplished with the Sony Reader, although, with this nice little reader, I don't have the ability to access the sites I mentioned above.
I think this might be available in newer readers -- maybe even a newer version of the Sony Reader. I haven't looked into it yet. I have the Daily Edition version and I know for a fact there's a newer model than mine out in the market already. I just don't remember much about it off the top of my head.
So, what I'm thinking of doing now -- at least at home -- is reading the book, say "Tarzan of the Apes" -- on the Sony Reader and just researching things (like, say, what sort of 'apes' was Burroughs thinking of when he described the apes that raised Tarzan?) by not being lazy and just Swyping whatever I want to research into the search box on the app installed on my phone.
It's still easier and more efficient than jotting something down and walking over to the OED or the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Do they actually still print those things?
No matter. Regardless of the manuscript word count or the working title (now changed), the stew is still in the pot ... and it smells delicious.
In other news -- gazoonga.com lives as well.
I just sort of forgot to turn it on..... heh
Oh well. On to other things:
I've been reading and re-reading a lot of things lately. Everything from Tarzan of the Apes to Moby Dick, from King's On Writing to Gardner's The Art of Fiction has bubbled up from the bottom of the deep pond that is made up of ideas and works I love to stir and sniff and taste (and have wanted to experience for a long time but never really got around to experiencing until now -- like Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu).
I've been stacking up books on my nightstand (some borrowed from co-workers like Dawkin's Greatest Show on Earth, others pulled from the library right outside my bedroom (Kiss the Girls, Blowfly, The Bad Place). Besides going through actual paperbacks and hardcover books from various sources, I've also been reading e-books pretty extensively. In fact, I bought the books by King and Gardner mentioned above in e-book format and don't even own a hardcopy of either.
I do a lot of my e-book reading using my cell phone (Samsung Fascinate). It's convenient and I currently use only two proggies for this activity, though I could install more. The two I use are Aldiko and, of course, Amazon Kindle (mobile). I write 'of course' of the latter since, apparently, it's impossible to delete this little proggie unless you're a 12-year-old computer major in your junior year at MIT.
When I'm not using my cell phone to read my e-books, I'm using my Sony Reader. It's got a larger screen and I like the way the print looks on it. Still, after having used all three proggies extensively, I can say each has its merits and drawbacks.
With Aldiko and Kindle on my cell phone, reading is great. I can turn on the night-vision mode and read the print just the way I like it: white font on black background. I don't know, I guess it stuck with me from the eighties. For me, it just seems so much easier on the eyes when you're reading from a screen such as the one installed on my cell phone.
Another great thing I love about reading e-books on my cell phone is the fact I can hilight text, copy it to the clipboard, open up Wikipedia or Dictionary.com and paste whatever I want to look up directly into the search box. Wow! No need to sit by the encyclopedias in the library anymore, eh? Of course, the Kindle app has a larger store with more books available, but I keep wanting to use Aldiko for some reason. I'm not sure why, I just like the way it looks. Maybe I just resent the fact the Kindle app is basically being shoved down my throat?
At any rate, the big drawback about both these readers is that they don't give me the ability to hilight text and enter notes on the hilighted passages so that I can review the notes later and comment on my remarks. This is something easily accomplished with the Sony Reader, although, with this nice little reader, I don't have the ability to access the sites I mentioned above.
I think this might be available in newer readers -- maybe even a newer version of the Sony Reader. I haven't looked into it yet. I have the Daily Edition version and I know for a fact there's a newer model than mine out in the market already. I just don't remember much about it off the top of my head.
So, what I'm thinking of doing now -- at least at home -- is reading the book, say "Tarzan of the Apes" -- on the Sony Reader and just researching things (like, say, what sort of 'apes' was Burroughs thinking of when he described the apes that raised Tarzan?) by not being lazy and just Swyping whatever I want to research into the search box on the app installed on my phone.
It's still easier and more efficient than jotting something down and walking over to the OED or the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Do they actually still print those things?
May 11, 2011
Gazoonga!
Site is progressing nicely. I was checking out some places where I could advertise online. Found some good spots. Also, I created the "official" facebook page for gazoonga but don't plan to push anything until I can get that new ip addie this Friday. It doesn't help to spread the word if nobody can access the site from work or school afterall....
April 26, 2011
Mobile Post Number 1
Okay, so it's a little past five in the morning and I've been up since three thirty. I'm obviously not getting any sleep, so here I go testing mobile blogger....
October 11, 2010
It Lives! ... Still!
Ahem ... well, it died; then it sprung back from the trash's bowels. I know, I know ... verging on the cliche, but what the hell? I started this project in October of 2004 and now it's the middle of October 2010!
Holy minarets, Bat-Man!
I didn't know that when I started Rivals the novel would be lost completely only to be started again from a completely different perspective -- point of view. The narrator has changed completely. The original characters will remain in the finished piece, but they won't be the main players. The story won't be told from the original guy's point of view.
Heh -- whod'a thunk?
Now I have pages in my drawer ... and I'm trying to finish the story before I have a diabetic stroke ... or else get stabbed on the bus by some other vato who doesn't like the way I'm looking at him (or the way his chick's looking at me) haha
At any rate -- it feels good to be back to writing again....
Holy minarets, Bat-Man!
I didn't know that when I started Rivals the novel would be lost completely only to be started again from a completely different perspective -- point of view. The narrator has changed completely. The original characters will remain in the finished piece, but they won't be the main players. The story won't be told from the original guy's point of view.
Heh -- whod'a thunk?
Now I have pages in my drawer ... and I'm trying to finish the story before I have a diabetic stroke ... or else get stabbed on the bus by some other vato who doesn't like the way I'm looking at him (or the way his chick's looking at me) haha
At any rate -- it feels good to be back to writing again....
November 1, 2009
It Lives!
Ah, this novel has become the albatross hanging around my neck.... I need wind in my sails! Ha! Oh well, it's okay. It's like a big piece of cake I come back to now and again to take a bite out of. Eventually, I'll be done with the whole thing and, when people ask, I can still say it was a piece of cake to write -- eh? :)
At any rate, I'm off to my new start but I've been distracted with the daily struggles of life these past few months -- really working on the lowest rungs of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Now, things are settling down though and I've recently had more time to refocus on "my craft or sullen art...."
I'll start carrying a digital camera around with me and photographing things around town. As the pics collect, I'll post them here and on facebook to let anyone who might be interested have a look-see. [Thanks to Lucia Stanica for the inspiration to get me back to my shutterbug self again, btw.]
At any rate, I'm off to my new start but I've been distracted with the daily struggles of life these past few months -- really working on the lowest rungs of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Now, things are settling down though and I've recently had more time to refocus on "my craft or sullen art...."
I'll start carrying a digital camera around with me and photographing things around town. As the pics collect, I'll post them here and on facebook to let anyone who might be interested have a look-see. [Thanks to Lucia Stanica for the inspiration to get me back to my shutterbug self again, btw.]
May 26, 2009
Novel: Update
About ten thousand words into this novel, I've decided to start from scratch. I'm not changing the story but the way in which I tell the story. Specifically, I've moved from a first-person, limited pov to something else. It's a sort of meta perspective I feel is more appropriate to the story and makes it more interesting for the reader.
Strangely enough, by tossing the old way of telling the story into the shit-can, I feel as if I've made a huge leap ahead in the writing of this book. I feel liberated from something stale and still; fallen into something dynamic and exciting.
Strangely enough, by tossing the old way of telling the story into the shit-can, I feel as if I've made a huge leap ahead in the writing of this book. I feel liberated from something stale and still; fallen into something dynamic and exciting.
Novel: Update
Now that I've gotten the actual format of my novel settled, I've focused on the timeline and am happy to report I've got that settled as well. The exact dates are in place and all that remains now is to make the entries required.
I've been flirting with creating a dossier for each of the main characters and feel I may actually begin that process tomorrow. I want to create an actual folder for each character -- complete with photos downloaded from the internet at random (likely photobucket). Sorry random people I select to be the physical representatives of my characters. What can I say? I selected you because I have good taste!
Okay -- back to work now....
I've been flirting with creating a dossier for each of the main characters and feel I may actually begin that process tomorrow. I want to create an actual folder for each character -- complete with photos downloaded from the internet at random (likely photobucket). Sorry random people I select to be the physical representatives of my characters. What can I say? I selected you because I have good taste!
Okay -- back to work now....
