I'd like to write a couple stories.
Right now I'm struggling with pain and rsi, and busy with work and other hobbies. So it'll probably depend on my health, and my trouble typing.
I've tried typing breaks, which seems to help, a lower desk, which definitely helps, a small tilted keyboard, which seems to help, speech-to-text, which has not helped, and a drawing tablet software, which has not worked with my disabilities. I'm not sure what else to try on that end.
But in the near future I'd like to write:
A near-future story about getting a human-replica fembot body and escaping the pain and coping with the sensory bombardment. All wish-fulfillment. I could put this as fanfic in the Dyson Institute setting, or in a new setting.
A far-future story about teleporting to a robot probe and establishing the first station in another solar system. Nothing necessarily trans-related. I would put this earlier in the same setting as the next.
A farther-future story about escaping from the Rule of Man and transitioning. Everything necessarily trans-related. I would really need to work out more of my roughly-sketched setting.
Also some historical and game design articles.
Any suggestions?
Comments
Ergonomic keyboard...
one of the things you might try is an ergonomic keyboard. I use a Microsoft (please, no comments from the hater crowd) Natural 4000 keyboard and it helps keep the pain in my wrists to a minimum. I've tried using straight keyboards in the past. They're find if I'm doing minimal work on the machine, but as I've aged, I found a straight board becoming painful.
Microsoft makes great hardware
Not only keyboards. Kinect is absolutely great. The only MS product I have - an USB lamp (yes, I'm a Microsoft hater :) ) also work great and is very ergonomic. Wish they were producing more hardware.
As for the writing - follow your muse, I'd say. Going for what she likes best is always a good choice.
I have coordination issues
I have coordination issues and have a lot of trouble using both hands at once, or using multiple fingers for complex gestures, or forming certain grips. Ergonomic keyboards are either designed for two-handed typing, one-handed chordal typing, or two-handed chordal typing, so they aren't ergonomic for me.
pain
I have developed bursitis in my right shoulder ( inflammation on the bone in the rotator cuff ) so I'm now stuck just using my left hand and a hunt and peck typing style. You just have to find what works best for you with the problems you are living with.
Luckily I am left handed and when I first started programming back in 1982 I developed my typing with just my left hand from holding the hand written source code in my right, so I'll get some speed back as my old skill refreshes.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Keep it short
My advice is to take one of your ideas and think out a really short story. Design the beginning and the end - the middle will come naturally. Say 1000 words.
Then write it.
That kind of length is doable by almost everyone. Most people try to start with stories of interminable length and never finish.
After you've written it, leave it a few days, then reread and edit until you're happy with it.
Word Length
On the other hand -- some people find longer stories less demanding.
You might want to simply write until your story has played out and don't concern yourself with word count.
Writing is like any other endeavor, it normally takes practice. Don't be too hard on yourself the first few times you try it.
If you'd like to get a jump-start, here are two books I've found particularly helpful.
38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898798213?keywords=fiction...
The Plot Thickens http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Thickens-Ways-Bring-Fiction/dp/03...
Good luck.
Pick out a writer on BC who you like to read. Perhaps someone who writes in your genre. Read a few of her stories and ask yourself:
Although these books make it seem like there are a lot of rules, that's just a starting point. Believe me, very few best-selling authors color between the lines.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
I have coordination issues
post went in wrong place.
Some ideas
I use a wireless key board. I think it helps. I'm considering the possibility of an ergonomic keyboard if I can find a wireless one. That is my main take on the mechanics of writing. I'm using an executive chair and seriously considering removing the arms from it. I think they interfere with proper positioning of my hands. This is especially true with a wireless keyboard. But I've found that I'm much more comfortable using a keyboard that sits in my lap than one that is anywhere else. As far as what to write; the voices tell me what they want me to write! I hope your muse is as entertaining as is mine!
BigKeys
One time, I sent a keyboard to Drea Dimaggio which had oversized keys. I think that might help.
My understanding of ergonomic keyboards is that it places the most-used keys in the most convenient positions where it takes the least effort to reach. However, it presupposes that the person has full mechanical capacities to press the keys. Also, the keys are not in the familiar QWERTY positions. If the typist was familiar with QWERTY keyoards, the need to re-learn how to use a rearranged keyboard may be difficult.
If your problem is in maneuvering your digits to the proper keys and have problems with a rearranged keyboard layout/positioning, I suggest keyboards with big keys. They are meant for children who do not have the fine motor control to manage regular keyboards, or for adults with nerve or motor problems. Try it out. The brand that's most known is BigKeys. You can try that, or you can try the brand I sent to Aunt Andrea. And you can put it on a keyboard stand so it's tilted to the most comfortable degree.
You can couple this with the predictive or type-ahead features of most word processors. This isn't hard to use: the processor will display what it anticipates is your next word as you type, but you don't necessarily have to accept the program's choice and can continue to type normally. However, if the word it preselects is correct, you can just press the appropriate key and it'll use that word. It doesn't take a long time to get used to it.
But, if you would like to rest your arms yet type, I guess there really is no choice but to use voice-assisted typing. Perhaps your problem is that the software you selected isn't the best.
I have head that Dragon's "NaturallySpeaking" (I'm not sure of the name but I am sure you can google it) is the best, and is actually used in several call centers around the world. You might like to try that one. After IBM's pioneer work in voice recognition in the nineties, improvements have been rapid, and new and better apps have been coming out all the time. Try and shop around. Pick the "learning" apps that continuously learn your speech patterns and word selections as you use it. Soon, it'll get your words pretty closely.
As to your story ideas, I don't have many suggestions - I guess Scifi stories about androids aren't my area of preference. The closest I came to that was my fanfic about the autobots (which I hope to pub here as soon as I've completed it). Neither am I into gaming anymore - I have lost my taste for that after college (although I was a big fan of the classic DnD and larping and cosplay back then).
But good luck, though. I hope to see your stories soon.
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