Writing in Bali

My writing station was on the front porch of our room which looked out into lush tropical forests in the mountains of Ubud, Bali. Thanks to the iPad and a wonderful text editor application called Byword, I didn’t even have to bring my laptop along. I just wrote on the Byword app which syncs with Dropbox. I then export what I wrote into Scrivener (my main writing software) as a rich text file. It works like a charm.

I’ll post some photographs of my Bali trip soon (here and on my Facebook page).

The post Back from Bali (Vacation/Writing Retreat) appeared first on Alan Petersen.

The post Vince Flynn Tribute Show appeared first on Alan Petersen.

It’s a stylish looking bracelet that tracks your steps (it’s like a pedometer on steroids because it does so much more) so now I can track my steps and words goal during the day. It’s waterproof and you just hook it up to your cellphone and you get a bunch of data to crunch (steps, calories burned, etc). It also tracks your sleep so you can make your’re getting quality hours of sleep. I’m lacking in that department, but now that I know how bad I’m at getting enough hours of sleep, I can work on it.

Here is a screen shot from my Android smartphone of my “move summary” screen from my UP Fitness bracelet. That was a good day since exceeded my 10,000 step daily goal. I’ve found the bracelet really motivates me to move. Just the other day I was doing some errands downtown, as I was heading back home, I decided to walk back versus take the subway. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was an awesome three mile walk that I would have missed if I was down in the subway.

It’s changed the way I think, can I just walk there instead of driving or hopping on Muni Subway. It’s pretty cool.

It’s the same exact principle behind setting word count goals. It helps me keep me on track and focused. And now I don’t only track how many words I write in a day, but how many steps I take during that day as well!

I really love the Up Fitness Bracelet from JawBone, I highly recommend you check it out. Being a sedentary writer is not good for your health no matter how successful you are as an author.

The post My Daily Writing and Moving Goals appeared first on Alan Petersen.

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Asset

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

It’s an idea that I’ve been mulling around in my head for years. My book takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. I lived there for nine years when I was a kid, so I’ve always had a soft spot for Venezuela. Their president, Hugo Chavez has been a bit of a nuisance for the United States, especially with the company he kept, including the now deceases Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. I saw them together on the television and it got my mind going. What would the United States do if Chavez would allow Gaddafi to build a terrorist training camp on Venezuelan soil. Similar to what the Taliban-led Afgansitan allowed Al-Queda to do when they were in power. From there I started to write.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

It’s an action espionage/spy thriller.

4. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

This is my first book. It took me about 10 months to write the first draft. Then several more months in rewrites, working with an editor and proofreader to get it ready for publishing.

5. What other books would you compare your book to within your genre?

Vince Flynn was the first name that popped in my head after reading this question. I enjoy his books. He’s from Minnesota as is my wife, and I lived in Minnesota for 20 years, so there is that comparison too. 

6. Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My father was an avid reader and a terrific writer. He always wanted to write a book. Aside from his masters dissertation that was published decades ago, he died in 2005 without having written his book. That inspired me to get the “write a book” off my bucket list.

7. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The events in the book are based on true events. The action takes place during the 2002 Hugo Chavez coup d’état, which actually happened. So although fiction, I use actual historical events to tell the story.

8. Which other writers will take over from you next week and tell us about their Next Big Thing?

I’m tagging the following authors to answer these same questions about their next big thing… C.E. Martin, Kathryn O’Halloran

Featured image by immrchris

The post My Next Big Thing appeared first on Alan Petersen.