Is technology making our lives easier, or more complicated? by Vijaya Schartz

Sci-fi tells us where the technology is going in the Ancient Enemy series. Find these books and others from Vijaya HERE

We rely on technology so much these days, that the simplest hick-ups can ruin a perfectly good day... or week... and even a life. As a science fiction writer (among other genres) I love futuristic technology, but it sometimes gives me nightmares.

I remember  a long time ago someone saying "If cars were as unreliable as computers, no one would drive." Well, now computers drive our cars as well. Last summer, a Tesla on autopilot ran full speed into a semi, killing the non-driver. As much as we would like to think technology is perfect, it isn't. And Uber is implementing driverless cars!

We have learned to accept these glitches as growing pains. And like everyone else, I did, gracefully... until a few days ago, when Firefox updated their browser.... and my personal nightmare started.

"Faster and more powerful" said the update. All of a sudden, my passwords were not recognized... most of them anyway. I am still locked out of my main email account with Cox.... and cut out from my business mail. I can't access my account at Amazon. Facebook still works, and so does my online banking, but I am scared to even try to access many of my regular writers and readers sites, for fear of the nightmare.

I tried to contact Cox, of course, but their automatic phone butler keeps you listening to music for hours and never lets you speak to an operator.

"Just reset your password," says one site... but in order to do so, they must accept my old password, which they don't. Then they say they'll send you an email to confirm and you will have to acknowledge the change by clicking the link they emailed you, before you can log in again.... but I can't access my email! Grrrrr.

Although usually comfortable navigating cyberspace, I suddenly feel inadequate. Am I getting old? Am I wrong to expect updates not to mess up my carefully organized life? Or is there something more sinister going on?

Maybe there is a story in here... every life experience can be fodder for popular fiction, right? Imagine a world where glitchy computers make life and death decisions... Or is it already happening, and we are not aware of it?

There is a big difference between technology and progress. Although we are making great leaps in technology, progress lags behind, since progress is the evolution of the human mind and the human condition. I think mutual respect, quality of work and life, and caring customer service are part of progress, but these seem to be sorely lacking in today's society.

Sorry for venting here, but I was wondering if you had similar experiences with glitchy technology.


  Vijaya Schartz
  Action, Romance, Mayhem
  http://www.vijayaschartz.com
  Amazon - Barnes & Noble -  Smashwords - Facebook -

Why Modern Technology Hates Suspense Writers by Stuart R. West

For my just released book, Ghosts of Gannaway, I did an awful lot of research (emphasis on the “awful”). I uncovered more about the 1930’s and mining than any one person should know. Now, I’m the type of writer who likes to jump right in and let the characters run wild. Once I set them up, they pretty much chart their own course and fate. So the uncustomary preparatory research made me antsy. But thanks to the miracle of “Mr. Google,” the research wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been.

Which made me wonder how writers managed to research during the pre-internet era. Good ol’-fashioned phone calling and pavement pounding, that’s how.

Writers are spoiled nowadays with the convenience and luxury of computers and the internet.  When I was in college (back in the ‘80’s, a decade not known for much other than big hair and even bigger shoulder pads), I pounded away on my portable electric typewriter, a then state-of-the-art contraption. Armed with a bottle of white-out at my elbow, it was slow, frustrating going.  I couldn’t imagine writing a novel on a typewriter, wouldn’t have the patience. Just a couple of weeks ago, I found out my daughter had never used a typewriter. To my horror, she didn’t even know how to return the carriage. And I’m really beginning to sound like a grumpy ol’ coot, aren’t I? (“You kids get outta’ my yard!”)

But even with the ease of computers, progress isn’t always a good thing for writers. Especially suspense writers.

Sure, I’m able to research with a few clicks of a button. But since my research over the past several years has included poison, witchcraft, black magic, animal tranquilizers, human sedatives, cults, hate churches, designer guns, lock-picking, serial killers, toxic gases, and other thriller staples, I’m sure I’ve raised a few governmental eyes. Probably on a couple of “To Be Watched” lists. Before the internet, writers could more easily maintain anonymity. A double-edged sword.

And since I like to wallow in suspense and thrillers, the advent of cell phones has made it tough. It’s hard to strand characters in perilous situations when they can just make a call. Characters in my books have the worst phone service providers ever; lots of dropped calls and fading batteries. Like Clark Kent, I miss phone booths. Hitchcock loved ‘em and for good reason. 

Then there’re all the electronic eyes everywhere! Security cameras, traffic cams, satellites looking at who knows what. Pity the poor fictional criminal; it’s next to impossible to pull off a nefarious deed these days without being witnessed.

Don’t even get me going on the state of forensics now. A crook practically has to hermetically seal himself in a plastic bag to pull off a successful murder. I envy the thriller writers of yesteryear, when the bad guys could perpetrate their crime, then boom, off to the Caribbean. 

I can’t keep up with the technological advances. I wrote a thriller a year ago, one I thought was relatively “cutting edge.” But, recently, a writer took me to task for having my anti-hero using a flip phone. “That’s so, like, five years ago,” she said. So I texted her back (painstakingly tap-tap-tapping three times per each letter on my flip-phone), Oh, yeah?

Progress. Bah! (“You kids call that a haircut?”)

What say you, other writers? How about it readers? Has progress helped or hindered what you write and read?

Ghosts of Gannaway, a decades spanning ghost story by Stuart R. West, from Books We Love Publishing is out now at the special sale price of .99! That's a whole lotta research for under a buck!

Click here for Amazon.

Stuart R. West's blog: Twisted Tales From Tornado Alley

 Facebook

Twitter: @StuartRWest

 

Video Trailers versus Excerpts – by Ginger Simpson

Some people love video trailers, others prefer to read excerpts. Personally, I love ‘watching’ an excerpt over reading it. With so many new authors coming on board and new promotion groups springing up every day, I feel like my words get lost in a sea of others. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve become frustrated over scrolling through a digest that is nothing but excerpt after excerpt with little or no explanation about the story—no scene setting, no dialogue. Why would I want to buy that book, I ask myself. The author clearly didn’t care enough to stick around and discuss her/his work. Probably off doing more ‘drive-by-posting.’

*Hanging head*. I’ve been guilty of it myself by trying to cover as many loops as possible on the days they offer open promotion. But, I now realize I was doing myself a disservice by using this tactic. I’m looking for a way to initiate discussions with readers about what they truly appreciate and/or hate in a book. The secret is finding a way to ‘delurk’ them. *smile*

In the meantime, I really enjoy the technology that allows me to bring my work to life in a one-two minute video. I’m a fan of short rather than longer because sometimes too much information becomes boring or overwhelming. I’ve done several trailers now, and I think I’ve finally hit upon giving just enough information to whet someone’s appetite and make them want more. At least, that’s my hope.

The cost of having a professional video done is prohibitive in most cases which is the main reason I learned to use the Windows Movie Maker program on my computer. It’s time consuming, but for me, fun because it gets my creative juices flowing. The hardest part is perusing royalty-free sites, looking for inexpensive pictures and music. You must be very careful about what you use, making sure you’ve purchased the appropriate license to display the photo or sound. People get really picky when you use their stuff without permission. As authors, we should all understand this. We don’t like anyone selling our books without permission.  I recently discovered Animto.com and pay for a very small free and they do all the hard word...mixing, coordinating the transitions...things that continually made my Movie Maker freeze up.  I really, love Animoto. 

Not all my friends are computer literate or have the time to devote to making their own trailers, so I’ve had the privilege of creating one or more for them. My options are limited to the program I use and can’t compare with the big gun companies, but given what I have to work with, I’m proud of my accomplishments. Here’s a look at  one I did for a recent release,

You can find all my videos at http://www.youtube.com/mizging and all my books on my Amazon author's page.

Please visit my blog at http://mizging.blogspot and say hello. Right now I’ve been on a political rampage, but I’m taking prozac and drinking vodka to cure it and not vent on Dishin' It Out. *big grin*