Would you like a Slice of Crazy Pie with that sir?

Do you ever have one of those days where, when you look back on a sequence of outlandish events, you can pin point the exact moment where you should have turned left instead of right and avoided every last shred of crazy that was to follow?

Today has been one weird thing after another and as I sit here, calm and quiet, I can’t understand why or how any of it happened. Before I get into the story I’ll mention the weird feeling I had a couple of hours ago.

I was stood outside the cash machine by the supermarket, wallet in hand, when I stopped and felt compelled to take a look at the car park behind me. Just for a moment I had to see with my own eyes if everything was okay. I suddenly thought I’d missed something, that the world around me had suddenly lost the plot.

And that tiny moment, I’m talking about 10 seconds here, and that’s long enough, I was deeply worried. Anyone who reads my blog will know I’m a rational, calm, laid back, happy smilin’ kinda guy. I’m never easily spooked and seldom spend much time worrying about things.

But there I was, worried that something had gone wrong, that the world around me had changed. It was like someone had taken the safety switch off society and I’d only just noticed. It’s a horrible feeling. And I mean truly disturbing. I never want to have that feeling again, dear blog reader, because it scared the shit out of me for the first time since I was about 4.

So settle in, dear blog reader, for this might be a long tale! Oh, and it’s going to get a tad macabre in places so be warned.

Is too much technology bad for you?

Congratulations on being born! Welcome to the world! Here’s an iPad!

When I was a lad there were fields as far as they eye could see, and I had as much Lego as I could eat. We had a VHS video recorder, with a remote control on a cable. We had a steam-powered microwave, and a  Commadore Vic 20 (what passed for a home computer in those days) that didn’t do much apart from send blocks of colour around the screen and make beep beep noises. Oh, and it also played Snakebite and Blue Meanies. Mostly I played on my bike, built dens with my chums, played cricket and football, and did a hundred other things I consider to be wholesome and fun.

The other day I read an article on the Guardian about young kids, babies really, who were mucking about with iPads. It said a survey found that kids aged between 2 and 5 knew more about computer games and technology than riding a bike or swimming. It also says that preschool kids know how to use a smart phone before they can tie their shoelaces.

It seems that technology is so embedded in our daily lives that every new generation is learning that gadgets are very important to them. They see their parents using smart phones, internet, tablet PC’s, internet TV and fridges that talk to them. Technology is cheap and disposable so there can be an LCD TV in every room and even in the head rests of their family car. Kids aren’t taught about technology so much as they absorb what’s around them.

NaNoWriMo – Winners Badge – But what next?

Hey there dear blog reader, today is a happy day!

I’ve just had my NaNoWriMo novel validated and received my certificate and winners badge! Woohoo! So I’m all smiles today! I’d like to say a huge thank you to NaNoTeamIndy and everyone involved for their support, late night word sprints and high spirits. I wasn’t worried about reaching the 50,000 word chequered flag but without good folk to share the journey with it would have been a rather dull experience.

As it stands my novel, Shadowrealm Stalkers, is at 80,000 words and not yet finished. I had hoped to finish it by the end of November then start work on editing The Range in December. And when that was done I’d return to Shadowrealm in January and edit that one with fresh eyes.

Instead I’ll keep the momentum going and finish Shadowrealm by the end of December. After that I’ll edit The Range. My plan is that by January I’ll have The Range ready to submit to publishers and work on tidying up Shadowrealm. I’ve never had writers block and feel blessed with being able to churn out the words at a steady pace, or as Evelyn at Filling A Hole says: “Dave’s a writing machine!” I guess the problem I have is never being 100% satisfied with something and not feeling confident enough to send my work out to publishers etc.

Questions, even now!

In the last 2 years I’ve leant a lot about writing and publishing, and how it’s changing so rapidly. But I’m still in the dark somewhat. I’m old school enough to want to see my novel in print on bookshelves in shops, but I’m keen to embrace the eBook world too.

The problem is not really knowing where to start. I have a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook that has a decent amount of resources. I read a lot of articles about publishing, eBooks, contracts and the like but how do I really know where to start? For me the prospect of earning money from my writing is an exciting one, it’s the fact of seeing my book in print that goes beyond cash.

So I have many questions.