I think there are some Mac users on my friends list, so I wanted to point you to the MacHeist nanoBundle, where they're giving away 5 FREE applications, some of them helpful for writers. If 500,000 people download the bundle, they'll unlock a 6th application (so now you see my true nefarious purpose in posting this! Muahaha!)

ShoveBox - Looks like it's for sorting all the odds and ends you need for a writing project (or even blog posts or maybe other projects?) Looking forward to trying this one!

WriteRoom - This is an extremely simple (think DOS) word processor that helpfully blocks out everything else on your screen. I use Scrivener's feature for this, but you can get WriteRoom free (for now) and the simplicity is certainly tempting . . .

Twitterific - A Twitter client so you can tell the world what you're doing—and read your followers Tweets—without logging into the Twitter site.

TinyGrab - A little screencapture app that uploads a selection of what's on your screen to the intertubes so you can quickly link to it via Twitter or similar.

Hordes of Orcs - A think this is for when you need to brainstorm your story or something. ;) A defend-the-castle type game.

Mariner Write - this is the 6th app that gets unlocked when 500,000 people download the bundle. Here's what MacHeist says:

Mariner Write is a fast, streamlined word processor that’s useful for everyone… professional writers, educators, students, casual computer users, and everyone in-between. It has a simple, elegant user interface so that you can create beautiful documents the very first time you start using it.

This is the word processor with perfect balance of features. Too many word processors bog you down with “kitchen sink syndrome”, while others skimp on important features. Not Mariner Write… you get all the tools you need to do the job, without any feature-bloat.

I totally want to try this. I use Scrivener, but sometimes it's confusing, and AppleWorks' interface just bugs me sometimes.

Anyway, sorry for the ad-like post, but I know I have some Mac-using writers on my friends list, and I thought this bundle might be helpful (and besides, I want Mariner Write unlocked! ;) )

Tags: freebies, macheist, software
Current Mood: awake

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• 20:29 Today you may get a taste of the tough issues that you must ta... More for Libra bit.ly/15xn9X #
• 21:43 NEED to write, WANT to sleep #
• 21:46 @KMalik215scribe so true! #
• 21:46 RT @KMalik215scribe: Research = productive stagnation, when working towards my #nanowrimo goals. #
• 23:44 RT @thewilliecolon: RT @eFusionman: 100 yrs ago-In 1909, Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.<-now it 's 6 out of 10 #

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I know I should be doing this tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have time.

So, the first week of NaNo has passed, and so far, I’m doing really, really good. The site says that a daily goal of 1,667 will allow you to finish on time, but I’ve stretched that to an even 1,800, giving me a few hundred words more per day. I finished three days early last year, and I would like to try and beat that. If it’s possible.

So, here is a short synopsis of what’s happened so far;

The day after a battle re-enactment, Louise and her husband notice a strange occurrence dealing with the birds. Knowing that all life is connected, she sends off an email to another member of her order, hoping they might have some answers.

Strange sensations then overtake her, and she is drawn to a gully next to a corn field where she finds the ghost of a sixteen-year-old boy. She leads him through The Veil; the ethereal barrier that separates the spirit world from our world. Once her task is complete, she returns to this world and promptly passes out from exhaustion.

The next day, she witnesses a car crash and watches as a soul is sucked into a Hell vortex. Just when she things everything is fine, the vortex opens again and takes an innocent soul.

Several days later a meeting is called by a secret society of generational Guardians called the Order. They try to have meeting about the innocent being taken, but so many differences of opinions gets nothing resolved.

That’s it so far. I’m on the third chapter, with a word count as of Saturday November 7 of 12,614

Plus, I still have an editorial due on the 21^st of this month. I’m seriously thinking of not doing it again next year.

Tags: between the shadows, nanowrimo

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It's interesting how few people post or comment once the weekend rolls around. And interesting too, how I'm always here to witness the tumbleweed blowing past :-) But I do have a life that goes beyond the writing and the moaning and the shovelling of food down a bottomless gullet.

For example, last night I went to a comedy club for the first time in years. I laughed and laughed until there was a small puddle beneath my seat. How wonderful that my little country is still producing some great comedy talent! But a question remains: why did I stop doing this regularly so many years ago? I know the answer to that, or several answers anyway. They're not important. What matters is that I'm already planning to go back again soon.

I can't wait!

Tags: nothing to see here
Current Mood: chipper

So I'm a little late in reading this incredible book. Cut me some slack. I've been busy.

Feed is a satirical/dystopian novel, where all folks have feeds implanted in their brains, so they can chat and watch TV and most importantly get commercials and updates on their favorite products, and order them from inside their head as well. I love that Anderson's anti-consumerism message is so loud as to not be missed, but subtle enough that the societal and individual consequences of the feed implant are surprising and creepy as hell.

The real triumph of this book is his narrator Titus. Titus is vapid, shallow, superficial, but compelling. Titus's character and voice is the product of the culture, and while he's generally a deplorable person, particularly to Violet (a girl who didn't get a feed until later in life, and isn't afraid to ask questions about what is happening around her) , we do feel empathy for him, for what he has become. Couldn't have liked this book more.

A personal aside: After finishing a book, I tend to go to amazon and read reviews for a larf. Yes, a larf. It's odd, but I think I get more lathered-up-angry at negative reviews of books that I didn't write, than my own. Not that FEED got many negative reviews, but the ones it did get were so miss-the-point stupid, with complaints about Titus not being likable. Really, people, I swear, if you use "the character wasn't likable" as a criticism of fiction, I'm going to put you on my must-kick-them-in-the-shins list.

The animals must have something against me sleeping since this is the second time this week I've had a rude and gross awakening earlier than I'd planned to get up. And even though I took my "you will sleep" pain pill, I had a restless night and still feel achy. Not the usual next day reaction. Maybe I would have felt the same as usual if I had a different wake up call, but the restless night was an odd thing too.

Eh, maybe I'll curl up again for awhile when done with this. ;)


Today's list...

» A.C. chapters 21-30, v6 first pass (read through)
» crit
» 250+ words
» 250 in world building
» clean up & start unpacking office


Not sure about that last bit. The kids need to get their chores done and tsykika is still in crunch for school plus has to work today. With the way my back and shoulder have been acting up the last couple of days, she'd be the best to help get the books up where they belong, so we'll see if any of that gets done. I do want to get us out of boxes again, it'll just be a matter of timing. Since she'll be done with her classes tomorrow night, it's not like I'd have to wait another week or two for anything to get done, and another few days is no big deal.

Anyway, was thinking about starting either that cit or the A.C. read through stuff, but the idea of napping a bit more is far more tempting right now. It's the weekend and we got everything taken care of this week that we could, so a little extra down time won't hurt: the rest of the day isn't cut up with other things to do (well, except making sure the kids do their chores and getting tsykika to work later this afternoon—and that takes maybe 15 minutes) so I'm not looking at yet one more thing to cut into my time. And a little extra might end up being a good thing and get me closer to that relaxed, no pain, well rested place I should be in.

Everyone's gotta dream, right? ;)

Off to curl up a bit longer.


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