Imaginative Realities

Blog for author J. R. O'Connor

Blog for author J. R. O'Connor

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  • 2013 Week 18: Novel Zero

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    I missed my monthly “Lakes Literary League” meeting last Thursday as I got ‘gassed’ at work with copious amounts of spray paint, and ended up going home early with a migraine. Friday was a bust, too, and today is better, but not great. We are building new offices, I may have mentioned, and one of the contractors was marking things out. Sorry buddy, a sealed building is not the place to do this.

    I have a new domain for my online world, “www.imaginative-realities.com“. It is a bit long for my taste, and “imaginative” is easy to misspell, I think. But, it is something I’ve thought a lot about, it just came to me one day and I let it roll around in the back of my mind for a few weeks. The old domains still work, they just all filter into the new domain at some point. I like the www.scifi-author.com domain, and may give that out as my email address since it is shorter and easier.

    The word “Imaginative” has the synonyms: Creative, Inventive, Original, Ingenious, Inspired, Artistic, Resourceful and Visionary. They are all things I aspire to in life. I can see “Imaginative Realities” as a company or brand name on a production. I like that.

    The name on this post is “Novel Zero”. Although I’ve put a boat-load of time into what is “Novel 01″, I’ve been kicking around a lot of ideas for “Novel 00″ lately. Since it is a prequel to Novel 01, I’m thinking about whether it makes sense to start there or keep it as back story that I feed out to readers over time, as needed. The tipping point is whether I have enough ideas for an interesting stand-alone novel. I did start writing this novel at one point last year, and got pretty far with it.  Since then I’ve had a number of other key ideas I want to weave into the story, things that are potentially important themes in future novels. I didn’t stop for lack of interest, I just got busy. I was working on both novels at various points in time. So, I’m spending a little time tonight working on note cards for Novel 00 in Scrivener.

    Many female authors use their initials or a pen name for their action, thriller, or Sci-Fi novels. I’m contemplating that, too. When I was young my nick-name was “Jackie”, after Jackie Kennedy. My dad called me that forever. I’m thinking of using “Jack Connor” as a pseudonym. It seems to fit my real name, nick-name, and seems like a good author’s name. Dropping the “O” will put it earlier in an alphabetized listing, but I’m not sure how much that matters these days. I tried using my initials for my writing, but “J.R.” just reminds everyone my age of the TV show “Dallas”, and I pretty much hate that. One person said they liked JR as it reminded them of JK of Harry Potter fame. For me, initials are a tip-off that someone is not

    And then, the feminist in me get riled-up and feels that I should not imply a different gender just to make it easier to sell books. Something to think about. Once I can be a role-model in fiction then perhaps it won’t matter. Like JK.

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  • Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

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    An interesting video I watched the other day talks about the state of AI and robotics, and has a cute little robot:  ”Toward Intelligent Humanoids | iCub 2012”

    In a way, it is painful to think about how far we need to go before we have machines that are even a little intelligent within the 3D world in which we live. The video also highlights how difficult it is for a machine to do just about anything that an infant shortly after birth can do, like grip something.

    My first novel is set in the second decade of the 2100s, around 2114 (but I need to figure out some planetary alignments before nailing down a specific date). I have worked on an android character as part of the main cast of characters, and it is a challenge to think about where technology will be at that point. Yes, it is Sci-Fi and we can do almost anything, but I am more interested in what will be possible at that point. Will Quantum Computing be something that will make this all possible? Will it have to be a large computer separate from the android that does the heavy computing, while local processors do the human mimicry and interaction with the world? Will there be a new breakthrough-technology that will allow something like the Data character from ST:NG? By the way, Positrons are antimatter, and would explode, so a Positronic brain would likely destroy the solar system. Sounds cool, though.

    Understanding the world on a sub-atomic and quantum level will open up opportunities in all areas of science and engineering. Combine 100 years of new knowledge (from now) with the ability to print, in 3D, a computer brain molecule-by-molecule, and I think a lot will be possible in 2114.

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  • 2013 Week 16: No Breaks for Old Writers

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    I don’t consider myself Old, by the way, but it has been busy. When is it not?  I like KM Weiland’s article on “Making Time to Write“, along with the image she has on her site, “A Writer’s Manifesto“. I’m printing that and putting it on my wall. As KM says, making time, not finding time, is critical, along with being consistent.

    Another good article I read recently is from the “Write to Done” site, called “7 Habits of Highly Prolific Writers“.  The habits are:

    1. Routine
    2. Outline
    3. First Draft
    4. Rewrite
    5. Demon Bashing
    6. Confidence
    7. Read

    Take a few minutes and read this short article. I like things that are short and to the point. A kick-in-the-pants. For #3, “First Draft”, it says, “Once your outline is in place, it’s time to write a horrible first draft.”  Under #^ the author says, “I started out horrible, but I’m getting better with each passing day. There is no quick fix to finding your writing voice, or eliminating fear. It all comes down to sitting down and writing.” I find comfort in knowing that first drafts are never perfect, by a long shot, and that if your work hard you get better.

    For #7 the author has “Red”. You cannot write well, you cannot improve as a writer, without taking serious time to read. That seems to be as difficult to do as finding time to write. However, I now have a membership at the gym in the building at work, and my son and I (he works with me) are taking time over lunch to at least get on the bike or treadmill and walk. I have my Kindle Fire, and as long as it isn’t too distracting I can get in some quality reading time. This week was a bust, though, as getting to the gym when we have deadlines, or I have school, or when there are massive thunderstorms and floods in the area, all of which made it impossible to work out.  I always feel better emotionally and physically when I work out, and if you are one that struggles with any aspect of life, getting up and walking for half an hour will do you a world of good.

    I didn’t make it to the last “Lakes Literary League” meeting (the local Writer’s group), as I had to finish things up at work that evening. And here we are again, the last full week of the month, and another monthly meeting is coming up. They are always the first Thursday. Although I thought it would be a good thing to be involved with the group to give me goals for finishing a story or chapter to bring, I have actually brought very little. For the novel, I’m not sure sharing it when it is still in-process for the first draft is useful. I had hoped that people would think about the story and not the punctuation or sentence structure, but that seems to be the focus. I’m sure they look at the story, but it gets drowned out in all the corrections that are really more welcome in a third-draft. I do the same thing when I read their work, and I’m trying to avoid that.  I don’t think I’m as critical as the others in the group are; they seem to pick up on things in the work of others that are spot-on and helpful, it seems. I tend to just enjoy things as they are when I’m reading what others do.

    For my work, I’m convinced that I need to get it all out on paper as fast as I can, and be done with that first draft. Good, bad, or indifferent.

    My brother is in town this weekend, looking at apartments. I have not had the opportunity to look around yet. I know what I want, but need to get going on that. Hopefully he has some leads for where he wants to live that will help me narrow things down for me. I waste two hours or more in the car every workday, and need to end that so I have more time and energy for other things in my life. I’m too old to waste 10 to 12 hours a week in the car. I’d rather be writing.

    And there there were the Boston Marathon bombings this past Monday. There is little I could add to that shared experience. It made no sense, and is impossible to get your head around unless you are like the two that did this. I’m thankful that it is over, and hopeful that those two worked alone and that there are not more out there, waiting to cause more harm. Through my writing I’ve come to know many people from around the world, of all faiths and no faith. I am continually stunned by people and politicians that want to bomb Iran, for instance, without thinking about what that really means. I grew up during the “cold war” with Russia, when both sides painted the other as the enemy that would strike without reason at any moment. In reality, we are all just trying to get through life. We have weddings, and funerals, and births, and deaths. Tests and graduations. We are just people. There are extremists on both sides of most issues, and it is important to isolate the nuts from the rest of us, and when someone or some group does bad we need to target them, not a class of people that had nothing to do with it.

    Peace out.

    - Jenni

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  • Interesting Article on Fictional Women in STEM

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    I thought this was an interesting article:  “Hooray for the Awesome Wave of Lady Scientists in Action Movies”. I may have to actually watch my Netflix copy of “The Amazing Spider-Man” and get the “John Carter” movie to watch.

    My books center around strong, realistic, intelligent, capable women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Along with men, and a few robots, too. But I think there is a severe shortage of good role models for young women.

    I love that the Avengers and Iron Man have smart women in there, and as the article says:

    “These smart, capable women aren’t just good for girls in the audience who might see them as role models. They shake up the dynamics of action movies, too, reminding audiences that there are ways to solve problems other than obliterating them with impressive quantities of explosives. Even The Avengers recognized this in its final moments. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) may divert a nuclear weapon away from New York and toward an alien base. But it’s secret agent Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), teaming up with a scientist to solve a seemingly impossible problem, who figures out how to cut off the attack that’s ravaging the city. Sometimes, it takes a girl and some equations to save the world, rather than a guy with a gun.”

    It is a validation of what I’ve been working towards as I’ve crafted my characters and their story world, and gives me more to think about.

    Linda Carter of “Wonder Woman” fame was on a radio interview recently, and a big part of that conversation centered around her character as a role model, and how important it was for young women. Linda said she would cringe when she had to switch to her non-superhero character in the show, the character Diana Prince was, perhaps, a terrible stereotype at times, yet people could still see that underneath it all she was a strong and capable woman.

    In my books I have two main characters, Alexia and “KC” (Kelly Charlene). You’ll just have to wait to learn more!

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  • 2013: Week 13

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    I’m working to get back on track in a number of ways. First, I’ve signed up for the health club in our building at work. I’ve gone to a health club for many years but have lapsed the last couple years. Both the mind and body work best when I get exercise, and I need both working better than they are at the moment.

    Next is to meditate more. One of my favorite “sayings from a probably-fictional wise person” goes something like this: “Meditate 30 minutes every day. When you are very busy, meditate 90 minutes.”

    To write is to meditate. To exercise is to meditate. If I can do 90 minutes of either on a daily basis during the week, then I’ll be in great shape!

    Third, things are slowing down to normal, I hope, at work, and we are bringing on an additional employee to help with the workload. We are building new offices for our group and creating a new business division around it all. It will be a couple months before that is all completed, so we can’t expand too much until we get the new space.

    Have a great day!

    - Jenni

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  • 2013: Week 11

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    I almost didn’t get a week 10, and already we are in week 11, and an hour earlier than I would like, too. I’m not a fan of Daylight Savings time – it takes me about a week to adjust, it seems – but I do like that I have more daylight time in the evening instead of it being wasted while I sleep.

    Yesterday was about reading, and today is about getting back to writing. I am doing a bit of reading on one of my books on writing, just to get my head back into the game. I have 29 Kindle books on writing, plus a number of hard copies, most of them still packed, and will remain packed until I move this spring. I haven’t really unpacked since 2005 when I was selling my house. I’m looking forward to moving and being somewhere for a good long time.

    So, which book to scan through? The danger is that I’ll dip in and spend a lot of time reading. I’ve been nursing a migraine since Friday, and I’m not sure how the old neurons will be firing today, so reading may be a great use of time. I do need to spend some time on my class today, too. We had two Tuesdays of snow-closures at the college, and this Tuesday will be a lot of catching up.

    I think I’ll work on finishing “The Story Book – a writers’ guide to story development, principles, problem resolution and marketing” by David Baboulene. Good book, just haven’t finished it, so I’ll “scan-and-dip” the book and then start reading where I left off.

    Update: I read a lot of “The Story Book”, and took a lot of notes. I find the process of taking notes helps to solidify the information in the ol’ brain. I bought another John Scalzi book, which I haven’t started yet. Today the migraine won over my ability to create. I did twiddle a bit in the novel and added some notes. Migraines aren’t something you can just overcome, so I did my best. Now, once I recover from the time-switch, I want to spend a little time each morning writing.

    Jenni

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  • My non-fiction book, “Mastering mental ray”

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    You can now rent my non-fiction book, “Mastering mental ray” (Wiley/Sybex 2010), through Amazon and a thrid-party. It is almost as much as just buying the Kindle edition (which is only a little more than the print edition). but you get the hardcopy to use, so there is that. I don’t set the prices on these, my publisher and the rental company do. It is nice that the book is available as rental, I’m just surprised there isn’t more of a cost savings.

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  • 2013: Week 10

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    And, almost week 11!  (http://whatweekisit.com)  But, I’d like to think that one less week has passed since my last post. Tomorrow I can do a Week 11 post, eh?

    So, there has been a bit of a gap in the posts, and also in my writing and reading. February was one heck of a month work-wise, and I literally did not get a day off. I managed to avoid work, for the most-part, last Sunday, and this weekend I’m officially getting myself back into the groove. The good news is that the client was exceptionally pleased with the results of all of our hard work, and I didn’t get too exhausted in the process, for the most part. There were a few days where I just couldn’t give more. Fortunately I am able to work from home on the weekends and catch up on rest with naps. Today included. Sweet, sweet naps!

    At work we are growing rapidly, and expanding the office space and our offerings to include virtual reality environments akin to a holodeck. It is state-of-the-art, and the state of the art is still projection systems, 3d glasses, and tracking systems for your head, but we will be one of the few places in the midwest with a 3D VR system. Cool.

    I’ve started my return to normalcy with reading, and bought the first part of John Scalzi’s new serial “The Human Division #1: The B-Team“. He has serialized this latest novel, a continuation of “Old Man’s War”, and I found it very enjoyable and well-written, as always.

    I have a few fiction books on the Kindle that I need to get to, along with a couple non-fiction on writing fiction that I need to complete. Today I think I am more about reading and recharging a bit. I’ve been listening to “Classical Music for Studying” on Pandora (bit.ly/SllUx8) and I find it excellent for reading and writing.

    Next up for today, I’m starting on C.S. Lakin’s “Intended for Harm“. I also have one of her other books, “Conundrum”, for some other day.  So, that will be the end of today’s activities, I think. I may dive in and see where I left off in my novel, and let that all brew in my subconscious overnight. Tomorrow I need to start back on my writing goal.

    K.M. Weiland, author of  ”Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success“, mentions one of her favorite quotes in her book as she says,  ”I set aside two hours, five days a week, to write, usually between four and six p.m.  I’m a firm believer in Peter de Vries claim: ‘I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.’”  Some time this spring I’m going to be moving much closer to work so I can free up about two hours every day for other things. I would like to be inspired at a set time every day, and also on the weekends.

    My biggest struggle right now is free time, as February demonstrated, but it is also a daily issue at this point. Spending an hour or so twice a day travelling for work isn’t healthy, doesn’t make me happy, and steals time away from what I really want to do, and that is read and write (among many other things). I’m at that point in life where the kids are, for all intents and purposes, out on their own. Living where I do has little advantages socially, and the many hours that travel steals from me now could be redirected to actually enjoying time with the activities and people that I enjoy.

    - Jenni

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  • 2013: Week 04

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    This past week I did not make progress on the novel, however I did write over 2000 words of non-fiction for my class, which started on January 22nd. I’m only teaching one class this semester instead of the three that were scheduled. A lot of semesters are like that these days. I’m not even teaching any of the three that I normally so, my specialty, and instead doing a general survey course on an intro to Computer Science and three CAD software packages.

    This past weekend, after coming off of working two weeks straight at the day job, was a much better weekend for reading than writing. Sometimes you just need to recharge!  :-)

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  • 2013: Week 03

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    This week has been “one of those” weeks where I had to work at the day-job through the weekend. It’s Monday, and I’m pretty exhausted.

    Also, one of my classes at the college ran, and I have to do prep for that as it starts Tuesday.

    I did find time for reading, and bought “The Story Book” by David Baboulene, which is very good. I like books that are written from the perspective of acquisitions editors and the like. I have several fiction and other non-fiction books waiting in the wings, too, and love that the Kindle gives me access to whatever I want to read at any time.

    This week’s word count:  7915 words (7.9% of goal) with a delta (new word count) of 0 words. Ouch. But, I’ve been working hard.

    Until next week!

    - Jenni

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