The Open Author

I just realized that we have six computers in our house. That isn’t counting the Wii, my Android phone, etc., it’s just the traditional computers. Here are some stats:

Laptops – 3
Desktops – 3
Windows XP – 2
Windows 7 – 2
Ubuntu – 1
Leopard – 1
Dell – 5
Mac – 1

So, my goal is to get one more computer. That way we’ll have one computer per person in the family.

Now I just need to get my wife into World of Warcraft. Then family time would consist of each of us going to our separate corners, logging in, and fighting virtual monsters until the cows come home.

I ran my first 5k of the season. The picture of me to the right is not the picture of the race today. But I like the picture, and it’s of me running, so I’m posting it so those of you who don’t like to read can know what the post is about, without looking at all this boring text.

Anyway, I brought my iPod this morning, but alas, the battery was dead. I was forced to run without any tunes. I NEVER run without tunes, and I think it threw off my pacing.

Last year I ran a race and started off too quick. I ended up sucking air the entire race, and almost vomited at the end. My race time was horrible and I was hacking for days. I learned my lesson–you have to pace yourself.

So this morning I started off a little slow. I settled in behind a woman and then finally passed her when she started walking. There was another guy ahead of me in blue shorts, and it seemed that he and I were running about the same pace. I set the goal trying to keep up. He was about fifty feet ahead of me.

But with about half a mile to go, I realized I wasn’t breathing that hard, nor was I sweating. I decided to turn up the heat a little. I’d sprint for a bit and see if I could catch up to blue shorts.

It felt fantastic. I realized I had been running at a much slower pace than I thought. I caught up to the guy very easy, although I slowed down when I passed him. I also breathed hard, so he wouldn’t feel bad. Then I saw I still had time to pass yet another guy before the finish line. I passed him and finished the race with a decent time for a pudgy, middle-aged white guy. I sprinted the last half mile.

Anyway, it reminded me of the important of pacing. If you run too fast you’re going to burn out too soon If you run too slow–if you don’t push yourself–you’re never going to improve.

So the next time you come up with some wild and crazy idea, go ahead and get excited–dream big, and then set some reachable goals and get started. Push yourself, celebrate the victories along the way, and don’t forget to use Vaseline so you don’t chafe.

Wait, forget that last piece of advice. I think the analogy kind of breaks down at that point.

Wrote a quick piece on a model used by independent video game developers that might be of value to writers.

I went golfing on Saturday. I go once a year with my in-laws, and while I’m not a huge golf fan, I LOVE to play golf with the Olsens. It’s always a rip-roaring good time with them.

For readers of my blog, you have probably heard my wild and crazy ideas about collaborative composition before—the idea of a group of writers working on a single piece of writing. I’ve blogged about both the benefits, as well as the challenges and drawbacks.

But while playing golf I was reminded of why I think it would work so well. I’m a horrible golfer, probably the worst one in the group. I putt OK, and my short game is decent. But my driving is well past atrocious. Laughable is probably the best word because that is what everybody did each time I hit off the tee—all good natured, of course.

But we played scramble rules. Scramble means that everybody tees off and then the group goes to whoever hit the best ball and then everybody hits from there. Between the six of us, none of us was that good. But combined we were amazing. I think we hit a two or three under par, and almost had an eagle on a par five.

A couple of the brothers were good at driving, and I hit a few nice lobs onto the green. When six of us are putting, there is a good chance that somebody will hit it in, and I think there were only two holes where we didn’t one putt it.

I think writing can be the same way. If you had six writers working on a piece of fiction, you’re going to get somebody with good description, somebody with a keen eye for plot or character development, somebody pithy who will be able to tighten things up, and somebody else to make sure the voice is consistent.

If I could rewind the clock 5 years when I first signed up for a Ph. D. in instructional technology, I think I might have changed my mind. Instead of going for the Ph. D., I’d go for an MFA in creative writing. I’d love to teach, and I think collaborative composition would afford some great scaffolding for writers practicing their craft.

Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to pull it off. In the mean time, I need to go hit a bucket of balls. My goal for next year is to have TWO of my shots be the ‘best ball’.