Happy Birthday to me

So today is my birthday so I'm going to share a post with pics.

First let's all say:

Then we will open these:

Finally we will:

Everyone enjoy the day because it's mine and I said too.

Google +

This past week I was invited into Google +, the new hot thing in Social Networking. It's basically a direct competitor to Facebook, but in my opinion better.

The pros:
I like the way your circles dictate what information you want to read. I don't have a constant stream of stuff that I can't sort and make heads or tails of at times. This way if I'm in the mood to read stuff my my fellow writer friends, I can just look at what those in my "writers" circle are talking about. Same with friends and family. It makes organizing what I am looking to read easier. Unlike Facebooks everything in the same screen approach.

I like the way that it is connected to the other google services, and will be more tied in the future. So far I can see the possibilities with gmail and blogger. Really excited about these.

The Hangouts. I haven't gotten to try this yet. I plan to get some writer friends together to give it a test run as soon as I can. I think this could be very beneficial to have a sort of web/live crit group going at times. Even just to have company while writing if you like. If they can tie this into Google docs it can also be used collaborate over projects as well.

Sparks, haven't used much so I can't comment on it, but what I gather it is about certain interests and pulls relevant news stories for you to read. I'm not sure as like I said I haven't used it much.

Cons:

The limited release so far. It's got far fewer people on it, so connecting with old friends or classmates is more difficult, but this could change in the future as more people adopt it.

That's it for cons now. Like I said I've only been playing with it for less than a week, but so far its impressive as another Facebook. Right now I still use both, but once I get more used to the Google + features, I think that it could be a full time replacement. Only time will tell.

Btw, Monday's post was written using my new cell phone and the blogger app, did anyone notice any difference? I think with all these new toys, I will have to do an updated technology for writers post with some new gadgets that I have implemented into my toolbox recently.

What do you guys think of Google + for those of you that have it? If you would like an invite I will see if I can do so, but I think I heard it might be open for all google account holders now. If not, and you want in, please let me know in the comments with your email and I will send you an invite so you can see for yourself.

How rearranging a bedroom relates to writing.

So the weekend we had to rearrange our bedroom to make room for a new desk. It got me thinking how much we rearrange our books before its finished.

We might move a character from a scene to make a better entrance later on, or to set up something later. We might also move a certain scene for more impact. In my current project I expect to move certain things around to make it better. How do you guys handle the rearranging of you book? I bet mystery writers do it more than others.

Are you guys like me and have a separate file for things to save field later? I use it to store things that don't fit yet but could work later on. What are some of you writing techniques for organizing your novel?

Movie Review "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon"

Now I want to preface this with the comment that I grew up watching these cartoons and have enjoyed the previous two for what they were. Summer Blockbusters.

My wife and I saw this movie Sunday and I knew going in that the reviews were terrible. Now I'm not one to really care what reviews say, but they did keep me from expecting much. We decided to plop down for 3D, our first in about a year. Yikes $22.50 for the two of us. Good thing we didn't bring any of the kids.

Now I'll first say that I thought that the 3D was used well in the movie, jet smoke coming out, bits of robot flying toward you, but there is a scene where there are skydivers, and the 3D was pretty pretty amazing.

The story was passable. Blah blah robots fight, some die, some live. Nothing to really write home about, but for a Summer Blockbuster it was enough.

The characters, Shia did a good job for his role and I agree with him that the story of Sam is pretty much done. The new female lead was no better or no worse than Megan Fox, she's there for eyecandy that's about it. The robots, they did focus more on them and got the audience emotionally attached in this one more than they have the others, which I thought was nicely done.

The overall package wasn't great, but my wife and I like these types of movies because they are mindless fun that you can enjoy without thinking too much about it. Pretty good time at the movies. I give a solid 3/5.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think about it?

Trouble with Endings

I just finished my WiP 2nd draft, and still am struggling with the ending. I think that it's rushed, but not sure how to slow it down. Since I promised Beta's that I will be sending it today, actually that was supposed to be last Friday.

I am going to take some time to think about it and how to tie it up better. I will let my Beta's give me their feedback and take it into consideration, but ultimately it's up to me. I have to decide whether it works for the characters, or if its too forced. Maybe it ends too fast, or maybe too late and I should end it earlier. So many options.

What are some of your favorite endings in books, maybe I could get some ideas of how to end it?

Happy Fourth of July

I hope you all enjoy the day with your families. I volunteered to work today for the extra money. :) Everyone be safe and have fun.

Feedback, what kind do you like?

Now that I'm about to send my WiP out to some Beta readers, it made me wonder what sort of feedback do I like. I'm all about story while I'm writing, focus on plot, action, and characters, but I also know my weakest thing during the first draft is the character relationships. I usually have a great main character, while the rest of characters are only partially complete.

I also know that I can get into a passive voice at times, which is hard to notice while writing and is usually picked up on subsequent readings.

My plot usually flows pretty well, I think I enjoy moving from one action to the next without much in the ways of missing parts, however, for a first draft some of the things that show up later need to be introduced a bit earlier.

If you're following, when I send it out for readings, I like a lot of feedback, nothing is too small or too big. I also feel that I have a thick skin, meaning lay into me, I won't mind, because I'm of the mindset that if one person notices it, its just that person, if two people notice it, it's something that needs to be looked into and if three people notice it, then it's something wrong.

What sort of feedback do you like when you are getting read?

Oh yeah, next step, thanks to comments on Wednesday's post is the query letter and synopsis.