What do you think about iBook and iBook Author?

When I first read the snippet about Apple's announcement, I thought it sounded great for non-fiction authors, especially for how-to authors, history ... to add photos, links, and videos to enrich your narrative. Who wouldn't want that? As for textbook market, I thought it would bring the subject material to life. If I'd had books like those while I took physics classes, I probably wouldn't still have a chip on my shoulder about Mr. Newton.

But as I'm focused on the fiction side of books, I've been thinking of ways a fiction author could use photos and music to set the mood for their written word. Does the storytelling medium change from written word to something closer to a movie? How much do I as an author want to set the stage and how much do I want to leave for the reader? Will adding these new elements make the reader more engaged or less? Tricky questions.

Already other authors are sharing their views. On the internet today are two different reactions, one from a non-fiction author, the other a fiction writer.

• Joseph Linaschke, a professional photographer, posted on one of his blogs a few experimental pages of a photobook centered around his trip to Vietnam. Joseph's early-adopter actions lead me to think he's excited about the idea. (If you can, download and read his experimental book if not for the interactive book experience, for the photographs.)
• Holly Lisle, a published fiction writer and writing teacher, has pulled all her books from the iBookstore because of changes in the EULA. She posted her reasoning here.

On the textbook side ... On yesterday's Tech News Today, a guest raised concerns about iPad availability and cost for students and how to manage hardware and books in the primary education environment. Additionally, she suggested that interactions with such a textbook could include a larger social aspect than with just an individual student, allowing for entire class group discussions.

This is just what popped up in my limited view in Facebook, email, and podcasts. I'm sure many other folks are weighing in on the news with varied opinions.

What do you think? What will ultimately happen? Let me know in the comments section.

As for me, I don't know how things will shake out. I suspect other companies will release a program similar to iBook Author that would let anyone, on any computer platform, create and sell their content on multiple computer platforms and devices, with less egregious terms and conditions

It will be interesting to watch the book writing and publishing industry, already undergoing transition, react to this further democratization of creating and publishing content. Who knows what other changes will be catalyzed?

What I know for sure is that I'll be keeping a close eye on it all.

Mission Statment for Writing?

Christina Katz, in her latest book, The Writer's Workout, encourages every writer, regardless of genre, to create a mission for their writing. Really, a mission for my writing? When I read that, I groaned. "Another thing to do?"

My Old Badge Mission Card

But then, I gave it some thought.

Corporations have mission statements. As a matter of fact, I still have my badge companion from Intel that the company gave to every employee so we would carry a copy of the mission everywhere we went. So, I pulled it out and read it again, surprised to find it was from 2000. (Had it really been that long ago?) I remember how I worked to embody that mission. It wasn't too hard as integrity and discipline figured heavily in my own upbringing. What stuck with me was how that mission provided a foundation from which to conduct business with internal and external customers.

My Old Mission Statement

Shortly after I joined the company, I took a course called 7 Habits for Highly Successful People, in which mission statements came up again. I had to write a personal mission statement for my life. I balked at that, but as it was homework, I wrote one, and maybe not so coincidentally it was very similar to Intel's corporate mission. When I reincorporated a paper weekly planner in my life last year, I found that handwritten mission tucked into my old planner. Eleven years after leaving Intel, thirteen years of marriage, and three kids later, that mission still fit, even if it was too detailed for my tastes today. It was just a statement of how I wanted to present myself to the world.

A foundation to work from. How I want to present my work to the world. Maybe having a writing mission statement isn't that crazy.

My Writing Statement : TBD

So now, I'm committed to developing a mission centered on my writing. But what will my writing mission be? A good question that leads to other ones like: How will I present my writing to the world? What experience do I want an audience to get from my stories? I'm still figuring out the type of story to write ... romance, paranormal, fantasty, so I'll have to create one that encompasses my interests and aspirations. A tall order, but one I'm now prepared and ready to tackle.

Once I have one that speaks to me, I'll share it here on my blog.

A TBR Books Quickie

Two of the gifts I received this holiday season were books. One by new-to-me author, Catherine Coulter and the other by not-new-to-me-author, Christina Katz. One historical-fiction, the other non-fiction. And I'm looking forward to both.

Why? Well, as for the Coulter book, I'm always looking for new stories to devour, to discover new places even if they are old, and to see how other authors craft their stories. Which leads me to why I'm excited for Katz's book: to improve my writing and develop a sustainable approach to this not-a-day-job-yet activity.

Any new books that you are excited to read? Let me know in the comments.

In case you were curious, the two books are ... 

 

Catherine Coulter's "The Valcourt Heiress"

Christina Katz's "The Writer's Workout"

A Holiday Wish for You

Finally Finished.

Yep. I've finally finished my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel! Now to figure out how to celebrate ... panini for dinner and maybe some new music? Choices, choices, choices.

Having just finished the story, you'd think I'd be ready to move on, get a break. But noooo. Frankly it's a bit annoying that I've already started a list of the things the story needs for improvement ... like changing the male main character's role in a group to something bigger, adding more chuztpah from the female protagonist, and don't even get me started on the things I need to do to the last scene. The list grows and grows.

But as next week is vacation, a major holiday, and I have two other revisions waiting in the wings, I'll give this story about Death, aka Moragayn, a rest until after the New Year to allow some objectivity to settle in. Then, I'll wedge the revision of this new story into my writing schedule and work on my To Do list.

Until then, I'll distract myself with holiday activities and some browsing on iTunes and Amazon.

My NaNoWriMo Post Mortem

So, my 4th NaNoWriMo has come and gone. Standing on this side of the event, it feels great to have outlined and written, well almost written - 5 more scenes to go, another story in two months. I love the energy that comes with writing something new, that's my favorite part of the process.

Since this is my fourth time playing along, it's a good time to assess what worked and what didn't this go around. So, in the spirit of my ol' engineering days, I've done a post-mortem look at this year's NaNoWriMo experience. For those not familiar with a post-mortem -- it's an assessment of what happened during your event/process for what went well or poorly so then the team/individual can keep the good practices and not repeat the bad ones. Here is mine...

The Bad:

• I can't type in a moving car with a sinus headache.
• To do: Learn how to effectively use the iOS Dragon dictation software so I'll be prepared for next time I'm stuck in a car for large amounts of time and can still be productive.
• I let too many distractions get in the way, i.e. FB, Twitter, email.
• To do: Work on my discipline.
• Keep away from those sites while working. I know I've said this before, just goes to show that we all have our weaknesses.
• Corollary: During writing time, ONLY use the internet as a tool for researching bits for the story.
• My half paper, half digital prep work system didn't work so well, it took too long to find names and character traits. 
• To do: Digitize all pre-work and add to Scrivener before starting the first sentence.

The Good:  

• Even with unexpected travel out of town and weekends off,  I can write 50k in a month.
• It was nice to discover that with large chunks of time taken away from writing, I could meet my goal. However, making the necessary compromises (giving up exercise time, time away from the kids and husband) is not a sustainable practice for me.
• To do: 
• Write when able. 
• Be flexible.
• With all three kids in school, I can crank out 4k words before they get home, if all I do is write while they are gone. (Read: no internet, no cooking, no cleaning, no shopping.) 
• To do: Treat writing more like a paying job EVERY month, not just NaNoWriMo. I'd probably be amazed how much I can get done ... like finish those darn revisions that are waiting.
• My husband and kids are awesome for supporting me and letting me take some of our family time to catch up on writing. 
• To do: 
• Thank them for their support. Over and over again.
• Keep this time borrowing to a minimum.
• I started to recognize when a story wasn't working for me, like when I was spending more time on the internet/FB/Twitter or reading artist bios on Pandora. During those times, I had to push through and let the story go where it wanted to go, and thus capture my interest again.
• To do:  Continue to recognize these times and just let the story flow.

Now I have a mini-checklist to keep close by to help me stay on track.

NaNoWriMo, like Life, can be viewed like a game. So, after everything is said and done, my biggest take-away is ... Play full out, have fun, and when I have to sit out, do it with grace and poise.

Wishing You ...

Almost there...

Well, not quite. The family and I have about three hours, according to Google Maps before we arrive at our destination. I brought my laptop with me so I could type while the hubby drives. I'm a bit of a back-seat driver, so as you can probably guess, not much writing yet.

However, while I thought of a photo to this post for your visual pleasure, I wondered if I could incorporate the scene into my NaNoWriMo novel, which is currently at 61% of the 50k word goal. The scene I'm working on, when I finish his post, is set on a private beach, but we're driving through the California desert. It'll be a stretch, but I'm going to give it a try. If after I write it in I decide that it doesn't belong, it's just a draft and I can take care of it later. That's what the revision stage is for, right? But trust me, I don't want to do more work than necessary, I'm going to think about this a bit, after all I need a distraction so I can leave the husband to driving.

So, here's to creativity, safe driving on the road, and on the computer.

For those curious about why we're driving in CA, our Irish Dancer daughter is competing with a team of 8 dancers at the western regional competition. Good luck to all of the Maguire Dancers!

2k

Well, my NaNoWriMo writing marathon started yesterday with oil changes for both cars, a wonky iPhone (that after repeated syncing and loss of music files) required a restore, a committee meeting, a foundation meeting, all on top of normal Tuesday things. But I still managed to type just over 2000 words. I'll keep plugging along, snatching time when I can.

This exercise reminds me that I let too many things distract me from my writing the rest of the year. Not that I want to marathon write/edit/revise every month, but setting and keeping goals for each month might be a good idea. Just maybe.

Happy Trick or Treating!