I Have a Pulse

For those who may have thought that I had dropped off the face of the planet or had in fact expired -- good news. I'm still around. And I have a Pulse . I'm not just talking about the kind that can be felt at the throat and wrist either. I'm talking about the latest techie gadget, the one I received from my spouse as a Christmas gift. So what, you ask, am I wittering on about? I'll tell you.

The Pulse looks like a pen but it's actually a rather nifty paper-based computer from Livescribe. It writes just like a pen, but it has a very specialized digital camera at the pointy end which, if you write on the Livescribe "dot" paper, can be uploaded to your computer. It also has the really neat ability to record sounds and "attach" the recording to your notes or to a drawing. Amazing. And what's more it really works! Add on an additional software package called MyScript for LiveScribe that transforms your scribbles into text and you have a very powerful writing tool. One that can be used just about anywhere.

I often find that pounding the keyboard sort of locks my Muse up in a cage. Oh I can see what I want to write all right. It just won't flow to the fingertips. Writing longhand helps, but then I have the chore of transcribing my words into Liquid Story Binder so it takes at least twice as long to get my words into the chapter I'm working on... and my time is limited. But with the Pulse I'm able to write a scene, upload it, change the scribble to text (okay you DO have to write fairly neatly), edit the text to put right the words that come out as garbage because of the bad handwriting, and save it as a text file. Then, when I have a few spare moments I can import the file into Liquid Story Binder. Simple. Effective. And totally cool for techies like me. And I can use it on planes without having to haul out the laptop. Marvelous!

The downside is that you do have to use the special "dot" paper but if you have the right kind of color laser printer you can print your own. My package came with 5 college-ruled notebooks so it isn't a problem for me. There are ruled and plain journals available too, if that's your prefered writing medium.

So now I really don't have any excuses at all not to write, do I?

Indiahhh.. Incredible India

I'm back. I had a fabulous time too. Everyone, especially every writer, should visit India IMO. It truly is a land of contrasts. I don't have time for a proper post today, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get some of my thoughts down. I have loads of photos and I'll put them up on a website soon. Oh yes, I also wrote a few words today.

We are go for takeoff

After a couple of weeks of high-octane stress and nearly running this thing down to the wire, I've got the go-ahead for... wait for it... a business trip to India! To Pune (which used to be called Poona in the old days) to train some colleagues in the intricaies of a software package that they'll be using to help support my current #1 client. I leave tomorrow, and I'll be returning on November 9th. Phew!

It's a fantastic opportunity from a writer's POV too. I'm ready to soak in as much atmosphere and culture as I can, in the time when I'm not working. I'll be there during Dewali, The Festival of Lights, which is just such incredible timing. I'm going to take a million photos and hours of video and when I get back I'll put it all up on a website to share it with everyone.

That's the good news. The bad is that I don't know if I'll be able to post while I'm away. I'm hoping to, provided the hotel has good connectivity. It should... but then again I've stayed in plenty of places in the US where connectivity was a joke. and I won't be sending out queries while I'm away. There's no need to tempt fate -- I'd look a complete twit if I ended up having to explain that I couldnt actually SEND a partial or the full ms if an agent actually asked. Now isn't that the sweetest excuse ever? I will work on my query letter though. And Project Tevan.

So for the time being, keep writing and blogging and I'll catch you later!

Freebies

Am I slipping back into my old ways? No. At least, I'm trying not to but something big is brewing for me work-wise and if it comes off it will be incredibly exciting. I'm longing to share it with everyone, but until I get the final go/no-go decision I want to keep it a secret. And that's why I haven't posted anything new on here for almost a week.

However, in the on-going effort to improve my writing skills I've found a great offer that you might find helpful too. ConceptDraw is offering a free download of an older, but fully functional ( anyone remember Data's classic line from one of the very early ST-TNG episodes? Well, it's not fully functional in THAT way. Honestly! You writers have minds like sewers :) ) -- to return the subject at hand -- version of MINDMAP. It normally costs around $200 so this is a steal. As you might have guessed from the name, it's software that helps you to draw mind maps. Assuming you don't already know what mind-mapping is, it's a graphical technique for generating ideas and linking those ideas together in eye-opening ways. And that's what we writers have to do for our stories to really take off.

If you'd like copy free you can download it from here for PC and Mac then get your serial # here. I've only just downloaded it, but it looks good and seems easy to use. So now you can't say I never give you anything for spending your time reading my blog!

Twisted

Hmmm. All evening I've been running this crazy idea through my head. I've kind of planned a twist for Varda all along. But now I've come up with a new twisted twist. If my storytelling skills are up to it, it's going to be a really fun tale. Varda may not agree, but heck, who's writing this thing anyway? But I need to get it worked out properly before I get going down this rabbit hole, so I'm going to work on outlining and planning for the rest of the week. That's not my style, so it will be a bit of a challenge. F it works out though, the payoff will be terrific.