A Splintered Mind

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . In the back of my mind I know I am supposed to be doing something very important. It niggles at me like a midge around my nose, but I swat it away. My afternoon has been spent preoccupied with the Google+ app for the iPhone. Notifications in sync with the web service, sharing photos finally from my camera roll, huddling with strangers in warm circles, notification badges letting me know when something's been updated… It's been a geek's paradise. There are a few reefs to navigate on our way to Paradise Island: We can't reshare any items, making this social networking app almost useless for social networking. We can't copy text from other G+ posts in order to quote or share with others We can't tag people with a + unless they are in our Address Book, as opposed to our G+ circles which would be arguably more useful, thus further severing social connections. We can't re-edit posts. (P...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . I've spent the better part of today working on my novel's storyboard. I have to admit that I am bored senseless rewriting my story on tiny little index cards and sticking them up on a wall. I've been aware for a few weeks that the tedious nature of this process was sapping my enthusiasm, yet I pushed on mainly because I don't like to allow boredom to rob me of happiness. That, and I'm stubborn. Truthfully, though, I haven't worked as regularly on my story as I had planned. My 16 year old was off being a nanny for somebody else and summer with a 12 year old and a 9 year old usually meant I was quite busy. I also started wondering if there was a better way to storyboard. Today I determined to finish chapter six ― The Chapter That Refused To Die ― and make a final decision. Either I was going to finish the storyboard and make it work, or I was going to decide I was wasting my time. After a few interrup...

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v1 . For the past few weeks I've been working on storyboarding my first draft. I thought, "Hey! I need a way to see my story's pacing visually." At first I thought I would thumbnail the entire story just like Pixar would do, complete with stick figures in action sequences. Then I had a good laugh. Yeah, like I want to put off the second draft for the next year as I meticulously illustrate every scene. You don't think I could really just stick figure it, do you? Yeah, I can see the blood, sweat & tears now as I render each frame dramatically, using models as references, inked by brush, maybe some color… Then I thought I'd just use index cards. I became much happier with that thought. I use red for action, yellow for dialogue, and green for setting and description. I'm looking for red/green/red/green combos that show action scenes rudely interrupted by wonderful tracts of descriptive ...