Getting Interactive on my Web-Site

I’ve had a bit of an idea for an interactive bit on my OtherWhere website, and I’d appreciate any thoughts on how to proceed with this. Or indeed if you think the idea has any merit, and is worth proceeding with at all?

The idea was to make a blurb-text that was a bit more interesting than simply reading from some static web-pages. I was playing an old point-and-click style adventure game when I came upon the idea of implementing this type of thing over web-pages on my site. My initial idea was to use the format of old text-adventure games (now called Interactive-fiction) and the later point-and-click programs to form a relatively simple interactive way for people to brows my site and learn something about the OtherWhere and my characters in hopefully a more ‘fun’ environment.

I eventually intend to include some puzzle elements, probably through java if anyone is interested, to liven up some of the screens, as well as providing simple icon-based actions that are use in an ‘adventure game’ style to interact with objects placed within the game.

Listening to a good book…

A lot has come up at work and I haven’t had much time for reading or writing lately, but this did lead me to a bit of discovery.

Quite by accident I downloaded an audio-book file while looking for something completely different. But don’t go rushing for your eye-patches and hoist the jolly-roger just yet… it was a free-taster demo, and ran out after what would probably amount to a couple of chapters. It did however pique my interest in audio-books, something I hadn’t previously given much thought to.

So, although I’m still busy, and not getting much – or any- writing done, I’m now able to listen to books in the car and at my desk. And I’ve discovered that if people hear words instead of music scratching its way from headphones they tend to assume it’s work related and don’t bother you. Result!

My old thoughts…

I recently come across this old ‘blog’ I wrote on one of my old web-sites.

I did this pretty much before I’d ever heard of blogs and blog sites, and think it’s interesting to see what I thought way-back when…

I’m thinking of re-doing this old site, making it into a home site come DIY blog!

You may, or may not find this ‘blog’ interesting but here it is anyway...

Critiquing for beginners

Over the years I’ve come to look on critiquing others work as an integral part of my own learning. I think it’s important to critique a range of different writing genres and style, as well as attempting to help people at all skill levels where I can. I believe this has helped my own writing immeasurably, and I’m always grateful for and critiques I get ether from those I’ve commented on or from people with similar goals and motives to my own.

I always seem to find it easiest to critique people at a similar level to myself. I can see the mistakes I make in others work, and hopefully help both of us in the process.

I also attempt to critique the work of people whom I see as better writers than me whenever possible. Reading this critically is akin to reading a ‘good’ novel critically and if I do see something odd or wrong I think this is the proper forum to express it in and not in a review.

I also try to critique beginning authors, many of whom are teens. And this is where I have the most difficulty.

Exploring the difference between technical and mainstream reviews…

… and their affects on the budding writer.

I’ve been reading book reviews and comments left on Amazon and various other sites lately, and have begun to realise that these seem to polarise into two distinct camps. On one hand there are the relatively serious and well informed reviews and comments left by people who seem to have a more than average grasp of literature, in the proper sense of the word. I suppose these are the people who are generally referred to as ‘well read.’
The ‘other half,’ which isn’t really a half as it makes up by far the majority or readers, are the people who generally read the mainstream blockbusters. They tend to read things they know, and their comments also tend to reflect this. In general they write less comments and reviews than the first group, but their bulk almost evens this out.
Believe me when I say I mean no disrespect to ether group. Reading isn’t a race to see who can do it better, especially fiction reading, which is supposed to be a pleasurable pass-time. I personally think some people should do well to remember this.