Just wanted to share this picture that I shared on the facebook page for this book:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Road-to-Nowhere-And-Back-112305563649196
https://www.facebook.com/The-Road-to-Nowhere-And-Back-112305563649196
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Sunday, January 12, 2020
My First Ever Book - The Road To Nowhere And Back
I am not sure if you have looked at my other blog or not, but I have mentioned that many places including a few videos on my vlog that I wrote a book. No, no, don't be too impressed. It's only a travelogue and that too a simple one. It's simply the story of my trip to Khardung La on bike with some friends.
The trip itself was amazing. It was terrible but it was amazing in a terrible way. The Himalayas provide with beautiful views but not with great roads. So, the combination of that was what created this terrible amazing trip.
The story of the book is quite long and a testamonial to my laziness, but finally after having dragging my heels over every part of the book process I finally published it. I made the decision to self-publish which is something I was deadset against in the beginning but the more I dealt with publishing firms and the publishing process the more I liked the self-publishing option.
With that story as the background here are the links for my book. It's called "The Road To Nowhere And Back".
These are all Amazon Kindle store direct links to the book. I have kept it free for Kindle Unlimited members so if you are a part of that you can read it for free.
I need some reviews for the books so if you can check out the book and take a few minutes to write a short review, I would really appreciate that.
UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083RDVZ24
India
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B083RDVZ24
Canada
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083RDVZ24
US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083RDVZ24
Germany
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B083RDVZ24
Aus
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B083RDVZ24
Spain
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B083RDVZ24
Thursday, August 29, 2019
The Earworm Episode - The Big Bang Theory
Wow! What an episode! The Big Bang Theory season 9 episode 10.
Sheldon gets a song stuck in his head that he can't stop humming it but can't remember which song it is. The combination of these 2 things starts driving him crazy. It takes him more than half an episode to figure out which song it is.
Then he wonders why he had this song stuck in his head. The chain of reasoning takes him back to Amy and how she softened his life. This leads to Sheldon saying one of my most favourite romantic lines "She's like the dryer sheets of my heart."
I feel that that's an amazing way of thinking about a romantic partner, somebody who softens your life, someone who makes life more fun and who gives you the strength to face life's challenges. Love is the thing that makes you weak and strong at the same time!
The way they have written this episode, and how they have edited it - it is fantastic!
Also, the other man in the picture, the actor called "Stephen Merchant" (tall, British, Dave on screen) his role is so hilarious I was laughing out loud even when watching the episode a second time.
This is one of my very favourite episodes, my recommendation is - go and watch it again.
Generally speaking, the writers of TBBT are really good in writing fights and resolution scenes. There are so many that I can't name them all but see how they created then resolved the issue at the time of Leonard's marriage.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Free Software For Writers or Authors
As you know I have been trying to write a book and as you might not know I have a few other writing projects in the oven. More than once I have felt the need to have a software tool that could help me organize the huge amount of text that goes in a book. For example, my current book, the one mentioned on it's own blog has several places where I have put in brackets and written "How many times do I say this?", it's easy to forget something like that when you have 200 pages of text that you travel through back and forth, back and forth. Hence, the need for a tool to assist.
With a google search I found a tool called the Storyboard. It seems nice and best of all it's free and open source. So, I am going to try that. If you have a need for this go to - http://storybook.intertec.ch/joomla/index.php/features-basic.
Oh, remember my ranting post about MS-Word being a piece of crap because it crashed and I lost data? Well, Storybook saves each input as it goes along, so no losing data even if it crashes. Neat huh?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Pencilled Memories
Ok, I am at work. I pick up a pencil from the desk. Now, I am a software tester and my work consists of a glorious routine where I log out and log in to many computers, and so it happens that as I am waiting for the machine to come up again, I pick up this pencil and I have time to pick up a sharpner to sharpen the pencil. But then I realize I will have to stand up and walk up to the trash bin to actually sharpen a pencil that I don't need. So, like the lazyass that I am I put down the pencil.
But it reminds me of desk sharpners that have a bin to collect the peelings. That in turn, reminds me of battery-operated sharpners that I have always been fascinated by. That reminds me of the first and last battery-operated pencil sharpner that I bought. More than 2 years ago, when I was going to appear for my CSTE exams. (Just a geeky certification exam for software QA professionals).
Those exams are subjective as well as objective, and writing long answers in pencil means the need to sharpen them between answers. So, smart as I am, I bought that automatic sharpner to gain an edge. My girlfriend, who was supporting me in my mission, had an even better idea, she suggested that I take 20 pencils, all pre-sharpned and use them.
So, that's what I did. (Who can say no to a girl who gets hold of an idea?). Even though I looked like a freak with a pencil-fetish, carrying a pencil box choke-full of sharpened pencils, I did gain at least 20 minutes on the others who had to stop every few minutes to sharpen pencils (with manual sharpners), and 20 minutes for me means 20 more minutes for me to think up fancy crap to please the examiners.
The moral? "God is in the details!". Little things make for big differences!
But it reminds me of desk sharpners that have a bin to collect the peelings. That in turn, reminds me of battery-operated sharpners that I have always been fascinated by. That reminds me of the first and last battery-operated pencil sharpner that I bought. More than 2 years ago, when I was going to appear for my CSTE exams. (Just a geeky certification exam for software QA professionals).
Those exams are subjective as well as objective, and writing long answers in pencil means the need to sharpen them between answers. So, smart as I am, I bought that automatic sharpner to gain an edge. My girlfriend, who was supporting me in my mission, had an even better idea, she suggested that I take 20 pencils, all pre-sharpned and use them.
So, that's what I did. (Who can say no to a girl who gets hold of an idea?). Even though I looked like a freak with a pencil-fetish, carrying a pencil box choke-full of sharpened pencils, I did gain at least 20 minutes on the others who had to stop every few minutes to sharpen pencils (with manual sharpners), and 20 minutes for me means 20 more minutes for me to think up fancy crap to please the examiners.
The moral? "God is in the details!". Little things make for big differences!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Gotta love Helium
Wow! You gotta love Helium, in only 2 months with 3 well-written articles I have earned 31 CENTS! Isn't that incredible? 31 whole cents! In just 2 months.
On the other hand, in Second Life, with every sale of one of my fashion articles (I am trying hard not to say "My dresses", I am a man, dammit! :D ), I make about 3USD. One sale 3 US$, another sale another 3US$.
Hmmm, I am having a real hard time trying to figure out where I should focus my efforts!
[If you are interested in making money in SL, here is my article on it. ]
On the other hand, in Second Life, with every sale of one of my fashion articles (I am trying hard not to say "My dresses", I am a man, dammit! :D ), I make about 3USD. One sale 3 US$, another sale another 3US$.
Hmmm, I am having a real hard time trying to figure out where I should focus my efforts!
[If you are interested in making money in SL, here is my article on it. ]
Thursday, July 19, 2007
To write or not to write
I wonder if I am a writer. I mean a real author. What would qualify me
as an author?
Long time back when I still lived in India, my sister asked me, "Bhaiya,
what makes a software engineer?". Her question was valid, it's not a
degree or a certificate that you get. Never having been to engineering
college, I didn't know if I was a software engineer or not. (Now I know.
I filled Software Engineer as my profession in my last passport
application and the High Commission didn't object, so I guess, I am
now!)
But now the same question is in my mind about being an author. What
marks a man as an author? An easy answer would be - Money. I am quoting,
"Anyone who writes for anything other than money is a fool!" Makes
sense. Writing for money your work has to be up to a certain standard,
so the quality improves.
I don't think that really answers the question though. Then what?
Publication? If you are published, you are an author, otherwise not.
What about those who write a book but never get it published for fear of
rejection? Or if a person gets his book published on his own expense and
it never sells? Is he still a writer?
I don't know.
I have had my stuff published, only online so far, and I have been
fortunate enough that people read what I write and come back with kind
remarks. Does that make me a writer?
Possibly!
Several years ago, I was in my room in Delhi. I and my friend Fazil (my
closest friend, so his name will come up in everything), we were
watching a movie on cable and thinking of going to sleep as soon as we
could bring ourselves to turn off the TV. The movie was Anil Kapoor
starrer "Nayak", very good movie, different perspective on things,
excellent direction, so we could not turn it off that easy.
Suddenly an idea struck in my mind, the plot for a story, completely
unrelated to the movie we were watching. I turned my PC back on and sat
down to write. I had the whole plot in my mind and yet I could only
write the first two scenes, one page. I always start writing when the
first scene strikes me.
In the years that followed, I looked at the unfinished story several
times, read that one page, but could not add anything to it.
Yesterday, in the bus, I was reading Heinlein's "To Sail Beyond the
Sunset" and an action-based scene suddenly moved me emotionally. It was
an action-based scene but it was written to have that effect. Good
writing always makes you think, feel and experience the kind of emotions
that only real life can make you feel. I closed the book to savour that
feeling and followed the emotions without trying to analyze them.
Following the chain of thoughts I was surprised to find myself thinking
of the next scene of that story. That story which was nowhere in my
mind!
In 2 minutes I knew how to proceed. In 2 hours I knew how to end it!
That's what I think makes me a writer. I write to get the idea out, to
record it on paper, rather than for money or to please anyone else.
I am therefore, I write. It's as simple as that!
as an author?
Long time back when I still lived in India, my sister asked me, "Bhaiya,
what makes a software engineer?". Her question was valid, it's not a
degree or a certificate that you get. Never having been to engineering
college, I didn't know if I was a software engineer or not. (Now I know.
I filled Software Engineer as my profession in my last passport
application and the High Commission didn't object, so I guess, I am
now!)
But now the same question is in my mind about being an author. What
marks a man as an author? An easy answer would be - Money. I am quoting,
"Anyone who writes for anything other than money is a fool!" Makes
sense. Writing for money your work has to be up to a certain standard,
so the quality improves.
I don't think that really answers the question though. Then what?
Publication? If you are published, you are an author, otherwise not.
What about those who write a book but never get it published for fear of
rejection? Or if a person gets his book published on his own expense and
it never sells? Is he still a writer?
I don't know.
I have had my stuff published, only online so far, and I have been
fortunate enough that people read what I write and come back with kind
remarks. Does that make me a writer?
Possibly!
Several years ago, I was in my room in Delhi. I and my friend Fazil (my
closest friend, so his name will come up in everything), we were
watching a movie on cable and thinking of going to sleep as soon as we
could bring ourselves to turn off the TV. The movie was Anil Kapoor
starrer "Nayak", very good movie, different perspective on things,
excellent direction, so we could not turn it off that easy.
Suddenly an idea struck in my mind, the plot for a story, completely
unrelated to the movie we were watching. I turned my PC back on and sat
down to write. I had the whole plot in my mind and yet I could only
write the first two scenes, one page. I always start writing when the
first scene strikes me.
In the years that followed, I looked at the unfinished story several
times, read that one page, but could not add anything to it.
Yesterday, in the bus, I was reading Heinlein's "To Sail Beyond the
Sunset" and an action-based scene suddenly moved me emotionally. It was
an action-based scene but it was written to have that effect. Good
writing always makes you think, feel and experience the kind of emotions
that only real life can make you feel. I closed the book to savour that
feeling and followed the emotions without trying to analyze them.
Following the chain of thoughts I was surprised to find myself thinking
of the next scene of that story. That story which was nowhere in my
mind!
In 2 minutes I knew how to proceed. In 2 hours I knew how to end it!
That's what I think makes me a writer. I write to get the idea out, to
record it on paper, rather than for money or to please anyone else.
I am therefore, I write. It's as simple as that!
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