It's been a challenge as I've explored the possibility of moving from a MacBook to the iPad. I find myself wanting to move to the iPad for all my computing needs, and constantly frustrated by the limitation of the software. Apple still needs to release a version of iWeb to enable me to truly shift since my main site is authored in iWeb and I like it. However, two pieces of software have provided a little light at the end of the tunnel. The first is I changed from QuickOffice to Pages. QuickOffice, while cheap and functional can best be described as "cheap and functional." It is WAY too limited to be used effectively as a word processor. Second,I found Atomic Web. Atomic Web is a $.99 web browser. Among other things, it allows you to "fake" the browser id. In other words, I can make Blogger believe I'm working from Safari on my MacBook even though I'm really working from the iPad. This is important because Blogger won't allow access to a number of features on mobile browsers. It's not a perfect solution, but it's helped with some of the issues I've had.
So, here we go again. The iPad experiment is back on. We'll see how it goes...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Æ (part 001)
Prologue
Piatra-neamt, Romania.
Æ furrowed his brow, his dark eyes gleaming dangerously as he exited his car. The light of the full moon reflected off the polished surface of his black boots as he shut the car door and breathed deeply of the cool night air. He wore a long, dark trench coat over his designer suit, the collar pulled up as if to ward off the cold. The truth was, he didn’t even notice the cold. Powerfully muscled, and nearly seven feet tall, Æ glanced at the night sky, noting that the edge of the moon had already started to darken. His alabaster skin seemed to almost glow in the baleful moonlight and his long, dark hair covered the edges of his face like the hood of a cloak. He couldn’t help but think how much the world had changed and how much this place hadn’t.
Piatra-neamt had been nothing more than a crude fishing village the last time he had been here. The hike into the mountains had taken days. This time, Piatra-neamt was a small city, and the trip into the mountains had taken just hours. Paved roads had given way to dirt ones about an hour before he reached his destination and he thought how out of place his car and clothing seemed out in the desolation of what had once been the mountains of Transylvania.
The ancient stone building that was his destination jutted out of the ground in front of him, like some giant tomb that had burst from the ground in the unimaginably distant past. Gnarled and long dead trees surrounded the building, the trunks and decaying branches leaning away as if afraid of what lay inside. Æ’s boots crunched along the gravel-strewn path leading toward the building, a sound that seemed abnormally loud in the crisp mountain air. A wolf howled somewhere in the distance, the sound echoing off the black mountainsides. Æ’s head spun around and a low growl escaped his throat. Almost unconsciously, his lips peeled back in a snarl and the whites of his teeth flashed as his fangs started to manifest themselves. He hated this place.
Four hundred years had passed since he had last been obligated to visit the Bone Collector. Twelve hundred years had passed since the visit before that. A full lunar eclipse of a full moon on the Winter Solstice was a rare thing. It was the only thing that could compel him to come here. It was the only event that could tell him if the time for the prophecy was at hand.
Æ approached the shadowed alcove of the building’s entrance. A massive, ironbound oak door sat mounted into the rectangular hole chiseled into the ancient stone. He pushed hard on the door without knocking, throwing it open as he peered cautiously into the darkened interior. A charnel house reek exploded from the open door. It was a sick, rancid smell that spoke of things long dead and things currently dying.
Piatra-neamt, Romania.
Æ furrowed his brow, his dark eyes gleaming dangerously as he exited his car. The light of the full moon reflected off the polished surface of his black boots as he shut the car door and breathed deeply of the cool night air. He wore a long, dark trench coat over his designer suit, the collar pulled up as if to ward off the cold. The truth was, he didn’t even notice the cold. Powerfully muscled, and nearly seven feet tall, Æ glanced at the night sky, noting that the edge of the moon had already started to darken. His alabaster skin seemed to almost glow in the baleful moonlight and his long, dark hair covered the edges of his face like the hood of a cloak. He couldn’t help but think how much the world had changed and how much this place hadn’t.
Piatra-neamt had been nothing more than a crude fishing village the last time he had been here. The hike into the mountains had taken days. This time, Piatra-neamt was a small city, and the trip into the mountains had taken just hours. Paved roads had given way to dirt ones about an hour before he reached his destination and he thought how out of place his car and clothing seemed out in the desolation of what had once been the mountains of Transylvania.
The ancient stone building that was his destination jutted out of the ground in front of him, like some giant tomb that had burst from the ground in the unimaginably distant past. Gnarled and long dead trees surrounded the building, the trunks and decaying branches leaning away as if afraid of what lay inside. Æ’s boots crunched along the gravel-strewn path leading toward the building, a sound that seemed abnormally loud in the crisp mountain air. A wolf howled somewhere in the distance, the sound echoing off the black mountainsides. Æ’s head spun around and a low growl escaped his throat. Almost unconsciously, his lips peeled back in a snarl and the whites of his teeth flashed as his fangs started to manifest themselves. He hated this place.
Four hundred years had passed since he had last been obligated to visit the Bone Collector. Twelve hundred years had passed since the visit before that. A full lunar eclipse of a full moon on the Winter Solstice was a rare thing. It was the only thing that could compel him to come here. It was the only event that could tell him if the time for the prophecy was at hand.
Æ approached the shadowed alcove of the building’s entrance. A massive, ironbound oak door sat mounted into the rectangular hole chiseled into the ancient stone. He pushed hard on the door without knocking, throwing it open as he peered cautiously into the darkened interior. A charnel house reek exploded from the open door. It was a sick, rancid smell that spoke of things long dead and things currently dying.
Æ
Æ (Pronounced "Ash") is a 5000 year-old vampire. This is his story, maybe...
I am probably twisting the intent of Friday Flash by doing this, but I wanted to try it. This will be a continuing story. I'll be curious to see where this goes.
Yes, I am still posting from the iPad. I didn't post the cover image from the iPad, but the rest of these should be text so it shouldn't matter. I'm still not a fan of the iPad as a blogging tool and I'm also not thrilled with some of the limitations of Quick Office, but I like the device so much, I just keep spending time working on it.
My original intent here was to write a young adult vampire story with some "real" vampires. They should be mean, nasty, soulless beings. It probably won't work out that way since I think Æ is already developing a bit of a soul. I am going to curious to see how the "Æ" ligature appears when I post it.
This whole thing actually started because a student in my class asked me "why don't any cool stories take place in our city." We were talking about Twilight at the time and she had just been to Forks. I told her we'd have to write one ourselves.
Having said all of that, and realizing that I've rambled a lot, on to the story...
I am probably twisting the intent of Friday Flash by doing this, but I wanted to try it. This will be a continuing story. I'll be curious to see where this goes.
Yes, I am still posting from the iPad. I didn't post the cover image from the iPad, but the rest of these should be text so it shouldn't matter. I'm still not a fan of the iPad as a blogging tool and I'm also not thrilled with some of the limitations of Quick Office, but I like the device so much, I just keep spending time working on it.
My original intent here was to write a young adult vampire story with some "real" vampires. They should be mean, nasty, soulless beings. It probably won't work out that way since I think Æ is already developing a bit of a soul. I am going to curious to see how the "Æ" ligature appears when I post it.
This whole thing actually started because a student in my class asked me "why don't any cool stories take place in our city." We were talking about Twilight at the time and she had just been to Forks. I told her we'd have to write one ourselves.
Having said all of that, and realizing that I've rambled a lot, on to the story...
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The end of the iPad...
So, I think I've reached the end of my iPad experiment. If you look at the dates of my posts, it didn't take very long. That's not to say I won't post from the iPad on occasion. It's also not to say that I won't try using the iPad again at some point in the future. However, at this point in time, maintaining a blog from the iPad is just not practical. This morning, I tried to edit the html for a post so I could include an image. Since the iPad doesn't support all of bloggers features, inserting images included, it only made sense to try and do it manually. I couldn't get blogger to let me access the html. I could probably download an app to allow me to do the things I want, but that shouldn't be necessary. Websites shouldn't require specialized apps to access all the features.
As a result, I'm back to working on my trusty MacBook. That's not a bad thing, although I've gotten really used to working with the iPad. I like the convenience and the form factor of the tablet. No, I wouldn't EVER try typing anything of length on the virtual keyboard, but I do really like the device. If any of you are wondering if the iPad is a replacement for a laptop, I'm going to say a resounding, "NO!" Is it cool and could you use it as your only Internet and communication device? Maybe. I can't. The limitations of the browser and the apps right now are just too great.
Have I mentioned that QuickOffice has all kinds of problems too? The biggest things right now are a lack of support for word count, page breaks and a horrible tendency to "forget" about paragraph indentations. It's great for casual editing of documents, but right now it's just too limiting. The creative process can be tough enough without having to fight with your content creation tools.
As a result, I'm back to working on my trusty MacBook. That's not a bad thing, although I've gotten really used to working with the iPad. I like the convenience and the form factor of the tablet. No, I wouldn't EVER try typing anything of length on the virtual keyboard, but I do really like the device. If any of you are wondering if the iPad is a replacement for a laptop, I'm going to say a resounding, "NO!" Is it cool and could you use it as your only Internet and communication device? Maybe. I can't. The limitations of the browser and the apps right now are just too great.
Have I mentioned that QuickOffice has all kinds of problems too? The biggest things right now are a lack of support for word count, page breaks and a horrible tendency to "forget" about paragraph indentations. It's great for casual editing of documents, but right now it's just too limiting. The creative process can be tough enough without having to fight with your content creation tools.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Good Flow, Bad Flow
So, as I begin to put this whole thing together, I have come to the realization that I need to spend more time developing my characters. It isn't so much that the readers need to know more about my characters, I do. Typically, I am one of those writers that likes to just sit down and let the story flow out of the end of his fingertips. That can be both good and bad. When things are flowing well, I often end up with some of my most compelling work. Of course if things aren't flowing well, not a lot gets done. That's not really a good recipe for writing as a career. As much as I don't like to admit it, Terry Brooks was probably right when he said that every author should outline. I hate to outline.
Looking back on my original comment, the fact that I need to spend more time developing my characters, I can see another effect of the "good flow, bad flow" style of writing. The first part of this new Friday Flash book flowed REALLY well. I have to say I liked the way it came out a lot. However, a couple surprising things happened along the way. First, the character I intended to be the lead ended up being less compelling than another character that was originally intended to be nothing more than a minor supporting character. Second, I've discovered that I'm a little stuck with how to portray another character because the ones I've created have evolved in ways I hadn't necessarily intended. Saying it that way is a little weird since I'm a grand total of about six pages into this thing. Pretty funny...
Looking back on my original comment, the fact that I need to spend more time developing my characters, I can see another effect of the "good flow, bad flow" style of writing. The first part of this new Friday Flash book flowed REALLY well. I have to say I liked the way it came out a lot. However, a couple surprising things happened along the way. First, the character I intended to be the lead ended up being less compelling than another character that was originally intended to be nothing more than a minor supporting character. Second, I've discovered that I'm a little stuck with how to portray another character because the ones I've created have evolved in ways I hadn't necessarily intended. Saying it that way is a little weird since I'm a grand total of about six pages into this thing. Pretty funny...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday Flash, part 2
And so the grand experiment begins...
As I prepare to join the Fridayflash frenzy it's been a bit of a struggle to decide how to handle it. The first question is, "what story to tell?" I'm pretty sure I've worked that one out. My intent is going to be to join the ranks of the vampire story tellers. (Don't worry, this definitely won't be Twilight.) The second question is, can I do all of this from an iPad? The second question is more of a personal experiment on my part. I've been playing with the iPad as a laptop replacement for a few months now. If you've followed the tech media at all, it's pretty clear that the iPad is a great media consumption device, but not such a great media creation device. My experience would generally agree with that. Even here on blogspot, it appears that functionality is missing. Sure, I can submit blog posts (which I unfortunately can't do on my main site since Apple hasn't produced an iPad version of iWeb.) But, it doesn't look like I can add graphics without editing the html. That appears to be a limitation of mobile browsers. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll try it with my next post.
In the meantime, I'll be writing this story in Quickoffice on the iPad. I seriously considered Pages and Documents to Go, but I finally settled on Quickoffice. Is it the best of the choices? Probably not. However, I'm hoping it'll do the job and since I already have Quickoffice on my phone, I can get a feel for the whole mobile computing experience. Graphics, if any, will be produced in Photoshop and then transferred somewhere so I can post them here on the iPad.
As to the story, I just finished reading Twilight. No disrespect intended to Stephanie Meyer, but vampires are bad guys and they are mean. They burn in the sunlight, they are repulsed by garlic, and they are killed by stabbing them through the heart. If I were a purist, I'd insist they were stabbed through the heart by a wooden stake. As it is, I'll settle for them being stabbed through the heart. One of the things that has bothered me in recent years about vampire stories is the removal of the religious element. Vampires are also repelled by crosses. I'm not sure if I'll head in that direction or not, but I wanted to make a note of it here.
So, this is VERY early in the planning stages. There will be rewrites, revisions and probably a lot of rambling. Hopefully, as the process continues, there will also be a lot of discussion.
As I prepare to join the Fridayflash frenzy it's been a bit of a struggle to decide how to handle it. The first question is, "what story to tell?" I'm pretty sure I've worked that one out. My intent is going to be to join the ranks of the vampire story tellers. (Don't worry, this definitely won't be Twilight.) The second question is, can I do all of this from an iPad? The second question is more of a personal experiment on my part. I've been playing with the iPad as a laptop replacement for a few months now. If you've followed the tech media at all, it's pretty clear that the iPad is a great media consumption device, but not such a great media creation device. My experience would generally agree with that. Even here on blogspot, it appears that functionality is missing. Sure, I can submit blog posts (which I unfortunately can't do on my main site since Apple hasn't produced an iPad version of iWeb.) But, it doesn't look like I can add graphics without editing the html. That appears to be a limitation of mobile browsers. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll try it with my next post.
In the meantime, I'll be writing this story in Quickoffice on the iPad. I seriously considered Pages and Documents to Go, but I finally settled on Quickoffice. Is it the best of the choices? Probably not. However, I'm hoping it'll do the job and since I already have Quickoffice on my phone, I can get a feel for the whole mobile computing experience. Graphics, if any, will be produced in Photoshop and then transferred somewhere so I can post them here on the iPad.
As to the story, I just finished reading Twilight. No disrespect intended to Stephanie Meyer, but vampires are bad guys and they are mean. They burn in the sunlight, they are repulsed by garlic, and they are killed by stabbing them through the heart. If I were a purist, I'd insist they were stabbed through the heart by a wooden stake. As it is, I'll settle for them being stabbed through the heart. One of the things that has bothered me in recent years about vampire stories is the removal of the religious element. Vampires are also repelled by crosses. I'm not sure if I'll head in that direction or not, but I wanted to make a note of it here.
So, this is VERY early in the planning stages. There will be rewrites, revisions and probably a lot of rambling. Hopefully, as the process continues, there will also be a lot of discussion.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday Flash
I ran across Friday Flash yesterday while on Twitter. I'm not going to spend a lot of time explaining what it is, because I'm not really sure myself. It looks like Friday Flash is an experiment in social networking and writing. The impression I get is that you write a short story, post the link to it with the hash tag #fridayflash and then let your followers and the fridayflash community enjoy your work. I'm not sure if the intent is for the work posted to be complete short stories or if it can be segments from a larger story. My initial impression is the intent is the former, but I think I'm going to use it for the latter. The idea will be to see what kind of interaction and conversation you can generate around your work. I think it sounds fascinating. Being as I've been wanting to experiment with blogger, it seems like the perfect opportunity to try it. I've been an iWeb user for a long time, but I'm irritated by the fact that I can't use iWeb from anywhere except my laptop. If this blogger thing works out, that'll all change. Maybe it'll even encourage me to post and write more often.
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