The best thing about writing fiction

When I was writing Xmas Carol, I was happier than I thought possible. Coming up with the plot, living every day with the story, honing it and making it graceful and readable -- was a joyful process for me. So the best thing about writing the book was, well, writing it.

But fiction has an added bonus for authors: reader reactions. Yes, a reader can enjoy and learn from non-fiction, but she is rarely elated. There is no true emotional attachment, no reader participation in the story. It's just the facts, m'am. The book may be beautifully written, may say things that have never been said before -- but it's not a fascinating tale of fiction written by a creative soul. It doesn't take you someplace no one has ever visited before. It's just a rundown of things said or done.

But there is something that comes very close to the joy of actually writing a novel. It's the experience of receiving notes from readers -- reports from the fictional landscape I've invented -- that tell of their experience when reading the book. I've gotten a lot of emails like this and I'm truly appreciative. Each note is from a person who enjoyed the book enough to take the time to tell me about her experience. That means so much.

One of the ways readers do this without contacting me directly is by writing a review at Amazon. Here's a new one that arrived on the site this week:

I strongly recommend reading Xmas Carol at anytime of the year. I read this book during the Xmas holidays and was so caught in the moment, in turning each page to find out what was happening next, that I took no notice of the festivities going on around me. The author has a great gift for language, for keeping the suspense and excitement going. It is an art, to keep the reader on tenterhooks, riveted, desperately wanting to know what will happen next. I was most impressed by the author's skillful drawing of the characters' personalities and their physical qualities. He understands that some things need not be said, whilst others, in being said at the right time, provide interesting plot twists and wrinkles. I really liked the descriptions of the inanimate, the evil villain's home with its stained glass windows, the horse farm, the homes of the main characters and the surrounding countryside in all seasons. Do read Xmas Carol. It is a special book of "magical sci-fi".

Thanks to everyone who shared their experience with me -- especially if they did so at Amazon, where other readers can check out what they said. It's the only way books get sold these days: people read reviews, like what they hear, and buy the book. If you haven't read Xmas Carol yet, join in the fun. Grab a copy -- and don't forget to provide a review when you're done.

And thanks to that reader for my new review!

Reality and fiction: an unexpected turn

It's so odd working with a plot. I'm writing a sci-fi book at the moment. The story has lived in my head for about five years, so obviously I'm familiar with every aspect of the story. Yet odd things can still happen. In this way (and others), fiction is similar to life.

I'll be sitting in a chair in the evening, musing about the plot when suddenly two characters intersect in a way I'd not considered before. And yet it's so obvious that the characters would do this. I find myself shaking my head, wondering how I'd missed this plot turn for years.

It's like life. You know how sometimes an event will come out of left field, something you'd never considered before -- and yet you find yourself saying, "Of course Jimmy Bob and Junie Bob are getting a divorce. How could I not have seen that coming?" (Or whatever the insight is.) It seems so obvious, given what you know about the people. And yet, you had never considered the possibility until it occurred.

It's the same with fiction. This happened to me last night and although the plot device that occurred to me is pretty damn obvious, it wasn't on my radar at all. And this little item will have a huge effect on the story.

If you're writing fiction, stop often to think. You never know what will pop up. Just keep the story in your head and let the characters and events interact. If you do this regularly, something magical may happen.

Okay, I'm writing today. Gotta work that idea into the story. See you later.

Writing tales

Light blogging ahead, since I'm working on the next book. At the moment, I'm learning about my characters.

I suppose there are writers who outline every damn thing before plunging in and writing, but that's not me. I simply come up with a general idea of where I'm headed, and then I let it happen. My fingers seem to know what to do.

Today, I want to say something about fictional characters. I find there's little benefit to defining the personalities of my characters at the outset. That doesn't work for me.

Instead, I simply write them into scenes and see what they do. They tell me who they are, rather than the reverse. When I see them in action, when I hear their words (and yes, their voices), I come to understand them. And only when I know them inside and out can I really put them to work.

This means I write many scenes that I don't "use". And by "use", I mean these scenes don't end up in the final draft of the book. But I do indeed "use" them. They're my teaching tools. They define the characters for me. And for this reason, they're anything but a waste of time.

So I'm going to write today, though what I write may never see publication. But it's useful all the same. It's a step on the road.

This has been your shout-out from "The Worlds" -- the coolest book you haven't read yet.

OD'ing on the Boston Marathon coverage

Big events drive me underground. I find it painful to watch our country's chicken-without-a-head media do its thing. Better to slip under and resurface later on. I peeked out today to see what's up. Sigh. Same thing.

Luckily, I can write fiction to keep me occupied. Dang, but it's a great hobby. You can even do it in prison! As long as you can get your hands on paper and a pen, you're good to go.

This week I've been working on a new short story. (Still haven't gone back to writing the novel; soon, very soon.) The focus of the new story is the hive mind. It's an impressive structure, even if we can't see it or understand it.

There was a short-lived series on the Science Channel that featured mathematics. One of the things they focused on was the hive mind. They asked a couple of hundred people (I'm not sure how many; a big bunch) how many beans there were in a jar, and recorded all their answers. When they totaled all the answers and averaged them, the result was something like ten beans away from the correct answer.

There's something there, something awesomely powerful that can do things our individual minds can't. It's the hive mind. Well, I've come up with a great story idea based on this concept. And writing that story is how I've survived this bombing episode.

How did you get through the week?

Half-finished work: a writer's dilemma

Charles Deemer has a new blog called A Writerly Retirement. I found a post there that was right up my alley. You see, I've written entire books that are simply sitting around, waiting for me to work them into final form. Finding the willingness to launch into this extensive rewrite has proven elusive. Deemer gives some advice in Two projects I never finished, and two more important ones I did.

In the long run, the work gets done that needs to get done, I suppose. I try to encourage young writers not to be too hard on themselves when a project stalls or fails. Bumps in the road, even periods of abandonment, are part of the process. If you are writing inside-out, which is to say, writing as an act of exploration and self-discovery, your unconscious will deliver the goods when it's time -- and no sooner. Find your process and learn to trust it. I did, many times over.

I was relieved to read this. Because that's the way I think about it: "it'll happen when it's time -- and no sooner." The period of inactivity, of putting aside a writing project, is a hard thing to live through but the decision makes sense. I can only write when it's time to write. And then it's so simple, it's like falling naked into warm water.

Mind you, Deemer's done so much in his life (as you'll see if you read the post; jeez, music too!). But I'm 64 and just started to write fiction. Different story. Still, I think this rule is sound. I'll get to work on the right project at some point -- and only I will know when I reach that critical juncture. For now, I'm going to calm down. Thanks, CD.

Writers and readers

Fiction writers work up a plot, devise characters and then reel out their story. But how people absorb that story is a mystery until a reader shares his experience. This is great fun for writers. There is nothing more interesting than hearing readers' reactions. I've written many times about the value of these "reports from the field". A sensible critique can even make a writer alter his story. (Artichoke Annie's reaction to the tale made me change the beginning.) But the reports can also be intriguing.

At this point, quite a few people have read "Xmas Carol", so I've had the pleasure of hearing many readers' reactions. One that amused me was discovering which character was deemed the sexiest. You don't really think about such a thing when you're writing a book -- at least, I didn't. I was surprised when a gay male reader told me he was mightily turned on by Spider, a straight male character in the story. I replied, "How could you think that? Joe was the sexiest character!" (Joe is one of the two main, gay characters who are married to each other.) So there we were, arguing about which character was sexier. It was a strange thing -- and it did my heart good.

Another reader told me he cried at one point in the story. When I began to tell my sister about this, she cut me off before I was able to tell her what made the reader cry. Without waiting to hear what triggered his tears, she jumped in with her take. "Lenny?", she asked, referring to a sweet but pathetic character in the book. I was shocked to hear this. Lenny? But after mulling it over, I decided I could understand her reaction. But the reader I was speaking about cried over a different character and scene.

I find this so interesting. People crying over what happens to my characters. And finding them sexy. I love it.

Truly, nothing is more fun than hearing from people who've read your book. Nothing. Any readers want to chime in on this topic? Since we don't want to throw spoilers around, let's answer only this question: which character, if any, did you think was sexy in "Xmas Carol"?

Good readers

Every writer needs good readers. Yes, it's wonderful when someone reads your book and says, "Gee, I really liked it." That helps (a lot). But it's more important when a reader notifies me that there's a mistake in the book. Horrors!

One of my nephews read Xmas Carol last week. Really enjoyed it, too, judging by his remarks. But he also noticed three places in the book where I referred to a character by name, when I really meant to refer to a different character. It's so easy to miss something when proofing a (gigantic) manuscript. That's why observant readers are so important.

Although lots of people read the book, no one else noticed these mistakes. Conor, I owe you. Later this week, I'm going to work up a new version that eliminates the errors. Then I'll upload the book to Amazon again (and to Smashwords, which is a great book store that gets your book out to all the sellers.) And at the same time, I'll use the opportunity to thank Casey Shain in the introduction. He's the artist who came up with the killer cover for "Xmas Carol". Somehow, I forgot to thank him when I first uploaded the book.

While we're on the topic, I see there's a new review at Amazon today. Five stars (so far, all the reviews of "Xmas Carol" at Amazon are five stars). Here's what it says:

this book is worth every penny! i haven't been able to put my kindle down while reading it.more from the author please! 

Short, but I'll take it!

Next up: "The Worlds"

For the past few days, I've been reading a draft of a sci-fi novel I wrote a few years ago. It's called The Worlds -- which is also the name of this blog. The idea behind The Worlds is so far-reaching, it's startling. My aim is to publish the book in 2013 and publish the second book in the trilogy the year after that. (Like The Worlds, it already exists in draft form.) And then I'll write the final book in the series. Xmas Carol is a lot of fun; make no mistake about that. But The Worlds is the joint.

I've got my work cut out for me. The Worlds was my first attempt at writing a novel and I didn't know any of the tricks yet. To my now-seasoned eyes, it sounds clunky -- but I can fix it. I learned so much while writing Xmas Carol. My task now is to apply those lessons to this book. It should be fun because I love the story. It is so wild and appealing!

So next up: The Worlds.

Timelines and suspense novels

Xmas Carol, my horror novel, is suspenseful -- which means the timeline is critical. Everything has to fall into place, smoothly and easily.

While reading the novel this week I became aware of a subtle timeline snafu. As a result, I changed a few dates and moved four scenes into new positions in the book. Now I'm reading the two chapters in which those scenes appear, to make sure there are no conflicts. Other than this, things look good. Those never-ending edits seem to have done the trick. I'm very pleased.

Almost there, kiddies. Once I fix the timeline, the book will be done. And then I'll have to face unknown horrors at Amazon and the iBook store as I try to format my book to meet their specifications. I'm not looking forward to that. But hey, I'm almost done!

The ins and outs of writing

When you write a novel, there are a lot of new things to learn. You bump into problems you never thought about before and in the end, you have to learn new tricks. One of them concerns dialogue.

I think I write dialogue fairly well. It's easy for me to become someone else, so I find it simple to speak in a character's voice. My problem concerned the "he said" and "she replied" end of things. It took ages to get a handle on this. I would come to an understanding and I'd go through the whole book and change everything to suit my latest light-bulb moment. But then I'd have a different take on it and have to go through and change everything again. This happened many times until I ironed it out.

Along with this comes the "said Keith" and "Jimmy said" issue. If you say a character's name too often the text sounds clunky. There doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule about this. It's just a matter of sound and feel. I think I've learned how to handle it but I'm also sure I'll produce better dialogue three years from now. What you're looking for as a writer, of course, is a way to present dialogue so the reader doesn't even notice she's reading. It has to flow without interruption. Those "said Keith" moments will cut into the flow if you don't keep an eye on them. Trust me on this: it's not the easiest thing to pull off. Try it some time.

Hey, I've got ten chapters done and they sound great. Only two more chapters to review and then it's time to publish Xmas Carol. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to this point. Maybe one more week and it'll be done. Phew.

Doh! I coulda hadda V-8!

One of the most exciting things about writing fiction is when you come up with a dazzling idea for a scene. And if this happens late in the game, when the novel is pretty much finished, you may also find yourself saying, "Thank goodness I thought of this before I published the book!" What would it be like to have a great idea for your novel after you've published it? Talk about an "I coulda hadda V-8!" moment. That would be awful.

So I was very happy when, last night, I came up with a terrific idea for one of the scenes in Xmas Carol. The book would be a lesser thing without this notion. And lo and behold, since I haven't published the book yet I can write it into the manuscript today. Xmas Carol is saved! Praise jeebus!

Sometimes waiting is a profitable idea. I do not want to have a V-8 moment after publishing the book. That would be the ultimate nightmare. (Okay, maybe not the ultimate but it would definitely be unpleasant.)

PS for wordophiles. This is a literary version of l'esprit d'escalier (the "spirit of the staircase"). The French phrase refers to all the great things you think of as you're leaving (i.e., going down a flight of stairs) after a verbal encounter. Alas, we only think of the great riposte when it's too late. I hope to avoid this with Xmas Carol.

Writers need readers before a book is published

Mind you, writers need readers after publication too, but as a book is being written a good reader is crucial to the process. I can't imagine writing without feedback. It's how writing works: we write; they read. This vital connection is necessary throughout the writing of a book, from first draft to last.

I've mentioned that Annie is reading Xmas Carol (update: Annie's done and she really liked it!). As she read the book, our intrepid full-time commenter sent me messages about what didn't work for her (along with effusive messages about what did work). This is so helpful.

As a writer, you never know how readers are going to respond to your words. You have some notion about how they might react but until an actual reader gets his or her hands on your book, you're working in the dark. Don't get me wrong: it's fun in the dark! But sometimes we need to look out, and readers provide a window.

My sister Maria has been my main reader through the writing of three books. She notices inconsistencies and contradictions, which is very important. It's a gift to me when a reader notices something is wrong. Now I can fix it!

I completely altered the trajectory of my second sci-fi book (more about this in the coming months) to allay Maria's concerns. It's a different book now directly because of her input. With a well-aimed critique, I'm able to rework a story in a way that makes it better -- sometimes much better. Annie did this for me as well with Xmas Carol. Her comments were spot-on and I'm going to rework some things as a result.

The only way a writer can get reader's insights is by having readers. I'm lucky to have helpful souls like Maria, cousin Carmine, Annie and five or six other readers in my life. Constructive input makes a big difference to one's writing.

A PS to budding writers: Let someone in. I know you're afraid to show your work to others but give it a shot. And then put your ego aside and listen to what your reader tells you. Just listen. Hear every word your reader says and consider the possibility that the reader's perspective may be accurate. Doing this may shake you up -- but a good shaking-up can be helpful. Don't be afraid. Hand your work to someone you trust and then cross your fingers. Heck, maybe you'll get an excellent reaction. You never know.

Waiting for the reviews is part of being a writer. So get yourself some reviews. If you pay attention to what your readers tell you, I promise you'll become a better writer.

The joy of a blank page

I've read that some people fear the blank page. They see it as threatening, a challenge they won't be able to meet. But a blank page is the most glorious thing in creation.

Just think: you can write anything! That is such an incredible fact. The whole universe is right there in front of you, like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and you get to choose what you write about. And once you're done you'll realize that an incredible thing has happened. Your story exists in the world; it's real.

Painters and sculptors are necessarily limited by the availability of materials. They are only free to use what they can get their hands on: the colors, the paints they can afford, the canvas, the clay. And they're limited by size because what they create is finite. You can only build so much art from so much paint or clay.

But writing is unbounded. There are no rules to thwart you and there is nothing in your way -- except yourself, if you perversely squat in the middle of your mental roadway and gum up the works. I've said this on this blog before and I'm going to say it again: if you've never written a story, a work of fiction, you have no idea what you're missing.

It's within your power. We all can write, though with differing results based on talent and education. But language is only one level of writing -- the other is the story. And anyone can tell any story. I urge you to tell yours. Afterward, if the writing needs some help, you can seek out an editor. It's amazing what they can do. But don't worry about any of that now. Just tell your tale as interestingly as you can.

Give it a try. What have you got to lose? You worry that it might not be good? Oh, boo hoo. Who cares? At least you did it (and it's a ton of fun, which you'll realize as soon as you try it). Tell your story. It will be the thing you own most in this lifetime. And remember: no one can take writing away from you. Even prisoners have access to paper and pencil, and when they write, their jail cell disappears. They're free.

Give it a shot. After all, you don't have to show it to anyone unless you want to. It can be your secret. Start telling your tale today. As I said (and this will only be clear to you once you've completed your story): it will be the thing you own most in this lifetime.

Making a scene sing

When I read a draft of one of my books, I assess its worth as I go along. One of the things I ask myself about a scene is, "Does it sing?" What is the special element about this scene that will stay with a reader? What makes the scene? And if that element is missing, I have some work to do.

For example, imagine you've written a scene where a conversation is going on between two people in a quiet music room. You thought you wrote it well but as you read it again, an idea occurs to you.

You decide to include a metronome keeping time atop the piano. In the silences between the words of the couple, it is always there, monotonously ticking, as if asking them to keep pace. It lends a sense of tension and inevitability to the scene. Now it sings.

I think we have to ask this question with every scene. What's special about it that will make it memorable for readers? If this component is missing, it's time to re-imagine the scene and come up with a fresh angle, something that lifts it to a higher level.

In the end, it's a bit like touring your home right after you've decorated it. You look into each room and ask, "Does this room really work?" And maybe you realize the lighting in one of the rooms needs a little help. So you create illumination that showcases the best design elements of the room. And suddenly it sings. Quick, call Architectural Digest!

This has to occur in a unique way for every scene in the book. If that special something isn't there you may have a scene that works but is easily forgotten. Think about it in a design sense: what could you add to perfect it? What would give the scene added texture, fragrance, luminosity, allure? Until you answer this question I don't think you're done.

At least, this is how I do it in my books. What about you?

Writing is a partnership with your brain

It's not me who writes; it really isn't. I set the stage but what walks out on it is not me, at least not my conscious self. It's a sort of temporary, augmented self -- but even that description fails.

Here's the thing. When I write, all I do is open a door and something comes charging out, and suddenly my fingers are flying across the keyboard and I'm writing. 

There's that pesky identity problem again: I said, "I'm writing," as if I was referring to myself. Thinking of it this way may be convenient but it's not accurate. It doesn't tell half the tale. Something within me comes out to write fiction. That's the short version. I never suspected the existence of this being before writing fiction. In none of my extensive, nonfiction writing did anything remotely like this ever occur. I just wrote in the "normal" fashion and it was my conscious mind that did the writing. End of story.

But with fiction it was there the very first time. I've come to call my writing partner Phil (using the name of a character in one of my books; it's an inside joke). Others call Phil the Muse, I guess, though I think they mean only inspiration rather than a creature that takes over your body as if you're a zombie. Me, I don't talk Muses. The whole capital-letter, vague-entity thing puts me off, so I went with Phil.

I call out to Phil sometimes. Before writing, I'll ask, "Phil! Are you with me?" Because sometimes he isn't, though this is rare. For the most part, he shows up when I need him. And when the writing day is done, I often thank him by name. See, I believe what I'm saying here. Phil exists.

And Phil writes. I mean, this guy is fast. I watch my fingers as they move at lightning speed, typing whatever Phil wants. I see the words go up on the screen and I read them -- but I do this as an observer. I even comment to myself as the scene reels out on the screen.

I'll say, "What the heck is that?" or "I thought we weren't going there!" or "Would you look at that!" It just happens and all the while, "I" never stop typing. But it's not me doing it; I would know. It's Phil. It's just the way it works.

But it all has to mean something, right? So here's my take. I think we fiction writers work with different aspects of our mental machinery, various modules that come together to make up what we call our mind. As writers, we supply certain skills: literary judgment, a deep understanding of the meaning of words, an artful sense of structure, an innate ability to strike a certain tone, and the mental apparatus required to tell a story.

To this we add ingredients dictated by our conscious mind: the story idea, the characters and goals of the story, planned outlines of places, events and timelines, and a particular sense of style that will dominate and define this particular fictional world. We're ready to write.

But when we start, something strange happens. Through some mental magic, an artful coming-together of farflung mental components and abilities, we are able to create a virtual writer for a short period of time. Set the stage appropriately and this being comes into existence. It moves with a morefluid  gait than we could ever achieve, and has a sense of comfort and style that goes far beyond what we, as conscious writers, could ever claim to possess. For a time, this personality exists and he writes. I believe this. Go, Phil!

All we do as writers is watch and adopt a hands-off attitude. We let the power run wild, let its passion take hold of the story and move it forward. We watch as the virtual writer dances through the scenes, always moving more swiftly and adroitly than a mere mortal. We let this power unwind fully. We watch as it runs its course and finally lunges across the finish line. And there in its wake is a finished scene.

This is what writing fiction feels like to me. I've read posts by other fiction writers who described something similar. Writers come up with their own terms for this process, their own notions about how it takes place. But something wild happens every time we write fiction. If you don't believe me, just ask any fiction writer who is passionate about her work.  

I put it right up there in the post title: writing is a partnership with your brain. It's almost like emergent behavior -- what comes out is so much greater than the ingredients. I feel honored after writing, as if I was visited by another whose skills are far greater than my own. I always come back to that: it is an "other" -- the Muse, Phil, whatever. It's how fiction gets written.

Any other takes on this? (This is why the Flying Spaghetti Monster created comment buttons, you know. Just sayin'.)

Structure

I didn't think too much about structure before I began writing my novels.  I don't mean that I didn't think through the story idea, looking at where it needed to go, and how I could get the reader there.  I did that.  But "structure", as in how often a type of scene or device appeared in the book, was something I only saw in retrospect.  It just happened as I was writing the books.

On the other hand, I did spend time thinking about today's reading audience before I began, and continued to think of my potential audience as I wrote the books.  There are so many people today who don't read.  And of those who do, most seem to read books that don't challenge them.  They're not looking for ideas, they're looking for diversion.

Not only do people not read much, but they have no staying power when they do.  I had a friend who used to say that some people possess the "attention span of a flea."  Such people are legion today.  So how was I going to tell a tale to people who have a tiny attention span and don't like to read?

One obvious answer was to keep all the scenes short.  No section in any of my books goes on at length.  To address the attention-span issue head-on, I decided to keep moving, to stay with nothing for too long.  I adopted a technique of jumping from character to character in my scenes.  First a scene about this one, then we visit another character, and so on.  It's essentially a method to avoid boredom on the part of readers, and I find the result compelling.

Plus, when it's written like this, readers can easily finish a scene and put the book down for a bit.  When they return, it's never to the middle of a scene, where they're flipping backward to remind themselves of what happened.  Each time they pick the book up again, a totally fresh scene greets them.  It's kind of like watching an "episode".

And because each scene has, I like to think, a magical element to it, the book encourages the reader to absorb the book a scene at a time.  I hope people will walk away from each scene with a sense of wonder, and that they'll continue to think about the ideas the scene brought up.  Then they can come back when they're ready and read another scene (or two). I suspect this will work well with today's rushed, multi-tasking, attention-limited audiences.

One of my readers, a male, told me, "There was never one page where I was bored."  This was a comment about "The Worlds," the first book of the sci-fi trilogy.  This is the highest compliment I can be paid by readers.  I thought, "It worked!"

In the two sci-fi books, I included a type of section that is not typical in fiction.  The sections appear in almost every chapter in the second book, and in every other chapter of the first.  Each of these sections provides four vignettes that paint a vivid picture of the strange worlds which a new technology has created.  I included the sections as breaks in the story, something to inject a bit of fresh air.  Each is a tale that will either surprise the reader or make her smile.  I'm told by most of my readers that these were their favorite parts of the books.

In those two books, there is indeed a structure punctuated by the appearance of the vignette sections.  I have to admit, however, that they appeared not by design but rather organically.  They just grew themselves onto the page because they seemed necessary.  For readers to have a global view of the action in the book, they needed to see it all.  This device let me show many strange and interesting ideas to readers.

So that was the structure: a friendly, easy-to-read story with the vignette sections to provide a break and some extra goosebumps.  Seemed to work.  I haven't had any complaints.

One other technique, before closing.  In the second sci-fi book, "The Pod, the God and the Planet", I opened each chapter with an excerpt from a book written by one of the characters.  He is a trusted journalist and his book is a commentary on the times in which he lived.  It broadened my brush, because I could use him to discuss the changes that were happening on the Earth.  It even gave me a place to muse about the goings-on, and to speak about what they might mean for humanity in the long run.   I think this device worked too.

Again, I didn't plan this structure beforehand.  I find these things do indeed happen organically.  As I was writing the Pod book, I found I was writing sections that were not part of the story.  They were grand overviews of the cultural changes on Earth.  I liked them, but how could I use them?

Duh.  I realized my main character was a writer who could easily have written these things.  So I transformed them into excerpts from "his" book, and that's how these sections came to open every chapter.  Hopefully, if I can publish the books in 2011, readers can chime in on how they reacted to these devices.

Beyond that, I vowed to use simple words when they would suffice.  I want to include readers, not exclude them.  If I can get through to readers, maybe I can open their minds to new ideas.  That's the goal, overall.  That, and to help people see that the future is worth dreaming about and protecting.  We need to understand this in order to manage the world we have today.  Without protective action on our part, there will be no future.

So I say: let us dream of the future.

It started with a fever

A couple of years ago I got the flu and had a high fever.  In the midst of delirium an idea came to me.  It seemed a most wonderful idea, in fact, the best idea ever.  I jotted it down.

The next day when I woke up, I looked at the note.  I expected it to be nonsense but even in the light of day and without a fever, it seemed like a very, very good idea.  But what could I do with it?  I'd never tried to write a book before.  Mind you, I'm a writer and I've always earned my pay by putting words on paper.  I was in human rights work for decades and wrote speeches, letters, articles, reports, etc.  But I had never tried to write fiction.

Oh, it had occurred to me now and then.  But I thought I was too far removed from the lives that "normal" people lived.  I didn't think I could write something that others could relate to.  What can I say?  This is what I thought, and because of it I never tried to write anything but non-fiction.

At that time (when I was thinking about the possibility of writing a book), I was corresponding daily with the blogger who runs the thinkingmeat.com site.  She too was noodling with the idea of writing fiction and she encouraged me mightily, for which I'll always be thankful.

The day finally came when I couldn't put it off any longer.  I knew what I wanted to write, and all I had to do was walk over to the computer, sit down and begin telling the tale.  I remember thinking,  "What the hell, I'm going to give it a shot."  And boy, did I have a surprise in store.

The story rushed out of me, filling page after page.  I was shocked whenever I realized that I was actually writing a novel.  But the shock didn't slow me down.  I never flagged, never got to a point where I didn't know what to say.  It just came out.

And then one day I was done and I could actually say, "I've written a novel."  How weird!  I did it.  And it all started with a fever.