Making An E-Book Doesn’t Sound So Hard Now

Posted: September 19, 2012 in Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , ,
0

I’ve always considered myself someone who’s not very good with computers beyond the Internet, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and the basic Excel spreadsheet. However, today in class, I realized that might not really be the case:

In my documentary class, we’re making documentaries in various forms on the Macs in our classroom. What are those documentaries about, you might be asking yourself? Well, they’re about us, each and every one of us in the class, and how we go about creating various works of literary greatness. I’ve already completed one project, using GarageBand to make an audio essay, and got an A on that. The project we’re working on now is a short video that we will create using Zoom cameras and iMovie, and to prepare we’re learning all the ins and outs of iMovie by creating short practice videos.

Now, normally I’m a little leery about using new programs and I usually need someone to hold my hand throughout most of the learning process. However today I was able to create a short, two-minute video commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Occupy protests with an old film clip of 1950s fashionable wear, several pictures of the Occupy protests, and a song by Bing Cosby. It wasn’t half-bad, and I was able to use a few special effects we hadn’t covered yet in class because I had the gall to check out the homework for today before class. Let me tell you, the sense of pride I felt by the end of the class was immense, and I could not wait to make the short film about my writing process (expect it to have a certain factor of creepy).

So this got me thinking. When I do consider going the self-publishing route (something I consider a lot, especially after I hear back from an agent or publisher saying they’re not interested in my work), I usually think the best way to get started would be by creating an e-book. And when I think of that, I usually consider using a service to create the e-book, because I’m not exactly a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs when it comes to technology.

But today I was able to use iMovie, and before that GarageBand, something that before the start of the semester I thought impossible for me. If I can learn to use those programs, then what’s to stop me from making the e-book myself on my laptop or on a school Mac and then upload it onto Amazon for a cheap $2.99 download price tag? Not only would it probably be cheaper and give me more control over my work, but it would show how serious I am about being a writer, that I would learn to use scary programs and ask for help with them just to get my work out there.

So if I do go the self-publishing route with my novels, you can expect that I’l try to do all the work myself in making the e-book (a regular book is a whole other story though, and much more expensive, so let me think on it before I come to any conclusions or decisions). And if you have any tips, let me know. I’d love your advice and help.

The Names Coincidence

Posted: September 18, 2012 in Reflections, Writing
Tags:
2

I wrote a post not too long ago about the strange coincidence of how the main character of my short story, “Aasif”, has a name that means “apologies” or “forgiveness”. And for those of us who have blogs on WordPress, we might’ve seen the article from Kimberly Packard, “What’s In A Name?” on Freshly Pressed, where she discusses the importance of the names we give characters in our stories (link’s right here if you haven’t read it yet: http://kimberlypackard.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/whats-in-a-name/).

And just now, I found out the name of the main character of the short story I’m writing for my fiction class, Renee, is French for “rebirth” or “born again”, which makes odd sense for a girl trying to establish a new identity for herself after being kept prisoner in a basement most of her young life. I just chose the name because I’ve always thought the name “Renee” carried with it a connotation of strength, like “I don’t care what happens to me, I’m going to get through it!”

I also just checked the name of my main character Zahara Bakur from my novel Reborn City: Bakur is from Abu Bakr, father-in-law to the Prophet Muhammad, one of Muhammad’s earliest followers, and according to the Sunni tradition, the first caliph after Muhammad’s death. I already knew all that from my research into Islam, but I was happy to learn that Zahara’s name means “shining” in Arabic. It makes sense, as Zahara is the main character, and she does “shine” the way for some of the other main characters throughout the Reborn City trilogy. But still, I had no idea when I named her that her name would be so suitable to her!

It’s just weird to me, how I choose these characters’ names based on some aspect or other of the name, and yet there’s a whole other meaning to the same names that I didn’t know about. I’m almost tempted to start looking through every other character I’ve created in the past couple of years just to see if any names have any cool significance I’m not aware of.

But for now, I’m just going to hold off. My short story’s gotten to a good stopping point, at least for this evening, so maybe tomorrow I can wrap it up. In the mean time though, anyone got any funny or interesting stories about characters they’ve given names to and the significance behind those names? I’d love to know.

Do Stories Evolve? Apparently They Do

Posted: September 18, 2012 in Progress Report, Reflections, short story, Writing
Tags: ,
0

I said a while back that while partying at a club near campus, I came up with an idea for a story that I could write for my creative writing class. Well, it’s been several weeks since then, and I’m still working on that short story. But let me tell you, it’s changed since the original idea popped into my head. It started out as a story about a girl who thinks she might be from the nineteenth century growing up in the twentieth century and being confused about her identity; then it lost the part where she actually was from the nineteenth century; and now the story, which was originally in first person, is now…well, it’s still first-person, but it’s the main character addressing someone else in the room with her.

There have also been minor changes along the way, things that do not really affect the story as much as these other changes have, but even as I’m trying to finish up the first draft, I’m finding myself amazed that a story still in the writing stages is changing so much. It started out as literary with a touch of supernatural strangeness, but the supernatural strangeness has been cut out and there’s just a literary story that’s unlike anything I’ve ever written before, mostly because I do not really care for literary with notable exceptions.

This makes me wonder about other stories I admire, and if they underwent huge changes in the midst of being written. I know Japanese manga and anime may have many plot changes as the story progresses, but that’s mostly because manga and anime for the most part are influenced by reader and viewer popularity, so a story arc might be added, changed, or cut out altogether in order to bring up the popularity of the story.

But did J.K. Rowling, who made me want to be a writer in the first place, make certain characters more or less prominent than she originally intended, or did Stephen King want to make Randall Flagg the leader of a whole cadre of demonic villains in The Stand? Did Thomas Harris originally intend for the Red Dragon to be a singer with a dark past instead of a sufferer of a cleft palate with a history of abuse and violence? And did George Lucas originally intend something more steampunk than regular science fiction when he first concieved Star Wars?

In actuality, other stories I’ve written in the past underwent huge changes (Ripple had a different ending in the first draft and Zahara Bakur of Reborn City was one of several main characters before she became the main character in my mind). But the scale of the short story I’m working on now (it’s title, for now, is Doll’s Game) is something I’ve never encountered before, so I’m wondering what this will lead to later. Is more change in store for me? Will I ever get a finished first draft? And what else do I have to discover about this story, what hidden tricks will I uncover next while writing it?

Tell me about your experiences. Did a story you wrote change a lot during the writing process? And how so? And did you like this change? Please tell me, I love to hear from others, especially those with more experience than me.

Snake: Part II Done

Posted: September 17, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , ,
2

Creepy Mayan snake god gobbling someone up. I have a feeling my character would find some connection to this image.

Well, I finally did it! I finished Part II of Snake, though truthfully it’s coming about four days later than I expected.

Part II deals a lot not only with the main character’s quest for revenge, but also with the circumstances that caused him to take up serial killing. It totaled about twenty-one chapters, eighty-six pages, and twenty-two thousand and thirty-three words. Add that to the prologue and Part I, and you have a total of thirty-four chapters, one-hundred and thirty-eight pages, and twenty-five thousand, three-hundred forty-six words for the rough draft of Snake. Several times chapters were added together and split in two in order to keep the story flowing and the tension high. I have to say, at certain points it was an arduous process writing out this section of the novel.

Now that I’ve got Part II done, I’m going to wait a little while before I start Part III, which is probably the longest of the parts in Snake, take some time to finish a short story and edit a couple more. I also plan on going over the outline of Snake and see what I can do to make the plot more exciting, because as it is it’s a good story, but I want to make it great. I plan on doing some more character development with the Snake and some of the people close to him, which will probably mean going back to previous chapters and doing a few additions. I also plan to add some scenes showing the fallout of what happens when a serial killer goes after a mafia family and not only evades the family but the police itself. And lastly, I want to change the climax, see if I can change the setting so that not only does the Snake face off against the mafia, he faces off with the police too, and does it in front of everyone.

Sounds more exciting that way, anyway.

I’ll let you know when I begin Part III. Wish me luck.

Review: Seth MacFarlene on Saturday Night Live

Posted: September 16, 2012 in Review
Tags: , ,
2

Now, you all know I’m a huge horror fan. But I do like a little comedy every now and then, and I have been known to do a little reviewing on SNL every now and then. So, since there’s been some changes in cast and it’s an election year in the United States, I decided to do a review of the season premiere of Saturday Night Live!

First, let’s start with the host and the musical guest. Seth MacFarlane was awesome, doing numerous voice impressions throughout the show and at one point playing a stuttering Army sergeant (was not sure if I should laugh, or object over the fact that I’ve been to speech therapy before). I was not impressed by Frank Ocean as musical guest though, remarking that he reminded me of Usher trying to be Ne-Yo. But hey, I don’t really know his music, so whatever.

The  actors were pretty decent this episode: Jay Pharaoh took over the role of playing Obama with a stellar performance, which I approve of, seeing as he was underutilized last season. Taran Killam also did well as Paul Ryan, and Nasim Pedrad was able to match an impression for every one of MacFarlane’s. I did not see enough of the new cast members (Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Tim Robinson, for those of you who don’t know) to really form an opinion, but I think they’ll make the transition to SNL okay, if they jsut keep their heads about them.

The skits were also decent: during the cold open, Pharaoh and Jason Sudeikis (whom, I’m convinced, did not tell people whether or not he was rejoining the cast until the final week before the new season just to get interest for the new season) were playing off each other to get plenty of laughs from the audience. Weekend Update was phenomenal as usual, though I don’t think “Innocence of Muslims” is something you can make a joke about. And in one skit, YouTube sensation Psy (I didn’t know who he was until this episode either, but down below is the video that made him famous) made an appearance, which was hilarious.

I did think that the Amish website skit was too short for my tastes, and the commercial breaks were too long. Also, I thought the new opening credits for the show was interesting, if a little heavy on tranistion use. Other than that, very few objections, bringing my rating of the episode a 4.2 out of 5. Let’s hope they can keep up the yucks for the next episode, with musical guest Mumford and Sons and guest host Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

And if you’re curious who Psy is and why he was featured in an SNL sketch, here’s his video. Trust me, it’s great; he’s dance like me, except possibly worse!

“The Innocence of Muslims” Makes Me Sick

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership
Tags: ,
2

Everyone who reads my blog knows I believe that Muslims and the terrorists who claim to be Muslims are two totally separate things, that you can’t be a Muslim or a believer in Allah and kill for the sake of Allah. Which is why I was sickened when a man named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (or Sam Becile; this guy’s got so many identities it’s hard to keep up) made a movie called “The Innocence of Muslims”, which portrays Mohammed as nutcase from illegitimate parentage who created a cult that likes to kill people, especially Christians, and dehumanize women. and then released a 14-minute trailer on YouTube! I watched five minutes of that video, and I felt nauseated.

The video has caused a wide reaction, the east of which has been rioting up and down the Middle East, where portrayal of Muhammed (not to mention portrayal of Muhammed in such a gross fashion) is generally considered an insult. People at American embassies have died because the riots have gotten out of hand, and some have made use of the video to try and make political gains in elections.

What do I think? I think the man who made this movie and reportedly decieved the actors into thinking they were making an entirely different movie, is a monster. He’s abused free speech, caused a huge amount of anguish and rage, and God bless the lawyer who can find a way to get this man in prison for what he’s done. This isn’t art or free expression he’s made; it’s just hate-speech, similar to the movie Der Juden as made by the Nazis.

Now, I know I don’t usually take such upfront, angry stances on issues; I try to couch my messages in terms that won’t be considered incendiary. But this time, I take exception. Whoever made this film, whoever you really are, I hope they can find a way to put you in jail for what you’ve caused. It’s senseless, gruesome, and it’s totally inaccurate.

And to all Muslims out there, I hope you don’t let this blatant insult to your religion bother you. This one man, a man who stomps on America’s values and acts decidely un-American, is a monster, and he will answer for what he’s done, either in the courts or by some Divine Intervention. When that happens, I hope we can all move on.

Share your thoughts with me on this. I’m curious to know if you feel how I feel.

Translating “Snake” Into Russian

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: , ,
0

Chinese symbol for “snake” surrounded by a snake. Pretty cool, huh?

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written about the Snake. Like, several weeks, at least.

Oh, for thsoe of you who don’t know, I’m working on two novels. One, a science fiction novel titled Reborn City, I’m trying to market to publishers write now. The other, a serial killer thriller called Snake, is in the middle of its first draft. Currently I’m working on chapter thirty-three of Snake, which isn’t very far in considering thrillers are notorious for having many chapters with less than ten pages per chapter.

One of the things I’m doing for Snake is that I’m also working on some Russian transliteration, as my main character speaks Russian throughout the novel. I’m working with one of my university’s Russian professors on this (and if he’s reading this, thank you so very much for your help), and he’s been a big help. It’s not always easy, though: according to my professor, getting phrases and words I’d normally use in English translated and then transliterated into Russian can be difficult, as I not only have to get across the meaning, but the intention as well. It’s like getting down on one knee and saying “I love you, will you marry me?” to a foreign girl in her native language, but you actually end up saying “love marry you” or “marriage me you” instead. The effect’s just lost.

Still, I think a pretty good job’s been done, and every bit of Russian up to chapter thirty-two has been transliterated. Hopefully when I see my professor again, I’ll have some easier phrases to translate. We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? I know where I want to go with this story, but how I’m getting there and what happens in the meantime is still up in the air in some ways.

All for now. Talk to you later.

Aspects of Plot Can Make A Difference

Posted: September 11, 2012 in ideas, Reflections, short story, Writing
Tags: , , ,
0

I have an assignment for my creative-writing class: to write a short story and then turn it in at the end of the semester. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about an orphan girl who finds out she’s not who she thought she was (and for those of you who think it’s a short story I started writing in May that I thought of during meditation, this is a different story, the one I thought of while out at a club one night). For a while now, it’s been slow-going, mostly because it’s less horror/sci-fi/fantasy and more along the lines of literary writing, which I’m not too fond of.

However, today I had an idea of where the plot would go, and what the actions taken by this girl and the places she would go could symbolically mean. Like that, I felt my writer’s block dissolve, the story forming for me in my head. So throughout the day, I’ve been working on this story, passing the minimum number of words required and getting well beyond.

Other stories I am working on that have been plot problems, I’ve been thinking of ways to improve them, and today I thought of ways to fix those too. One story, one involving a psychic girl who’s life is very unlike Carrie’s, I got an idea from an acquaintance on how to make the plot better, involving the girl leaving her home for the first time in her entire life. It should be an interesting story.

And another story, involving a school shooting, I’ve been working with on and off throughout the years. However, the story never gets any better. Today, I saw how it could be fixed. It’ll be a radical change for the story, but it might just work for the better.

Even after publishing a few short stories, I’m still learning about the importance of plot, among other things. Hopefully someday, I’ll be able to teach others the things I have learned. But for now, I’ve got a girl in a short story who is not psychic in the least who needs to realize her life needs a radical change. Talk to you later.

Marking 9/11 Eleven Years Later

Posted: September 11, 2012 in Reflections, Social Activism
Tags:
1

The 9/11 memorial, a tribute to all that was lost…and all that we can build from the ashes.

Many people say they remember where they were when 9/11 happened. I wish I did; I was in the third grade, had a short attention span, and didn’t think of much beyond my own life. Now I see so much more now than when I was eight years old. I see the tragedy of that day, I see the lives lost, and I see that a lot of what this country goes through each day can be traced back to nineteen men who carried out a terrible plan concieved and approved by a man whom the world is better off without.

I like to think some progress has been made since that horrific day. Islamaphobia has been combatted with information of the peaceful nature of actual Islam and with dialogue between Muslims and other groups; our law enforcement and defense agencies are better at dealing with terrorism of all kinds and on all levels; a memorial to those lost has been built, and much of Ground Zero is coming back as well; and with the threat of terrorism recognized, more and more cell leaders are being brought to justice with the passing of time.

However, there’s still much to be done: Islamaphobia, although diminished, still rears its ugly head in this country, and usually finds a medium such as the internet or the news to do it; conspiracy theorists cause endless heartbreak to families and friends of victims by saying that the government, not terrorists, were responsible for 9/11; there has been bickering of a political nature on everything between a new mosque and the 9/11 museum, and sometimes this bickering divides so much it seriously hurts Americans; there are still terrorists out there who hate America and kill for the sake of killing; and there are still those who will find no solace since they lost their loved ones.

Friends, blog readers, countrymen, I ask you to mark this day. Remember it, what has been, what hasn’t been done yet, and what we can do to make sure it gets done. Remember, every single person on this planet has the power to change the world, so take advantage of that ability, and try to remember this day when you go out to change the world.

Have a nice day.

“Aasif” In My Class?

Posted: September 11, 2012 in Living and Life, short story
Tags: , , , ,
0

Today in my history class we had a guest speaker, whose focus was African history, particularly in her native country of Liberia. While discussing the civil war in Liberia, she also broached the topic of child soldiers and Kony 2012 and how they related to her research. After class, I went up to her and told her that I’d recently published a short story titled Aasif (here’s the link for those new followers who haven’t read it yet: http://mobiusmagazine.com/) and that I thought it was interesting that she’d mentioned child soldiers and Kony 2012, which were the inspirations for Aasif. Not only did our guest speaker ask for the web address, she also gave it to my teacher, who also happens to be her advisor in the graduate school.

As we were all leaving the classroom, both my teacher and the guest speaker said they’d take a look at it…and possibly discuss it in class. Discuss my short story in class? Now that’s some exposure! And in history class too! What’s next?

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Older Entries
Newer Entries