Knowing which English to use for me can be very confusing.  I was raised and taught British English all my life being Canadian, however since the invention of the computer, everything is American English.

I know when I was teaching Grammar over seas, there were jobs where they insisted on American and other places they insisted on British so as it turns out, doing my Teaching English Over Seas training in American English came in handy.

There are not so many differences really however one place is with the spelling.  

When I bought my first computer, I, in my ignorance, was asked what language I wanted to set up my keyboard in as my default.  Not knowing any different, being Canadian, I chose Canadian.  What that meant was that the red sub characters and letters on my keyboard became active...in other words, it was ALL GEARED TOWARDS FRENCH!  I could not believe it! So the next issue was my training in tying had the keys set in the traditional places and not where these red letters were!  And not being very tec. savvy I could not figure out how to do a proper change to American English which was the only option I was sure of. Needless to say, my son got a new laptop while I still had none.  This taught me a huge lesson in different types of English.

Since I know both, and since my Mac is set up in American, I am fine with this (better than French-not to put down French but I have no need for it!).  In writing this novel, since the character is an older middle aged woman who was raised in rural Nova Scotia, it would not make sense for me to write it in American English.  I am just a stickler for detail however seeing color instead of colour just does not sit well.

So the good news is, you can change your spelling editor and select any language you want the spelling and grammar to be in that you want!  I wanted to go from American to British.  Most of my writing drafts are in British but from time to time I have slipped in American spelling sometimes.  I just go back with the spell check set to UK English and any inconsistencies are fixed.  I can do this chapter by chapter and only takes a few minutes.  And the other good thing is, I can make it the default so it will be the same with anything I write on my Mac until I change it.

For the later versions of Word, go to review and find your spell check. Next to it there will be another box that says "Language".  You can scroll down and choose whatever language you want.  You may have to highlight or do it in a few places but just keep clicking and it will come together!

If it is an earlier version, just google it.  Easy peasy!  

Hope this helps and the writing goes along nicely!
​

During my reading about how other writers work, I have noticed how important character names are.  It has been fascinating how different writers are when it comes to making up character names.

A number of questions have come up for me since I started this 2nd edit.  For instance, I realized if I elaborated and sprinkled the dialogues with slang indicative of the Protagonist's heritage, then her name does not fit.  

I always knew when I did my first draft that many of my character's names would be changed as I developed a better understanding of their actions and place in the plot line.  I also knew, I wanted to use names of people I could associate with the character to help me develop him or her as I went along writing my first draft.

The other thing I do, is I read out loud to myself.  If the name sounds awkward, I don't want it.  I want it easy to pass my lips!

Now that my firsts draft is down and I have a clearer understanding of my characters, I have new things I wanted to consider.

I know this novel of mine is on the verge of being a "cozy" murder mystery.  I always knew this work was meant to entertain and that I had no intention of make a great work of literary fiction.  So that changes the seriousness, in my mind, of the character's names and roles.  

To find appropriate names, I also wanted them to be indicative of the places the characters were from.  I realize now there are names sprinkled all over this huge country however I wanted names that not only I knew in my youth, but I knew were founding names for each province.  Looking through a yellow pages was just not going to cut it.

In the end, not only did I scour local newspapers, however I also looked in archives.  For instance one of my characters who has a fairly large role, comes from Newfoundland.  So I went searching historical archives for names of folks who were on that rock from very early times.  

Once I had a good size list for each area of the province of names I liked, I then had to remove any names which have a strong, but incorrect association.  For instance I could not keep the name of my favourite first grade teacher as my villain.  It just did not feel right and was confusing for me.

On the other hand, I didn't want to use names that were the same last name of someone in real life who was caught and convicted and had a reputation for a similar crime as my villain in the novel.  I didn't write this novel for personal vendettas or to poke bears!

The next thing I had to think about was just how generic or specific to the area the name was.  I decided my character needed to feel authentic.  I couldn't guarantee there wasn't anyone, at any time who didn't have the same name however I was double sure it was no one famous.  That would be awkward and I don't trust folks and their need for quick financial fixes by suing.

So, once I narrowed down my list, I went through and decided on the names I felt worked best.  I tried to think about how "loaded" the name was due to historical connections exposed to a wide audience because of the media, entertainment (including literary) and /or  biblical influences.  

Finally I had names I could live with.  Names that were easy for me to relate to and that I could attach fitting character arcs to.

Now came the problem of going through an entire novel and changing names.  Fortunately for me, I have friends with the experience and smarts to help me out. The need to go through the entire novel and change names could be an insane pain!  

So, since I did my writing in Word, I just used "Find and replace" in the Edit drop down.  I don't find it works perfectly and you still have to double check however it does the trick basically.

Macros are available also for word.  A macro allows you to go through huge documents and insert new things such as tables or letter heads, remove words or replace words.  You have to write a command in, which is then followed.  I think it would be far better and more accurate however I don't want to deal with learning about them right now.  I have enough to think about learning!  As long as the job gets done, to me that is all that matters.

Making up character names like, the name of your novel can be fun I have found, however I also know it is important!

Good luck with your own story!  

The Last Jedi has been out for a while now so I don't feel bad commenting on it.  I am doing this because as I have been reading and writing more, I can see how it has effected my viewing of movies!

Recently I went with my 19 year old son to see "The Last Jedi". We are old movie buffs and have all the VHS Star Wars Tapes.  Of course my son is too young to have been there for the originals or for the interviews and ideas behind the Star Wars movies however anyone who is a sci-fi buff has to admit at least two of the movies are really good. 

I managed to start reading a book I thought was on writing however was on writing good scenes for movies! Some of it stuck I think because all the way through this movie my mind was enjoying and critiquing.  A drag but such is life. 

At any rate, I have been mulling over what my editor was talking about before going back into my second and third edit of my manuscript.  I found this movie very helpful since it showed me what I was doing wrong which hopefully I can fix.

I found there was a lot of action in this movie but real weak points in the plot line.  For instance, the entire second half of the movie would not have even been needed if the commander who took over for the Princess had just shared her plan.  A few words to put her crew at ease.  Not a big deal.  All she had to say was "we are putting the remaining fuel into the small shuttles that won't be detected by the enemy and going do to that old planet which is an abandoned Rebel base."  If she had said that, boom, no need to seek alternatives, no need to go seeking a code cracker or anything else.  Seems a very weak and barely plausible reason.  I have to make sure my reasoning and sequence of events is stronger than that!

I have been reading other mystery writers to see how they make transitions from one scene to the next. I mean not just the description of the scene but how much work goes into the meeting of one scene and having it go into the next.

With this movie, I found there was so many sub stories going on and so much "pretty" scenery, yet I found the transitions weak.  One minute a ship is being cut in two because it is being rammed, and the next minute the main protagonist is in another ship.  One minute the little Rollie pollie robot is having a chat with the black Rollie pollie on the enemy ship (never do know what that is about!) and the next minute it is piloting a craft ready to rescue everyone.  I am amazed at how that little thing can get around!

And what's up with someone who shows no visible force ability and next thing this same princess is out in space directing herself back to the shuttle.  Nothing plausible in that other than many Jedi abilities seem to be growing randomly based on the need of the writers!  This is one thing my son hates.  He learned in school about "plot amour" which means answers to problems and fixes to situations just pop up without any background or plausible support.  I found that movie full of it because it was like the writer kept writing himself into a corner and needing to fix it somehow.  I soo can relate to this however even though my book has some reference to psychic ability, I do NOT use it to get myself out of a corner!

The next issue I am interested in because I have an outline started for my next book with the same characters more or less.  I noticed just a random comment in passing from another character does not feel like it is enough to give anyone watching only this movie enough to give a proper back drop for the main characters from the previous movie.  I for one,found only the two major old characters and dear Rose really people I could relate or attach myself to.  At least with Rose you could understand where she was coming from because of the heroic loss of her sister.  A totally ridiculous loss due to a hot shot who listened to no one throughout the entire movie until the very end.  Character Arc seriously?  The guy is a total ass and hotshot one minute and then all serious and ready to lead the next?  Hardly any change in his behaviour at all but hey, he grew!  And he was about the only one who did!

And lets look at the characters in general.  They had hardly any real depth.  The actors should get awards for trying however the dialogue was stiff and there was no fun.  No character who was really meaty who could pull off depth and bravado.  If you took these actors and put them in ordinary clothes I couldn't help but feel you would have the older characters all suffering from PTSD and the younger being rebellious teenagers! There was a few little rudimentary connections to Buddhist teachings but none of Joseph Campbell's myths at all.  No archetypes and nothing really deep about the entire thing.  It was just another action movie trying to reclaim what went before it!  A soap opera in a fancy setting!  

I watch many movies over and over while I paint and I pick up lines.  And I swear, at one point a line came up in this movie that was a flashback to a Pirates of the Caribbean movie!  I said so to my son, and I never checked but he said the same writer was in that movie also!  This explains alot! 

To be fair, the other Star Wars movies had a history and was at a time when everything in animation and special effects was just starting to take off.  Now many of us have seen so many over the top movie effects that all our greatest wishes have come true.  Look at National Treasure.  Hasn't everyone wanted to go on a treasure hunt and find treasure like that?  The days of digging up one pirate chest full of jewels is over! Now you get an entire cavern of treasure that would do any pirate proud! The imagination is left to have nothing to fill in;it can all be done for you!  The old saying about "showing" something has been taken to the max.  Only a hand-full of brilliant writers and directors still know the power of leaving things to be interpreted....and usually in horror movies!

I don't know if it is because my brain has gone into writing and words mode, or if it was all about the movie being disappointing however I have noticed now I see things with new eyes.  I cannot say I so much SEE where I need to work on my novel as much as I FEEL what I need to do, however this movie has taught me a few valuable lessons on what I want to NOT do and so have to go in and fix things.  Perhaps this is a good thing, perhaps not so much.  I have been watching and figuring out plot lines in the first quarter of the movie from the time I was a little girl and TV came out.  I remember one of my things to say was "I saw it before".  And somehow with this movie, yup, it feels the same.  It is just a filler movie to kill off the old to make way for the new which I can't help will play out more like "Dynasty" than a series of iconic action Sci-fi movies which with each one I will feel like I saw it before!  For me, mocking one of the iconic features of the old moves ( the mask), having the new villain smashing it against the wall, was scra-ligious!  For an old Star war fan, that was just too much.  Talk about killing off the old!  Why?  For effect!?!  Seriously, again, over the top! There was a reason for the mask Darth Vader wore, so what reasoning for much of anything in this new series?  My point exactly!  No depth.   The writers know how to create action, maybe even a little tension however they don't get the depth aspect everyone was so desperately hoping for.  I can only hope with my book there will be no plot armour yet at the same time lead to a conclusion you will not see coming Plus have a theme that is real, deep and worth writing about.  I think for me, that is the fun part!  Time will tell!

I met with the woman editing my first draft at 11:00 and ended at two!  I was pleasantly surprised she didn't say I should stick to painting.  She actually seemed genuinely happy with the plot line and the characters.  The next thing which I also knew was that I have to be consistent; for instance using the numbers and then writing numbers like I did in the first line of this blog.  She told me to get a style guide.  To learn the different types here is a link: www.thoughtco.com/style-guide-reference-work-1691998

I also need to do something about my indecisiveness about using American or British grammar for spellings and a few other things.  I will use British in the long run.  It is the one I am most familiar with even if my spell check is not! lol

I knew I needed to view this as the first draft.  I am an artist and like I said in another blog, you need to make many beginnings to get it right. I wanted a sound plot structure and character arc for the main characters and I have done this I am told.  She has made a few suggestion changes however nothing too major.  

Having an editor is great because there are so many things to keep in your head when your getting things down on paper.  My editor said she could tell I hit my stride as I moved towards the end of the book.  I felt that too.  At first I was sort of floundering however I used to write tons of short stories (mainly to make my older mean sister cry! lol).  It took me a while to remember that is all a novel is.  A larger story with little stories set into it.

Which brings me to my next problem.  Transitions.  I knew I was weak on those and that I would have to go back and flesh things out. I was reading Janet Evanovich's book "How I Write".  I like how she writes so I don't mind being influenced by her.  She had some interesting points and she too finds it difficult to find just the right sentence(s) for a good transition.  My editor talked about this at length.  Actually, I sort of feel like this is the fun part for me since I like details and with this aspect, I will be going in and crafting the lines more.  My Editor's husband said to tell me to write these transitions as she moves through the landscape through her eyes.  I can do that!

I was pleased to hear the title she has no issue with and besides changing and using more contractions in the dialogue, that is ok too.  I used the book I mentioned in another blog about dialogue and I found it really helpful. I will go back over her suggestions.

I was pleased how she was critical in a sensitive way.  I have had a good many critiques by a good many peers in the art world in my day and she certainly was more gentle!  I remember one of my painting teachers looking at my painting and saying "Ugh!  get that disturbing thing off my wall!"   Another time it was:"Woolco art!  This is Woolco art!" however sometimes he did say "Now, THIS is a painting!".  It was YEARS later before I got it and I knew what he meant!  I don't think with writing it is that simple however having suggestions of good authors to read for different reasons as she suggested such as I read for description, or for character development, etc, is sort of like looking at the masters and their styles I guess!

So now, the canvas is no longer blank and the line drawing underneath is there.  I have sort of started the first layer however it is far from finished!  I need to now flesh it out, fix any little annoyances of brushstroke and make sure everything sits next to each other nicely keeping in mind, however on how characters effects each other...I think they call this FOIL: remembered from my high school english days (I had a GREAT English teacher!).  Like Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello, the characters can play off of one another enhancing and bringing out their unique qualities.

Oh yes, I also need to think of the landscape and setting as characters also with the setting being unique. 

Like I said, now the details and the real work begins!  I will go through with fresh eyes and fix the grammar and then go chapter by chapter once I have the full story fixed in my mind's eye again.  What fun!
​

I wrote the first draft of my book in 15 days however it took me over two years of it "composting" in my head and two weeks of doing the outlines on Scapple before I started the writing.  I know this isn't how others work however frankly, when I started, I thought it would be fun to write a murder mystery since I have the draft of one "self help" and one "auto-biography" both in the final stages I have spent years writing!  So for me, a murder mystery just sounded like a walk in the park!  In some ways it was!  By the way, I didn't finish the autobiography yet since I am not even close to dead! lol! As for the self help, I decided I wasn't a good enough expert to write such a book!

Again, I digress.  Looks like one of those days where the coffee hasn't kicked in, or perhaps it has too much!  Either way, back to the concept of what to do after the first draft.

As I stated in another blog, this entire writing process is like going on a walk-about.  I am just walking through my life allowing what I need to come to me.  In this case, I needed an editor who didn't charge since I am not the flushes person at the moment!

I was just stopping in at Blue Stone Magic, a local New Age speciality store to have a chat with whoever was behind the counter that day, and so I began a conversation with someone who happens to have also written a book and who also happens to have taken a course on creating books on demand.  So that was a helpful talk.  Then this woman walked in and started to browse.  She looked familiar.  You know how it is, your sure but your not sure and you don't want to say something in case your wrong and don't know who the person it, but you say what the hell and jump in with both feet!  Ok, you may not, but I am so used to embarrassing myself, I hardly care anymore!  One of the perks of being someone with weak boundaries! lol!  I might add by the way, one of the best attitudes to have if you want to chat with people and hear their stories!  I have, over the years, collected a good many stories because I like people and hearing about them. Again, I digress!

Anyhow, I started a conversation such as "Do I know you from somewhere and that always leads to trying to remember where.  In this case once I heard her name, then I DID remember which is so much easier than pretending to! lol!

As it turns out she was a retired librarian and now  a healer and SHE OFFERED to edit my manuscript.  She warned me it would be thorough, however I can't think of anyone who has read more books!  So I printed off a copy, put dividers between chapters and added a questionnaire at the end with questions like "when did you figure out who did it?  Did you like the protagonist?  Did she seem real enough?  You know the sort of thing any writer would be curious about!

So she has had it a little over a month or two.  I lost track.  She got sick and so on.  What was really nice was when she wrote to say she would be getting back to Martha.  Oddly enough I thought it was nice she remembered my protagonist's name!  Made me see how it is important to remember names at work and so on.  I had one boss who was very upset when I called her Edna and not Alma.  Now I can see why! lol

She emailed recently and said she was done and we can meet which now will only be TWO DAYS!  I must admit, I am blissfully excited even though she will likely tear it apart! lol!  Fortunately, like embarrassment, I am also good at both criticism and rejection!  But hell, I went into this venture wondering if it was even worth editing and was surprised she hadn't handed it back to me laughing her head off!  So typical of a true artist, any response is a good one!

Now the curiosity is getting to me.  I am also excited to getting out to the coffee shop with someone. I have been a recluse since it got cold basically hanging out with my teenage son and his friends.  I leave the house to go to work and then home. I am used to living in isolated places so I have a freezer full of food but I suppose everyone likely does that in winter since around here, the odds of seeing someone walking down the street who doesn't have a dog is pretty small unless it is kids walking to school!

As we tell our children at Christmas, just two more sleeps and I get my manuscript back.  Then the real work begins!
Even without another's comments, I have kept my tape recorder close and have a zillion things I want to change and edit anyhow!.  The joys of growing with your writing when you haven't done anything for a while.  If you do it daily like I hear your supposed to if your a serious writer then I doubt it would be so intense however I haven't been serious about anything since 1998 when my son was born! lol

I have been in a few writing classes over the years and done creative writing, however over and over the latest statement is "show-don't tell.  Now as simple as that may sound, it still can be a little odd to very literal folks.  After all, isn't it pretty much what your doing when you write?  Your telling a story?

Like most things in life that are creative, finding a new way of saying something that hasn't already been said or done is not easy.  I have to wonder if the collective consciousness Carl Jung talked about wasn't spot on.  

As an artist, I have learned over the years, once I put it into words, either spoken or written, my good idea will show up somewhere.  I remember my father saying the same thing.  He was a young man at the time from the Eastern shore of Nova Scotia.  Population?  Crazy low.  He came up with the idea of pre-making roof trusses.  You know, those things if you look up at the top of a house being built, the sloped part that all these identical frames that look like pointed ribs of a whale!  

Well, not long after he thought of that idea, a company started making them not far from him!  Is it a case of which came first?  His idea or that company?  Same with vertical blinds.  He thought of them, then found them in the Sears catalogue. Again, did he cheat?  Nope, I don't think so.  I just have noticed this happens a lot to me and maybe you.  It still amazes me to see who makes it first to the finish line and get the patent! lol

So I digress (hence ramblings!) however the concept of "show - don't tell" has already been been written and explained about in a really great manner quite recently.  I shall enclose the link of a woman named Mellisa Donovan she can explain it great however perhaps you want the short version and don't want to take the time to read yet another blog in which case I will use a quote she used which pretty much sums it up!  After that I shall put her blog link.

​www.writingforward.com/writing-tips/show-dont-tell

I was doing research on dialogue in the middle of what I was writing and needed a quick reference guide to give me ideas as I was doing it. I always knew I would come back and do serious edits however I still wanted to not have to totally re-invent the wheel.

Once again I allowed my little voice to guide me.  I find if I put it out there and do a walk-about on the internet I find what I need and so I decided to do the same thing with my research for dialogue.

As it turned out I had downloaded a few kindle books on the subject and the first one I clicked on did the trick for now.

I find I am not a patient person anymore.  I have spent years at university in different programs learning about this or that, however much of it gets lost in the back recesses of the brain and has become more like background noise rather than useful knowledge.

This has been a process for me like the creative development I have done over the years.  I have learned to extract the kernels of knowledge I want and ignore the rest.  I may paraphrase and not use all the proper big lingo or be able to quote someone by name however I don't care.  I am about the bigger picture and not about impressing anyone with my great brain power or great knowledge.  There are plenty of others who can do that.  I just want to learn what I need, move on and USE it.

I read this little book called Writing Vivid Dialogue: Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors (Writer's Craft Book 16)
It is a small and functional little book.  To the point, gives examples, clear explanations and then your done.  I liked it.  I continue to skim other books however I felt this was a good book to start with to give me the backdrop for details from other sources.

So if you want to learn more in a hurry or don't read a lot...(I cannot due to my eyes and this new age of electronic media!), then this book is a pretty good one.

There is a few terms flying around out there now where writers are now said to fall into two camps...are you a panter or a plotter?  A panster is someone who flies by the seat of their pants when they write while a plotter is what I am!  Here is a link to a more in-depth blog on this concept: strictlywriting.blogspot.ca/2009/06/plotter-or-panter.html 

​I remember when I wrote my first book back in high school.  I took it to my English teacher and asked for a critique.  What he had to say I will never forget (partly because he also DREW it!), and I have been thinking since I start this latest project how to deal with it.

He said my book was too flat.  Not enough hill and valleys of excitement to keep the reader engaged.

So I thought, ok, how am I going to change this?  I knew I was a VISUAL learner (I will write on learning styles in another blog) primarily and so for me, the answer lay somewhere in there.  I went looking for an app. for my Mac.  

LifeHack talks about the their findings of best applications (apps) lifehacker.com/five-best-mind-mapping-tools-476534555

I looked at all of these apps for Mac.  I decided I didn't want the complications or the cost of some of these apps especially since my Mac is acting up so I went with SCAPPLE. I have found it just fine for my purposes.

I found it to be a really EASY app to figure out, the instructions exceptionally helpful and direct and the versatility was great.  A few small flaws I feel, like removing hard lines easily for connects in complex lay outs but other than that not bad!  I likely just cannot find the easy way to do it.

I used Scapple for everything in my preparation of the novel I am writing from doing character profiles for each individual to creating a tension/plot line.  Many of my illustrations I blurred.  I didn't want any spoilers! lol!  You want to read the book if I ever get it out there.  

So here is an image, for instance, of my character profile.  Since I am visual it is all about the imagery for me!

I used the example of my old car as a character to show you a little about how I approached each character I created.  As I said, the visual aspect helped me a great deal.  I would also add a story line about how the character is involved in the story as well as their development since that is something I chose to not ignore.  There is a column for physical characteristics also which I couldn't screenshot!

Next I created a template of each character grabbing an image out of my photos or off the internet.  I also blurred these. I don't want to be sued for copying them!  I blurred the names but show how I edit in each for I am using them for.  You, of course, may do differently.  Some mind mapping programs give different sort of line connects but straight is fine for me!  Here is a sample of my character tree as I like to call it!

​I make sample images like this of all my characters as I write about them in their personal character profile.  This is my son Blaize so I don't mind using his image!

I blocked out all the images however you can see how I look at all my characters and their roles.  I can drag and move them around at anytime!
​

I also make a tension/plot outline.  In these I include both a setting image and then add these small images of characters with them as I plot the tension line along the plot line.  I can also note the seasons, word count and make notes of changes or ideas as they come to me.  Again, I blurred images so as not to give the story away!

I have enclosed a larger over view of the lay out however it is of course, not the full layout!  I also edited.  You will see I keep a gallery of my characters at the top of my plot/tension line to help keep things straight.  I colour code fonts and backgrounds to also help keep everyone clear as I write.  I know I am not writing off the seat of my pants, however this method works for me.  It means I can get everything down in the first draft and then go back later and know exactly what I am editing also!

The bottom is the lowest point in tension and the top is the hight of tension.  I can visually see how the plot is progressing and I can drag each setting and character around to any place I want. This method of mind mapping is how I do it and indeed unless your an artist, you may find it very tedious however to each his/her own!  

I have been conversing with friends who are far more in touch with the world of blogging than I am to find out what is the right amount of times of posting things.  I know that of course, it has to depend on the individual and how much they have time to do, however I also wanted to know if not doing daily blogs was detrimental to the process.

It seems that there are many popular blogs that are updated monthly although there are some that are even longer.  Thus far I have been posting daily however when life kicks in after the holidays and my first edit comes back I am going to find that won't be possible.

I must say that in many places it says you should write for a least an hour every day and if not that for at least half an hour so this sort of takes care of that also.  Add to the fact the posts I am going to continue to do shall also relate to what I am learning so what the hey, it may turn out that I can post daily (which means messenger friends may suffer!) or more likely it will be every so many days.

I called this "ramblings" because I am doing this process in a very intuitive way.  I am putting it out to the universe what I need and waiting for results and so far, so good!  Lets just say original Aboriginals followed the dream lines to find the resources they needed and I am doing the same thing for this writing walk-about!

I am still figuring out how to create and edit this site.  I am used to Wix which I found far superior in so many ways including flexibility.  Wordpress is great if you have a background in it but I don't have the patience for it...however that is for another time.

For now, lets say it will be daily or every other day.  Hope you enjoy and get something from this...I have lots to share that I am going through the process on now.  For the fun of it while I wait for my edit to be done and while I compost concerning what is coming up, I have started looking into an ebook cover which means I am learning a fairly substantial program as well as exploring others which I shall be given a critique on...both for Mac and PC keeping in mind, I left graphic arts first year at art school and moved into fine art; I never looked back!

 I am writing this because my old Royal typewriter has long since gone to the landfill in the sky and you have to write on something!  I doubt many do writing by hand anymore.  It is so convenient to be able to move paragraphs and sentences around without rewriting!  Would never go back to the old way of writing now!

I have a PC however I use my Macbook Pro because I like the keyboard and the fact there isn't constant updates like there are on the PC.  I feel however it is important to demystify the computer world which many people I think are still trapped into so I made a call.... 

Now I had a chat with a friend who has worked with computers and repairs all his life as well as has the training.  Taking to these guys means you have to learn another language!  And I consciously did since I lived with a computer tech!  I will pass on the rumours and rumblings but I cannot say if it is totally accurate since there are techs out there who could put this far better than I can but I will do my best to keep the info intact while simplifying so crash course in computers and lingo.  Easy first but will get a little more into it all.

Disc - that round shiny thing you put into your computer or DVD player you can save information to or even watch a movie from. There are CD and DVD.  Now we mainly hear DVD because most laptops these days I noticed don't have a hard drive disc player or recorder.  

A mouse is the thing that you move the little arrow on your computer screen around with, or the touch pad. Some are connected and some are wire-less (without a wire to use it..also now there is Bluetooth which is like wireless but needs NOTHING to connect it but be able to use Bluetooth.)

The desktop is what you first see when you turn on and have your computer open.

A computer has hardware and software.  The stuff you can pick up and throw around when your angry at is is the hardware.  It has a hard drive which is the component that runs the computer and a slot to pop in more memory and graphics card, etc. The keyboard and touchpad are all hardware but many I believe think of the guts of the machine.   When your hard drive goes for instance, your computer is toast until you get a new one which is why you can back your entire computer up with cloning software but I digress!

Then there is the software.  These days you have apps. however software is like the programs that are in use by the hardware.  A computer with one is not going to do much or be much fun.  

Another word you likely have heard more and more about since even toddlers are learning the language and lingo, is "coding".  All apps, websites, and even Facebook are based on coding which is sort of like the language the computer can understand to run the software.  It is all in the details with coding and it isn't as mysterious as you may think however like everything some folks have a higher aptitude for it than others.   I believe simply put without coding software wouldn't exist.

So the code is in place and the software has been created.  

Now to deal with the hardware. How do you, say make a printer, work with the computer hardware?  How do you put the printer into drive?  That is where the drivers come in.  If something needs to run, then it needs a driver! Anyone who has hooked up an external mouse, printer, writing stylus or any other hardware have had to deal with drivers and also sometimes they also need updating.  These are very necessary to the computer also.

Two other terms you may here is a "command line" and graphic interface".  It is not as big a deal as you thought in layman's terms.  I will elaborate a little but bottomline, when you can only use your keyboard to do everything such as cut as paste short cuts, that is using from the command line I believe.  If you can point and click with a mouse, then it is the graphic interface.  What is considered by most the easier way.

You likely have heard the letters OS which simply means "operating system".   It is the first piece of software that goes on your computer and stores in your memory and then manages everything else on your computer. Without it your computer is just a hunk of hardware sitting and doing nothing!

There are three main OS>WINDOWS, MAC OS, AND UNIX.

Microsoft created Windows which is the most commonly known system.  It is an old DOS operating system (a disk operating system).   If you remember the really old computers, almost all the things you did had to be done on the keyboard without the mouse.  It was a pain for many so in later versions such as windows 2000 they put DOS in the background and started employing the graphics (mouse point an click).  I have been told and I believe it is why it is like saying there is patch after patch on Microsoft operating systems which were renamed each time such as Vista, XP, 7 and so on. Originally the operating system came on a disc you could put in your computer or ANY computer.  Partly this is because it was only DOS (disc operating system), then it came about that you had to buy the disc to use it but it still worked on ALL computers, later you got so many per purchase and now you will find that with windows 10, you will likely have to purchase each time it updates which means each time they change or update something.  They are getting really sneaky putting spyware on your computer and doing manipulations in the background also.  Anything to make a buck!  .  Oh joy!  Corporate greed at it's best but wait, there is more than just Windows and Microsoft which I will mention in a sec. 

So why did apps start appearing on your new computer?  What happened next?  There were rumblings in the technology community of trying to move everyone over to phones and tables and away from laptops and computers which is where Windows 8 came in.  It was a TOTAL FLOP!  So windows 10 came out to bridge the gap between PC and tablets and phones (which you have noticed were getting larger like a tablet, but I see now are getting smaller again over all!).  

If you have ever watched the show "Criminal Minds", or "NCIS", may have heard the word Linix being tossed around among the geeks and squints on the show.  This is the name of another operating system.  It is called Linix based on Unix and is considered the best OPEN SOURCE based operating system out there and it is on everything from your phone to your car and even in your refrigerator. And by OPEN BASED I mean it is FREE!  

Unix was early on and used in corporations and universities but each place developed their own version.  Then Microsoft came along and since they were unified, gained an advantage in marketing.  There were many however who were frustrated with Windows and missed Unix so then came a man named Linus Torvalds who put out the Linux kernel and made it available to the world for free. Torvalds then invited others to add to the kernel provided that they keep their contributions free.  And so Linix was born.  It is out there and it still exists.  My friend swears by it.  He put it on my old laptop since it will run on anything and has many of the same software now and so on, and often better!   I updated it in minutes without a clue of what I was doing thanks to U tube!  

I suspect as it becomes more and more costly for folks to deal with Microsoft, Linix will gain in popularity which isn't now because if it is free why advertise?!?  The interesting thing according to my friend is that Apple incorporated Unix into itself a while back so if you can use a Mac, there is a platform (face) in Linix that is very similar!  Yahoo, since it one thing about it, is that you have more access to the command line we talked about earlier.  There is a reason it is all over the world.  You can manipulate and use it faster when your using only a keyboard and not moving a mouse everywhere.

So now what about Apple?  Well I have noticed sadly, as others have, that ever since Steve Jobs death (likely a change in the board!), Apple has become more like other greedy businesses.  They have made changes and NOT for the better.  I bought my computer in summer of 2016.  Since that time, the screen had an anti-reflective coating come off meaning the screen had to be replaced for free ( the Apple community has been pressuring for a call back but they won't however if you take it in, they will replace it for free thankfully!).  I also had a fan they said was not working due to dust.  Dust?  I didn't live in a desert or basement or barn!  They replaced that for free.  The creator of their processor has also switched to intel which is the same as a PC and frankly most of their hardware has gone to pot.  There are also rumours that the paste they use in the thing to protect it, was downgraded so it will likely burn out long before the older ones did.  If you have an older MAC THEN KEEP IT!  I know folks who had had their Mac for YEARS!  THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE THE CASE WITH THE NEWER MACS.  When this one goes which I suspect won't be in that long considering all the headaches I have had with it already, I should have put the money on a cheap scooter!  Likely would have lasted me longer!

Don't get me wrong Apples WERE great but come on, Apple is being sued for shortening the battery life of older iphones with some cock and bull story when really another ploy to get you to buy a newer phone!  I think they lost.  I haven't checked.  Either way, next computer I get will be a decent PC for half the price of this (or less) and put linix on it!  I have an old laptop as I said, as back up right now!  Pays to know a good computer geek who really is brilliant but don't want him to know that! lol May go to his head!

So be prepared for what is coming.  At some point you will have to decide what you want to do and where you want to go however for now PC is the most common, Apple is the most revered and Linix is the underdog and always will be most likely.

I know this isn't much about writing, but like I said, not everyone wants to type on a typewriter or go back to pen and paper!





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