Fritz. – fritz freiheit.com blog

2021/01/01

2021 Writing log spreadsheet

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •


2021 Writing log spreadsheet

Happy New Year!

As is my tradition, I am posting my writing log (2021_Writing_log.ods) for the forthcoming year and wish everyone a productive year, whether or not you a writer.

Feel free to download this LibreOffice spreadsheet (link below) to track your writing productivity on a day by day, week by week, and month by month basis.

Tags:	2020, 2021, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

Tags:

2020, 2021, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

I've added a few statistical summaries to the Project page:

Download the spreadsheet here: 2020-2021_Writing_log.ods ( or 2021_Writing_log.ods for a version that excludes the 2020 example pages. )

You will need a copy of LibreOffice to use this spreadsheet.

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

I've been using spreadsheets since 2005 to track my daily word output, which can be considered a form of don't break the chain. The tracking of output on a daily basis is, I believe, to be the reason I finished my first novel.

You don't need to write using LibreOffice to make use of this spreadsheet. (But if you do, or might be thinking about using LibreOffice, see Authoring Novels with LibreOffice.)

See master writing log for more detailed information and examples.

Project page

The project page summarizes your writing project status. It is broken up into five sections, four for projects in barf (that is, 1st draft) up to publication, incubator, published, and trunked.

Customization

My approach to writing is based on barf and polish. Thus my writing phases labels are:

You can change the labels you apply to the status of a project.

2021 Daily Log

Track daily word deltas for 2021.

Add one row per day per project. It will automatically be summed in the weekly and monthly delta pages.

2021 Weekly Delta

Weekly summaries for 2021.

2021 Monthly Delta

Monthly summaries for 2021.

Example Daily Log

Example daily word deltas for 2014.

Example Weekly Delta

Example weekly summaries for 2014.

Example Monthly Delta

Example monthly summaries from 2014.

Links and Notes

A few links.

Config

Configuration fields.

Appendix

last_one2 VB Function

This spreadsheet includes a VB function for finding a project's most recent day in a given year. Ultimately, this populates the "Last Entry" column on the Projects page.

Function last_one2(searchList,target,resultList)
REM =last_one2(A1:A14;"target";B1:B14)
dim i as integer
rem last_one2 = 0
for i = lbound(searchList,1) to ubound(searchList,1)
if searchList(i,1) = target then last_one2 = resultList(i,1)
next
End function

If the "Last Entry" column is not being populated, turn on macros.

If the "Last Entry" column is still not being populated, then this function can be installed as follows:

Tools → Macros → Organize Macros → LibreOffice Basic...
In the Basic editor:
- Expand this spreadsheet
- Click on Standard
- Add Module
- Paste the contents of the pre-format box above at the end.
- Save and close Basic editor.

Getting Writing Done

2021 Blog

Wiki version

Blog posted:	2021/01/01

Blog posted:

2021/01/01

See

Backlinks

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fritz-freiheit-2519643/

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2021/01/01

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/2021_Writing_log_spreadsheet

2020/06/05

An interview with Fritz Freiheit by Tamara Wilhite

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

What with one thing and another, this has been a little late in being posted on my blog. As in a tad over two months late.

Tamara Wilhite: Can you share your background in AI?
Fritz Freiheit: As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. It was the sixties, after all. By the time I went to college in the seventies, a bit more realism had impinged itself on my life, and I eventually settled on mechanical engineering as my major. While taking computer programming courses that were part of the engineering curriculum, I discovered that I enjoyed and was skilled in programming. Before I graduated, I decided I wanted to experience life in Japan. I wound up getting a job with Sumitomo Electric, part of the Big Four corporate conglomerates in Japan. I found myself in Osaka going through the professional training program (as the only gaijin/foreigner). Since they didn’t know what to do with a gaijin, I was given the unusual privilege of choosing what I wanted to do, and I choose to be a software programmer. They handed me some books and told me to write a 3D graphics driver – and I did.
After a year in Japan, I was offered a position in L.A. to write a Japanese version of a rule-driven database interface, which threw me into AI software development. Once again, I received several books, and I wrote a Japanese language parser.
I learned that there is a perspective that comes from thinking about thinking when developing software. Writing expert systems parallels novel writing – getting in the head of a character and telling a story from their perspective. I put myself in the mind of users, understand their goals, and write software to accomplish those goals.
—Tamara Wilhite and Fritz Freiheit, An Interview with Fritz Freiheit - Liberty Island

For the rest of the interview:
An Interview with Fritz Freiheit - Liberty Island

Tags:	Link, Author, Interview, Fritz, Author Interview, AI, PVCACD, DJ, NGW

Tags:

Link, Author, Interview, Fritz, Author Interview, AI, PVCACD, DJ, NGW

Author Interview

2020 Blog

Wiki version
LinkedIn

Blog posted:	2020/06/05

Blog posted:

2020/06/05

Interview

Also See

AADL Talks to Local Author Fritz Freiheit with Sherlonya Turner of the Ann Arbor District Library (March 2012)
Author Interview: Fritz Freiheit at Standoutbooks.com (April 2013)
Interviewing the Indies: Fritz Freiheit at Examiner.com (May 2013)
An Interview with Fritz Freiheit - Liberty Island (March 2020)

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2020/06/05

v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/An_Interview_with_Fritz_Freiheit_(link)

2020/01/01

2020 Writing log spreadsheet

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •


2020 Writing log spreadsheet

Happy New Year!

As is my tradition, I am posting my writing log (2020_Writing_log.ods) for the forthcoming year and wish everyone a productive year, whether or not you a writer.

Feel free to download this LibreOffice spreadsheet (link below) to track your writing productivity on a day by day, week by week, and month by month basis.

The most recent master writing log is 2021 Writing log spreadsheet

Tags:	2019, 2020, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

Tags:

2019, 2020, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

I've added a few statistical summaries to the Project page:

Download the spreadsheet here: 2019-2020_Writing_log.ods ( or 2020_Writing_log.ods for a version that excludes the 2019 example pages. )

You will need a copy of LibreOffice to use this spreadsheet.

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

You don't need to write using LibreOffice to make use of this spreadsheet. (But if you do, or might be thinking about using LibreOffice, see Authoring Novels with LibreOffice.)

See master writing log for more detailed information and examples.

Project page

The project page summarizes your writing project status. It is broken up into five sections, four for projects in barf (that is, 1st draft) up to publication, incubator, published, and trunked.

Customization

My approach to writing is based on barf and polish. Thus my writing phases labels are:

You can change the labels you apply to the status of a project.

2020 Daily Log

Track daily word deltas for 2020.

Add one row per day per project. It will automatically be summed in the weekly and monthly delta pages.

2020 Weekly Delta

Weekly summaries for 2020.

2020 Monthly Delta

Monthly summaries for 2020.

Example Daily Log

Example daily word deltas for 2014.

Example Weekly Delta

Example weekly summaries for 2014.

Example Monthly Delta

Example monthly summaries from 2014.

Links and Notes

A few links.

Config

Configuration fields.

Appendix

last_one2 VB Function

This spreadsheet includes a VB function for finding a project's most recent day in a given year. Ultimately, this populates the "Last Entry" column on the Projects page.

Function last_one2(searchList,target,resultList)
REM =last_one2(A1:A14;"target";B1:B14)
dim i as integer
rem last_one2 = 0
for i = lbound(searchList,1) to ubound(searchList,1)
if searchList(i,1) = target then last_one2 = resultList(i,1)
next
End function

If the "Last Entry" column is not being populated, turn on macros.

If the "Last Entry" column is still not being populated, then this function can be installed as follows:

Tools → Macros → Organize Macros → LibreOffice Basic...
In the Basic editor:
- Expand this spreadsheet
- Click on Standard
- Add Module
- Paste the contents of the pre-format box above at the end.
- Save and close Basic editor.

2020 Blog

Wiki version
Facebook

Blog posted:	2020/01/01

Blog posted:

2020/01/01

See

Recent Related Changes

Recent Blog Topics

Back to the Blog

2020/01/01

Nav

v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/2020_Writing_log_spreadsheet

2019/04/22

Great review of PVCACD on Amazon

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

“My name’s Vance Coreman and I see things that other people don’t.”

The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. But that question was one among legion, because what memories he did have were as comforting as a blackjack in the dark. So it wasn’t surprising when he found out that trouble was his business, and business was kicking his door down.

A great review of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons posted on Amazon:

"aweyhing" - 5.0 out of 5 stars
I had a ton of fun peeling back the layers of this imaginative adventure.
April 19, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
I was fully engaged from the first page through to the end. It was so much fun investigating this mystery (or mysteries?) with Vance Coreman and Ms. Doolittle. Mystery, adventure, good characters, more mystery, sly jokes, etc...
The story starts as fantastical-yet-modest mystery, but quickly expands to much more. Every new detail we learn of Vance's predicament makes us more curious to find answers along with him. The story is surprisingly intricate but never feels complex.

—"aweyhing" (Amazon customer), https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RWUK7EIVS5U7R/

Tags:	Review, Amazon, ParaV, Parallel Visions, PVCACD

Tags:

Review, Amazon, ParaV, Parallel Visions, PVCACD

2019 Blog

Wiki version
LinkedIn

Blog posted:	2019/04/22

Blog posted:

2019/04/22

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2019/04/22

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Great_review_of_PVCACD_on_Amazon

2019/01/11

PVCACD 2018 Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards Commentary

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

“My name’s Vance Coreman and I see things that other people don’t.”

2018 Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards Commentary for Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons

The blog version, for those who may prefer it.

PARALLEL VISIONS, City of Angels, City of Demons, by Fritz Freiheit, is an extraordinary book full of science fiction fantasy plot complications, unusual characters and locations.

ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here).

Read Chapter 1 - Meeting Miss Doolittle

2018 Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards Commentary

Below is a brief commentary for your entry in the 26th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards:

Entry Title:	Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons
Author:	Fritz Freiheit
Judge Number:	17
Entry Category:	Genre Fiction

Evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "needs improvement" and 5 meaning "outstanding".

Structure, Organization, and Pacing:	5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar:	5
Production Quality and Cover Design:	4
Plot and Story Appeal:	4
Character Appeal and Development:	4
Voice and Writing Style:	5

Judge's Commentary*

PARALLEL VISIONS, City of Angels, City of Demons, by Fritz Freiheit, is an extraordinary book full of science fiction fantasy plot complications, unusual characters and locations. It poses some problems for the average reader who is not yet accustomed to the interaction of Angels and Demons. Nevertheless, the book is entertaining with its plot and unusual characters. The challenges that the lead character, Mr. Vance Coreman, faces seem overwhelming, but he survives each situation with steady, or perhaps not quite steady, fortitude. The author does an excellent job with this novel, managing unusual characters, difficult plots, demons firing machine guns, women with scarlet features, etc. Very little is left out as far as characters and plot and magic. If you are bored with your usual reading, this might be the book for you. The problem is not the writing skills, but I think the presentation could be improved. I question the need for a table of contents for the average fiction reader. That technique seems more appropriate for the writer who wants to consult certain chapters for rewrites. Also, the print could be larger and darker for easy enjoyment of this entertaining book. Toward the end. P. 231 in particular, I found several small errors, nothing serious. Congratulations on giving the readers an entertaining and unusual book.

Notes

A few quick notes~

Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "needs improvement" and 5 meaning "outstanding".

The 1-5 scale is strictly to provide a point of reference; the scores are meant only to be a gauge, and are not a cumulative score, nor are they tallied or used in ranking.

A "0" is not a negative score. Our online review system only recognizes numerals during this portion of logging evaluations.As a result, we've substituted a "0" in place of "N/A" when the particular portion of the evaluation simply does not apply to the particular entry, based on the entry genre. For example, a book of poetry, a cookbook, or a travel guide would not necessarily have a "Plot and Story Appeal, and may therefore receive a "0" - indicating that the rating was not applicable.

If you wish to reference this review on your website, we ask that you cite it as such: "Judge, 25th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards." You may cite portions of your review, if you wish, but please make sure that the passage you select is appropriate, and reflective of the review as a whole.

The "raw" version

See: PVCACD 2018 Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards Commentary (raw)

PVCACD

2019 Blog

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Facebook
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Blog posted:	2019

Blog posted:

2019

ParaV

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/PVCACD_2018_Writer%27s_Digest_Self_Published_Book_Awards_Commentary

2019/01/01

2019 Writing log spreadsheet

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •


2019 Writing log spreadsheet

Happy New Year!

As is my tradition, I am posting my writing log for the forthcoming year and wish everyone a productive year, whether or not you a writer.

Feel free to download this LibreOffice spreadsheet (link below) to track your writing productivity on a day by day, week by week, and month by month basis.

The most recent master writing log is 2021 Writing log spreadsheet

Tags:	2018, 2019, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

Tags:

2018, 2019, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

I've added a few statistical summaries to the Project page:

Download the spreadsheet here: 2018-2019_Writing_log.ods ( or 2019_Writing_log.ods for a version that excludes the 2018 example pages. )

You will need a copy of LibreOffice to use this spreadsheet.

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

You don't need to write using LibreOffice to make use of this spreadsheet. (But if you do, or might be thinking about using LibreOffice, see Authoring Novels with LibreOffice.)

See master writing log for more detailed information and examples.

Project page

The project page summarizes your writing project status. It is broken up into five sections, four for projects in barf (that is, 1st draft) up to publication, incubator, published, and trunked.

Customization

My approach to writing is based on barf and polish. Thus my writing phases labels are:

You can change the labels you apply to the status of a project.

2019 Daily Log

Track daily word deltas for 2019.

Add one row per day per project. It will automatically be summed in the weekly and monthly delta pages.

2019 Weekly Delta

Weekly summaries for 2019.

2019 Monthly Delta

Monthly summaries for 2019.

Example Daily Log

Example daily word deltas for 2014.

Example Weekly Delta

Example weekly summaries for 2014.

Example Monthly Delta

Example monthly summaries from 2014.

Links and Notes

A few links.

Config

Configuration fields.

Appendix

last_one2 VB Function

This spreadsheet includes a VB function for finding a project's most recent day in a given year. Ultimately, this populates the "Last Entry" column on the Projects page.

Function last_one2(searchList,target,resultList)
REM =last_one2(A1:A14;"target";B1:B14)
dim i as integer
rem last_one2 = 0
for i = lbound(searchList,1) to ubound(searchList,1)
if searchList(i,1) = target then last_one2 = resultList(i,1)
next
End function

If the "Last Entry" column is not being populated, turn on macros.

If the "Last Entry" column is still not being populated, then this function can be installed as follows:

Tools → Macros → Organize Macros → LibreOffice Basic...
In the Basic editor:
- Expand this spreadsheet
- Click on Standard
- Add Module
- Paste the contents of the pre-format box above at the end.
- Save and close Basic editor.

Getting Writing Done

2019 Blog

Wiki version

Blog posted:	2019/01/01

Blog posted:

2019/01/01

ANwL

See

Recent Related Changes

Recent Blog Topics

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2019/01/01

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/2019_Writing_log_spreadsheet

2018/12/31

2019 Writing log spreadsheet early release

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •


2019 Writing log spreadsheet

2019 is almost here! Get your 2019 writing log spreadsheet now (link below) to track your writing productivity on a day by day, week by week, and month by month basis.

Tags:	2018, 2019, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

Tags:

2018, 2019, Writing, Log, Spreadsheet, ANwL, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Word Smithy, Writing Tool, Getting Writing Done

I've added a few statistical summaries to the Project page:

Download the spreadsheet here: 2018-2019_Writing_log.ods ( or 2019_Writing_log.ods for a version that excludes the 2018 example pages. )

You will need a copy of LibreOffice to use this spreadsheet.

http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

You don't need to write using LibreOffice to make use of this spreadsheet. (But if you do, or might be thinking about using LibreOffice, see Authoring Novels with LibreOffice.)

See master writing log for more detailed information and examples.

Project page

The project page summarizes your writing project status. It is broken up into five sections, four for projects in barf (that is, 1st draft) up to publication, incubator, published, and trunked.

Customization

My approach to writing is based on barf and polish. Thus my writing phases labels are:

You can change the labels you apply to the status of a project.

2019 Daily Log

Track daily word deltas for 2019.

Add one row per day per project. It will automatically be summed in the weekly and monthly delta pages.

2019 Weekly Delta

Weekly summaries for 2019.

2019 Monthly Delta

Monthly summaries for 2019.

Example Daily Log

Example daily word deltas for 2014.

Example Weekly Delta

Example weekly summaries for 2014.

Example Monthly Delta

Example monthly summaries from 2014.

Links and Notes

A few links.

Config

Configuration fields.

Appendix

last_one2 VB Function

This spreadsheet includes a VB function for finding a project's most recent day in a given year. Ultimately, this populates the "Last Entry" column on the Projects page.

Function last_one2(searchList,target,resultList)
REM =last_one2(A1:A14;"target";B1:B14)
dim i as integer
rem last_one2 = 0
for i = lbound(searchList,1) to ubound(searchList,1)
if searchList(i,1) = target then last_one2 = resultList(i,1)
next
End function

If the "Last Entry" column is not being populated, turn on macros.

If the "Last Entry" column is still not being populated, then this function can be installed as follows:

Tools → Macros → Organize Macros → LibreOffice Basic...
In the Basic editor:
- Expand this spreadsheet
- Click on Standard
- Add Module
- Paste the contents of the pre-format box above at the end.
- Save and close Basic editor.

Getting Writing Done

Blog posted:	2018/12/31

ANwL

See

Recent Related Changes

Recent Blog Topics

Back to the Blog

2018/12/31

v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/2019_Writing_log_spreadsheet_early_release

2018/11/04

Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make (link)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

The five worldbuilding mistakes listed are:
Leaving culture the same

Giving supernatural elements no history

Ignoring the implications of technomagic

Making multi-species worlds human-centric

Creating “egalitarian” societies

http://mythcreants.com/blog/five-worldbuilding-mistakes-even-enthusiasts-make/

Tags:

Link, Worldbuilding, Advice, Writing Advice

Comment:

Blog Comment
I'll add the rather common failure to either advance science and technology in a realistic manner or give a good reason why it doesn't advance.

Worldbuilding

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Five_Worldbuilding_Mistakes_Even_Enthusiasts_Make_(link)

2018/10/172018/11/04

Google+ shutting down – the diaspora begins

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

As you may have heard (and I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't, as Facebook dominates the social media scene like ... well, the only metaphors that I can come up with are insulting to Facebook users, so I'll just move along) Google+ is shutting down in 2019, a mere ten months or so from now. I'm currently looking for a replacement (this does not include Facebook, as I consider it evil). So far I have joined MeWe.com. You can find me at:

http://mewe.com/i/fritz.freiheit

I plan on investigation other social media sites and will be posting occasional updates as I proceed.

Tags:	Google, Social Media, Google Plus, MeWe

Tags:

Google, Social Media, Google Plus, MeWe

MeWe

2018 Blog

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v • d •

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2018/09/052018/11/04

The Neopolymath barf phase complete with 88K first draft

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

In Doc Morrow: The Neopolymath enter a shiny new alternate history of the 20th Century, one which envisions the year 2000 from a 1950’s Atomic Age science fictional perspective, one with a shiny-spacesuit Atompunk sensibility. It has been a century driven by a deeper Great Depression, three world wars, and a full-out atom-powered race to space. Follow Doc Morrow, “The Neopolymath” and his six companions in an adventure where the seven members of the “Doc Squad” pursue the murderer of Doc's father, The Polymath, from the mile-high towers of Chicago to the underground-tech-Mecca of New Zurich-Geneva, to a final confrontation on the Morrow's asteroid space station in L5-Earth orbit.

After five years, one other novel and a handful of short stories, I have finally completed the first draft of Doc Morrow: The Neopolymath (my 5th novel) at 88,000 words and declared the barf phase finished yesterday. With The Neopolymath we enter a shiny new alternate history of the 20th Century, one which envisions the year 2000 from a 1950's Atomic Era science fictional perspective (perhaps one with a shiny-spacesuit Atompunk sensibility). It has been a century driven by a deeper Great Depression, three world wars, and a full-out race to space. The main character Doc Morrow ("The Neopolymath") and his six companions in adventure comprise the "Doc Squad" pursue the murderer of Doc's father, The Polymath, from the mile-high towers of Chicago to the underground-tech-Mecca of New Zurich-Geneva, to the final confrontation on the Morrow's space station in L5-Earth orbit.

If all goes to plan, I will have a beta copy sometime in early October (estimated length of 100,000 words, as I average about a 15% edit up). I'd like to publish in December, but I suspect that is a bit too aggressive, with a more likely publication date in the first quarter of 2019.

As usual, I will be soliciting beta readers shortly. If you are interested, please contact me.

Tags:

Fritz's Fiction, 2018 Writing, Announcement, Fritz's Fiction, DMW, Doc Morrow World, Fritz, Fritz Freiheit, Story Cluster, DMN, Doc Morrow: The Neopolymath

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/The_Neopolymath_barf_phase_complete_with_88K_first_draft

2018/08/302018/11/04

5 Things Only Serious Writers Do (link)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

To sum up:

Show up regularly.

Get started, no matter how inspired they’re feeling.

Think on paper.

Get bored, and understand it’s part of the process.

Meet their deadlines no matter the hardship or duress.

https://www.copyblogger.com/serious-writers/

Tags:

Link, On Writing, Writing, GWD, Getting Writing Done

Comment:

Obviously, if you are going to get writing done you are going to have to show up. It won't surprise you if I confess that when I "fall off the wagon" and don't schedule time everyday for writing, it doesn't get done. So, yeah, #1 is critical. For #2, I find that caffeine really helps (weekdays, I write first thing in the morning). Not so sure about #3, but if I translate this into "barf" mode, then, yeah, getting it written helps with the ideas. Another way to look at #3 is write your ideas down. Take copious notes and consult them as necessary. All I can say about #4 is that I only get bored with the process of writing, not the results. I find that showing up, mood enhancement with caffeine, and keeping the fact that I love having written gets me through the boredom. As to #5, well, that is almost entirely self imposed. See my response to #4.

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/5_Things_Only_Serious_Writers_Do_(link)

2018/08/292018/11/04

The Secret to Writing a Best-selling Novel (link)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

Computer scientists have developed an algorithm which can predict with 84 per cent accuracy whether a book will be a commercial success - and the secret is to avoid cliches and excessive use of verbs.
Successful books also avoided words that explicitly described actions and emotions such as “wanted,” “took,” or “promised.” Successful books used verbs that described thought processes such as “recognized” or “remembered.”
From a linguistic perspective, this means that as a writer you are better off creating an impression that allows the reader to fill in the blanks, rather than filling them in yourself.
The bottom line for successful books, at least in the US, is a style that is closer to journalism - something that conveys information rather than emotion.

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-secret-to-writing-best-selling-novel.html

Study: http://aclweb.org/anthology/D/D13/D13-1181.pdf

Tags:

Link, Writing, On Writing, Analysis, Text Analysis

Comment:

What I find most interesting about this is that the idea that best-selling novels have fewer verbs (and perhaps it is just better chosen verbs) is that it runs contrary to the common exultation you hear in writing advice circles of "action on every page" (or the equivalent), that is action necessarily equals verbs. What is not surprising (to me), is the notion of letting the reader fill in the details (part of trusting and making the reader your partner in story telling).

Analysis

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/The_Secret_to_Writing_a_Best-selling_Novel_(link)

2018/08/062018/11/04

Writing Advice not Eye-Stabbing (link)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

https://authorscommunity.net/writing-advice-not-eye-stabbing/ Writing Advice not Eye-Stabbing (link).jpg

Tags:

Link, Writing, On Writing, Writing Advice, Counteracting Bad Writing Advice

Comment:

We start of with the following: "You get good at writing by following these three simple steps:" and the (easy to state, more difficult to achieve) steps are:

Write a lot.
Get critiqued occasionally.
Study the craft of writing in books, lectures, or wherever else you can learn it.

The idea of "write a lot" by itself is of questionable benefit without the second admonishment, "get critiqued" and reinforced with a "study the craft of writing [to better understand what a critique is telling you about your writing]". The point being that that if you write a lot without becoming aware of your strengths and weaknesses you are doomed to continue to write (a lot of) stuff that has those same strengths and weaknesses. There must be a force for change, internal, external, or preferably both, that will drive an improvement in your writing. The advice to seek this force for change is sound and will almost certainly improve your writing.

But there is a fundamental problem here, as I see it, (barring the very open statement of step 3 to "Study the craft of writing in books, lectures, or wherever else you can learn it.") is the lack of any sort notion of "read a lot (of the sort of genre you are writing...okay, include other genres, it will broaden your perspective and provide a contrast that should make the components of your target genre easier to discriminate from the background noise of fiction in general)." Perhaps it is because the idea that "how to write well" is only as far away as your bookshelf or your kindle is unpalatable. I'm not saying you don't need an editor (and where did the editor get their notion of good writing? probably, in part, from reading a lot). If you are able to see your writing from the perspective of the reader, a non-trivial task, then you can better judge what needs to be done (or not done) to improve your writing.

Don't become a victim of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Counteracting Bad Writing Advice

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2018/08/06

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https://authorscommunity.net/writing-advice-not-eye-stabbing/

2018/08/062018/11/04

Kronar: Dark Miasma (page 1) (Oglaf)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

Follow this link for entire story (NSFW): https://www.oglaf.com/dark-miasma

Starting page:

Follow this link for entire story (NSFW): https://www.oglaf.com/dark-miasma

Tags:

Image, Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Satire, Humor, NSFW, Oglaf

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Kronar:_Dark_Miasma_(page_1)_(Oglaf)

2018/04/052018/11/04

Third person omniscient is so 19th Century

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

Tags:

Image, Writing, Writing Advice, Irony, Meme, , Point of View, Third Person

Writing Advice Images

Also See

Discworld

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2018/03/292018/11/04

Augmented reality reading list

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

augmented reality

Augmented reality, or AR is reality that has been enhanced using some technological mechanism, typically with additional information content. For example, a pair of glasses that projects navigational information into the wearer's visual field.

Contrast with virtual reality.

If you have suggestions for additions to this augmented reality reading list, please leave a comment in this page's discussion.

Tags:

List, Augmented Reality, Reading, Reading List, Science Fiction, If You Like This, SF List

From: Augmented reality reading list

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003)
by Cory Doctorow
Kindle, Paperback

Rainbows End (2006)
by Vernor Vinge
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

The Caryatids (2009)
by Bruce Sterling
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Spook Country (2007)
by William Gibson
Blue Ant Trilogy #2
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Halting State (2007)
by Charles Stross
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

And it's sequel,

Rule 34 (2011)
by Charles Stross
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Pandora's Star (2004)
by Peter F. Hamilton
Kindle, Paperback, Audio
/

and it's sequel

Judas Unchained (2005)
by Peter F. Hamilton
Commonwealth Saga
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

The Golden Age (2002)
by John C. Wright
The Golden Oecumene #1
Kindle, Paperback
#1 in

Lady of Mazes (2005)
by Karl Schroeder
Kindle, Paperback

Virtual Light (1993)
by William Gibson
Kindle, Paperback

"" by William Gibson and Michael Swanwick
"" by Cory Doctorow (full text: http://www.tor.com/stories/2008/08/weak-and-strange )

Accelerando (2005)
by Charles Stross
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

A Good Old-Fashioned Future (1999)
by Bruce Sterling
Kindle, Paperback

"" by Bruce Sterling in A Good Old-Fashioned Future
"" by Bruce Sterling in A Good Old-Fashioned Future
"" by Bruce Sterling in A Good Old-Fashioned Future

And more, not included in the above list:

Daemon (2006)
by Daniel Suarez
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

And it's sequel,

Freedom™ (2010)
by Daniel Suarez
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Aristoi (1992)
by Walter Jon Williams
Kindle, Paperback

Stealing Worlds (2019)
by Karl Schroeder
search amazon

The Last Good Man (2017)
by Linda Nagata
search amazon

The main character of Noir has eye implants that alter his vision of the world, rendering them into the style of a black and white movie.

Noir (1998)
by K. W. Jeter
Paperback

Looking for Links

Additional books

Alastair Reynolds' Poseidon’s Children series, starting with:
- Blue Remembered Earth, and continuing with
- On the Steel Breeze
Augmented Dreams by Stephen B. Kagan -- Augmented Dreams by Stephen B. Kagan — Goodreads
Brasyl by Ian McDonald

Existence (2012)
by David Brin
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

"Fast Times at Fairmont High" (2001) by Vernor Vinge from The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge

Neuromancer (1984)
by William Gibson
Sprawl Trilogy #1
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Saturn's Children (2007)
by Charles Stross
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

and it's sequel:

Neptune's Brood (2013)
by Charles Stross
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons (2017)
by Fritz Freiheit
Parallel Visions #1
Kindle, Paperback

Quarantine (1992)
by Greg Egan
Subjective Cosmology #1
search amazon

Snow Crash (1992)
by Neal Stephenson
Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Stealing Worlds (2019)
by Karl Schroeder
search amazon

This is Not a Game (2009)
by Walter Jon Williams
Dagmar Shaw #1
search amazon

AR that I have read

AR to read

Reading List

2018 Blog

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2018/03/29

If You Like This

Also See

Augmented reality
Augmented Reality (category)
An Overview of Augmented Reality Fiction
Augmented reality tropes
Augmented reality reading list
Liberty IV Newsletter 1#An Augmented Reality Reading List
Augmented Reality at TvTropes
Virtual reality
Virtual Reality (category)
Augmented Reality Reading List at Goodreads
(v)

Augmented Reality (AR) Books to Add to Your Reading List (non-fiction)

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v • d •

Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Augmented_reality_reading_list

2018/02/272018/11/04

Unraveling the Uselessness of the Trope (link with comment)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

A malaise threatens the landscape of screenwriting. A dark pretentious cloud of misunderstanding and misdirection, this fiend fogs the minds of would-be Authors and reduces the beauty of subtle complication to clickable buzz words. It’s name? The Trope.
—Jim Hull, Unraveling the Uselessness of the Trope

http://narrativefirst.com/articles/unraveling-the-uselessness-of-the-trope

Tags:

Link, Narratology, Trope, Essay, Opinion, Rant

Within five paragraphs, three of which are definitions of "trope" (I define tropes as the idioms of storytelling), Jim Hull makes this statement:

Yet, in creating this massive glossary of familiar cultural shortcuts TvTropes has done just that–made storytelling dull and uninteresting. They have made the act of writing a story something stock and commonplace. Something banal and imitative.

At which point I see that this isn't an essay, but a rant against the use of tropes. What is irksome about this, at least to me, is that this approach smacks of complaining about the man behind the curtain, the draining away of magic because one can see the mechanism of storytelling, that the process of classification and categorization makes a story mundane and gray with bureaucratitis. While disagreeing with it, I can understand this viewpoint. Having taken up (digital) pen and spun a few yarns myself, I find that I have trouble not seeing (at least some of) the moving parts of a story. I try not to let this ruin my enjoyment of the story, and, in fact, create a new form of pleasure in so far as I can see how the story is being told and appreciate intricacies and power of its development and ultimate unfolding.

The claim that tropes are useless and have no affect on a story is to blind oneself to the power of tropes in establishing a connection with the reader (or viewer, etc.) of the story. Like it or not, the reader will apply their knowledge of a genre, neatly bundled up in a set of tropes, to establish a bond with the story, internalize and make it their own. Better still, I find myself in awe of the author who can slip an old trope into a story in such a way that I find myself realizing some distance in that I am in the middle of said trope.

I encountered one memorable instance of skilled trope use was while reading Charles Stross's Saturn's Children. I realized that the main character, a fembot, had been strapped the railroad tracks without eliciting a "Hey! Not that old trope!" out of me. Rather than feeling cheated by an old and worn-out trope, I felt invigorated by it, sharing a feeling of cleverness with the author in that recognition.

The use of tropes can be, and unfortunately are, frequently overplayed and handled as a blunt instrument of storytelling. The vast majority of readers want a story they can recognize, that falls into a genre, and gives them a chance to play along with the author in telling the story. Without tropes, you have stripped away what is recognizable, what makes it a story. Without tropes you have moved into the abstract realm of the avant guarde, a realm where the reader has to work way to hard to create a sense of story that may not even exist.

2018 Blog

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2018/02/27

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TvTropes

Backlinks

http://www.herosandwich.net/2014/09/19/the-girl-in-the-spider-suit/

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Unraveling_the_Uselessness_of_the_Trope_(link)

2018/02/262018/11/04

“Nova Lance Burn!” moves into polish phase

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

On February 3rd, 1947 a supernova wavefront changed everything. A previously unknown galactic civilization intervened saving the majority of life of Earth. In the wake of the Galactics' intervention, people started to develop powers declaring themselves superheroes and supervillains. Thirty seven years later Michael Gurick watches his superhero father die, and vowed to revenge him by Dispensing Justice.

Early this month Chris C. passed along the news that Wildside Press is relaunching "Startling Stories" and would be open for submissions from March 1st to 31st and encouraged me to pick out one of my stories and submit. After reviewing what I had written but had yet to publish, was short enough (limit of 10,000 words), I didn't think that any of the stories that were under the word limit really fit the venue. Thus, I turned to my forty or so stories currently in my "incubator" looking for something more suitable. I identified one (originally and very tentatively titled "Burn, Asteroid Burn!" [I nearly always have some title in mind when I come up with story idea, and if not, I'll slap something evocative onto it]) that I already knew the plot I wanted, established a setting, and had a reasonable idea about the characters. So on Feb. 2nd, I promoted BAB out of the Incubator, spent a little time to come up with a title that wasn't quite as melodramatic, and started writing. Yesterday, Feb. 25th, I finished the barf (first) draft of "Nova Lance Burn!" at 9800 words. Today I start polishing.

Tags:

Fritz's Fiction, 2018 Writing, Announcement, NGW, Nova Genesis, NLB, Nova Lance Burn!

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/%22Nova_Lance_Burn!%22_moves_into_polish_phase

2018/02/242018/11/04

Against guilty pleasures – Adorno on the crimes of pop culture (link)

		Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons ebook and trade paperback available on Amazon (or here). The question of whether Vance was dead or not became more than academic when he found himself in a bathtub up to his chin in ice water like some forgotten cocktail garnish, a demonic woman standing over him, and no memory of how he got there. Read free chapters of Parallel Visions: City of Angels City of Demons here The Red Rook, sequel to Dispensing Justice and the second novel of Nova Genesis World is now available for Kindle or as a paperback at Amazon. Read free chapters of Dispensing Justice here (or get it here). Read free chapters of The Red Rook here (or get it here). -- Fritz Freiheit
Welcome to 2021! Let's get some writing done. Track your writing progress in 2021 using this free spreadsheet. (And if you're an author with a wiki, add a comment here.) If so, I'd like to hear about it. Add a comment here

v • d •

https://aeon.co/essays/against-guilty-pleasures-adorno-on-the-crimes-of-pop-culture
Against guilty pleasures: Adorno on the crimes of pop culture -- Aeon Essays

Tags:

Link, Essay, Pop Culture, Critique, Criticism

Comment:

These are, more or less, my responses as I read the essay. I haven't tried to assemble them into a more cohesive critique.

Not a lot of real analysis
It hinges on the idea that everyone feels that pop culture is a guilty pleasure. I presume that some people feel the pleasure without the guilt.
It strikes me that once people start to analyze things by breaking them down, that it is impossible to go back to perceiving something as whole. Like the drawings that contain multiple pictures simultaneously, once you realize that there is more than one picture, it is impossible to unrealize it.
The idea that pop culture trains us into certain paths or expectations is quite true. It remains to be seen that an enlightened or high-minded perception of works as a whole allows one to avoid being trained into paths and expectations. I find it hard to believe that it does not. The interesting question is, which set of training and expectations grants more freedom, and thus is better.
It seems to me that truly original work can be damaging too, it destabilizes and can threaten our world view.
I would very much like some examples of people who live their lives with ‘imagination and spontaneity’
It seems like it is naive or a simplification to claim to know what "experiencing the whole of an artwork" means, let alone achieving it. (Perhaps this is why perceiving small parts of work is more definable, more understandable.) I am hard pressed to understand how this "experiencing the whole" doesn't include context (i.e. history) of the "experiencer". And if this the case, (and I will go so far as saying that it must be case, because entirety of an experience must include the mind experiencing it), then you have exponentially increased the difficulty of defining what "experiencing the whole" means.
At what point was it ever the case that the vast majority of people lived a life where they had the time and space for imagination and spontaneity?
And what are these works of 'high art'?
Another point of failure is that implicit statement that pop culture is inextricably entwined with consumerism and corporate manipulation of the followers of pop culture. Not all elements of pop culture are created with the intent to manipulate.
In the end, this essay only rants against the inability of pop culture to deliver real satisfaction or freedom, but in turn, proposes nothing concrete that will deliver real satisfaction or freedom.

Having said all that, I think there is a lot of truth within the idea of "consumerism" driving pop culture and the splintering of experience into 15-minutes-or-less bite sized pieces. I am (not surprisingly, given my last name and upbringing) a strong proponent of freedom. But like prohibition, taking away pop culture because it's bad for some of us all of the time, and all of us some of the time, is bulldozing the slum to put up a library and museum. We have to live somewhere.

Don't suckle at the glass teat, get out there and experience real art! Get back to me when you find out what that is.

-- Thanks Chris H., for sending me the link.

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Wiki page: https://fritzfreiheit.com/wiki/Against_guilty_pleasures_-_Adorno_on_the_crimes_of_pop_culture_(link)

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Black Panther (2018) (with short review)

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Black Panther (2018)

T'Challa (Black Panther), after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.

Black Panther (2018) - Box Office Mojo

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I really liked Black Panther. Not as much as Thor: Ragnarok or Captain America: Winter Soldier (which set the bar high indeed), but definitely in the top 5 MCU films so far. There's definite elements of an origin story to it, but they were well handled, being fitted smoothly into the flow of the story. Wonderful world building, landscapes, vistas, Kirbyeqsue city shots, and a magnificent African feel, with marvelously colorful clothing and jewelry. Lots of good characters, a well drawn villain, and enough touches of humor to keep it light, yet still making an effective moral and political statement ("In these times it is better to build bridges, than barriers"). I'm planning on seeing it again soon.

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