how to write a book

having taken far too long a break from any writing that isn't work related, i was inspired last night to consider the pen and paper again after a package from rena, marc's sister, arrived in the mail. in the package was the manuscript for her new novella, and it prompted me to open a page in microsoft word on my pretty little laptop.
the only problem was, the page was blank.
very, very blank.

as someone who spends much of each day researching different things online (you need to know what material the abacus was made of in gaius octavius' second cousin's taormina villa? call me), i did a trusty google search: HOW TO WRITE A BOOK. what came back was, i thought, quite wonderful.

How to Write a Book in Three Easy Steps
By Derek Powazek
6 November 2006
http://www.powazek.com/2006/11/000615.html

My book, Design for Community, has just gone out of print. It lives on as a download, but it's just not the same. As we like to say at 8020, there's just something special about those dead trees.

After I finished writing the book, back in 2001, I wrote a little story about what it was like. It was published online in a couple places, both of which are dead and gone now. (No wonder I feel like the last man standing all the time.)

So on the occasion of my book's passing from one medium to another, I'm reprinting this little How To here. If you've ever considered writing a book, I hope it helps you in your long, masochistic journey.
How to Write a Book in Three Easy Steps

I have just finished writing my first book. At least, I think I have. All my files have been sent away to my editor, the barrage of "how's that new chapter coming?" email has stopped, and I'm almost sleeping regular hours again.

Of course, I can't be sure, because I haven't actually seen the book yet. I'm told it will come out in September. After years of writing on the web, the dead tree publishing biz seems slow, almost quaint. Maybe, when I hold the book in my hands, it will feel finished.

I spent nine months writing a book about designing community websites. The length of time seems appropriate. All those metaphors for writing books being like having children are right on target, as far as I can tell. And though I've never had a child, I have a new appreciation for those who have.

I made, by all accounts, every mistake a first-time author makes. I freaked out, doubted myself, questioned my sanity, freaked out again, lost friendships, became a recluse, freaked out some more, and then, somehow, made it out the other end with the wild idea that I might just do this again.

The other similarity between writing books and having children, that it's so painful you swear you'll never do it again, but then you want to, anyway? That one's true, too.

Over the course of my nine months, I realized that there are three trimesters to writing a book, too. Call them "steps" if that seems more approachable, of if you're simply tired of the metaphor. I present them here to you as a simple guide of what to expect if you, too, decide to write a book.
Step 1: "I am writing a book."

You begin by doing what you've always dreamed of doing: telling everyone you're writing a book.

You sign a contract that gives away all your rights, quit your cushy job, and settle in to do all those important things that one has to do before actually doing any writing: formulating the Table of Contents, doing research (surfing the web in your underwear), and picking the font for the body text.

And, of course, telling everyone you are writing a book.

This is the step when your parents will tell you how proud they are of you (after making sure you've got some way to pay the rent). Your friends will smile, amazed, and tell you about the secret book they always wanted to do, but never have. The people on the bus will be impressed, if a little on guard, at the news. Your hairdresser, landlord, and local grocery store clerk will all express an interest.

This step will last about three months, during which time you will write at most one thousand words, none of which will ever be used in the book. When the joy of seeing people ask about your book slowly begins to be replaced with the secret dread of knowing that you actually haven't started writing it yet, you know you're on your way to the next step.
Step 2: "I'm about half done."

Step two is marked by the sudden realization that you've completely blown your schedule and everything you've written so far is crap. You will decide to pitch your first three month's work and start over. "I have a renewed focus," you will tell your editor, who will be supportive, if cautious. And you may be almost convinced of this.

All the people you've told about your book will now ask you about it when they see you, their faces full of hope that you will succeed where they did not. And every time you will get a new knot in your stomach. You will say one thing, and one thing only, when they ask: "I'm about half done." And every time you will rationalize this to be true.

During step two, you will begin a list called "things to do when the book is done." This list will keep track of everything you've given up in order to work on the book. Sample entries to this list are: "be social," "earn money," and "leave the house."

Do not quit or start smoking during step two. You should not break up with your girlfriend if you have one, nor get back together if you've broken up. This would also be a lousy time to move, go to Europe, or get new pets. (I did most of these things, so trust me, I know.)

This is the step when you will have your first Big Disagreement with your editor, as your new tentative chapters come back doused in red ink. You will look at the page-count you promised, and the amount you've written so far, and suddenly every word will seem like a piece of art, not to be disturbed.

This is the step when you call your proud parents, after months of telling them that everything is going so well, and beg them for money, which you will repay in a month or two, you swear.

This step will last about three months, too. You know you're approaching the next step when you disagree with your editor, stating your point clearly and easily, and the editor actually agrees with you.
Step 3: "I'm almost done."

In step three, something clicks in your brain. You realize that, while there may be something cool about seeing your name on the spine of a book, there is nothing remotely cool about writing one.

Writing is a job, like plumbing is a job. There are days when all you do is screw words together like pipes, make the joints as tight as you can, and then flush shit through it to see if it leaks.

And worse, there's nothing even remotely special about books. Books were always elevated to that Special Place in your mind, as something High and Holy. After all, the Bible is a book, right? The Torah is a scroll, which is another kind of book. Books were special because they were written by Authors, and Authors were Not You. Suddenly it dawns on you that you are an author, because you're writing a book! And if they'll let you write a book, how special can books really be?

This moment is also known as Finding Your Voice. Treasure this crash of ideals. It's truly a beautiful thing.

When the guy at the grocery store asks you about the book, you will not feel that proud glow you did in step one, or that primal loathing from step two. Now it will be like somebody asked you about your day at the office. You will consider it and say wearily, "I'm almost done."

You will say this countless times to everyone who asks, over the final three months. And it will be a lie every time, except the last. Because the real end of writing a book sneaks up on you. It's as if you've been driving in a tunnel, gradually increasing your speed, until the roar of the engines is all you hear. Suddenly you will explode out into broad daylight, going faster than you'd ever imagined, and see the tunnel receding like lightning in your rearview.

Congratulations, you're done.

Now all you have to do is wait for your book to appear, so that you can hold it in your hands, mail it to your parents with a note about repaying that loan soon, and remember what it was you loved about books in the first place.

master cleanse

my boyfriend marc has voiced his opinion that i must be crazy, but i have decided to embark on the 10-day master cleanse, for the first time in my life. thankfully, i have also managed to wrangle a partner to share in my suffering and join me in the process. it got me to thinking- maybe others out there would like to hop on the bandwagon and detox. for those who do, the book (it's short) is available in its entirety on this website: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/7244/master_cleanse.html

i won't be starting right away as i am going to a taping of iron chef with bobby flay on thursday, which means i will be fed handsomely and being the gastronomically obsessed glutton that i am, there is absolutely no way i can pass that up.

then there is my friend lisa's birthday dinner party on the 20th, and there's nothing worse than being the only person at the table twiddling their thumbs, pretending not to be losing their mind because they cannot drink or eat anything, so forget that.

then i am supposed to be going to paris on the 5th of october, and you don't go to paris to fast, but i think i can fit the master cleanse in between the party and paris. my plan is to start the cleanse on the 21st of august and end it on the 4th of october, and you can bet that i will be documenting every moment of it, for which i apologize in advance....

a look at the mundane

It's been a while since I've blogged. I suppose that's the result of being busy and not finding my day-to-day activities really worthy of text. With that in mind, here is my To Do list for today:

1. Finish RT edit: make sure deck is rented and German version laid off to send ASAP.
This is a TV show I'm writing, producing and just finishing up.
2. Finish packing: load car and move.
Yes, I am moving again. It's guaranteed to happen every 4-6 months. The move is only temporary, or at least that's what's anticipated. I am actually moving into my boyfriend's apartment as it's significantly cheaper and more spacious than mine. We've been living in my place for the past 3 months but we'll now be renting it out to save money, like sensible people.
3. Update resume.
Hard to keep track of what I've been doing otherwise.
4. Do dishes.
Cause, ya know, they should be done.
5. Email Johan to arrange key drop off.
Johan is the sweet Swede who will be taking over my place for a while.
6. Book van for refrigerator: organize for pickup.
Marc's apartment doesn't currently have a refrigerator so I found a good one we can put in once we move but we need a truck to pick it up with.
7. Get paycheck.
Goes without saying that we all need to get paid….
8. Nap.
I'm friggin' tired.
9. Go to Sophie's party.
It's Sophie's birthday and it's a late night party, which is why that nap is all the more imperative.
10. Stop procrastinating by way of blogging.
See, not much to report so now I'll go actually do something with myself. Hmmm… maybe I'll start by napping.

neuroplasticity

i just got an interesting email from a stranger on myspace asking my opinion on a number of scientifically and spiritually minded books. she provided an excellent list to choose from and i wrote back that there was an additional one i thought she might enjoy. i'd almost forgotten about the book because it's been a while since i've had more than 10 minutes at a time for reading but i absolutely love this book so i thought i would recommend it to everyone, not just my new myspace friend.
the book is called the mind and the brain: neuroplasticity and the power of mental force by jeffrey m. schwartz and sharon begley.

and here is another interesting article delving into similar ideas.

How Thinking Can Change the Brain.
20 Jan 2007 (Sharon Begley, Wall Street Journal) Dalai Lama helps scientists show the power of the mind to sculpt our gray matter.

Although science and religion are often in conflict, the Dalai Lama takes a different approach. Every year or so the head of Tibetan Buddhism invites a group of scientists to his home in Dharamsala, in Northern India, to discuss their work and how Buddhism might contribute to it.

In 2004 the subject was neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change its structure and function in response to experience. The following are vignettes adapted from "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain," which describes this emerging area of science:

The Dalai Lama, who had watched a brain operation during a visit to an American medical school over a decade earlier, asked the surgeons a startling question: Can the mind shape brain matter?

Over the years, he said, neuroscientists had explained to him that mental experiences reflect chemical and electrical changes in the brain. When electrical impulses zip through our visual cortex, for instance, we see; when neurochemicals course through the limbic system we feel.

But something had always bothered him about this explanation, the Dalai Lama said. Could it work the other way around? That is, in addition to the brain giving rise to thoughts and hopes and beliefs and emotions that add up to this thing we call the mind, maybe the mind also acts back on the brain to cause physical changes in the very matter that created it. If so, then pure thought would change the brain's activity, its circuits or even its structure.

One brain surgeon hardly paused. Physical states give rise to mental states, he asserted; "downward" causation from the mental to the physical is not possible. The Dalai Lama let the matter drop. This wasn't the first time a man of science had dismissed the possibility that the mind can change the brain. But "I thought then and still think that there is yet no scientific basis for such a categorical claim," he later explained. "I am interested in the extent to which the mind itself, and specific subtle thoughts, may have an influence upon the brain."

The Dalai Lama had put his finger on an emerging revolution in brain research. In the last decade of the 20th century, neuroscientists overthrew the dogma that the adult brain can't change. To the contrary, its structure and activity can morph in response to experience, an ability called neuroplasticity. The discovery has led to promising new treatments for children with dyslexia and for stroke patients, among others.

But the brain changes that were discovered in the first rounds of the neuroplasticity revolution reflected input from the outside world. For instance, certain synthesized speech can alter the auditory cortex of dyslexic kids in a way that lets their brains hear previously garbled syllables; intensely practiced movements can alter the motor cortex of stroke patients and allow them to move once paralyzed arms or legs.

The kind of change the Dalai Lama asked about was different. It would come from inside. Something as intangible and insubstantial as a thought would rewire the brain. To the mandarins of neuroscience, the very idea seemed as likely as the wings of a butterfly leaving a dent on an armored tank.

Neuroscientist Helen Mayberg had not endeared herself to the pharmaceutical industry by discovering, in 2002, that inert pills -- placebos -- work the same way on the brains of depressed people as antidepressants do. Activity in the frontal cortex, the seat of higher thought, increased; activity in limbic regions, which specialize in emotions, fell. She figured that cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which patients learn to think about their thoughts differently, would act by the same mechanism.

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Mayberg, Zindel Segal and their colleagues first used brain imaging to measure activity in the brains of depressed adults. Some of these volunteers then received paroxetine (the generic name of the antidepressant Paxil), while others underwent 15 to 20 sessions of cognitive-behavior therapy, learning not to catastrophize. That is, they were taught to break their habit of interpreting every little setback as a calamity, as when they conclude from a lousy date that no one will ever love them.

All the patients' depression lifted, regardless of whether their brains were infused with a powerful drug or with a different way of thinking. Yet the only "drugs" that the cognitive-therapy group received were their own thoughts.

The scientists scanned their patients' brains again, expecting that the changes would be the same no matter which treatment they received, as Dr. Mayberg had found in her placebo study. But no. "We were totally dead wrong," she says. Cognitive-behavior therapy muted overactivity in the frontal cortex, the seat of reasoning, logic, analysis and higher thought. The antidepressant raised activity there. Cognitive-behavior therapy raised activity in the limbic system, the brain's emotion center. The drug lowered activity there.

With cognitive therapy, says Dr. Mayberg, the brain is rewired "to adopt different thinking circuits."

Such discoveries of how the mind can change the brain have a spooky quality that makes you want to cue the "Twilight Zone" theme, but they rest on a solid foundation of animal studies. Attention, for instance, seems like one of those ephemeral things that comes and goes in the mind but has no real physical presence. Yet attention can alter the layout of the brain as powerfully as a sculptor's knife can alter a slab of stone.

That was shown dramatically in an experiment with monkeys in 1993. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, rigged up a device that tapped monkeys' fingers 100 minutes a day every day. As this bizarre dance was playing on their fingers, the monkeys heard sounds through headphones. Some of the monkeys were taught: Ignore the sounds and pay attention to what you feel on your fingers, because when you tell us it changes we'll reward you with a sip of juice. Other monkeys were taught: Pay attention to the sound, and if you indicate when it changes you'll get juice.

After six weeks, the scientists compared the monkeys' brains. Usually, when a spot on the skin receives unusual amounts of stimulation, the amount of cortex that processes touch expands. That was what the scientists found in the monkeys that paid attention to the taps: The somatosensory region that processes information from the fingers doubled or tripled. But when the monkeys paid attention to the sounds, there was no such expansion. Instead, the region of their auditory cortex that processes the frequency they heard increased.

Through attention, UCSF's Michael Merzenich and a colleague wrote, "We choose and sculpt how our ever-changing minds will work, we choose who we will be the next moment in a very real sense, and these choices are left embossed in physical form on our material selves."

The discovery that neuroplasticity cannot occur without attention has important implications. If a skill becomes so routine you can do it on autopilot, practicing it will no longer change the brain. And if you take up mental exercises to keep your brain young, they will not be as effective if you become able to do them without paying much attention.

Since the 1990s, the Dalai Lama had been lending monks and lamas to neuroscientists for studies of how meditation alters activity in the brain. The idea was not to document brain changes during meditation but to see whether such mental training produces enduring changes in the brain.

All the Buddhist "adepts" -- experienced meditators -- who lent their brains to science had practiced meditation for at least 10,000 hours. One by one, they made their way to the basement lab of Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He and his colleagues wired them up like latter-day Medusas, a tangle of wires snaking from their scalps to the lectroencephalograph that would record their brain waves.

Eight Buddhist adepts and 10 volunteers who had had a crash course in meditation engaged in the form of meditation called nonreferential compassion. In this state, the meditator focuses on unlimited compassion and loving kindness toward all living beings.

As the volunteers began meditating, one kind of brain wave grew exceptionally strong: gamma waves. These, scientists believe, are a signature of neuronal activity that knits together far-flung circuits -- consciousness, in a sense. Gamma waves appear when the brain brings together different features of an object, such as look, feel, sound and other attributes that lead the brain to its aha moment of, yup, that's an armadillo.

Some of the novices "showed a slight but significant increase in the gamma signal," Prof. Davidson explained to the Dalai Lama. But at the moment the monks switched on compassion meditation, the gamma signal began rising and kept rising. On its own, that is hardly astounding: Everything the mind does has a physical correlate, so the gamma waves (much more intense than in the novice meditators) might just have been the mark of compassion meditation.

Except for one thing. In between meditations, the gamma signal in the monks never died down. Even when they were not meditating, their brains were different from the novices' brains, marked by waves associated with perception, problem solving and consciousness. Moreover, the more hours of meditation training a monk had had, the stronger and more enduring the gamma signal.

It was something Prof. Davidson had been seeking since he trekked into the hills above Dharamsala to study lamas and monks: evidence that mental training can create an enduring brain trait.

Prof. Davidson then used fMRI imaging to detect which regions of the monks' and novices' brains became active during compassion meditation. The brains of all the subjects showed activity in regions that monitor one's emotions, plan movements, and generate positive feelings such as happiness. Regions that keep track of what is self and what is other became quieter, as if during compassion meditation the subjects opened their minds and hearts to others.

More interesting were the differences between the monks and the novices. The monks had much greater activation in brain regions called the right insula and caudate, a network that underlies empathy and maternal love. They also had stronger connections from the frontal regions to the emotion regions, which is the pathway by which higher thought can control emotions.

In each case, monks with the most hours of meditation showed the most dramatic brain changes. That was a strong hint that mental training makes it easier for the brain to turn on circuits that underlie compassion and empathy.

"This positive state is a skill that can be trained," Prof. Davidson says. "Our findings clearly indicate that meditation can change the function of the brain in an enduring way."



Published: 15th of June 2007 - 00:39:13

finally

i walked into the office this morning to find three copies of the finally-about-to-be-released soundtrack for snow blind- with my song lost melody- sitting on my desk.
track nine, yo.

on that note, here is a VERY ROUGH scratch track of a song that John Johnson wrote and I sang. We'll never get around to actually recording it so I'm just putting up the messy version.
http://ia350621.us.archive.org/1/items/AlexisStemberScratch/WhoseFace.mp3

..

it's been a while....

since i blogged on my myspace site, but that doesn't mean i've been entirely dormant- only that i've been hanging out on facebook instead, so here are my latest blogs, news, photos, etc. in reverse chronological order.

My Photos – Gathering of the Vibes- Part 1

7:34pm Sunday, Aug 12
I spent this weekend filming the hippy, love n' peace music fest Gathering of the Vibes in, ironically enough, the murder capital of Connecticut. The highlight of it all? Interviewing Les Claypool and then watching him play from the stage. George Clinton was pretty funkalicious, too.
A description from the paper:

Gathering of the Vibes, a music, arts and camping tribute festival to Grateful Dead lead man Jerry Garcia, will take place Aug. 9-12 at Seaside Park in Bridgeport.

The festival will feature four stages of live musical entertainment, including Ratdog with former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, five-time Grammy-winning blues and rock guitarist Buddy Guy, Latin rockers Los Lobos, the New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band, bass virtuoso Les Claypool, the Wailers, Southern rocker Dickey Betts, instrumentalist Keller Williams and the Keels, Martin Sexton, Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart, funk performers George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic.

Location: Bridgeport, CT
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11357&l=68919&id=701312241
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11358&l=f97be&id=701312241
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11359&l=0ba66&id=701312241
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11361&l=4d6d1&id=701312241

The Other Kind of Afternoon Delight

7:58pm Sunday, Aug 12

As I wrote earlier, I took Heather's genius suggestion and bought an ice cream maker last week to satisfy my craving for something tastier than the bland concoctions emerging from Cold Stone Creamery, but only tonight have I actually had the time to put my new Cuisinart ICE-20 to work. I opted for frozen yogurt over ice cream given my weekend of beer and pizza at the Vibes fest, and I must say, this is frozen yogurt that kicks every other frozen yogurt's ass- plain vanilla with a tangy yogurt kick not found in any soft serve I've ever tried. Mix up this super easy recipe and taste for yourself. This recipe is one modified from David Lebovitz's cookbook, The Perfect Scoop.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
3 cups of Greek-style plain yogurt (2% fat minimum)
3/4 cup Sugar in the Raw
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Leave in the fridge for 1 hour and stir again to incorporate the dissolved sugar.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

It's as simple, and delicious, as that.

Duly Noted

8:28pm Friday, Aug 10

j just expressed disatisfaction over my lack of recent note-scribing, so I have decided to jot one on my phone as I sit in a production trailer in Connecticut watching a bunch of bands play their hearts out. I'll explain the bands thing later. In the meanwhile, it's cold and rainy here, which it should not be as it's august. Still, it is. Go figure.
so, what to write about? I saw the film 'no end in sight' last night. It's crucial and intelligent viewing in my humble opinion, and it features interviews with one of my favorite jounalists, George packer. I also got to catch up/ play beer pong (a game i only learned of at ray's 4th of July party a year ago) with a few good men/ old friends (old as in known for a year or so) and haven't seen in... uh, too long.
People are getting high as kites at this hippy fest. I feel like i'm at woodstock 07 or something....
more news later.

apache

quite possibly the best video ever.