A peaceful Thanksgiving to all

May your turkeys be big ;-)

Gadget abuse?

Don't get me wrong here, I love my gadgets as much as any other guy (I don't think it's a guy-thing any more, by the way), but the article Knock off the gadget abuse now gave me some food for thought.

My new way of writing shuts off some of the distractions, and I think most writers are with me on that one: Being interrupted while writing is a Bad Thing™. So what about other times, e.g. research? Sometimes we are able to work our way through the material without being disturbed, at other times, though …

OK, one has to differentiate: There are people we should be available for, but at all times of day, or night for that matter? As I said, it's a judgement call, isn't it?

Technorati Tags: writing, being disturbed, gadgets

Writing: Doing it the Analog Way

I started a new book a while ago — no computer-stuff this time — and decided to do it in a real old-fashioned way: I'm writing longhand (for all the computer-kids out there: using pen and paper). Hearing that Neil Gaiman does the same thing, more or less, when he was interviewed at Cranky Geeks 30, just helped. ;-)

The whole thing started out with one of the most feared things while writing a book[scary music, please]: THE BEGINNING. I had pondered over several versions, but came to no conclusion how to tackle it. Then the usual happened: Inspiration hit me while sitting on a train; my 12" has been acting up again (does not recognize the battery any more) and the only thing in reach was a legal pad. I grabbed it and wrote four pages in one go, besides one short interruption by the conductor, that is. The experience was wonderful, no distractions, no IMs, no e-mail, nothing. Words or phrases I wasn't sure about got a curly line, to be looked up later. I was able to write down my thoughts without any detours. Don't laugh, try it yourself. It is quite a different thing compared to hacking away at the keyboard.

The process (might be refined in the future, I'll let you know) works like this:

1. I write on a legal pad or my Moleskine.


2. After a while, I read the material again and


3. type it into the computer and


4. do the re-writes as I go.

Seriously, give it a try. Comments via e-mail, please. I'm still fighting with the comment-function.

Technorati Tags: Writing, longhand, writing a book in longhand

Books: 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman

I finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman a couple of days ago. Actually, not the edition the link in the sentence before points to, but a paperback edition containing the authors preferred text, means the book contains material which was edited out of the original prints. Let's call it a directors cut for the sake of simplicity.

As mentioned in the post Some Books are like old Friends, I am a big fan of Neil's collaboration with Terry Pratchett. American Gods was the first book I read written by Neil alone.

So what is my verdict? I ploughed through the book in three days, reading at every occasion that presented itself. It is fantastic. It's some kind of mystery-thriller with a good sense of humor, and that is all I intend to say about it. I don't want to talk (write?) about anything else of the story, because I fear I would spoil a great experience for all people who didn't read the book, yet. I would even recommend to everyone not to look to closeley on the book's website, you might rue it, because you found something, you're not supposed to know yet.

The only author posing a similar problem (regarding his books) I know, is Tom Holt. If you ever tried to describe one of his books in enough detail to interest someone in a book written by him, you know what I mean. If you never read a Tom Holt novel, get one while buying American Gods. We are done her, head for the bookstore!

Technorati Tags: Neil Gaiman, American Gods

It's not only web-design

The post If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers provides an interesting insight into the downside of designing an website. But the scenario can be applied to almost all creative works to be executed, IMHO.
It actually reminds of a writing-project I did once. ;-) On the other hand, my experiences in the last couple of years have been positive, due to competent editors. Nothing beats an editor who understands you and what needs to be done for a book.