Update from Brian

So, another gap in posting. I’m sorry!

I really want to do better at this. I’ve actually been really busy with some work projects the last few weeks, which have left me tired, and very little time to do actual writing.

On the plus side, I have been working on that review I mentioned in my last post. I have 2 other reviews in the works as well.

I’m also working on the blog, trying to get links to where you can find me on the various social networks. I didn’t think I was signing up for another job with all this writing stuff. You may now call me stupid for that thought.

Till my next post!

Google+

Well, not the post I was thinking about when I mentioned another one the other day. I just got into Google Plus tonight. I haven’t had a chance to do too much yet, other than follow a few people. I wanted to share some initial thoughts, though.

If you’re having trouble understanding what it is, the best way I can describe it is as a cross of Facebook and Twitter. There are similarities to both. The thing I like the most, is the Circle concept. You can put people in multiple Circles, following them that way. So, for people from the #MyWANA Twitter tag, I stick them in there, and anything that they post that is for anyone to see, will show up in that Circle. I also have a Minecraft Circle to follow the developers of the game. It makes it easy to see what they are talking about. Or, if I want to send a message to my Family, I can do that by posting to only that Circle, or an individual even.

That’s where some problems come up. With Twitter, it’s easy to follow a hash tag to talk with people, even those that you don’t know. Take #MyWANA. When I started following the tag, I didn’t follow many (if any) of the people. There are still those that I don’t follow that I can talk to through the tag. As of right now, there is no way to do that in Google+, that I have seen.

Or, in the case of the Minecraft Developers. It would be nice if people could follow a specific Circle, and when they want to talk about something game related, they could post to that, and anyone following would see it.

There are things to be worked out, for sure. But I think that there is a good base here. Time will tell if Google will succeed with this new project, or if this will be another flop, like Wave.

And, if you want to add me, here’s my profile. Yes, I know I need to get a picture up there (at the time of writing).

Site Update

I just updated to WordPress 3.2, and enabled some new features while I was at it. Not sure if I like the new theme yet, but I’ll keep it for the time being.

In other news, I’m going to try to have a book review for all of you up later in the week. It’s one of those that has been in the works for a while.

Until then, keep reading and writing.

Making an eBook for iOS

Update at the end of the post!

On #MyWANA the other day, I mentioned that I put my draft of my WIP on my iPod. There was some interest in that, so I thought I’d give you some ideas on how you can do that. I’m saying up front that this is more of a technical article, akin to Patrick Thunstrom’s TweetDeck series (check them out if you want to use that program at all, good stuff). You’ll need to be somewhat familiar with your computer and its programs. In short, there are 2 ways: the easy, and the not as easy way. So, if you want to take the plunge, read on!

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Gamebook resurgence

Cover for Choose Your Own Adventure #1 - The Abominable Snowman

Choose Your Own Adventure. Just that name brings fond memories to many of my generation. You would read through the story, making decisions as you went. I read some of them, and enjoyed them. But, not as much as I might have. Most of them were more real world, and I enjoy fantasy a lot more. It’s a pity I didn’t find any of the RPG style gamebooks. I hadn’t heard much of this style of story in years, and thought they were pretty much dead. It turns out I was wrong.

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