Sunday, October 26, 2008

Just A Geek Review

At long last, I am finally going to talk about Just A Geek, which I finished earlier this month.

The book is a memoir, of sorts, written by Wil Wheaton. Yep, that would be the Wil Wheaton of Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. In case you're wondering what happened to him, this book is a great place to start. Although it mostly covers his life and experiences earlier in this decade, he does go into what he did in the 90's (after TNG) as well.

Wheaton spends much of the book talking about getting out from under the shadow of his past life as a child actor and trying to reestablish a successful acting career, only to be thwarted in doing so. He discusses what it was like to go to audition after audition only to get very little acting work, all the while dealing with not only the stress it was putting on his family life, but his own self-doubt as well. Eventually, he realizes (through his blog) that writing is what he really wants to do with his life, and even more importantly, he discovers that being honest and open with himself and others is the key to finding happiness in his life. Don't worry if this sounds either too angsty or saccharine -- there's a lot of humor in this book as well, and it certainly had its laugh-out-loud moments for my wife and I (she read it too).

I thought that this book was very inspirational and I could identify with some of what Wil faced -- in particular, the self-doubt and the expectation one puts on oneself to appear successful to others. I also thought the parts where Wheaton learned what he really wanted to do with his life, as opposed to what he thought he wanted to do, were quite thought-provoking too. Many people face these issues in their lives, not just those in creative fields.

I don't have any major criticisms of this book. Probably the only one I have is that there seemed to be a heavy reliance on posts from his blog in some sections. I didn't mind them being included, since they were especially effective in showing the disparity between what he felt and thought in reality and the persona he presented to the world. However, at times it seemed repetitious, since they had been published elsewhere, and I would have liked to have seen more of his non-previously published writing. That said, it's a minor criticism, and overall I thought the book was excellent.

I definitely recommend the book to anyone who's a Star Trek fan, or a geek in general, but I think a lot of other peope would like it too.

Back

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks, but I am back. In the past two weeks, I've gone to the wedding of two of my friends (and all of the related events that accompany it -- bachelor/ette party, rehearsal dinner, gift opening, etc.), finished one online class and started another, and went to Las Vegas for a couple of days with my wife, who attended an HR conference. Oh yeah -- I also managed to work 64 hours in those two weeks as well. So, I've been too busy to blog, I'm afraid, but now that time has come to an end.

Incidentally, I got an idea for an additional blog I'm thinking of starting soon. It's regarding different subject matter than Writer of Fortune, but if I go ahead with it, I will post an announcement here as well.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

See You in a Couple Weeks

I have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks, so this will probably be the last post until towards the end of the month. Yes, I still owe you that review -- don't think I've forgotten about that! But since I have a final project for my technical writing class to finish, a wedding and its associated festivities next weekend, and then a trip to Las Vegas for a few days, not to mention work and other social obligations, this blog will unfortunately be static for a while until my schedule is less crazy. See you in a couple weeks!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Checking In Again

Just a quick note to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the blog, and will try to post something early this week, but I make no guarantees. This would be easier if I could figure out how to use Blogger on my smartphone, too.

I finished Just a Geek this morning, and I can't wait to post a review of it. It's very relevant to not just anyone who wants to write for a living, but everyone who is struggling to make it in their field and is burdened by self-doubt. It's not a book on writing per se, but since writing is such a key part of Wil Wheaton's personal journey as described in the book, I certainly think it's worth picking up.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

editTeach (and other stuff)

I'm still reading Just a Geek, so the review of it is forthcoming. In the meantime, I came across a great editing resource while doing some research for my class (technical writing and editing, in case anyone's interested) called editTeach. It's a site that is geared towards educating people to be editors, and it's very informative not just for students, but working editors and writers as well.

I do want to start writing some more, well, substantial entries soon, and there's some topics I want to address once I get time, such as when to not take a writing gig, education and being a professional writer, grammar and spelling Nazis, and another review, this one for Michael Bremer's UnTechnical Writing. Links are great, but they're no substitute for content.