A War of Words by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

    

You ever hear of a word war? If your familliar with Nanowrimo or national novel writing month, then you probably have. Word wars are like the Olympics of writing, minus the spandex. They're a turbo boost for productivity, turning procrastination into a distant memory faster than you can say "writer's block." It's like a battle royale, but instead of wielding swords, we're armed with laptops and caffeine-fueled determination.

Not a word war... though accurate.

Imagine a room full of writers, all clacking away furiously on their keyboards, eyes wide with the thrill of the chase for word count supremacy. It's a frenzy of creativity, where the only rule is to write like the wind and pray your spellcheck doesn't fail you.

A real life depiction of a room of writers...

And let's not forget the camaraderie! Word wars are the ultimate bonding experience, where fellow writers become comrades-in-arms, cheering each other on through the highs and lows of the literary battlefield. Plus, there's nothing like the sweet taste of victory when you emerge with the highest count!

So far, word wars have gotten me through a few writer's blocks. Nothing beats a bit of competition, though I usually always lose... Lately I have been trying to turn by brain down a notch. Stop overthinking everything I write down and just get it on paper so I have something to work with during the editing phase. But I got to wondering if its only me who struggles. Obviously not.... but what do you do to get through blocks and obstacles? Wait till it passes, and hope the time is short, or power through it?

Surely some one else can relate, right? 

A Couple of New Publishing Technologies by Mohan Ashtakala

 

The last twenty years have bought extraordinary changes to the publishing world. Among the most important have been the emergence of the Digital Marketplace, and its younger brother, Social Media Marketing. While purists may rue the days when everything was in print, not to mention available in dozens of small bookstores, there is no doubt that the new technologies have made writers’ works available to an enormous, global audience.

        The days of innovation are not over. Newer, more democratic, ways of publishing are on the horizon. Here then, are a couple of emerging technologies that hold promise:

 

1.      Auto-generated Audio Books.

Currently, only a select few books are turned into audio books. The process involves professional narrators and expensive equipment. The conversion takes time and money. Google, which controls Google Play Books, has been working to developing Artificial Intelligence to automatically transcribe text-to-speech. Far from the robotic voices which mangle names and words, Google has worked on using natural voices that can handle complex words and proper nouns, and deliver speech with authentic pitch, stress, rhythm and intonation. Once widely available, this technology will allow audio books to become available to a vast number of publishers and writers.

 

2.      Books to Graphic novels.

Crazy Maple Studios, a tech company based in California has developed a software which allows authors to recreate their books as graphic novels. While not an automated process, it offers authors the chance to create graphic characters, plates (or scenes) and insert animation and sound. The technology allows the author to even introduce game play, where readers can decide what a character does. In this way, it creates an immersive reading experience which can include gaming.

Mohan Ashtakala (mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. he is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)