NaNoWriMo 2014 – I made it!!

Current word count: 50,029
Word count goal 27th day: 45,009

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It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, when people celebrate friends, family and things they were thankful for over the year.

I ended up spending most of it on the couch trying to figure out what was up with my laptop computer.

Two days ago Microsoft pushed the latest update to Windows 10 Technical Preview. Up until then I was having no problems at all. Now the keyboard is acting like it has a mind of its own, and I have to keep an eagle eye out for when it jumps back several characters into what I’ve previously written and deletes, or overwrites the recent characters.

I tried an external USB keyboard to see if that would work and, sure enough, it works just fine.

This either means a problem with the driver for the built-in keyboard, or the keyboard is dying. Not good, though I could understand it as I use this computer way more than it was probably ever designed to be used.

External keyboard in hand, I was able to move onto capturing the 1800 words needed to accomplish the real topic of this blog entry, my winning NaNoWriMo!! Still hard to believe it. But, I did it in 27 days.

To refresh your memory winning NaNoWriMo means writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Not sure what this year’s stats look like. But, last year only 17% of the 300,000+ participants accomplished that task.

There were times when the words flowed like water. While there were other times when it felt like pulling teeth. Still, only two days out of the 27 did I write less than the 1667 average I needed to complete the task by month’s end.

This year I wrote historical fiction so I couldn’t stray too far from what actually happened. I’ve already decided that next year will be some type of science fiction, paranormal, horror, alternative history type of piece where I can write pretty much whatever I want as it flows from my mind.

I’ve got some ideas already on electronic paper courtesy of some dreams I had lately. But, I think I’ll keep them to myself for now till I actually decide which to use. I’ll definitely make sure to have outlined and planned a lot better than this year when it was a case of research, write, research, write, and repeat.

This year’s book is hardly finished though. I’m guessing it’s going to take another 50,000 words, or so, to finish the first draft. Then it’s time to revise and polish. Don’t expect to see Bullets and Borscht gracing the digital shelves of Amazon and Barnes & Noble any time soon.

Now it’s time to return to figuring out what’s up with this keyboard because I can’t afford a new laptop, and lugging around an external keyboard would be for the birds.

NaNoWriMo 2014 –Take One

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

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To most, November means leaves turning gold and orange, frost on the ground and a chill in the morning air, and there’s plenty of turkey and pumpkin pie towards the end of the month.

To others, it’s time to write. Write A LOT!!! At least 50,000 words to be specific for it’s National Novel Writing Month…NaNoWriMo for short.

I learned about NaNoWriMo by accident midway through last November when listening to Mur Lafferty’s I should Be Writing podcast. It intrigued me. But, I figured there would be no way to win starting so late in the month.

Organizers say you win NaNoWriMo if you write at least 50,000 words during the month. It can be pure dreck that you’ll throw 80% away in editing. But, the word count is the goal. To get the juices flowing, so to speak.

And what do you get for winning? A fancy downloadable pdf certificate, suitable for hanging on your all (frame not included).

I think most people have said at least once in their life, “I want to write a book.” The trick is in actually moving from thinking about it to actually doing it; be it on a computer, typewriter, or a ream of 20lb bond and a fountain pen.

NaNoWriMo has grown from a group of 21 Bay Area friends in 1999 to over 310,000 participants worldwide just last year. People from all walks of life writing about all sorts of different subjects.

I will be writing a fictionalized account of a little known American Civil War event. In 1863, Czar Alexander II approved a plan to send his Pacific Navy fleet to San Francisco, while sending his Atlantic Navy fleet to New York City. They hung around for about a year before heading back to Mother Russia.

It’ll be wrapped about several historical events, which they may or may not have had direct involvement in (it’s fiction after all!).

At least that’s the plan.

Or I  may decide at the last second I want to hold that one off until I get more research done, replacing the idea with some <fill in the genre> novel that I’ve come up with as I go along (known as a pantsing in NaNoWriMo vernacular).

That’s allowed, since there are really very few rules, and for those who want to break the rules, there’s a rule for that. Just declare yourself a NaNoWriMo Rebel.

50,000 words is actually doable. That’s only 1,667 words per day, if you write every day. Most of my blog entries hover around 1,000 words, and are completed in about two hours with editing (this entry is about 560 words). For NaNoWriMo, you’re generally supposed to lock your inside editor in a box until December.

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For those interested in taking up the challenge, local East Bay Region organizers will be having a pre-event meet and greet Thursday (Oct. 30) at the Dublin Panera, located at 7030 Amador Plaza Road, followed by an official kick-off party, November 1, at the Berkeley Public Library main branch.

If you’re not located around my neck of the woods you can find your home region, as well as any events they might have scheduled at http://nanowrimo.org/regions

Go Westeros Young Man!

DISCLAIMER: This blog entry DOES contain spoilers for anyone who has never seen HBO's Game of Thrones television series and never read any of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series.

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• 9 1/2 weeks
• Five books
• 4300 pages
• 1.7 million words

Let the withdrawals begin!!!

To be perfectly honest, I can't believe I'm already done with all the books. When I took up the task of reading George RR Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, I figured it would take all Summer before I'd be done; just in time for the next book to hit the shelves.

Or so I thought. Martin is nicknamed The Great Bearded Glacier for good reason! He writes at his own pace, and is reluctant to acknowledge estimated release dates. It now looks as if the soonest The Winds of Winter will be released is sometime during Spring 2014.)

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February 2012, I signed up for Comcast's Triple Play Package, and the deal included free HBO. Until that time I had a vague understanding of the Game of Thrones TV series. But, didn't know much of else about it.

Like some unexpected addict-to-be I surfed the On Demand menu until I found Game of Thrones.

Watching the first episode, I was intrigued. By the time I got through the second episode I was floored. I think it took me about three days to work through the entire season, only to find out Season Two wasn't due for several weeks.

Fast forward to late April 2012. I was eagerly anticipating the new season, and what would one do in that case? Well, naturally watch the entire Season One all over again to refresh their memory.

NOOOOOOO! I thought, as they flashed the 2013 release date for Season Three at the end of Episode 10.

One of my bigger frustrations when I decided to cut the cord was the thought I would be missing Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones television series.

Shortly thereafter, I found a couple of Barnes & Noble gift cards, forgotten and collecting dust.

I figured maybe it would be a good idea to dive into the original novels since, at that time, HBO didn't offer their current season through iTunes or Amazon, and a Season Three DVD release was nowhere on the radar (and still isn't).

So in April I took the plunge, and downloaded the sample.

I found the first novel very readable and didn't want to put it down. When I reached the end of the sample there was no question I would buy the series.

A word of caution. If you decide to get the eBook versions, I highly recommend buying the INDIVIDUAL books, rather than the special 5 book collection.

While the $10 savings might seem attractive, it's not worth the headache while reading. The collection is ONE VOLUME with all five books smooshed together so it takes over six minutes to open every time you want to read it! And it doesn't matter if you might be on the fifth book. You STILL have to load the first four books into memory.

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Anytime something gets translated to the screen there's bound to be some changes. Sometimes it follows the source material pretty close. But, sometimes about the only thing left are the names of the characters and the title of the book.

Fortunately, for fans of the novels, this hasn't turned out to be the case. The first book was pretty close to what made it to my TV for Season One. Material left out really didn't hurt the continuity. This is a direct benefit of having Martin take an active role in production of the series.

Overall, the TV show has aged most of the main characters a bit, especially the younger characters, who Martin placed in their early to mid teens. While a young teenage King Robb Stark might be believable in a book format, which relies on the reader's imagination, I don't think it would have translated very well to the TV.

But make no mistake in thinking these are a series of children's fantasy books. While there are wolves, princes and princesses throughout, there is also blood and gore at every turn, as well as a major plotline of incest running though out.

Had the producers stuck with the youthful ages I'm fairly certain they would have run afoul of groups who found the visualizations objectionable.

But, I will readily admit that perhaps my perception of what the characters should look like was clouded by watching the series before reading the books. Martin goes at great lengths to describe physical characteristics of his characters, and a good portion of them do not match what made it to TV.

Seasons Two and Three (which I watched in one 10 hour sitting thanks to someone who still has HBO) have some major diversions for some of the characters as compared to the original source material.

A couple of characters have been combined, who had passages in the book, which had them doing things in different parts of the world at exactly the same time.

This will make for some tough editorial decisions down the road since I think they both might become important parts of the novels' story line in the remaining two unreleased titles.

Another thing which caught my eye were the cities in the opening credits. These stylized credits zoom over a map showing us which cities are likely to be visited in that particular episode.

Yunkai and Meereen are two cities that have very important storylines in books 3 and 5. However, there seems to be no room on the map for the latter city. We will have to wait until April 2014 to see if this was just a glitch by the animators, or whether we diverge even further from what Martin created.

There's a very detailed wiki which collects all the differences between the books and the TV show.

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So am I glad I went ahead and read the books, effectively knowing where the TV series will be going over the next three seasons? Yes.

The world that Martin created is so rich, that there's a lot of stuff that simply won't make it to the screen. And the producers have already said they don't see it being stretched to ten seasons, which would be necessary to save some of the less important stuff.

Can a person get by with only watching the TV series? Sure. But, you're cheating yourself of the fuller experience.

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if you are still looking for something to do between TV seasons, I highly recommend subscribing to The Boiled Leather Audio Hour podcast.

These guys make a super detailed examination of all facets of the world Martin created! Be forewarned every episode is basically loaded with spoilers if you've not read all five books.

Going to the library without leaving home!

Today I want to share with you a tool that, perhaps, some people don't realize they have at their fingertips.

In the past, when you needed a book at the library you had to get on the bus, or drive down to the library and fight for parking. There's an alternative out there that's pretty awesome!!

There is a growing, collection of books you can borrow from your library and use on any number of devices. But you say, "I don't have an Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Nook Tablet (or any of the many other specialized readers that are out there nowadays). You're not stuck having to buy one anymore. Do you have a smart phone? According to a 2010 study, there are over 12 million advanced cell phones in the US which would be able to do the job; not to mention most desktop, laptop or tablet computers can as well.

Chances are good your library is a member of a digital system which has copies of eBooks that you can check out. You ask, "Isn't the library pirating the book if they hand out copies to everyone that wants one?" It doesn't work that way. Through the use of some ingenious software you need to "check out" a title, and the file has an expiration date with a limited number of copies; typically one or two copies at most, depending on the type of subject. An added benefit of this system is that you don't have to worry about all those late fees because you couldn't get down to the library as you won't be able to use the downloaded book once the expiration date has past.

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Obviously, the first thing you need is a library card. If you're hunting down a library that particularly offers eBooks, check their website. I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have cards from the Oakland Public Library and San Jose's Martin Luther King Jr. Library. And according to their website, the San Francisco Public Library has a huge eBook collection, though I've not used it.

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You will need to install some specialized software to be able to borrow the library's eBooks. Here are some to consider:

Overdrive Media Console: Overdive has computer versions for Windows and  OSX (Apple). Additionally most of major mobile devices and tablets are covered with versions for Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 and IOS (iPhone/iPad). (Note: not all operating systems support all types of books and/or media files. Check with Overdrive to see what you can access, along with any additional system requirements you have to fill). Of all the software I mention Overdrive is the one I am the most familiar with. A big plus in Overdrive's favor is that it supports audiobooks and music ,as well as the traditional written form.

Adobe Digital Editions: This software, from the originators of the Portable Document Format (PDF), is available for Windows and OSX (Apple). Unfortunately, ADE will not run on mobile devices and tablets at the present time due to (DRM) copy protection software used (Digital Rights Management).

Bluefire: Android and IOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) devices have another option. With Bluefire you can open library books, as well as eBooks you have purchased from the major bookstores, as it handles the DRM without the need of having Adobe Digital Editions installed on a computer to move the file to your device.

'txtr, which also runs on the same devices Bluefire, does not support library books, but does support purchased eBooks, and eBooks without copy protection.

Calibre eBook Management:  I mention Calibre only because it is the only program that I'm aware of that has a native linux client. Granted, not very many of you reading this will being using linux. However, just the fact they built a linux version is something I enjoy sharing. They also have Windows and OSX versions. Unfortunately, this only allows reading of eBooks that are DRM-free. However, some people have been able to use it to transfer eBooks to their phones.

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There are also many virtual libraries online that give you access to books that have been scanned because their copyright has expired and thus are in the public domain with no copy protection.

The oldest one worth mentioning is Project Gutenberg. ProjG has nearly 40000 books available to freely download, in multiple formats, and you can keep the copies for as long as you want, and pass them around to other people. While being one of the oldest, people may not have heard of them.

There's little doubt most people have heard of Google Books because of the flack over copyright issues that arose in the past few years. Google has formed a relationship with several large universities, with the intention of scanning their entire collection. While older books in public domain are not the issue, it's the newer ones the have become controversial. This is clearly bypassing copyright laws, and lawsuits have been the result. As of right now, you can search Google Books and public domain books are available for download. Other books are available for purchase, and some search results have links to libraries where you can borrow them. You will probably need a card to get them though.

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Some book publishers are now offering the ability to buy memberships that give you access to their publications by way of a normal web browser. A great example are O'Reilly Publications and Pearson Technology, who pooled their titles for the Safari Books Online portal. You get access to thousands of titles by purchasing a subscription. The bad news is that the subscription fee can get quite expensive (the all-you-can read plan is nearly $500 per year!!) and you have to have an internet connection to read them. However, the good news is that many libraries give you FREE access simply with having a library card. I access the Safari titles with my MLK card. You log into your library account from home and then read away. Pretty slick!

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I have purposely not mentioned any of the proprietary software installed on the Amazon or Barnes & Noble tablets, as I'm not familiar with their capabilities. I own a Nook Color that has been rooted since January 2011 so I could install what I wanted on it, and have never used any of the Amazon Kindle versions.

Hopefully, this has helped to expand your reading horizons at little to no out of pocket expenses, and you'll give it a try soon. While not every book under the Sun is available in electronic format, the number is getting bigger all the time, and most books that are newly published have a digital version for purchase from the first day they're released, and generally cheaper than the printed version.