I'm going to assume the "Patricia" Steve mentions is me. Ten published books. Four of them novels. You write because you must. I feel blessed to be able to do what I love to do.
Like most authors, I'm always saddened to hear that literature doesn't speak "any more" to a certain group of people, but that's the way it is. I could argue that the numbers it ever spoke to were always small, so what's new. But my missionary work is past, so no arguments from me. Pamela On Mar 21, 2013, at 2:58 PM, Steve Smith <[email protected]> wrote: > Glen - > > Unfortunately I fear you are correct. *I* have probably *written* at least > one Novel's worth (a Michener or King's worth?) right here on the FRIAM list, > yet you don't see me buckling down to publish my own next to Doug's. And in > fact, I think Doug will acknowledge that even *he* wouldn't (couldn't) write > his novel today... it was enough focus just to dig it out, re-asciify it, > reformat it, edit, dust, clean, etc. enough to publish as an e-book on > Amazon. Patricia (and other published fiction authors here???) might have > another perspective of course! > > I don't play video games for 6 hour stints, even though I came of age along > with Pong, then Asteroids, Pac Man, Battlezone, and Missile Command. I do > occasionally fall into a hole dug by Tetris on my iPhone, however. > > But I *rarely* read a novel anymore. I was, as you were, was trained on > such... but the last 22 years (if you read my last post) have slowly eroded > that. 22 years ago I had a TV connected to a VCR in a cabinet with doors, > and I might have indulged in a movie once every week or two... maybe two > during a weekend. I rarely even turned the tube on, and then only to maybe > catch a local weather forecast. > > *Even* I didn't have a *laptop* until about 1998 and while I spent at least > half my time at work in front of a computer, I spent almost no time at home > on a computer and the other half of my work time arm-wrestling (other) idiots > in meetings or crawling around fishing cables under raised floors or dropped > ceilings. Today I spend (to this list's chagrin) 4-16 hours a day (350/365 > days) in front of this (or one or another) damned machine either > reading/writing e-mail, surfing the web (for very important stuff), writing > proposals, writing code, (occasionally) writing invoices, building 3d models > for proposals or for specifying physical parts of systems, or streaming a > movie or ... > > I'm lucky to pull my face out (2:14) of this machine for any significant > amount of time, it is only because I maintain something of a "homesteader's > lifestyle" that requires me to chop wood, carry water, repair a > dumptruck/tractor/trailer haul my own trash away, etc. I still spend > *several* hours a week arm wrestling (other) idiots in meetings but half of > them are on Skype! > > Someone needs to design a haptic-interface (and mediation protocols?) for a > USB attached device to facilitate arm wresting over the wire proper? Rob > Shaw's (also on this list?) brother (Chris) was involved in a startup 15 > years ago (Haptek?) that was designing pneumatic haptic "suits" for martial > arts games, unfortunately it didn't make it to the market. They got > distracted with People Putty (and more)... > > I *am* working with the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) to try to > help them develop/teach *immersive* storytelling in their Digital Dome but I > fear, even with full 360 surround environments and full motion tracking, > storytelling is losing something, unless it can somehow transcend and come > full circle. For those lucky enough to experience Robert Mirabal's live > performance (Po'Pay Speaks), you might know that there is always hope for > such! > > We (most of us) are of a generation that preceded all this, I can only > imagine what it has been like for the current generation of children who were > born *after* Al Gore invented the Internet and the rest of us invented the > rest of it. I only see MiniVans and SUVs on the highway with 2.6 (or is it > 1.8) kids in the back seat with 2 video screens (one on the back of each > parent's seat/headrest with either a movie or maybe a video game (or web > browser) running. I have quoted Jerry Mander with "Shoot your Television". > Obviously that was not enough, my computer snuck in and filled it's niche to > bursting! > > Off to a face-to-face meeting that will actually require walking around > outside waving our arms (Hi Jane) ! > > I've gotta stop this Twitch! > - Steve > > >> Steve Smith wrote at 03/21/2013 10:24 AM: >>> I'll see your "King's Men" and raise you a"Stone Junction" >>> <http://books.google.com/books/about/Stone_Junction.html?id=woneSCNLbrYC> by >>> Jim Dodge >> Ordered! >> >>> When Glen writes his "great american novel" (surely to be also an >>> alchemical potboiler, a digital noir happening, an outlaw epic?) all his >>> (published on paper or internet, indexed by Google) forgotten influences >>> and sources will be exposed. His Twitch will be a folding of the >>> origami paper, or perhaps a pull of the taffy. >> Unfortunately, I think the novel is dead as a format for story telling. >> It may return if peak oil or a zombie apocalypse obtains. But overall, >> I think it's efficacy is dwindling rapidly. I still like them because >> that's the way I was trained. But I find them increasingly difficult to >> read ... the surrounding people, devices, and non-fiction books with >> good indices draw my attention away from novels. I'll play a video game >> for 6 hours. But I won't read a novel for 6 hours. Even when I do >> manage to read for a long time, it sparks ideas that I have to write >> down or pause to look something up in another book. I am no longer >> linear ... or even first order continuous. >> > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
