Got through it. Was a little harder to do than I would have liked. took me several hours broken up over three days, but it's done. It's pretty decent, had some significant conflict in it along with a small hint of comedy. As was mentioned in a previous post, a dream I had helped me redirect some other ideas and helped this chapter along. Brought out some other characters that hadn't really been developed yet and got them some significant dialog. Also introduced to other characters that are in a similar situation to my main characters. They will play a role on what happens to the mains later on. The second lead character didn't appear much in this chapter after having dominated the last few. She is due back with a vengeance in this next chapter which will show a very different style that may actually get on my nerves to write. I like the idea of this style I am going to try, there is just a lot of editing and some limitations. Oh well, if I wish to grow as a writer, I know i have to eventually step out of my dialog filled comfort zone...actually this next chapter will be all dialog, just written in a weird style.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Total Eclipse
Well, looks like Olivia sent me a different message a couple of nights ago. I had been having the recurring dream where she would appear and we would just talk and hangout, no big deal. Well, it changed the other night. This time I was at a show, I am guessing at an Arena or a larger venue. I was wearing a backstage pass and Olivia was up on stage performing her usual stuff, all good. Then something odd happened. She ended up doing a cover of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart. I know, it's an older song, but you gotta admit it's still very good all these years later. When she sang it, she sounded just like herself and not like Bonnie, as if she was staying true to the original arrangement, but was still able to place her personal stamp on it.
[caption id="attachment_161" align="aligncenter" width="231" caption="Olivia Lufkin"]
[/caption]
I woke up thinking of the song and decided to dig it out of my music collection and sure enough, it's still a great tune. It also woke something up in me.
While the story itself is still going in the same direction, I was hit with another dose of inspiration. I was able to think about it awhile and I came up with a ton of dialog and actions for one of the coming chapters. I am very glad too, cause the current chapter I am working on, while good, isn't all I had hoped it would be. It was mostly a lot of filler which needed to be done, but I managed to get through it and it's almost done; maybe 2-5 more pages. The chapter that I was inspired to write from this dream is going to be very explosive and may end up being the heart of the book. I am so thrilled that I managed to get more ideas simply from dreaming. Who knows, maybe in another week or so I will write a different ending to the book cause as of right now, while I have the concept down, I am torn between which three directions the ending can go.
Enjoy the 80s revival with this video.
[caption id="attachment_161" align="aligncenter" width="231" caption="Olivia Lufkin"]
[/caption]I woke up thinking of the song and decided to dig it out of my music collection and sure enough, it's still a great tune. It also woke something up in me.
While the story itself is still going in the same direction, I was hit with another dose of inspiration. I was able to think about it awhile and I came up with a ton of dialog and actions for one of the coming chapters. I am very glad too, cause the current chapter I am working on, while good, isn't all I had hoped it would be. It was mostly a lot of filler which needed to be done, but I managed to get through it and it's almost done; maybe 2-5 more pages. The chapter that I was inspired to write from this dream is going to be very explosive and may end up being the heart of the book. I am so thrilled that I managed to get more ideas simply from dreaming. Who knows, maybe in another week or so I will write a different ending to the book cause as of right now, while I have the concept down, I am torn between which three directions the ending can go.
Enjoy the 80s revival with this video.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Chapter 7
Very done and as is becoming the norm for me, in one night. Chapter 8 will see a blessed event for both characters. The reader may think how can they possibly bond more...well, they will in the upcoming week. Things get better and better for them...but sadly there is the eventual fall to come...and this fall is something so outrageous that the protagonist is left beside himself. I keep thinking to myself can some one do something to some one that is so undermining and deceitful, so insanely out there...can that character ever find redemption? I'm honestly not sure, but my character is going to try. even if it kills them, they are going to try and find redemption.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Crash Into Me
There is no feeling quite like the one you get when you just realize you've written something so profound that you almost lose it. Chapter 6 may be one of the best things I've ever written in my life, not so much from an artistic standpoint, but more from a heartfelt perspective. The character development was beyond what I had hoped for and now I really feel my heart getting beat on a bit by the process. It's not unusual for me to become emotionally invested in my work, but this last chapter, along with chapter 5, has really been a game changer.
Chapter 6
This section is turning out to be more than I thought it could with the characters doing some real bonding, building their friendship like I never thought I could. Needless to say I am very happy with how it is turning out and the great feeling is I am far from done. I think this is going to be one of the longer chapters in the book simply because the characters are developing so much here. As with a couple of previous chapters, this one is chock full of tasty dialog and vivid detail. When i go back to rework this chapter even more it should grow to remarkable proportions. I am quite happy with how the actions in this chapter are setting up things to come in future chapters. The puzzle is being setup here and will be answered when things get insane with these two people.
One thing I noticed was that a lot of the action and dialog is just like a real conversation happening on the fly. Most of the time its to the point and easily read, while other times it's a bit more vague, but incredibly sweet. Later in the book conversations will get more dramatic and confrontational as the characters find out things about each other that they didn't know. I am so happy with this work that I think I may finish this much faster that I had first anticipated.
One thing I noticed was that a lot of the action and dialog is just like a real conversation happening on the fly. Most of the time its to the point and easily read, while other times it's a bit more vague, but incredibly sweet. Later in the book conversations will get more dramatic and confrontational as the characters find out things about each other that they didn't know. I am so happy with this work that I think I may finish this much faster that I had first anticipated.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Trinka Trinka
Took a short break from writing while the holiday unfolded. Now that the bird is eaten and the pie availability is dwindling, it's time to get back to work. Need to get back into writing mode and knock out chapter 6. Admittedly, I am having a hard time figuring out what to do with them at the moment. Right now I am working them to a park for a more dialog heavy chapter. The following chapter, which is already planned and outlined, should be a bit more fun for me as there will be another writing style change along with more dialog. Have you noticed I like writing conversations? It's a bit of an odd feeling writing them as I am essentially talking to myself the entire time. I guess being a former nut helps in that regard.
Chapter 7 will be fun and the end of it will see them to a Halloween party which should be fun to write. The costumes to be used are still being worked out as far as the detail I want to give them, but the overall storyline will continue. After that, the story skips a bit while one character leaves town for awhile so I will be back to a lot of filler at that point. Not that it's bad to have filler as I plan to develop some secondary characters while one of the mains is off on business. I have created 2 additional couples that will be introduced here in the next chapter and they will get some development in the following chapters. We will get a visit from another character that had a bit impact on an earlier chapter and she will end up dropping the biggest bomb in the book. In other words, she will deliver a massive game changer to the two main characters. Ah, sometimes it's nice to just talk about the book as it makes me want to get back to working on it.
Chapter 7 will be fun and the end of it will see them to a Halloween party which should be fun to write. The costumes to be used are still being worked out as far as the detail I want to give them, but the overall storyline will continue. After that, the story skips a bit while one character leaves town for awhile so I will be back to a lot of filler at that point. Not that it's bad to have filler as I plan to develop some secondary characters while one of the mains is off on business. I have created 2 additional couples that will be introduced here in the next chapter and they will get some development in the following chapters. We will get a visit from another character that had a bit impact on an earlier chapter and she will end up dropping the biggest bomb in the book. In other words, she will deliver a massive game changer to the two main characters. Ah, sometimes it's nice to just talk about the book as it makes me want to get back to working on it.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
More Human Than Human Pt. 2 (Human and Machines)
Strangely enough the likeness between machines and humans isn't viewed by people as a partnership, but more of ownership. Example: I own my car, therefore I tell it what to do like drive me to the grocery store. Fair enough. As with most machines, if you ask it to do a certain task, it should comply without much argument...or does it. The greatest comparisons today between humans and machines can be seen in computers. By looking at the brain as an advanced microprocessor, one can clearly see why some people often compare the two. Both operate with small amounts of electrical energy and they have the ability to process millions of calculations per second. Many will argue that the brain is better, however logically speaking that may in fact be false. The reason? While the brain has such a massive amount of processing power, some estimate at somewhere around the equivalent of having a a 16.8trhz processor (16.8 trhz = 16800ghz) the mind is indeed flawed and can, at times make incredibly mistakes as far as mathematical computation and logic operation.
The flaw can be seen as the single greatest human trait: Emotion. We would all like to think that because we can feel and display emotion that it somehow makes us superior when in fact is both a blessing and a curse. Other reasons can be given such as memory constraints and soft tissue vulnerability, however emotion is what seemingly leads many people to make what other may see as stupid mistakes.
A prime example is gambling. When a person is gambling and winning, they often times feel an emotional rush, a high generated by the success of their play. With this high, people can often times feel cocky and overconfident, giving them the impression that they are on a lucky streak, therefore they may risk more based on the same mathematical problem. If a man is playing blackjack and has won 5 hands in a row, he may begin to wager more and split hands simply out of emotion, neglecting the logical option of staying with his proven method. A computer on the other hand will always play with the odds in their favor if possible. A computer will stay within a certain set of rules to the given situation. If a computer is playing a game of chess, they will always think many moves ahead while a person may go against the odds based on emotion or the hopes that their opponent makes a mistake. The computer will never assume a mistake will be made, therefore the move the machine makes will always follow logic. In other words, it will never "take a chance."
Because of emotion, a man is flawed when it comes to logical reasoning in many cases.
The computer however by the same token is flawed in our eyes as well based on the same argument properties. Setting the scene, I will place a computer inside that of a human skull and call it a robot or cyborg, whichever is more comfortable for your imagination in this example. The machine will still follow the same rules of logic as before, weighing percentages and outcomes. The scenario is a burning building where a person is trapped inside and cannot escape without assistance. Assuming all available information is available to the robot, it in fact chose not to rescue the trap individual based purely on mathematical chance. If the fire is fairly simple in nature and threat level, the machine will weight it's chances of success against the chance of failure and act accordingly. If the chance of success is 50.1% or higher (based on the rules set forth in its programming), the cyborg will attempt a rescue and try to save the person. Take the same situation and make the fire a blazing inferno. The chances of success are now less than 10%. Based on the logic present within the cyborgs programming, it will choose not to attempt a rescue. The same cannot be said for a human.
A human, as we all know, may be steered by emotion. They will see the blazing inferno and know that the chance of success is very low, however they may still attempt to enter the fire and rescue the person. All logical reasoning in this case is out the door as that person runs in to save the life of another. They know that they may die in the process and based on the numbers that may prove to be true. Should that person save the other and live to tell the tale, people will view him in many different ways. A small number may see him as a sick man for doing something "insane" or "suicidal" while others will look upon him as a hero. Lets us now place the cyborg back in the scenario have him go against logic. The cyborg runs in and rescues the person. When the situation is examined later on, the cyborg may also be viewed as sick (IE computer virus) or a hero. The human hero will be revered while his machine counterpart will be taken apart and inspected for abnormalities as most humans do not associate heroism with a machine, thinking there is no way that a computer can understand emotion or even value human life. The big question here is can a machine "learn" emotion?
By all accounts, it seems very possible. Think of emotion as simply another process that the brain calculates. Technically speaking if you are missing the part of the brain that processes emotions or it is damaged in some way, in all likelihood that person will not display or be swayed by emotional situations. A computer can be seen the same way; write a program to display emotion and the computer will display it...if it had a face of course. Think of why we show emotion. If a person we know dies, then we will be upset, perhaps cry over this loss. The level to which we mourn is based on the connection we feel toward that person and how much value we place on life. If a person you do not know dies, you may say to yourself "What a shame", but never cry or mourn that loss because you do not feel a connection to them. A Computer can be programmed the same way. It can be programmed to develop a connection to an individual which can grow exponentially over time. The time of exposure can be changed by the individual programmer. Some, by reading this so far can argue that we are no one to "program" emotion into anything. Many of these opponents may not realize that the are and have been programmed since their birth.
Example. A person is born and spends the first 15 years of their life with a parent. Through those years, they grow closer to the parent and feel love for them. Based on their experiences with that adult, they can feel any number of emotions. Love or hate, spending time with that person will eventually develop into an emotion, a "program" telling you that since this person has been there for and cared for you, you in turn love them. You have at this point been programmed to love, a directive in your brain tells you that you love them. Same can go with hate. If a child is abused by a parent, they will be hateful toward that adult, therefore once again they are programmed to hate. This can happen so quickly and seamlessly in humans that no one seems to realize it happens. Why does a child sometimes prefer one parent to another? Parents will say "Well, he is just close to his daughter" or something similar. The father feels that connection, therefore he spends more time with his daughter. The daughter unconsciously knows this so in turn she develops love for him as well.
Technically speaking, the brain is a learning computer that is changing every day and in more way that we can even fathom. If we were able to create programs that simulate human emotion and plug them into a computer, it could learn to feel emotion. To simplify this idea, think of a common document application like Microsoft Word. As you use the program, you can "teach" is to do certain things or correct it's behavior so that it is pleasing to you...which is very similar to that of a developing child. When you first have this child, it is just a small, seemingly help life form that needs love and attention so that it can eventually turn into a well balanced adult. The same can be done with a program. Again, referring to Word, as you use it and teach it, it learns more about you and the world. You can teach it new words, new scenarios, news ways of writing. It grows with you. While Word may not be the best example, it does display the basics of what a program can learn.
Being self aware is also another argument against machines and emotion. The computer only knows what we want it to know in mostly all cases around the world. We only allow the computer access to certain files, programs, hardware, etc. With the gaining of knowledge, the birth of consciousness up to this point in time has not been established. While the idea of creating a self aware machine that understands what it is and knows what it can do is still some ways off into the future, that future is getting closer by the day. We simply need to find a way to not only mimic our emotions, but also allow the computer to have free will, the ability to make decisions not only based on mathematical chance, but also while weighing those emotions as well...just like we humans do.
Works Cited
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001501/the_saga/compare.htm
The flaw can be seen as the single greatest human trait: Emotion. We would all like to think that because we can feel and display emotion that it somehow makes us superior when in fact is both a blessing and a curse. Other reasons can be given such as memory constraints and soft tissue vulnerability, however emotion is what seemingly leads many people to make what other may see as stupid mistakes.
A prime example is gambling. When a person is gambling and winning, they often times feel an emotional rush, a high generated by the success of their play. With this high, people can often times feel cocky and overconfident, giving them the impression that they are on a lucky streak, therefore they may risk more based on the same mathematical problem. If a man is playing blackjack and has won 5 hands in a row, he may begin to wager more and split hands simply out of emotion, neglecting the logical option of staying with his proven method. A computer on the other hand will always play with the odds in their favor if possible. A computer will stay within a certain set of rules to the given situation. If a computer is playing a game of chess, they will always think many moves ahead while a person may go against the odds based on emotion or the hopes that their opponent makes a mistake. The computer will never assume a mistake will be made, therefore the move the machine makes will always follow logic. In other words, it will never "take a chance."
Because of emotion, a man is flawed when it comes to logical reasoning in many cases.
The computer however by the same token is flawed in our eyes as well based on the same argument properties. Setting the scene, I will place a computer inside that of a human skull and call it a robot or cyborg, whichever is more comfortable for your imagination in this example. The machine will still follow the same rules of logic as before, weighing percentages and outcomes. The scenario is a burning building where a person is trapped inside and cannot escape without assistance. Assuming all available information is available to the robot, it in fact chose not to rescue the trap individual based purely on mathematical chance. If the fire is fairly simple in nature and threat level, the machine will weight it's chances of success against the chance of failure and act accordingly. If the chance of success is 50.1% or higher (based on the rules set forth in its programming), the cyborg will attempt a rescue and try to save the person. Take the same situation and make the fire a blazing inferno. The chances of success are now less than 10%. Based on the logic present within the cyborgs programming, it will choose not to attempt a rescue. The same cannot be said for a human.
A human, as we all know, may be steered by emotion. They will see the blazing inferno and know that the chance of success is very low, however they may still attempt to enter the fire and rescue the person. All logical reasoning in this case is out the door as that person runs in to save the life of another. They know that they may die in the process and based on the numbers that may prove to be true. Should that person save the other and live to tell the tale, people will view him in many different ways. A small number may see him as a sick man for doing something "insane" or "suicidal" while others will look upon him as a hero. Lets us now place the cyborg back in the scenario have him go against logic. The cyborg runs in and rescues the person. When the situation is examined later on, the cyborg may also be viewed as sick (IE computer virus) or a hero. The human hero will be revered while his machine counterpart will be taken apart and inspected for abnormalities as most humans do not associate heroism with a machine, thinking there is no way that a computer can understand emotion or even value human life. The big question here is can a machine "learn" emotion?
By all accounts, it seems very possible. Think of emotion as simply another process that the brain calculates. Technically speaking if you are missing the part of the brain that processes emotions or it is damaged in some way, in all likelihood that person will not display or be swayed by emotional situations. A computer can be seen the same way; write a program to display emotion and the computer will display it...if it had a face of course. Think of why we show emotion. If a person we know dies, then we will be upset, perhaps cry over this loss. The level to which we mourn is based on the connection we feel toward that person and how much value we place on life. If a person you do not know dies, you may say to yourself "What a shame", but never cry or mourn that loss because you do not feel a connection to them. A Computer can be programmed the same way. It can be programmed to develop a connection to an individual which can grow exponentially over time. The time of exposure can be changed by the individual programmer. Some, by reading this so far can argue that we are no one to "program" emotion into anything. Many of these opponents may not realize that the are and have been programmed since their birth.
Example. A person is born and spends the first 15 years of their life with a parent. Through those years, they grow closer to the parent and feel love for them. Based on their experiences with that adult, they can feel any number of emotions. Love or hate, spending time with that person will eventually develop into an emotion, a "program" telling you that since this person has been there for and cared for you, you in turn love them. You have at this point been programmed to love, a directive in your brain tells you that you love them. Same can go with hate. If a child is abused by a parent, they will be hateful toward that adult, therefore once again they are programmed to hate. This can happen so quickly and seamlessly in humans that no one seems to realize it happens. Why does a child sometimes prefer one parent to another? Parents will say "Well, he is just close to his daughter" or something similar. The father feels that connection, therefore he spends more time with his daughter. The daughter unconsciously knows this so in turn she develops love for him as well.
Technically speaking, the brain is a learning computer that is changing every day and in more way that we can even fathom. If we were able to create programs that simulate human emotion and plug them into a computer, it could learn to feel emotion. To simplify this idea, think of a common document application like Microsoft Word. As you use the program, you can "teach" is to do certain things or correct it's behavior so that it is pleasing to you...which is very similar to that of a developing child. When you first have this child, it is just a small, seemingly help life form that needs love and attention so that it can eventually turn into a well balanced adult. The same can be done with a program. Again, referring to Word, as you use it and teach it, it learns more about you and the world. You can teach it new words, new scenarios, news ways of writing. It grows with you. While Word may not be the best example, it does display the basics of what a program can learn.
Being self aware is also another argument against machines and emotion. The computer only knows what we want it to know in mostly all cases around the world. We only allow the computer access to certain files, programs, hardware, etc. With the gaining of knowledge, the birth of consciousness up to this point in time has not been established. While the idea of creating a self aware machine that understands what it is and knows what it can do is still some ways off into the future, that future is getting closer by the day. We simply need to find a way to not only mimic our emotions, but also allow the computer to have free will, the ability to make decisions not only based on mathematical chance, but also while weighing those emotions as well...just like we humans do.
Works Cited
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001501/the_saga/compare.htm
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